COMBUSTION CHARACTERISTICS OF LPG AND BIODIESEL MIXED FUEL IN TWO BLENDING RATIOS UNDER COMPRESSION IGNITION IN A CONSTANT VOLUME CHAMBER

This study aims to investigate the combustion characteristics of mixed fuel of liquefied propane gas (LPG) and biodiesel under compression ignition (Cl) in an effort to develop highly efficient and environmentally friendly mixed fuel-based Cl engines. Although LPG fuel is known to be eco-friendly due to its low CO2, emission, LPG has not yet been widely applied for highly efficient Cl engines because of its low cetane number and is usually mixed with other types of Cl-friendly fuels. In this study, a number of experiments were prepared with a constant volume chamber (CVC) setup to understand the fundamental combustion characteristics of mixed fuel with LPG and biodiesel in two weight-based ratios and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) conditions. The results from the current investigations verify the applicability of mixed fuel of LPG and biodiesel in Cl engines with a carefully designed combustion control strategy that maximizes the benefits of the mixed fuel. Based on the results of this study, ignition is improved by increasing the cetane value by using higher blending ratios of biodiesel. As the blending ratios of biodiesel increased, CO and HC decreased and CO2 and NOx increases.