Performance improvement and exhaust emissions reduction in diesel engine through the use of graphene quantum dot (GQD) nanoparticles and ethanol-biodiesel blends

In the present study, the effects of graphene quantum dot (GQD) nano-particles on performance and emissions of a diesel engine with ethanol-biodiesel blends was investigated. Biodiesel was used in the blend of B10. The GQD nano-particles with concentration of 30 ppm were considered for each fuel blend. Experiments were performed at engine speeds of 1800, 2100 and 2400 rpm. Various parameters, such as power, torque, specific fuel consumption (SFC), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), unburned hydrocarbons (UHC), and nitrogen oxides (NOx), were investigated. The results showed that adding GQD nanoparticles to fuel increased power and torque by 28.18% and 12.42% respectively, and reduced SFC, CO and UHC by 14.35%, 29.54% and 31.12% respectively, compared to D100 fuel. Finally, it can be concluded that GQD nano-particles can be introduced as a suitable alternative fuel additive for ethanol-biodiesel blends. Also, the adding GQD nanoparticles to fuel could be a viable alternative solution to diesel that can effectively address global energy crisis and environmental issues.