Performance Optimization of HCCI Engine Fueled with Tamanu Methyl Ether

The energy crisis is increasing every day. The energy source for the automobile is from petroleum, which is a non-renewable form of energy source. The use of biodiesel in CI engine is not a novel research work, and it has certain advantages and disadvantages. The main disadvantages were higher smoke and NOx emission. The simultaneous reduction of smoke and NOx emissions is a challenging job because NOx increases with an increase in combustion temperature while smoke emission decreases with the increase of the same. The usage of Tamanu methyl ester (TME) in the HCCI engine has dual advantages such that there is a reduction not only in the dependency of non-renewable fuel but also in pollution. In this research, performance analysis of HCCI is done with TME fuel. Furthermore, to improve the performance and emission characteristics, the engine is operated at various operating conditions such as inlet air temperature (IAT) and injection pressure (IP) varying within the range from 100°C to 140°C and from 10 bar to 14 bar, respectively. From the results, it was found that the optimum IAT and IP are 120°C and 12bar, respectively. While optimizing the IP and IAT of HCCI engine, it produced a BTE which is almost equal to that of the conventional engine, and the emission of NOx and smoke was found to be lesser.