Influence of Dimethyl Carbonate and Dispersant Added Graphene Nanoplatelets in Diesel-Biodiesel Blends: Combustion, Performance, and Emission Characteristics of Diesel Engine

The aim of the current study is to investigate the combustion, performance, and emission characteristics of a diesel engine adopting graphene nanoplatelets and 10% v/v dimethyl carbonate as fuel additives in a 30% biodiesel and 70% diesel blend. The novel findings are documented in the subsequent sections. The surface modification of graphene nanoplatelets using a lipophilic surfactant was used which gave highest stability in fuel samples which is a main distinctive in this research work. Nanofuels were prepared using 30, 60, and 90 ppm concentrations of nanoparticles through ultrasonication. The behaviour of graphene nanoplatelet was characterized using field emission scanning gun-electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, and X-ray diffraction. A diesel engine having uniform speed of 1500 rpm was used for the experiment at various load conditions to assess the engine operating parameters for all the prepared samples, including baseline diesel. It was observed that the combustion characteristics were found to be greatly enhanced, such as cylinder pressure and heat release rate, increased by about 15.45% and 9.63%, respectively, for B30GNP60DMC10 sample than diesel at higher loads. Performance parameters such as brake thermal efficiency (elevated by 8.98%) and brake-specific fuel consumption (diminished by 25.54%) have been significantly analyzed and compared to diesel. While the emissions (such as hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide) were found to be reduced by 22.87% and 25.67%, respectively, for B30DMC10, the nitrous oxide and smoke opacity were also reduced by 9.57% and 12.4%, respectively, for the B30GNP60DMC10 sample. Hence, a combining operation of graphene nanoplatelets and dimethyl carbonate additives in a biodiesel blend presented great potential in terms of performance improvement and reduction in emission parameters in diesel engine.