Preparation, characterisation, engine performance and emission characteristics

of coconut oil based hybrid fuels

Pranil J. Singh
a,
*
, Jagjit Khurma
b
, Anirudh Singh
a
a
Division of Physics, School of Engineering and Physics, Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment, University of the South Pacic, 325 Fletcher Road, Suva, Fiji
b
Division of Chemistry, School of Biological, Chemical and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment, University of the South Pacic, Suva, Fiji
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 16 August 2009
Accepted 8 February 2010
Available online 3 March 2010
Keywords:
Diesel engine
Coconut oil
Hybrid fuel
Engine performance
Emission
a b s t r a c t
In this study, hybrid fuels consisting of coconut oil, aqueous ethanol and a surfactant (butan-1-ol) were
prepared and tested as a fuel in a direct injection diesel engine. After determining fuel properties such as
the density, viscosity and gross caloric values of these fuels, they were used to run a diesel engine. The
engine performance and exhaust emissions were investigated and compared with that of diesel.
The experimental results show that the efciency of the hybrid fuels is comparable to that of diesel. As
the viscosity of the hybrid fuels decreased and approached that of diesel, the efciency increased
progressively towards that of diesel. The exhaust emissions were lower than those for diesel, except
carbon monoxide emissions, which increased. Hence, it is concluded that these hybrid fuels can be used
successfully as an alternative fuel in diesel engines without any modications. Their completely
renewable nature ensures that they are environmentally friendly with regard to their emissions
characteristics.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
The indiscriminate extraction and lavish consumption of fossil
fuels have led to reduction in underground petroleum resources.
With the exception of hydroelectricity and nuclear energy, the
majority of the worlds energy needs are supplied through petro-
chemical sources [1]. The depletion of world petroleum reserves
and increased environmental concerns has stimulated recent
interest in alternative sources for petroleum-based fuels. Biofuels
produced from the various production techniques have become
a potential candidate for a diesel substitute due to the similarities
they have with petroleum-based diesel.
Vegetable oils as fuel for diesel engines have become attractive
recently because of their environmental benets and the fact that
they are made from renewable resources.
The injection, atomization and combustion characteristics of
vegetable oils in diesel engines are signicantly different from
those of hydrocarbon based diesel fuels. The direct use of vegetable
oils is generally considered to be unsatisfactory and impractical for
both direct injection and indirect type diesel engines.
This is due to the high viscosities and low volatilities of vege-
table oils [2e4]. Injector coking, trumpet formation on the
injectors, higher level of carbon deposits, oil ring sticking, thick-
ening and gelling of the engine lubricant oil, and the reactivity of
unsaturated hydrocarbon chains are some of the problems that are
encountered with the use of vegetable oils [5].
The high viscosity of vegetable oil interferes with the injection
process and leads to poor fuel atomization. The inefcient mixing of
fuel with air contributes to incomplete combustion. The high ash
point attributes to their lower volatility which leads to more
deposit formation, carbonization of injector tips, ring sticking,
lubrication oil dilution and degradation [6]. The combination of
high viscosity and low volatility of vegetable oils causes poor cold
engine start up, misre and ignition delay [6]. Oxidative and
thermal polymerization of vegetable oils causes a deposition on the
injectors forming a lm that continues to trap fuel and interfere
with combustion. In the long term operation, vegetable oils nor-
mally develop gumming, injector coking and ring sticking. It is
therefore unsuitable to use pure vegetable oils in diesel engines.
To overcome these problems caused by the high viscosity of
vegetable oils, a number of techniques have been used. These
include dilution or blending with diesel, increasing the fuel
temperature, pyrolysis, transesterication to produce biodiesel and
microemulsication to make the hybrid fuel [7].
The hybrid fuel investigated in this study is a microemulsion
consisting of vegetable oil, water, alcohol and surfactant mixtures.
The presence of water in these blends was a result of the use of
ethanol of 95% purity. The surfactant increases the solubility of
vegetable oil/aqueous alcohol blend so that a stable homogenous
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 679 3232822; fax: 679 3231511.
E-mail addresses: praniltt@yahoo.com (P.J. Singh), khurma_j@usp.ac.fj
(J. Khurma), singh_ag@usp.ac.fj (A. Singh).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Renewable Energy
j ournal homepage: www. el sevi er. com/ l ocat e/ renene
0960-1481/$ e see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.renene.2010.02.007
Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2065e2070
mixture which consists of a single phase is obtained. The surfactant
increases the stability by lowering the interfacial tension between
oil and water, making it sufciently low for spontaneous formation
of the hybrid fuel [8]. The surfactant orientates itself in such a way
that the hydrophilic end is oriented towards water and the
hydrophobic end is oriented towards the oil [9].
The objectives of this study were to prepare ethanolecoconut oil
based fuels using the microemulsication technique, and to
determine their relevant properties, engine performance and
exhaust emission characteristics.
After describing the methodology for the preparation of the
blends, the chemical and physical fuel properties of the blends were
analyzed. The results of the engine performance and the emission
characteristics of a direct injection diesel genset operated on these
blends are then reported and analyzed.
2. Material and experimental procedure
Hybrid fuels were prepared using ethanol of 95% purity (Unilab
Chemicals, Ajax Finechem, Australia), butan-1-ol as the surfactant
(Unilab Chemicals, Ajax Finechem, Australia), and coconut oil. Two
types of coconut oil, crude coconut oil (Copra Millers, Savusavu, Fiji)
and virgin coconut oil (Organic Pacic Limited, Suva, Fiji) were used
to prepare the hybrid fuels. In the tests, crude coconut oil (CCO)
which is extracted from copra using the traditional method and
virgin coconut oil (VCO) which is extracted using the direct micro
expelling method were used. The surfactant used was butan-1-ol.
In formulating the hybrid fuels, primary consideration was given to
microemulsion stability and viscosity. None of the constituents
were further puried than originally obtained.
To study the effect of the three-component ratios on the fuel
properties, engine performance and emission characteristics, six
hybrid fuels were formulated and used. The phase boundaries were
determined by titration. Mixtures of coconut oil and ethanol were
made where the ethanol component was varied from 0% to 20% by
volume in 2% increments and then from 20% to 100% by volume in
10% increments. Mixing them resulted in a temporary emulsion
that was milky in color and eventually separated in a few minutes.
The surfactant butan-1-ol was then added through a burette into
the mixture until the mixture became clear. Coconut oil, ethanol
and butan-1-ol were mixed into a homogeneous mixture by
a magnetic stirrer. The samples were kept for a period of 24 h to
ascertain the stability through physical appearance and a further 7
days, after which the data were used to develop the phase
diagrams. Moreover, all samples were kept at roomtemperature for
a further period of six months to observe the long term stability.
The homogeneous and stable hybrid fuels used in the tests and
designated in Table 2 as 87CCO 10E 3B, were prepared by mixing
crude coconut oileaqueous ethanol and butan-1-ol in a percentage
of 87:10:3 by volume respectively. Similarly 85VCO 10E 5B, was
prepared by mixing virgin coconut oileaqueous ethanol and butan-
1-ol in a percentage of 85:10:5 by volume respectively.
Table 1
Technical specications of the test engine.
Item Specication
Model PowerTec 170FG
Injection type Direct injection
Maximum output 3.8 hp
Continuous output 3.4 hp
Bore 70 mm
Stroke 55 mm
Displacement 0.211 L
Cooling system Forced air-cooled system
Lubricating system Forced lubrication
Horiba Gas Analyser
Test Generator
Diesel Fuel Tank Hybrid Fuel Tank
Power Meter
Load Bank,
consisting of light
bulbs
Exhaust
manifold
Probe
Fig. 1. The schematic diagram of the experimental setup.
Fig. 2. Ternary phase diagram showing the phase behaviour of crude coconut
oileethanolebutan-1-ol system at 26

C.
Fig. 3. Ternary phase diagram showing the phase behaviour of virgin coconut oil-
eethanolebutan-1-ol system at 26

C.
P.J. Singh et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2065e2070 2066
The density, absolute viscosity, and gross caloric value of the
hybrid fuels and its individual constituents are given in Table 2. The
relative density at 26

C was measured using 50 mL pycnometers.
An Ostwald viscometer was used to measure the absolute viscosity
at 26

C. A Gallenkamp ballistic bomb calorimeter was used to
measure the gross caloric value.
The efciency tests were performed on a PowerTec 170FG, four-
stroke, single cylinder, air-cooled, direct injection diesel engine. The
specications of the engine are given in Table 1. A schematic layout
of the experimental setup is depicted in Fig. 1.
The test was started with diesel, and when the engine reached
the operating temperature, load was applied. The engine was
coupled to an electrical generator through which load was applied
by increasing the current to supply an electrical apparatus (light
bulbs) that were used to adjust the load. The engine was tested at
various loads which were 0%, 30%, 56% and 86% of the maximum
electrical output of the generator. The load was monitored using
a power meter connected in series to the load bank. A modied fuel
tank, consisting of two separate measuring cylinders was used. One
contained the diesel, while the other was for the hybrid fuels. The
fuel consumption was measured using the constant volume time
method wherein the fuel ow rate was measured using a volu-
metric fuel consumption unit having a graduated measuring
cylinder.
A PG-250 model, Horiba portable gas analyzer was used for
measuring the exhaust emissions. Before taking the measurements,
the probe of the analyzer was inserted into the exhaust pipe of the
engine. By means of the analyzer, NO (ppm), SO
2
(ppm), CO (ppm),
CO
2
(vol. %) and O
2
(vol. %) were measured. The exhaust gases of the
different hybrid fuels were analyzed at 0%, 30%, 56% and 86% of the
maximum load.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Preparation of hybrid fuels
The ternary phase diagram represented in Figs. 2 and 3 shows
the miscibility curve for the hybrid fuels. At temperatures till 10

C,
the formulations above the miscibility curve exist as one visible
phase in the form of thermodynamically stable microemulsions,
while those below the curves will be unstable and have two visible
immiscible phases.
The order of adding the fuel constituents to one another is not
particularly critical. Though the microemulsion formed immedi-
ately, agitation was seen to expedite the process. As seen in Figs. 2
and 3, only 8% of ethanol can be blended with CCO or VCO without
the help of a surfactant. This was due to the high polarity of ethanol.
Consequently coconut oil, which is a non-polar molecule, cannot be
compatible with ethanol of 95% purity. The use of surfactants
therefore became necessary. This is evident by examining the base
Table 2
Physical properties of the hybrid fuels, pure constituents and diesel.
Fuel type Relative density
at 26

C (g cm
3
)
Absolute viscosity
at 26

C (cP)
Gross heat of
combustion
(kJ g
1
)
Diesel 0.8365 5.08 45.11
Aqueous
ethanol (95%)
0.7985 1.57 27.31
Butan-1-ol 0.8049 2.59 34.22
Crude coconut oil 0.9159 40.09 38.68
Virgin coconut oil 0.9174 39.49 38.82
Hybrid fuels
87CCO 10E 3B 0.9019 19.27 36.45
70CCO 17E 13B 0.8816 10.15 35.83
54CCO 23E 23B 0.8638 6.32 35.44
85VCO 10E 5B 0.9012 18.22 37.16
67VCO 17E 16B 0.8793 9.25 36.87
53VCO 23E 24B 0.8631 6.20 36.09
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
0 500 1000 1500
Load (W)
S
p
e
c
i
f
i
c

f
u
e
l

c
o
n
s
u
m
p
t
i
o
n

(
k
g

k
W
-
1

h
r
-
1
)
Diesel
87CCO 10E 3B
70CCO 17E 13B
54CCO 23E 23B
CCO
Fig. 4. Specic fuel consumption for crude coconut oil based hybrid fuels and diesel.
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
0 500 1000 1500
Load (W)
S
p
e
c
i
f
i
c

f
u
e
l

c
o
n
s
u
m
p
t
i
o
n

(
k
g

k
W
-
1

h
r
-
1
)
Diesel
85VCO 10E 5B
67VCO 17E 16B
53VCO 23E 24B
VCO
Fig. 5. Specic fuel consumption for virgin coconut oil based hybrid fuels.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0 400 800 1200 1600
Load (W)
E
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y

(
%
)
Diesel
87CCO 10E 3B
70CCO 17E 13B
54CCO 23E 23B
CCO
Fig. 6. Engine efciency for crude coconut oil based hybrid fuels and diesel.
P.J. Singh et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2065e2070 2067
of the ternary plots, where it is seen that the butanol concentration
becomes non-zero after the ethanol concentration exceeds 8%.
3.2. Properties of the hybrid fuels
The physical properties of the hybrid fuels, its pure constituents
and diesel are given in Table 2.
The density of the hybrid fuels decreases with incorporation of
higher proportions of ethanol and butan-1-ol and is given in Table
2. Both the alcohols have a lower density compared to the oils and
as a result incorporation of these decreases the density of the
hybrid fuels.
As seen in the table, the viscosities of the oils are signicantly
lowered through the addition of the alcohol. Ethanol acts as the
primary viscosity lowering agent. The hybrid fuels containing CCO
generally have a higher viscosity compared to that of the hybrid
fuel containing VCO. The viscosity of pure VCOis lower compared to
that of pure CCO. The hybrid fuel designated 53VCO 23E 24B has
a viscosity of 6.20 cP, which is closest to that of diesel.
The gross caloric value (GCV) of CCO and VCO is ca. 14% lower
than diesel. As the volume of ethanol and butan-1-ol increases in
the hybrid fuels, the GCV of the fuels decreases. The GCV of ethanol
and butan-1-ol are 27.31 and 34.22 kJ g
1
respectively and the low
GCV of these two components causes the GCV of the hybrid fuels to
decrease. The GCV of 53VCO 23E 24B is ca. 20% lower than diesel.
3.3. Fuel consumption
The specic fuel consumption (SFC) (i.e. the ratio of fuel mass
ow of an engine to its output power) curves of the engine for the
six hybrid fuels, CCO, VCO and diesel are shown in Fig. 4 and 5. It is
evident from the gures that the SFC of the engine gradually
decreased with increase in load. The SFC compensates for the
power output and thus as the power output increases the SFC
should decrease.
The SFC of the hybrid fuels was higher compared to diesel. This
is consistent with the lower caloric values of the hybrid fuels as
compared to that of diesel. As expected, hybrid fuels having the
lowest GCV had the highest SFC. The trend was similar for both
types of oil, CCO and VCO.
In general, the SFC increased with decreasing GCV. The gener-
ator output was set at specied loads, mainly 0, 550, 1065 and
1600 W and all the fuels were tested at these four predetermined
loads. Comparison of the SFC between the fuels was easily made
with respect to a particular load condition. Therefore to supply the
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0 400 800 1200 1600
Load (W)
E
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y

(
%
)
Diesel
85VCO 10E 5B
67VCO 17E 16B
53VCO 23E 24B
VCO
Fig. 7. Engine efciency for virgin coconut oil based hybrid fuels and diesel.
0
200
400
600
800
1000
0 500 1000 1500
Load (W)
N
O

E
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

(
p
p
m
)
Diesel
85VCO 10E 5B
67VCO 17E 16B
53VCO 23E 24B
Fig. 9. NO emissions from virgin coconut oil based hybrid fuels compared to diesel.
0
200
400
600
800
1000
0 500 1000 1500
Load (W)
N
O

e
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

(
p
p
m
)
Diesel
87CCO 10E 3B
70CCO 17E 13B
54CCO 23E 23B
Fig. 8. NO emissions from crude coconut oil based hybrid fuels compared to diesel.
0
2000
4000
6000
0 500 1000 1500
Load (W)
C
O

e
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

(
p
p
m
)
Diesel
87CCO 10E 3B
70CCO 17E 13B
54CCO 23E 23B
Fig. 10. CO emissions from crude coconut oil based hybrid fuels compared to diesel.
P.J. Singh et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2065e2070 2068
required power, fuels having lower GCV consumed fuel at a higher
rate to meet the power demand. The SFC increases with increasing
ethanol in the hybrid fuels. This is mainly due to the relationship
among volumetric fuel injection system, and density, viscosity and
GCV. As a result, higher volumes of the hybrid fuels are needed to
produce the same amount of energy due to its higher density and
lower GCV compared to diesel.
3.4. Engine efciency
Figs. 6 and 7 show the effect of the hybrid fuels on the engine
efciency. There is a steady increase in the efciency as the load
increases for all the fuel types.
As seen in these gures, the efciencies of the fuel blends are in
general very close to that of diesel. The small differences among
these curves may be accounted for in terms of differences in fuel
properties such as viscosity and density.
The engine efciency is lowest with CCO and VCO as compared
to the other fuels. This is attributed to poor mixture formation as
a result of the lowvolatility, higher viscosity and density of CCOand
VCO. Generally, as the viscosity decreases, the efciency increases.
The lower GCV of ethanol and butan-1-ol increases the SFC of the
hybrid fuels. However, in spite of the large quantity of injected fuel,
hybrid fuels containing the two constituents had efciencies
similar or higher than diesel. This result shows that fuels containing
ethanol have higher reaction activity in the fuel-rich zone due to
oxygenate of ethanol in high load conditions [10].
The slight increase in the engine efciency of the hybrid fuels
compared to CCO and VCO can be explained using the following
arguments. Firstly, the quality of the spray with hybrid fuels is
improved since the boiling point of ethanol is lower than that of
diesel. It therefore has higher reaction activity in the fuel-rich zone
due to the oxygenate of ethanol. In addition, heat losses decrease in
the cylinder due to lower ame temperature of ethanol than that of
diesel [10].
3.5. Emission characteristics
The effect of load on NO emissions for diesel, and the hybrid
fuels of CCO and VCO are shown in Figs. 8 and 9. It was observed
that the NO emissions from the hybrid fuels were considerably
lower than that from diesel. Heat release rates of the hybrid fuels
are lower during premixed combustion phase, which will lead to
lower peak temperatures. Nitrogen oxide formation strongly
depends on peak temperature, which explains the observed
phenomenon. Also, whenwater is properly incorporated into a fuel,
0
2000
4000
6000
0 500 1000 1500
Load (W)
C
O

E
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

(
p
p
m
)
Diesel
85VCO 10E 5B
67VCO 17E 16B
53VCO 23E 24B
Fig. 11. CO emissions from virgin coconut oil based hybrid fuels compared to diesel.
0
20
40
60
80
0 500 1000 1500
Load (W)
S
O
2

e
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

(
p
p
m
)
Diesel
87CCO 10E 3B
70CCO 17E 13B
54CCO 23E 23B
Fig. 12. SO
2
emissions from crude coconut oil based hybrid fuels compared to diesel.
0
20
40
60
80
0 500 1000 1500
Load (W)
S
O
2

E
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

(
p
p
m
)
Diesel
85VCO 10E 5B
67VCO 17E 16B
53VCO 23E 24B
Fig. 13. SO
2
emissions from virgin coconut oil based hybrid fuels compared to diesel.
5.5
6.5
7.5
8.5
0 500 1000 1500
Load (W)
C
O
2

e
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

(
%

v
o
l
.
)
Diesel
87CCO 10E 3B
70CCO 17E 13B
54CCO 23E 23B
Fig. 14. CO
2
emissions from crude coconut oil based hybrid fuels compared to diesel.
P.J. Singh et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2065e2070 2069
it serves as a heat sink, thereby lowering combustion temperatures
and reducing NO
x
emissions [11].
The hybrid fuels prepared in this study were from aqueous
ethanol having 5% by volume of water. NO emission values were
459, 454, 442 ppm for 87CCO 10E 3B, 70CCO 17E 13B and 54CCO
23E 23B respectively, compared to 852 ppm for diesel at 86% load.
The NO emission values were 323, 402, 472 ppm for 85VCO 10E 5B,
67VCO 17E 16B and 53VCO 23E 24B respectively, compared to
852 ppm for diesel at 86% load.
The effect of load on CO emissions for diesel, and the hybrid
fuels of CCO and VCO are shown in Figs. 10 and 11. CO is formed
when the fuel ame temperature drops and the progression to CO
2
is not complete. This happens when the ame front approaches the
relatively cool cylinder liner and combustion slows or stops. It also
happens in the crevice volume that is between the outer diameter
of the piston and the cylinder wall, where ame front is extin-
guished [12].
The other source of CO is when the engine is being operated on
too rich fuel air ratio and there is insufcient oxygen for complete
combustion [12]. The COemission levels of the CCOand VCOhybrid
fuels are greater than diesel. An explanation lies in the fact that as
the percentage of ethanol in the hybrid fuels increases, the CO
emission levels decrease due to the higher air-to-fuel ratio of the
fuel. This would show that a more complete combustion occurs in
fuels with higher alcohol content.
The SO
2
emission characteristics for diesel and the hybrid fuels
are shown in Figs. 12 and 13. Consideration of the actual numerical
values of the emission reveals that the SO
2
emission for the hybrid
fuels is reduced by as much as 54% for CCO based hybrid fuels and
53% for VCObased hybrid fuels compared to diesel. Such reductions
in SO
2
levels would greatly reduce the risk of acid rain.
The variation of CO
2
emissions with load is shown in Figs. 14 and
15. CO
2
is a by-product of complete combustion. It can be used as an
indicator for determining the efciency of combustion occurring.
Generally as the ethanol content in the hybrid fuels increases the
CO
2
emission levels decrease. The CO
2
emission levels with the
fuels are generally lower compared to diesel, except for the hybrid
fuel, 87CCO 10E 3B, which exhibits a higher level of CO
2
level.
4. Conclusions
In this study, the preparation, characterisation, engine perfor-
mance and emission characteristics of a coconut oil based hybrid
fuel were investigated. The following conclusions can be drawn:
1. Anhydrous butan-1-ol can be used as an effective surfactant to
prepare a stable and homogenous microemulsion of coconut oil
and aqueous ethanol of 95% purity.
2. The viscosity of pure coconut oil can be reduced to close to that
of diesel using the microemulsication technique.
3. The engine efciency of the hybrid fuels is similar compared to
diesel and improves as the viscosity of the fuel decreases.
4. The specic fuel consumption of the hybrid fuels is higher
compared to diesel due to the lower gross caloric value of the
hybrid fuels.
5. The emissions levels (NO, SO
2
and CO
2
) of the hybrid fuels are
lower compared to diesel, but an increase in COemission levels
is observed.
6. The hybrid fuel can be used as a fuel without any modication
in a direct injection diesel engine successfully.
Acknowledgment
This work is funded by the Secretariat of the Pacic Islands
Applied Geoscience Commission and we are grateful for its nan-
cial contribution.
References
[1] Machacon HTC, Matsumoto Y, Ohkawara C, Shiga S, Karasawa T, Nakamura H.
The effect of coconut oil and diesel fuel blends on diesel engine performance
and exhaust emissions. J Soc Automot Eng Jpn 2001;22:349e55.
[2] Rakopoulos CD, Antonopoulos KA, Rakopoulos DC, Hountalas DT,
Giakoumis EG. Comparative performance and emission study of a direct
injection diesel engine using blends of diesel fuel with vegetable oils or bio-
diesels of various origins. Energy Convers Manage 2006;47:3272e87.
[3] Nwafor OMI. Emission characteristics of diesel engine running on vegetable oil
with elevated fuel inlet temperature. Biomass Bioenergy 2004;27:507e11.
[4] Demirbas A. Biodiesel production via noncatalytic SCF method and biodiesel
fuel characteristics. Energy Convers Manage 2006;47(15/16):2271e82.
[5] Demirbas A. Biodiesel: a realistic fuel alternative for diesel engines. London:
Springer-Verlag London Limited; 2008.
[6] Srivastava A, Prasad R. Triglycerides-based diesel fuels. Renew Sust Energy Rev
2000;4:111e33.
[7] Puhan S, Nagarajan G. NO
x
reduction in a DI diesel engine using biodiesel as
a renewable fuel. Int J Sust Energy 2008;27(3):143e54.
[8] Pryde EH. Vegetable oils as fuel alternatives e symposium overview. J Am Oil
Chem Soc 1984;61:1609e10.
[9] Reddy MCS. Hybrid fuel-fuel of the future. Proceedings of the National
Conference, IIT, Bombay 2006.
[10] Lu XC, Yang JG, Zhang WG, Huang Z. Effect of cetane number improver on heat
rate and emission of high speed diesel engine fuelled with ethanol-diesel
blend fuel. Fuel 2004;83:2013e20.
[11] Wenzel EC, Steinmann HW. Clear and stable liquid fuel compositions for
internal combustion engines. US Patent 4083698. 1978.
[12] Kalam MA, Masjuki HH. Emissions and deposit characteristics of a small diesel
engine when operated on preheated crude palm oil. Biomass Bioenergy
2004;27:289e97.
5
6
7
8
9
0 500 1000 1500
Load (W)
C
O
2

E
m
i
s
s
i
o
n

(
%

v
)
Diesel
85VCO 10E 5B
67VCO 17E 16B
53VCO 23E 24B
Fig. 15. CO
2
emissions from virgin coconut oil based hybrid fuels compared to diesel.
P.J. Singh et al. / Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2065e2070 2070