Effect of nozzle geometry on the performance and emission characteristics of C.I. Engine Operated on Palm Oil Methyl Ester

As more and more fossil fuels are depleting day by day, it is very necessary to switch to alternative source of energy as a fuel for internal combustion engines. The internal combustion engines used in Propulsion, Transportation and marine applications, will leads to socio economical growth of any country. The emissions from the fossil fuels leads too many environmental problems like green houses effect, ozone depletion etc. This present work investigates the effect of varying the nozzle geometry on the performance of a diesel engine using POME fuel and its blends. Experimental investigations were carried out on single cylinder 4 stroke direct injection compression Ignition (CI) engine and comparison was made between 3 holes base line nozzle geometry (base line nozzle geometry) and 5 holes nozzle geometry ( modified nozzle geometry). Blends like B20, B40, B60, B80, B100 and standard diesel were used in engine and studied the performance and emission characteristics without altering the compression ratio of the engine. The experimental results showed that higher Brake thermal efficiency (BTE) for baseline nozzle geometry up to B40 POME blend, but BTE for modified nozzle geometry improved up to B60 blend of POME blend. Also significant improvement in reduction of oxides of Nitrogen (NOX) was observed for modified nozzle geometry. However carbon monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) were slightly higher for modified nozzle geometry as compared to baseline nozzle geometry at full load condition.