MIT International Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 1, Jan. 2012, pp.

(39-44)
ISSN No. 2230 - 7680 MIT Publications
39
Experimental Investigations of Diesel Emulsions
as Fuel in Small Direct Injection Compression
Ignition Engines
INTRODUCTION
At present, the diesel engine is still the most fuel-efficient
combustion engine [1]. It has high thermal efficiency, a high
power/weight ratio, high fuel economy, and a simple and strong
structural design. Diesel engines have been the main power
source for on-land and on-sea transport vehicles such as buses,
trucks, ships and agricultural vehicles. It is expected that diesel
engines will continue to be widely used in the foreseeable
future [2]. The general public has considerable concerns
regarding the air pollution released by diesel engines, such as
gaseous pollutants, particulate matter and an obnoxious odor.
The pollutants that are emitted into the atmosphere from diesel
engines, such as NO
X,
HC, CO, SO
X
, CO
2
, PM, black smoke
and others, are often transformed into other noxious material
that not only damage our ecology, but threatens human health
as well [3]. These pollutants are suspected of causing ozone
layer destruction in the stratosphere, greenhouse effect
ABSTRACT
The emission of pollutants especially particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, generated by the operation of a diesel engine,
poses a threat to the ecology of our planet and is detrimental to human health. The application of an emulsification technique
to prepare the fuel has been considered to be one of the possible approaches to reduce the production of diesel engine
pollutants, as well as the rate of fuel consumption. Water-in-diesel oil emulsified formulations are reported to reduce the
emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO
X
), sulfur oxides (SO
X
), carbon monoxides (CO), black smokes and particulate matter
(PM) without compensating the engine's performance. This paper presents an experimental result carried out to evaluate
performance and exhaust gas emissions of a small diesel engine when operated on neat diesel oil and its emulsions with
water. Emulsified diesel fuels of 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 water/diesel ratios by volume, were used in a single cylinder, direct
injection diesel engine, operating at 1500-2700 rpm. A comparative study involving speed, brake specific fuel consumption
(BSFC), brake thermal efficiency, exhausts gas temperature, hydrocarbon (HC), nitrogen oxides (NO
X
), carbon monoxides
(CO), carbon dioxides (CO
2
) emissions and black smoke opacity were reported for neat diesel oil and emulsions. The
results show that there was a significant benefits associated with the addition of water contents in diesel oil. The obtained
experimental results indicate that the addition of water in the form of emulsion improves the brake thermal efficiency. On
the whole it is concluded that brake specific fuel consumption, exhaust gas temperature, NOX, HC, CO, CO2 and black
smoke opacity decrease as the percentage of water in the emulsions increases.
Keywords: Engine Performance, Emission Characteristics, Emulsions.
Nitesh Kumar Singh
Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
Moradabad Institute of Technology
Moradabad (U.P.)
e-mail: niteshkumar.mech@gmail.com
magnification and acid rain. The production of photochemical
smog via NO
X
and HC reactions with solar ultraviolet radiation
might even irritate the throat, trachea, lung and eyes. These
exhausted particles, laden with polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbon or metallic compounds, may further result in
respiratory system disease or the formation of carcinogens in
the lungs [4]. Environmental protection regulations regarding
the emission standards of automobiles in the world are
becoming increasingly strict year after year. The new
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will primarily impact
on new engines but older uncontrolled diesel engines, due to
their durability and long life, will be continuing to make up a
significant portion of the heavy-duty vehicle fleet for the years
to come. As a result, efforts are underway to minimize the
emissions from diesel engines which are already in operation
and include a variety of strategies from fuel reformulations to
engine retrofits. Therefore, ways to reduce the emission of
pollutants by diesel-powered vehicles are of worldwide
MIT International Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. (39-44)
ISSN No. 2230 - 7680 MIT Publications
40
importance. There are several methods to reduce emissions
from diesel engines, such as improving the engine design,
enhancing the maintenance of the engine and fuel system,
installing components to treat the exhaust gases, and utilizing
clean alternative fuels.
An emulsion has been considered as one of the possible
alternative fuels to curtail emissions from diesel engines
without doing any engine modifications [5]. An emulsion is
defined as the mixture of two immiscible liquids wherein
droplets of one phase (the dispersed or internal phase) are
encapsulated within sheets of another phase (continuous or
external phase). These liquids do not mix or are mutually only
slightly soluble. The dispersed liquid is present in the form of
fine droplets in the continuous phase. Systems obtained from
homogenization of two or more not miscible fluids are
indicated as emulsions, mini-emulsions or micro-emulsions
(or swollen micelles) depending on the size of the particles
dispersed in the continuous phase [6]. A surfactant is essential
to stabilize the dispersed phase against coalescence and to
lower the surface energy of the interface of the produced
droplets. Surfactants or surface-active agents are amphipathic
substances with lyophobic and lyophilic groups making them
capable of adsorbing at the interfaces between liquids, solids
and gases [7]. The interest in water-in-diesel emulsions derives
from the fact that water in the form of micrometer-sized
droplets exerts some positive effects on the combustion of the
fuel. The main reason for a stronger interest in incorporating
water in diesel than in gasoline is that the high combustion
temperature and the high pressure that exist in diesel engines
is particularly suitable for the concept. This was found
experimentally [8] and verified by theory almost 30 years
ago [9].
Zaid [10] has experimentally investigated the effect of water
emulsification on the engine performance and exhaust gas
temperature. The results indicate that the addition of water in
the form of emulsion improves combustion efficiency. The
brake specific fuel consumption and exhaust gas temperature
decreases as parentage of water in the emulsion increases.
Nadeem et al. [7] carried out an experiment to measure the
performance and emissions characteristics using emulsified
fuels stabilized by conventional and Gemini surfactants. There
was a biggest reduction in NO
X
, PM and CO emission by the
emulsion stabilized by gemini surfactant containing 15% water
contents. While, there has been some basic research concerning
the effects of water emulsions on exhaust emissions and
performance but to the best knowledge of the authors, there
has been no systematic and complete investigation of the
emissions and performance of diesel engine. In the present
work, performance and emissions (CO, CO
2
, HC, NO
X
and
smoke opacity) from a single cylinder, four stroke, direct
injection diesel engine, using diesel water emulsion is studied.
EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS
Figure 1 shows the schematic illustration of the experimental
set-up. This experiment uses a Greaves Model G 600 WII,
variable speed diesel engine to analyze the engine performance
and emission characteristics. The specifications of the engine
are: single cylinder, four strokes, water-cooled, direct-injection
combustion chamber, and diesel engine, compression ratio:
18, total displacement volume 611 cc, and a maximum output
power 8.2 kw at 3000 rpm.
Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the experimental set-up
To reduce the temperature of the cylinders and the lubricant,
the cooling system of the engine is connected to a cooling-
water supply by means of a cooling-water pipe line. The fuel
feeding system is connected to two fuel tanks to supply the
engine with diesel fuel and emulsion oil, respectively. To
provide various engine loads in order to meet the changes of
torque values for this experiment, a connecting shaft linked
the output terminal of the engine to an eddy current
dynamometer. An exhaust gas analyzer, AVL DiGas 4000 light
of AVL India Pvt. Ltd. Company of India, was used to measure
the emission concentrations for nitrogen oxides (NO
X
), carbon
monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO
2
), and hydro carbons
(HC). A digital temperature recorder, with K type
thermocouple, Celsius scale of Artech Company Ltd. of India,
was used for measuring the exhaust gas temperature. A smoke
meter of AVL 437 of AVL India Pvt. Ltd. Company of India,
which measured black smoke, was used to test the opacity of
the black smoke. One commercial lipophilic surfactant Span
80 was used to prepare the two-phase water-in-oil (W/O) type
emulsion. The hydrophiliclipophilic balance (HLB) value of
Span 80 is 4.3. The diesel to water ratio for preparing water-
in-oil emulsions were set 95:5, 90:10, 85:15, 80:20 plus 1%
span 80 of the diesel plus water volume as a emulsifier on a
volumetric base. The emulsions preparation began by adding
1% of Span 80 to the diesel and stirring the mixture by using
a mixer machine (speed range of 150018000 rpm, made by
MIT International Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. (39-44)
ISSN No. 2230 - 7680 MIT Publications
41
Philips Motors Ltd.) at a speed of 2500 rpm. Then normal tap
water was fed into the mixture as per calculated volume. Then
the mixture of water, diesel and surfactant were stirred
vigorously at very high speed (10000-15000 rpm) for several
minutes. Then after it was cooled for ten minutes and kept in
motionless state. The heating values of the tested fuel were
analyzed by a bomb calorimeter.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The influences of the engine speed on the Brake Specific Fuel
Consumption (BSFC) for the neat diesel and four kinds of
emulsions are shown in Figure 2. The BSFC for the four
emulsions was calculated by considering diesel oil plus water
as a total fuel in order to compare them with the neat diesel fuel.
According to Figure 2, the BSFC of different fuels gradually
decreases as the engine speed increases. From the above graph
it is also clear that as the water percentage increases in the
emulsions, the BSFC value of that fuel increases.
Figure 2: Variation of BSFC with speed for
different water content in the emulsion
The BSFC of neat diesel fuel is lowest, where as the
emulsion containing 20% water contents has the highest BSFC
values followed by 15%, 10% and 5% water containing
emulsified fuels, respectively. When the percentage of water
in the emulsion increases, an amount of diesel is displaced by
an equal amount of water resulting in lower heating values
and hence increased fuel consumption (with emulsions) for
the same power output. The absorption of energy for the
vaporization of the water in the emulsion also causes a higher
BSFC than that of the neat diesel fuel. The variation of brake
thermal efficiency with engine speed for the neat diesel oil
and four kinds of emulsions is shown in Figure 3.
From Figure 3, it has been observed that as the engine speed
increases, the brake thermal efficiency also increases. It is also
clear from the graph that the neat diesel oil has the lowest
brake thermal efficiency among the five tested fuels. It can be
clearly seen from the fig that addition of water in the form of
an emulsion has a positive effect on the brake thermal
efficiency. Most likely reason for the improved efficiency is
that the presence of water and, in particular, the presence of
Figure 3: Variation of thermal efficiency with speed for
different water content in the emulsion
the oil- water interface with very low interfacial tension, leads
to a finer atomization of the fuel during injection. A finer
dispersion of the fuel drops leads to higher contact with the
air during the burning process, which is obviously
advantageous for the combustion. It has been postulated that
water in the fuel improves the combustion process owing to
the simultaneous additional rupture of the drops (micro-
explosions), to the increase in evaporation surface of the drops,
and to better mixing of the burning fuel in air. The emulsions
with 20% water content have the largest brake thermal
efficiency among the five tested fuel. This implies that the
emulsions have the largest extent of complete combustion to
cause the largest brake power output and thus the highest brake
thermal efficiency among the fuels. This occurs due to micro-
explosion followed by secondary atomization for which better
air- fuel mixing and complete combustion occurs in the
combustion chamber.
Figure 4 shows the variation of the exhaust gas temperature
with speed for the combustion of the four emulsions with
different water contents and the neat diesel fuel. It has been
observed that the exhaust gas temperature increases as the
engine speed increases. It is also clear that as the percentage
of water in the emulsion increases, the exhaust gas temperature
decreases.
Figure 4: Variation of exhaust temperature with speed for
different water content in the emulsion
The heat absorbed by the additional water can explain the
decrease in the exhaust temperature. The latent heat of water
MIT International Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. (39-44)
ISSN No. 2230 - 7680 MIT Publications
42
will cool the charge due to the evaporation of water, and the
cylinder average temperature following injection and before
ignition becomes lower as the water percentage increases. This
result in lower peak combustion temperatures. The burning of
the neat diesel fuel appears to have a larger exhaust gas
temperature, primarily because of its higher heating value and
lower amount of oxygen than the other four fuel emulsions.
The diesel oil emulsion, which contained 20% water by
volume, has lowest exhaust gas temperatures among the five
tested fuels. The lower heating value of the emulsions and the
heat sink effect resulted in the lower combustion temperatures.
Moreover, micro-explosion shortens the burning time thus
combustion process gets completed near the TDC leading to
more or less fuller expansion of the burned gases and thus
decreases in the exhaust gas temperature.
Figure 5 shows the variation of CO emission with speed
for the combustion of the four emulsions with different water
contents and the neat diesel fuel. It is observed from the
Figure 5 that CO concentration increases as the speed increases.
The combustion of emulsified fuels produced lower CO
emissions as compared to neat diesel oil because the burning
of W/O emulsion generates large extent of micro- explosions
and secondary atomization, leading to a larger degree of mixing
of unburned mixture. By considering the fig, it can be inferred
that the emulsified fuels containing 20% water produced lowest
emission of CO followed by emulsified fuel with water contents
of 15%, 10% and 5%. Neat diesel oil has highest level of CO
emissions among the five tested fuels. This is an indication of
improved combustion due to proper dispersion and
homogenization of water into diesel oil.
Figure 5: Variation of CO emissions with speed for
different water content in the emulsion
During the combustion of a W/O emulsion, the primary
spray fuel droplets are further divided as a result of the
explosive vaporization caused by rapid heating of the water
dispersed within the individual fuel droplets. The internal water
droplets undergo spontaneous nucleation of steam bubbles at
a temperature well above 100
o
C, causing a violent conversion
of the water droplet to steam. The vaporization, in turn,
produces a rapid expansion of the surrounding oil droplets,
fragmenting the oil into a vast number of smaller fuel droplets
i.e. secondary atomization. In order for secondary atomization
to be most effective in a combustion process, very small
droplets are necessary which were also obtained from the
micro-explosion of the emulsified fuels. This secondary
atomization produced by emulsified fuel reduces the
requirement of air for the combustion because of more
thorough mixing of the fragmented fuel droplets and
combustion air, resulting in less conversion of unburned fuel
C to CO.
Figure 6 shows the variation of CO
2
emission with speed
for the combustion of the four emulsions with different water
contents and the neat diesel fuel. The Figure 6 shows that
the emission of CO
2
for burning the five tested fuels appears
to increase with the increase of engine speed. The increase
in engine speed causes a rise in fuel consumption rate, a
drop in the equivalence ratio, and a rise in the fuel-rich
burning condition. All of these factors cause the CO
2
concentration to grow with the increase in engine speed. At
the time of burning of the emulsified fuels, micro-explosions
occur, resulting in a secondary atomization. Thus better
mixing occurs leading to more complete combustion. Micro-
explosions dont occur for the case of diesel fuel. Thats
why the neat diesel fuel oil has the highest CO
2
emission
than the other emulsified fuels.
Figure 6: Variation of CO
2
emissions with speed for
different water content in the emulsion
Figure 7 shows the variation of HC emissions with speed
for the combustion of the four emulsions with different water
contents and the neat diesel fuel. Figure 7 shows that the
concentration of unburned hydrocarbon increases with the
increase in engine speed. When the engine speed is relatively
high, there is a higher peak pressure inside the combustion
chamber. As the engine speed increases the fuel consumption
rate also increases thereby the temperature increases.
As a result higher amount of HC emitted on account of
incomplete combustion. From the fig, it has been seen that
neat diesel oil has the higher HC emissions than the other
fuel emulsions.
MIT International Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. (39-44)
ISSN No. 2230 - 7680 MIT Publications
43
Figure 7: Variation of HC emissions with speed
for different water content in the emulsion
Figure 8 shows the variation of NO
X
emissions with speed
for combustion of the four emulsions with different water
contents and the neat diesel fuel. Figure 8 shows that NO
X
emission increases as the speed increases due to conversion
of elemental nitrogen to NO under a condition of high gas
temperature which can easily combine with O
2
to create NO
2
.
Combustion of emulsified fuels produced significantly less
amounts of NO
X
as compared to neat diesel oil. This is due to
the finely dispersed water droplets of the emulsion absorbing
heat for its vaporization thereby lowering the temperature of
burned gases and thus restraining the generation of NO
X
.
Similar trend in the variation of NO
X
emission has also been
reported by Nadeem et al [7].
Figure 8: Variation of NO
X
emissions with speed for
different water content in the emulsion
Figure 9 shows the variation of black smoke opacity with
speed for combustion of the four emulsions with different water
contents and the neat diesel fuel. The smoke density increases
with increase in speed. As speed increases, more fuel is injected
and because of problem of mixing of fuel with air, leads to
incomplete combustion and higher emission of smoke from
the engine. The burning of neat diesel fuel produces the highest
black smoke opacity, whereas the emulsions emit a much lower
black smoke opacity. The water addition from the burning
process of the emulsions causes significant increase of spray
volume and thus considerable air entrainment into emulsion
spray. Hence, an obvious decrease of black smoke opacity from
burning the emulsions is found in comparison to the neat diesel
fuel.
Figure 9: Variation of smoke opacity with speed for
different water content in the emulsion
The burning of W/O emulsions would increase the water
vapor production in the exhaust gas. This leads to dilution
of the concentration of black smoke released from the diesel
engine and thus lowers smoke opacity in comparison with
that of neat diesel fuel. Moreover, water vapor produced
from the burning process of the emulsion fuel may further
be condensed to be liquid water, which could dissolve part
of black smoke particulates. This also results in significant
reduction of black smoke opacity for burning the emulsion
fuel. The water content in an emulsion lowers the burning
gas temperature and therefore the pyrolysis of the emulsion,
thereby reducing the production of the soot precursors. In
addition, the micro-explosions not only improve the burning
efficiency, but also release a higher reaction enthalpy. As a
result, the formation time for carbon soot within the
combustion chamber is curtailed, and the emission of black
smoke is effectively minimized. From the Figure 9 it has
been also observed that as percentage of water increases in
emulsions the black smoke opacity gradually decreases and
the neat diesel oil has the highest smoke opacity among the
five tested fuels.
CONCLUSIONS
In the present study emulsified fuels containing 520% water
contents were prepared using conventional surfactant span
80 in a mixer machine and used in Greaves Model G 600 WII
engine, to study the engine performance and the changes in
the main pollutant emissions (NO
X
, CO, CO
2
, HC and smoke
opacity). From this study, the conclusions arrived at are
discussed in the following sections
Fuel emulsions have higher brake specific fuel consumption
considering diesel plus water as the total fuel volume.
Emulsion with 20% water content has the highest BSFC
values among the five tested fuels.
The addition of water in the form of emulsion improves
the combustion efficiency in the diesel engine; hence the
performance of the engine as the engine speed increases.
Emulsion with 20% water content has the highest brake
thermal efficiency among the five tested fuels.
The exhaust gas temperature decreases with increase of
water percentage in the emulsions. Emulsion with 20%
MIT International Journal of Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. (39-44)
ISSN No. 2230 - 7680 MIT Publications
44
water content has the lowest exhaust gases temperature
among the five tested fuels and the burning of neat diesel
oil produces highest exhaust gases temperature among the
five tested fuels.
Compared to neat diesel oil, the emulsions have lower CO
emissions when engine speed increases. It has been
observed that, emulsion with 20% water content has the
lower CO emission under over all loading condition.
The emissions of CO
2
are lower in comparison to neat diesel
oil as engine speed increases. Emulsion with 20% water
content has the lower CO
2
emissions among the five tested
fuels.
Fuel emulsions have lower concentrations of HC emissions
as compared to neat diesel oil when engine speed increases.
It has been observed that the reduction of HC emission in
the range of 60-93% occurs due to use of fuel emulsions.
Compared to neat diesel oil, the emulsions have the lower
black smoke opacity. As percentage of water increases in
emulsions, the black smoke opacity gradually decreases and
the neat diesel oil has the highest smoke opacity among the
five tested fuels. Emulsion with 20% water content
produces the lowest black smoke emissions.
The concentration of NO
X
emission increases with the
increase in engine speed. Much more water content produces
larger differences in NO
X
emissions among the emulsions.
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