Potential of Preheated Karanja Oil Utilization in a Direct-Injection CI Engine

The diesel engine is the most efficient power plant among all known types of internal combustion engines. Heavy trucks, urban buses, and industrial equipment are powered almost exclusively by diesel engines all over the world and diesel powered passenger cars are increasingly popular. Increase in petroleum prices, threat of global warming has generated an interest in developing alternative fuels for engine. Technologies now focusing on development of plant based fuels, plant oils, plant fats as an alternative fuel. Vegetable oils have energy content suitable for use as a fuel in diesel engines. Some of these oils have already been evaluated as substitutes for diesel fuels. However, several operational and durability problems of using straight vegetable oils in diesel, caused by their relatively higher viscosity compared to mineral diesel. This viscosity can be brought into the acceptable range by transesterification, by blending of vegetable oil with diesel, or by preheating the vegetable oil. The reduction in the viscosity by blending or preheating saves the processing cost incurred in the transesterification process involving expensive chemicals. Karanja oil holds special promise in this regard, because it can be produced from the plants grown in rural areas [4]. This paper investigates the potential of Karanja oil utilization in direct ignition CI engine. The different properties of Karanja oil is measured and compared it with the diesel.