Comparison of performance and emission characteristics of fish oil and Jetropha oil methyl esters in single cylinder agricultural diesel engine

AbstractBiodiesels derived from edible oils, non-edible oils and animal fats require little or no modifications for use in diesel engines. Highly populated countries like India with lot of food deficiency require economic and renewable oil sources without affecting normal vegetation. In this respect, methyl esters derived from Jetropha oil and fish oil (produced from discarded parts of fish) will be ideal fuels for diesel engines. Main reasons for choosing the Jetropha oil in this work are its renewable environmental friendly nature, availability of waste land for plantation, rural employment and livelihood opportunities. The discarded parts of fish produced by fish industry can be used for economic production of fish crude oil, which in turn can be processed to fish oil methyl esters (FOME). In this work, the combustion, performance and emission characteristics of Jetropha methyl esters and FOME are evaluated in a direct injection diesel engine. Lower ignition delay, unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxid...