Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Emissions in a Direct Injection VCR Diesel Engine Running on Rice Bran Methyl Ester

The world is confronted with the twin crises of fossil fuel depletion and environmental degradation. The indiscriminate extraction and consumption of fossil fuels have led to a reduction in petroleum reserves. Petroleum based fuels are obtained from limited reserves. These finite reserves are highly concentrated in certain region of the world. Therefore, those countries not having these resources are facing a foreign exchange crisis, mainly due to the import of crude petroleum oil. Hence it is necessary to look for alternative fuels, which can be produced from materials available within the country. Biodiesel is one of the most promising alternative fuels for diesel engines because they are potential renewable, non-toxic, biodegradable, clean burning, high lubricity, low environmental impact, derived from vegetable oils and could be used directly in diesel engines without requiring extensive engine modifications. The major objective of the present work is to investigate the engine exhaust emissions of a single cylinder 4- stroke variable compression ratio (VCR-18, VCR-16 & VCR-14) engine at different injection pressures (220 bar, 200 bar & 180 bar) with different blends of biodiesel rice bran oil.