Preparation of Palm Oil Biodiesel and Effect of Various Additives on NOx Emission Reduction in B20: An Experimental Study

In this study palm biodiesel was prepared from palm oil by transesterification and subsequently different blends (B20, B30, and B40) with diesel were prepared and tested in a standard diesel engine. From the engine test result, B20 was found to be an optimum blend ratio based on engine performance and emissions. The test result shows that the exhaust emissions such as CO and HC are reduced with B20 by 28% and 30%, respectively, compared to diesel. The NOX emissions are almost the same as diesel fuel. In order to reduce NOX emission, a small quantity of different additives namely methanol, ethanol, distilled water, and diethyl ether were added to B20 and evaluated in a standard diesel engine for performance and emissions characteristics. Among all the additives with B20, B20 with 2% distilled water shows the lowest NOX emission and this may be due to lower combustion temperature compared to other additives.