Energy 72 (2014) 760e771

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Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

Investigation on combustion performance and emission

characteristics of a DI (direct injection) diesel engine fueled with
biogasediesel in dual fuel mode
Debabrata Barik*, S. Murugan
Internal Combustion Engines Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha 769008, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this research work, biogas was produced by the anaerobic digestion of non-edible de-oiled cakes
Received 3 August 2013 obtained from oil crushing units. Further, the biogas was used as an alternative gaseous fuel in a DI
Received in revised form (direct injection) diesel engine, in the dual fuel mode. Diesel was used as an injected fuel and biogas was
9 May 2014
inducted through the intake manifold, at four different flow rates, viz., 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h and
Accepted 30 May 2014
1.2 kg/h, along with the air. The combustion, performance and emission characteristics of the engine in
Available online 26 June 2014
the dual fuel operation were experimentally analyzed, and compared with those of diesel operation. The
results indicated that, the biogas inducted at a flow rate of 0.9 kg/h was found to give a better perfor-
Keywords:
Biogas
mance and lower emission, than that of the other flow rates. The ignition delay in the dual fuel operation
Biomass is found to be longer than that of diesel throughout the load spectrum. The cylinder peak pressure in the
CI engine dual fuel operation is found to be overall higher by about 11 bar than that of diesel operation. The NO
Dual fuel (nitric oxide) and smoke emissions in the dual fuel operation are found to be lower overall by about 39%
Renewable gaseous fuel and 49%, compared to that of diesel operation.
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Gaseous fuels are considered to be good for IC (internal com-
bustion) engines, because of their good mixing characteristics with
air. The high self-ignition temperature enables them to operate
with lean mixtures and higher compression ratios, resulting in an
improvement in the thermal efficiency and reduction in emissions.
Biogas is a good renewable gaseous fuel, and is produced by the
anaerobic digestion of cow dung, non-edible seed cakes, animal
waste, food waste, agricultural waste, municipal waste, sewage
sludge, etc. [1]. Methane is the main constituent of biogas, and the
proportion varies from feed stock to feed stock. Table 1 gives the
biogas yield and methane percentage of some commonly used feed
stocks [2e6].
The European Union has planned to use at least 25% of bio-
energy from biomass sources in future [7]. Among all types of feed
stocks, non-edible de-oiled cakes have a higher potential to pro-
duce biogas, because they have a higher percentage of carbon and
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ91 8895197745.
E-mail addresses: debabrata93@gmail.com, debabratabarik93@gmail.com
(D. Barik), s.murugan@nitrkl.ac.in (S. Murugan).
other useful ingredients, for the survival and growth of anaerobic
microorganisms [7]. Cow dung is considered as a normal feed
stock, since many years. It has 36.13% carbon by weight, and the
water content is 81.2% by weight on a dry basis, with the TS (total
solid) is only 18.8% by weight, which is very low in comparison to
non-edible seed cakes. These lower elemental values of cow dung
lead to relatively low specific methanogenic capacities [8,9].
Generally, cow dung is required to mix with the de-oiled cakes
before anaerobic digestion, because the fresh dung possesses
anaerobic microorganisms for initiating the biochemical digestion
process.
Now-a-days, biodiesel production from non-edible seeds such
as Jatropha curcas (Jatropha), Pongamia pinnata (Karanja), Sche-
leichera oleosa (Kusum), Shorea robusta (Sal) and Madhuca indica
(Mahua) are receiving more attention worldwide [10]. The oil
extracted from these seeds is about 25% and the remaining 75% is
the seed cake, a waste by-product. The de-oiled cakes of non-edible
nature are of no use, and disposed in the open land, because these
can neither be used as cattle feed nor directly in agricultural
farming, due to their toxic nature (i.e. presence of crucin, saponins
etc.). So, if these cakes are kept in an open environment, they would
create environmental problems, by generating various gases, such
as CH4 (methane), N2O (nitrous oxide), H2S (hydrogen sulfide),

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.05.106
0360-5442/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 D. Barik, S. Murugan / Energy 72 (2014) 760e771
Table 1
Biogas yield and methane content in feed stocks [2e6].
Feed stock Biogas yield, m3/kg Methane, %
Cattle dung 0.297 55
Pig manure 0.40 65
Straw 0.341 51
Municipal solid waste 0.308 60
Jatropha curcas de-oiled cake 0.640 66.5
Pongamia pinnata de-oiled cake 0.738 62.5
Spent wash 0.65 58.7
Leaves 0.210 58
Wheat straw 0.432 59
NH3 (ammonia), CO2 (carbon dioxide) and VOCs (volatile organic
compounds), by the action of various microorganisms. The utili-
zation of such de-oiled cakes is a challenge today. In recent years,
anaerobic digestion technology has gained importance, especially
for biomass wastes [11]. The production of biogas from de-oiled
cakes would be the best solution for its efficient utilization.
Biogas is a carbon neutral gaseous fuel, because it can be derived
from nature's photosynthetic products, giving zero addition of
greenhouse gases to the environment [3,12]. As the biogas is in a
gaseous form and a low cetane fuel, it can be used in CI
(compression ignition) engines in the dual fuel mode [13]. Many
researchers have studied the combustion, performance and the
emission characteristics of engines fueled with both gaseous and
liquid fuels in dual fuel mode [14e19]. In a dual fuel engine, after
the compression of the charge, comprising the inducted fuel and
air, a small amount of diesel, called the pilot fuel is injected into the
engine. This injected pilot fuel gets self-ignited and becomes the
ignition source for the inducted fuel [15]. The main advantage of a
dual fuel engine is that, it can run with a wide variety of liquid and
gaseous fuel without any major engine modifications [16].
Duc and Wattanavichien [20] gave an overview of several
studies on the engine performance of diesel and dual fuel operation
with biogas, which is not conclusive. The overview revealed that,
some research works indicated an increase, some a decrease, and
some reported no difference of performance in comparison with
diesel operation. These seemingly contradictory results are the
consequence of the combustion timing, which is affected by both
the operating conditions and the fuel choice. Cacua et al. [21] re-
ported that, the ignition delay is a critical parameter to control the
performance and emissions of a biogas fueled dual fuel engine.
Nathan et al. [22] reported that, the biogas dual fuel engines
generally exhibit low thermal efficiency, due to the presence of CO2.
At lower loads, the biogas addition results in a decrease (up to 10%)
in the thermal efficiency, depending on the biogas quality (CH4/CO2
ratios), but it hardly matters, at higher loads [13]. Moreover, as the
compression ratio increases, the brake mean effective pressure and
the brake thermal efficiency increase. At a higher compression ra-
tio, the combustion temperature becomes higher, causing more NO
emission [23]. Karim [18,19] claimed that the dual fuel operation
results in a higher power output, better specific fuel consumption,
superior emissions, and quieter and smoother operation.
The main objectives of the experimental investigation were to
produce, and characterize the biogas obtained from P. pinnata de-
oiled cake, through the anaerobic digestion carried out in a
floating dome type digester. Also, the aim was to evaluate the
combustion, performance and emission characteristics of a DI
diesel engine running in the dual fuel mode. For dual fuel operation,
the biogas at four different flow rates, viz., 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/
h and 1.2 kg/h was inducted through the suction, and diesel was
injected as a pilot fuel. Finally, the results obtained from the dual
fuel operation were compared with those of diesel operation, and
presented in this paper.
761
2. Methodologies and experimental details
2.1. Biogas production
Anaerobic digestion is a commonly used method for the
biochemical treatment of organic waste materials, due to its sta-
bilization and higher performance in volume reduction. It is a
biochemical degradation process, in which biodegradable organic
matter is decomposed by bacteria forming gaseous by-products
(biogas). These gaseous by-products consist of methane, carbon
dioxide, and traces of other gases. Anaerobic digestion is a complex
process, which can be divided into four stages: (i) hydrolysis, (ii)
acidogenesis, (iii) acetogenesis or dehydrogenation, and (iv)
methanation. In the first stage, the hydrolyzing microorganisms
convert the polymers and monomers into acetate, hydrogen, and
some amount of VFA (volatile fatty acids), such as butyrate and
propionate. Then, a complex consortium of hydrolytic microor-
ganisms excretes the elements of the organic materials, such as
cellulose, cellobiase, xylanase, lipase, protease and amylase into
amino acids, and long chain fatty acids. The higher VFA that are
formed by hydrolyzing microorganisms are again converted into
acetate and hydrogen, by obligate hydrogen producing acetogenic
bacteria. These bacteria, typically characterized as homoacetogenic
are named as Acetobacterium woodii and Clostridium aceticum. The
metabolism of the acetogenic bacteria is inhibited rapidly by the
hydrogen accumulation. Therefore, it is essential to maintain an
extremely low partial pressure of hydrogen inside the digester, for
the survival of the acetogenic and hydrogen producing bacteria. The
daily biogas production can also be increased by adding hydrogen
producing bacteria to the digester feed slurry [24,25]. At the end of
the biochemical degradation process, two groups of bacteria pro-
duce CH4, CO2 and hydrogen from acetate. And, only a few species,
e.g., Methanosarcina barkeri, Metanonococcus mazei, and Methano-
trix soehngenii are able to degrade acetate into CH4 and CO2,
whereas all other bacteria use the hydrogen to form CH4 [26].
Biodiesel production from non-edible oil seeds such as P. pinnata
and J. curcas is of primary importance in a country like India. The
use of edible oil for biodiesel production is not encouraged, because
of less production and heavy dependence on import. P. pinnata is
abundantly found along the banks of rivers and tidal forests in In-
dia. It is reported that about 0.145 million metric tons/year of P.
pinnata seeds are produced annually [6,27]. The de-oiled cakes of
such non-edible oil seeds from the expeller units will be disposed
in a considerable quantity, which may cause severe land pollution.
These de-oiled cakes can be converted into useful energy, either by
biochemical or thermo chemical processes. In this investigation,
biogas was produced from the de-oiled cakes of P. pinnata in a
floating dome type digester. Fig. 1 shows the schematic diagram of
the floating dome type biogas plant.
The floating dome biogas plant consisted of two parts; digester
(part A) and gas holder (part B), and both were made up of PVC
(polyvinyl chloride) material. The diameter of the digester was
0.25 m more than that of the gas holder (diameter 1.10 m). The
detailed specifications of the biogas plant are given in Table 2. The gas
holder was placed inversely over the digester for collecting the biogas
from the slurry. The gas holder always floated over the slurry, and a
12 mm hose pipe was connected from the gas holder to the engine
experimental setup, for carrying the biogas. The feed stock used for
the experiment was P. pinnata de-oiled cake, with cow dung in the
proportion of 25%:75% on a mass basis. The measured quantities of P.
pinnata de-oiled cake (3 kg/day) and cow dung were taken, and
mixed with water in the ratio of 1:3.5 and 1:1 for feeding the digester.
The physical parameters of the feed stock are given in Table 3. The
total volume of the inoculum formed (de-oiled cake þ cow
dung þ water) was measured with a cylindrical vertical measuring
762 D. Barik, S. Murugan / Energy 72 (2014) 760e771

inoculum increased to 6.9, and then it remained constant. The

digester was able to produce biogas after the HRT of 10e12 days,
and during the digestion period the ambient temperature was
30e37  C.
The cost analysis for a biogas plant is an important parameter for
calculating biogas production economics. The costs involved in the
operation are basically of two types (A) fixed cost (B) variable cost.
The cost analysis of biogas production is given below;

(A) Fixed cost calculation

Cost of digester ¼ ` 10,500.00

Cost of gas holder ¼ ` 7,000.00
Cost of tubes ¼ ` 900.00
Cost of assembly ¼ ` 300.00
The total fixed cost ¼ ` 10,500.00 þ ` 7,000.00 þ
` 900.00 þ ` 300.00 ¼ ` 18,700.00

(B) Variable cost calculation

The P. pinnata de-oiled cake and cow dung feed quantity to the
digester are 3 kg/day and 9 kg/day respectively.
The price for per kg of P. pinnata de-oiled cake ¼ ` 10.00
The price for per kg of cow dung ¼ ` 2.00
The cost of the P. pinnata de-oiled cake feed per day ¼ 3 kg 
` 10.00 ¼ ` 30.00
The cost of the cow dung feed per day ¼ 9 kg  ` 2.00 ¼ ` 18.00
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of biogas plant. Total cost of feed stock per day ¼ ` 30.00 þ ` 18.00 ¼ ` 48.00
The daily biogas production quantity is 0.5 m3/day. Hence for
producing 1 m3 of biogas the daily expenditure is ` 96.00.
Table 2
Specifications of biogas plant.

Specifications Details 2.2. Test fuel properties

Plant type Floating dome
Digester diameter, m 1.35 The biogas obtained from the anaerobic digestion of P. pinnata
Digester height, m 1.265 de-oiled cake was characterized to find the physical properties and
Gas holder diameter, m 1.10
elemental composition. The properties of the biogas obtained from
Gas holder height, m 1.225
Operating temperature range,  C 10e59 the P. pinnata de-oiled cakes are compared with those of biogas
Total volume of digester, m3 1.81 produced from cow dung, and are given in Table 4.
Total volume of gasholder, m3 1.16 A comparison of the gas constituents of the biogas obtained
Effective volume of digester, m3 1.35 from the P. pinnata de-oiled cakes and some of the commonly
Effective volume of gas holder, m3 0.95
HRT, days Min 4e12
available feed stocks are given in Table 5. The properties of diesel
are given in Table 6. During the experiment, the diesel consumption

tube, and poured inside the digester. The pH of the inoculum was Table 4
measured with the help of a pH meter (model Crison 20, range Properties of biogas produced from Pongamia pinnata cake and cow dung.
1e14). The initial pH of the inoculum (at day 1) was found to be 5.6, Properties Test method Pongamia pinnata Cow dung
and it was slowly increased up to a HRT (hydraulic retention time) of cake þ cow dung
12 days. It was observed that, after the HRT of 12 days the pH of the Lower heating ASTM D 1945 27.53 17.2
value, MJ/kg
Density at 1 atm @ ASTM D 3588 1.2 1.31
15  C, kg/m3
Table 3 Flame speed, m/s ASTM D 7424 25 21
Different physical parameters of the feed stock used. Stoichiometric A/F, kg of ASTM D 4891 17.23 15.3
air/kg of fuel
Specifications Details
Flammability limits, ASTM D 6793 7.5e14 7.5e11.7
Feed stock used Pongamia seed cake vol.% in air
(25%) þ cow dung (75%) Octane number ASTM D 2699 130 110
TS (total solid) in feed stock, % 41.62 Auto-ignition e 600e650 640e670
VS (volatile solid) in feed stock, % 36.82 temperature,  C
C/N ratio of feed stock 24.74:1 Energy content, kW/m3 ASTM D 4868 6.0e6.5 4.5e5.3
Concentration/pH of slurry 5.6e7.3 Fuel equivalent, e 0.6e0.65 0.42e0.5
Seed cake: water ratio 1:3.5 L oil/m3 biogas
Cow dung: water ratio 1:1 Explosion limits, % in air ASTM E 582 6e12 6e9
Pongamia seed cake feed rate, kg/day 3 Critical pressure, bar e 75e89 70e85
Cow dung feed rate, kg/day 9 Critical temperature,  C e 82.5 80.1
Daily biogas production, m3/day Max 0.48e0.52 Boiling point,  C ASTM D 1835 120 to 150 130 to 162
 D. Barik, S. Murugan / Energy 72 (2014) 760e771 763

Table 5
Comparison of the gas constituents of biogas obtained from Pongamia pinnata and other feed stocks.

Gas constituents Pongamia pinnata þ cow dung, % vol. Cow dung, % vol. Jatropha curcas, % vol. Municipal solid waste, % vol. [23]

CO2 17.37 25e30 20e30 20e40

O2 1.5 0e3 1e2 <1
CnH2nþ2 Nil e e <1
CO Nil e e e
H2 1.4 0e1 0e1 e
CH4 73 50e70 60e68 40e60
N2 6.5 0e10 1e15 2e20
H2S 0.23 0e3 0e2 40e100 ppm

was varied with the load, by the conventional governor control
mechanism, while, the flow rate of biogas was kept constant for a
specific operating module.
2.3. Experimental setup
The schematic diagram of the experimental engine setup is
shown in Fig. 2. In this investigation, a constant speed, stationary,
single cylinder, four stroke, air cooled, direct injection diesel engine,
with a rated power output of 4.4 kW at 1500 rpm, was modified to
operate as a dual fuel engine, using biogas and diesel as the primary
and injected fuels respectively. Table 7 gives the specifications of
the test engine used. For loading the engine an electrical dyna-
mometer (Make: Kirloskar, WHD10075, ACG), with a maximum
brake power of 6 kW was coupled with the engine shaft. The
dynamometer was loaded with the help of a resistive load bank.
The air consumption by the engine was measured with a dif-
ferential pressure sensor fitted in the air box. This sensor measured
the pressure difference before and after the orifice plate, and gave a
proportional voltage output with respect to the pressure pulses. A
surge tank was used to damp out the pulsations produced by the
engine, for ensuring a steady flow of air through the intake mani-
fold. The engine exhaust gas temperature was measured with a K-
type thermocouple fitted in the exhaust manifold. An infrared light
sensor was used to sense the crank angle position. The in-cylinder
pressure at each crank angle was measured with a quartz piezo-
electric pressure transducer (Make: KISTLER, Model: 5395A)
mounted on the engine cylinder head and was coupled to a charge
amplifier. In each test module, the combustion pressure was
measured over a sampling interval of 0.6 crank angle by the data
acquisition system, to ensure accurate ignition timing and heat
release at a specific crank angle. The cylinder pressure vs. crank
angle data was analyzed under the frame work of the first law of
thermodynamics to obtain the maximum heat release rate. A
twenty two channel signal analyzer was used for data acquisition,
and the acquired data was transferred through the ethernet cable,
and stored in a personal computer for offline analysis. A non-
contact type sensor was mounted near the flywheel of the engine
to measure the engine speed.
The fuel measuring system consisted of a vertical burette
(30 cm3) fitted with two optical sensors; one was at a higher level
sensor gave an input to the data acquisition system from which, the
time taken for the consumption of fuel for a fixed volume was
calculated at a particular load. The biogas collected in the gas holder
was supplied to the engine by a hose pipe (diameter: 12 mm). The
gas was then compressed in a low pressure compressor to a pres-
sure of about 1.5 bar, to ensure a steady flow into the intake
manifold during the suction stroke of the engine. The flow rate of
biogas to the engine in each operating condition was measured
with a biogas flow meter (Make: Siya, Model: SI10), attached before
the mixing kit between the intake manifold and the compressor. A
multi-hole gas mixing kit was attached to the intake manifold, for
ensuring proper air and biogas mixture supply to the engine.
The engine exhaust emission measurements without catalytic
treatment were done with a gas analyzer, which measured the
unburnt hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide
(CO2) and nitric oxide (NO) emissions. The HC, CO and CO2 emis-
sions were measured based on the NDIR (non-dispersive infrared)
principle, and the NO emission was measured with the help of an
electro chemical sensor. The HC and NO emissions were measured
in ppm (parts per million), and the CO and CO2 were measured in
percentage volume. The smoke opacity of the engine exhaust was
measured with a diesel smoke meter (AVL 437C). This smoke meter
works on the principle of the Hartridge smoke meter, and
measured the smoke opacity of the engine exhaust.
2.4. Instrument details and uncertainty
The details of measurement method, range, accuracy and uncer-
tainty of each instrument used in this experiment are given in Table 8.
For each engine operating mode, i.e. normal diesel and dual fuel
operation, three sets of measurements were taken for ensuring
repeatability, and the values reported for all the measured param-
eters were the mean from these three measurements. This esti-
mates the relevant measuring error. To estimate the accuracy of the
measurements, the coefficient of variance for each measured
parameter was determined. This represents the standard deviation
of each magnitude as a percentage of its mean value. The evalua-
tions of some unknown uncertainties from some known physical
quantities were obtained, using the following general equation [28].
" #1
Xn  2
UY 1 vY
2

¼ Uxi (1)
and the other was at a lower level (the higher to lower level Y i¼1
y vxi
effective measurement volume was 20 cm3). The optical fuel level
In the equation cited, Y is the physical parameter that is
Table 6 dependent on the parameter, xi. The symbol UY denotes the un-
Properties of diesel. certainty in Y. For this analysis, 14 sets of readings were taken in the
Properties Test method Values same engine operating condition, and as a result, the maximum
overall uncertainty of the experiment obtained was ±2.201%.
Specific gravity, @ 15  C ASTM D 4052 0.83
Lower heating value, MJ/kg ASTM D 4809 43.8
Flash point,  C ASTM D 93 50 2.5. Biogas energy share
Fire point,  C ASTM D 93 56
Kinematic viscosity, @ 40  C, cSt ASTM D 445 2.58 In dual fuel operation, the energy share of the primary gaseous
Cetane number ASTM D 613 50
fuel is an important parameter for analyzing the premixed lean
764 D. Barik, S. Murugan / Energy 72 (2014) 760e771

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the experimental engine setup.

combustion. In order to generate a certain amount of power, both and,

the primary fuel (biogas) and pilot fuel (diesel) contributes energy. _ biogas  CVbiogas
m
During combustion, the consumption of the primary fuel remains energy equivalent of biogas ¼ (4)
3600
unchanged with the change in load, while the pilot fuel con-
sumption varies with the load. The energy share by a fuel strongly where, m _ diesel and m
_ biogas are the mass flow rate of diesel and
depends on the calorific value and rate of fuel consumption. The biogas, CV is the calorific value of the fuel used. The energy share of
energy share in the dual fuel operation is defined as the ratio of diesel and biogas at biogas flow rate of 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h
energy supplied by the primary fuel, to the sum of the energy and 1.2 kg/h is given in Table 9.
supplied by the primary fuel and the pilot fuel. The biogas energy The variation of biogas induction quantity with biogas energy
share is quantified by Eq. (2). share is depicted in Fig. 3. It can be observed from the figure that,

Energy equivalent of biogas

Biogas energy share ¼  100 (2)
Energy equivalent of ðdiesel þ biogasÞ

where, the biogas energy share is low at full load, while the energy share is
high at no load, for all the flow rates of biogas in dual fuel operation.
_ diesel  CVdiesel
m This is due to more diesel consumption at relatively high load than
energy equivalent of diesel ¼ (3)
3600 that of no load. The biogas flow rate of 1.2 kg/h gives the maximum
energy share in comparison with the other flow rates throughout
the load spectrum. At full load, the biogas flow rates of 0.3 kg/h,
0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h and 1.2 kg/h gives energy shares of about 14.8%,
Table 7
26.6%, 36.9% and 43.9% respectively.
Specifications of the test engine.

Description Values 3. Results and discussion

Bore, cm 8.75
Stroke, cm 11 3.1. Combustion analysis
Displacement volume, cm3 662
Compression ratio 17.5:1 The cylinder pressure history and HRR (heat release rate), with
Number of holes in nozzle 3
respect to the crank angle at full load for both diesel and dual fuel
Nozzle opening pressure, bar 200
Injection timing,  CA bTDC (before top dead centre) 23 operation, are depicted in Fig. 4.
Inlet valve open,  CA bTDC 4.5 It can be observed from the figure that, in the dual fuel mode the
Inlet valve close,  CA aBDC (after bottom dead centre) 35.5 start of combustion is overall delayed by about 2e3 CA, compared
Exhaust valve open,  CA bBDC (before bottom dead centre) 35.5 to that of diesel operation at full load. This is due to the presence of
Exhaust valve close,  CA aTDC (after top dead centre) 4.5
CO2 (17%) in the biogas, and the higher auto-ignition temperature
 D. Barik, S. Murugan / Energy 72 (2014) 760e771 765

Table 8
Instrumentation details.

Instruments Measurement Range Accuracy Uncertainty, %

Load cell Load on engine by dynamometer 250e6000, W ±10, W ±0.2

Temperature indicator Inducted air, biogas and exhaust gas temperature 0e900,  C ±1,  C ±0.15
Burette Fuel consumption 1e30, cm3 ±0.2, cm3 ±0.5
Air flow meter Air consumption 0.5e50, m3/min ±0.1, m3/min ±0.5
Biogas flow meter Biogas consumption 0.1e25, m3/min ±0.1, m3/min ±0.02
Speed sensor Engine speed 0e10,000, rpm ±10, rpm ±1
Charge amplifier Charge-to-voltage conversion e ±1, % ±0.1
Pressure transducer In-cylinder pressure 0e110, bar ±0.1, bar ±0.15
Crank angle encoder Crank angle 0e720,  CA ±0.6,  CA ±0.01
Data acquisition system Analog-to-digital converter of waves 64, bit ±0.1, bit ±0.001
Smoke meter Smoke density 0e100, % ±1, % ±1
Exhaust gas analyzer Nitric oxide emission (NO) 0e5000, ppm ±50, ppm ±1
Hydrocarbon emission (HC) 0e20,000, ppm ±10, ppm ±0.5
Carbon monoxide emission (CO) 0e10, % ±0.03, % ±0.03
Over all uncertainty e e ±2.201

of the biogas. The peak cylinder pressure depends mainly on the The rate of heat release at each crank angle for diesel operation
rate of combustion in the initial stages, which is influenced by the was determined from the following correlation derived from the
fuel intake components, in the uncontrolled heat release phase first law of thermodynamics [32]:
[29]. For diesel, the peak cylinder pressure is about 64.9 bar, which
occurred at 6.7 CA aTDC, whereas, for dual fuel operation the peak dU
cylinder pressures of 71.6 bar, 73.9 bar, 74.6 bar and 75.8 bar
_ ¼ Q_
þW (5)
dt
occurred at 6.4 CA aTDC, 6.9 CA aTDC, 8.6 CA aTDC and 10.6 CA
aTDC, for the biogas flow rates of 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h and where W _ is the rate of work done by the system due to the system
1.2 kg/h respectively, at full load. The reason for the higher peak boundary displacement (J). Q_ is the net heat generated (J) (com-
cylinder pressure in the dual fuel operation than that of diesel is bination of heat release rate and heat transfer across the cylinder
due to the induction of biogas with the intake-air charge brings wall). Considering the ideal gas condition with the unit mass sys-
about a decrease and dilution of oxygen concentration, which may tem, Eq. (5) can be represented as:
cause ignition delay to extend, leading to a higher rate of increase in
pressure in the premixed combustion phase [20]. It is observed that  
Cv dV Cv dP
the presence of CO2 in biogas did not significantly affect the Q_ ¼ þ1 P þ V (6)
R dt R dt
maximum cylinder pressure, but the ignition and peak cylinder
pressure occurred little later and shifts some degrees toward the Replacing time (t) with crank angle (q), and Cp =Cv ¼ g, the
expansion process [30,31]. equation becomes

Table 9
Energy share of diesel and dual fuel operations.

Mode of operation Load, % Brake power, Mass of Mass of Energy equivalent Energy equivalent Diesel energy Biogas energy
kW diesel, kg/h biogas, kg/h of diesel, kW of biogas, kW share, % share, %

Diesel 0 0 0.484 e 5.88 e 100 e

25 1.14 0.613 e 7.45 e 100 e
50 2.36 0.796 e 9.68 e 100 e
75 3.54 1.033 e 12.56 e 100 e
100 4.38 1.186 e 14.42 e 100 e
Diesel þ biogas 0.3 kg/h 0 0 0.417 0.3 5.08 2.29 68.9 31.1
25 1.14 0.577 0.3 7.02 2.29 75.3 24.7
50 2.36 0.768 0.3 9.34 2.29 80.2 19.8
75 3.54 0.990 0.3 12.04 2.29 83.1 16.9
100 4.38 1.085 0.3 13.2 2.29 85.2 14.8
Diesel þ biogas 0.6 kg/h 0 0 0.389 0.6 4.73 4.58 50.8 49.2
25 1.14 0.546 0.6 6.64 4.58 59.1 40.9
50 2.36 0.742 0.6 9.03 4.58 66.3 33.7
75 3.54 0.983 0.6 11.96 4.58 71.2 28.8
100 4.38 1.041 0.6 12.66 4.58 73.4 26.6
Diesel þ biogas 0.9 kg/h 0 0 0.355 0.9 4.32 6.88 38.5 61.5
25 1.14 0.502 0.9 6.11 6.88 47.1 52.9
50 2.36 0.711 0.9 8.66 6.88 55.7 44.3
75 3.54 0.960 0.9 11.68 6.88 61.3 38.7
100 4.38 0.971 0.9 11.81 6.88 63.1 36.9
Diesel þ biogas 1.2 kg/h 0 0 0.304 1.2 3.70 9.17 28.7 71.3
25 1.14 0.466 1.2 5.67 9.17 38.2 61.8
50 2.36 0.621 1.2 7.56 9.17 45.2 54.8
75 3.54 0.924 1.2 11.24 9.17 52.8 47.2
100 4.38 0.963 1.2 11.71 9.17 56.1 43.9
766 D. Barik, S. Murugan / Energy 72 (2014) 760e771

1.5 ðLHVÞbiogas ¼ s LHVCH4 þ LHVH2

Biogas: 0.3kg/h, 0.6kg/h,
0.9kg/h, 1.2kg/h

1.2 HRR$s LHVCH4 þ LHVH2

mf ¼

(10)
Biogas induction, kg/h

ð1  HRRÞ$LHVdiesel þ s HRR LHVCH4 þ LHVH2

0.9
m_ CH4 þ m _ H2
¼ (11)
_ CH4 þ m
m _ CO2 þ m _ H2
0.6
Load 0%
Load 25% where s is the quality of intake mixture to the engine and m _ is the
0.3 Load 50% mass flow rate in kg/h.
Load 75% The heat release rate in the premixed combustion phase de-
Load 100% pends on the ignition delay, mixture formation, and the combus-
0 tion rate in the initial stages of combustion [33]. It can be observed
0 15 30 45 60 75 from Fig. 4 that, the maximum rate of heat release is noticed in the
Biogas energy share, % dual fuel operation than that of diesel operation. This may be due to
Fig. 3. Variation of biogas induction quantity with biogas energy share. the increased accumulation of fuel during the relatively longer
delay period and the combined effect of the combustion of pilot fuel
and gaseous fuel in the immediate vicinity of the ignition and
combustion centers of the pilot fuel, which modifies and extends
g dV 1 dP significantly the flammability zone around the pilot fuel [17,19,34].
Q_ ¼ P þ V (7)
g  1 dq g  1 dq The occurrence of the heat release rate is found to be delayed in the
dual fuel operation, than that of diesel. This is due to the induction
where g is the ratio of specific heat, P is the instantaneous cylinder of biogas, which has a higher specific heat and presence of 17% CO2
pressure (N/m2), and V is the instantaneous cylinder volume (m3). in it, causes retarded combustion [17,35]. The maximum heat
The instantaneous cylinder volume can be obtained from the en- release for diesel occurred at about 8.5 CA aTDC, whereas, in dual
gine geometry and crank angle values. fuel operation, with the biogas flow rates of 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h,
The heat release rate in dual fuel combustion is basically 0.9 kg/h and 1.2 kg/h, the maximum heat release occurred at 7.8 CA
dependent on the quality of the fuel mixture (diesel þ biogas þ air). aTDC, 8.4 CA aTDC, 10 CA aTDC and 11.6 CA aTDC respectively, at
Also, it depends on the mass flow rate and LHV (lower heating full load.
value) of both the liquid and gaseous fuels. The rate of heat release Fig. 5 depicts the variation of the ignition delay, maximum
in dual fuel operation can be expressed as follows [13]. cylinder pressure and combustion duration with engine load, in a
single plot for both diesel and dual fuel operation. The ignition
m $LHVdiesel delay (qd) is the time lag in the start of burning of fuel. This is mainly
HRR ¼  f  
 (8)
mf $LHVdiesel þ s 1  mf $ LHVCH4 þ LHVH2 influenced by parameters, such as fuel type, fuel quality, airefuel
ratio, engine speed, fuel atomization quality, inducted air temper-
ature, compression ratio, and pressure [29].
mf $LHVdiesel The ignition delay for dual fuel operation is basically dependent
¼ (9)
LHVdieselþbiogas on the availability of oxygen in the air. Considering the oxygen
concentration, the ignition delay can be expressed as [14,36]:
where mf is the mass fraction of fuel in the fuel mixture, HRR is the " !
heat release rate, and LHV is the lower heating value of the fuel (kJ/ k
1 1
kg). Here, in Eq. (8), hydrogen (H2) is considered, because the biogas qd ¼CðOdual Þ $ 0:36þ0:22Mps exp EA ! n1  17;190
RTm ð r c Þ
used for this experiment contains a small amount of hydrogen  0:63 #
(H2 ¼ 1.4% vol.), which also takes part in the combustion, giving 21:2
þ
some heat energy. The LHV and mf were calculated as follows: Pm ðrc Þn 12:4
(12)
100 110 C, k, Odual are the modified coefficients, Mps is the mean piston
Diesel
Diesel+biogas 0.3 kg/h speed in m/s, R is the universal gas constant (8.314 kJ/kg K) and EA is
Diesel+biogas 0.6 kg/h 90 the activation energy.
80
Heat release rate, J/oCA

Diesel+biogas 0.9 kg/h

Diesel+biogas 1.2 kg/h  
Cylinder pressure, bar

70 618; 840
EA ¼ kJ=kg (13)
60 Cetane number þ 25
50
Tm (K) and Pm (bar) are the mean temperature and mean pres-
40 sure of air þ biogas in the inlet manifold respectively and n is the
30
polytropic index.
20
10 
Of
Odual ¼   dual fuel
(14)
0 -10 Of
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 diesel
Crank angle, degree
where Of is the oxygen mole fraction, (Of)dual fuel is the oxygen mole
Fig. 4. Variation of cylinder pressure and heat release rate with crank angle at full load. fraction in biogas and air in the dual fuel mode, and (Of)diesel is the
 D. Barik, S. Murugan / Energy 72 (2014) 760e771 767

19 delay, lead to increase in cylinder pressure in the premixed

Diesel
combustion phase [30,38].
Ignition delay, oCA

Diesel+biogas 0.3 kg/h

17 Diesel+biogas 0.6 kg/h The combustion duration is defined as the angle interval be-
Diesel+biogas 0.9 kg/h tween 10% mass burned and 90% mass burned, of the accumulated
15 Diesel+biogas 1.2 kg/h heat release. It can be observed from the figure that, the combus-
tion duration increases with an increase in the engine load, owing
13 to the increase in fuel quantity [39]. The combustion duration for
diesel is 37.4 CA. In dual fuel operation the combustion duration of
11 39 CA, 39.5 CA, 40.4 CA and 42.1 CA is observed with biogas flow
80 rates of 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h and 1.2 kg/h respectively, at full
load. The combustion duration in the dual fuel operation increases
Maximum cylinder

with the increase in the biogas flow rate. This is due to the inducted
pressure, bar

70
biogas, alters the physical properties of the charge being com-
pressed, and reduces the oxygen concentration in the charge
60 mixture, causes slower diffusion combustion, which results pro-
longed combustion duration [40]. In addition, biogas causes a
50 slower rate of burning of the pilot fuel, as it contains about 17% CO2.
In both diesel and dual fuel operation, longer combustion duration
45
is noticed, at full load than that of no load, is due to the con-
duration, oCA
Combustion

35
25
15
0 25 50 75
Engine load, %
Fig. 5. Variation of ignition delay, maximum cylinder pressure and combustion
duration with engine load.
oxygen mole fraction in diesel operation. The oxygen mole fraction
is given by: Of ¼ Mair =4:76ðMmixture Þ, where, the mole fraction (M)
of the mixture is:
Mmixture ¼ Mair þ Mbiogas þ Mexh:gas
From the figure, it can be observed that, the ignition delay is
found to decrease with an increase in the engine load. This is due to
the increase in the combustion chamber temperature [32]. The
ignition delay for diesel is found to be about 11.8 CA, whereas, in
dual fuel operation it is longer by about 2e3 CA at full load. The
longer ignition delay is due to the induction of biogas through the
intake manifold, reduces the oxygen concentration in the air-fuel
mixture and alters the pre-ignition property of the charge [36]. In
addition to this, the influence of high stoichiometric air require-
ment for the biogas, causes prolonged ignition delay in the dual fuel
combustion strategy [17,37].
It can be observed from the figure that, the cylinder pressure
increases with an increase in the engine load, as expected. The
maximum cylinder pressure for diesel is about 64.9 bar and for
dual fuel operation it is 71.6 bar, 73.9 bar, 74.6 bar, and 75.8 bar for
the biogas flow rates of 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h and 1.2 kg/h
respectively, at full load. This increase in the maximum cylinder
pressure in the dual fuel operation is due to the induction of
biogas with the intake-air charge brings about a decrease and
dilution of oxygen concentration, which may cause longer ignition
sumption of more fuel at relatively high load [17,30]. The values for
ignition delay, maximum cylinder pressure, maximum HRR and
combustion duration at full load, for diesel and dual fuel operation
is given in Table 10.
100 3.2. Performance analysis
Fig. 6 depicts the comparison of the performance parameters for
diesel and dual fuel operation, with respect to engine load in a
single plot.
It can be observed from the figure that, a higher BSFC (brake
specific fuel consumption) is noticed in the dual fuel operation than
that of diesel at part loads. This is due to the lower energy density of
biogas, lower cylinder temperature, and the presence of CO2 in
biogas prevents faster burning [21]. The difference in BSFC between
(15) diesel and dual fuel operation are not significantly different at high
operating loads. At full load the dual fuel operation has similar fuel-
energy conversion efficiency to that of diesel [41]. Because, less
energy from the fuel is required at full load compared to no load,
due to the increased cylinder temperature at full load [42,43]. At
full load, the BSFC for diesel is 0.27 kg/kWh, and in dual fuel
operation, with biogas flow rates of 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h and
1.2 kg/h, the BSFC is 0.32 kg/kWh, 0.37 kg/kWh, 0.43 kg/kWh and
0.49 kg/kWh respectively.
It can be observed from the figure that, the BTE (brake thermal
efficiency) in the dual fuel operation is found to be lower than that
of diesel operation throughout the load spectrum. At full load, the
BTE of diesel is 30.3%, and in dual fuel operation, with the biogas
flow rates of 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h and 1.2 kg/h, the BTE is
28.2%, 25.3%, 24.1% and 21.1% respectively. In dual fuel operation a
drop in BTE of 2.1%, 5%, 6.2% and 9.2% is observed with biogas flow
rates of 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h and 1.2 kg/h respectively, than
that of diesel at full load. This reduction in the BTE is due to the
deficiency of oxygen caused by induction of biogas through the
intake manifold. Deficiency of oxygen causes incomplete com-
bustion and subsequent decrease in converting the input fuel en-
ergy, results higher total fuel flow rate during the combustion

Table 10
Combustion parameters of diesel and dual fuel operation at full load.

Parameters Diesel Diesel þ biogas 0.3 kg/h Diesel þ biogas 0.6 kg/h Diesel þ biogas 0.9 kg/h Diesel þ biogas 1.2 kg/h

Ignition delay,  CA 11.8 12.4 12.6 12.7 13.3

Maximum cylinder pressure, bar 64.9 71.6 73.9 74.6 75.8
Maximum HRR, J/ CA 42.5 49.7 51.1 53.2 55.1
Combustion duration,  CA 37.4 39.0 39.5 40.4 42.1
768 D. Barik, S. Murugan / Energy 72 (2014) 760e771

2 ! !
Diesel m_ air þ m_ biogas m_ air
½hvol dual fuel ¼ 
BSFC, kg/kWh

Diesel+biogas 0.3 kg/h

1.6 Diesel+biogas 0.6 kg/h rðairþbiogasÞ $Vd $CPS _ air þ m
m _ biogas
1.2
Diesel+biogas 0.9 kg/h  
Diesel+biogas 1.2 kg/h rairþbiogas
  100
0.8 rair
0.4 (16)

0 where rairþbiogas is the density of air and biogas at ambient condi-

40 tion, Vd is the displacement volume of the cylinder, and CPS is the
Brake thermal

number of cycles per second ¼ ðrpm=2  60Þ. Generally, in dual

efficiency, %

30 fuel operation, the volumetric efficiency decreases with an increase

20 in the biogas fraction. But, it is assumed, that the total volume flow
rate of air þ biogas mixture to the engine through the intake
10 manifold, remains constant.
From the figure, it can be observed that, the volumetric efficiency
0 of diesel operation is found to be higher than that of the dual fuel
89 operation. The volumetric efficiency of diesel is found to be 86.2%,
efficiency, %

whereas, the volumetric efficiency of biogas at flow rates of 0.3 kg/h,

Volumetric

86 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h and 1.2 kg/h is 84.7%, 84%, 82.6% and 81.9%
respectively, at full load. This reduction in volumetric efficiency in
83 dual fuel operation is due to the induction of biogas with air through
the intake manifold, replaces some amount of fresh air. Also,
80 another reason may be the increase in the inducted air temperature,
0.6 as a result of the hot cylinder wall, that reduces air density [45].
Diesel replaced,

It is apparent from the figure that, the diesel replacement in-

0.4 creases with an increase in the biogas quantity. This is due to the
kg/h

biogas energy conversion into work, leading to a considerable

0.2 improvement in the heat release. But, as the load increases, the
diesel replacement quantity has a declining trend. This is due to the
0 higher thermal load imposed on the engine at higher loads, which
350 inhibits more diesel consumption thereby reducing the replace-
ment quantity. At full load, the diesel replacement of about
temperature, oC
Exhaust gas

0.101 kg/h, 0.145 kg/h, 0.215 kg/h and 0.223 kg/h is possible with
270
biogas at the flow rates of 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h and 1.2 kg/h
respectively.
190
The variation of engine exhaust gas temperature with engine
load is illustrated in Fig. 6. It is observed that, diesel shows the
110 highest value of exhaust gas temperature among all the fuels tested
0 25 50 75 100 in this experiment, throughout the load spectrum. The exhaust gas
Engine load, % temperature of diesel at full load is 344.8  C. The exhaust gas
Fig. 6. Variation of performance parameters for diesel and dual fuel operation with temperature is marginally lower in the dual fuel operation
load. compared to that of diesel, throughout the load spectrum. This is
due to the dilution of charge by the CO2 present in the biogas, and
reduced flame propagation speed of pilot fuel causing incomplete
process. Similar trend for drop in BTE is also observed by Paul et al. combustion lowers the exhaust gas temperature [17]. In addition to
[44]. Also, another reason may be the decreased flame propagation this, the inducted biogas get hot to auto ignite during the com-
speed and increased negative compression work, which in turn, bustion process, and absorbs the heat energy, which decreases the
are caused by the induction of a large quantity of airebiogas local flame temperature, leading to a reduction in the exhaust gas
mixture [30]. temperature. Dual fuel operation with the biogas flow rate of
The volumetric efficiency (hvol) in diesel operation is the ratio of 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h and 1.2 kg/h gives a reduction in exhaust
the actual volume of air that is trapped by the cylinder, during gas temperature of 4%, 6.9%, 10.1% and 14.2% respectively, than that
suction over the swept volume of the cylinder. The volumetric ef- of diesel at full load. The detailed performance parameters for
ficiency for dual fuel operation is calculated from the following diesel and dual fuel operation at full load are summarized in
correlation [13]. Table 11.

Table 11
Performance parameters of diesel and dual fuel operation at full load.

Parameters Diesel Diesel þ biogas 0.3 kg/h Diesel þ biogas 0.6 kg/h Diesel þ biogas 0.9 kg/h Diesel þ biogas 1.2 kg/h

BSFC, kg/kWh 0.27 0.32 0.37 0.43 0.49

Brake thermal efficiency, % 30.3 28.2 25.3 24.1 21.1
Volumetric efficiency, % 86.2 84.7 84 82.6 81.9
Diesel replaced, kg/h Nil 0.101 0.145 0.215 0.223
Exhaust gas temperature,  C 344.8 330.2 320 309.8 295.2
 D. Barik, S. Murugan / Energy 72 (2014) 760e771 769

3.3. Emission analysis
Fig. 7 shows the comparison of the emission parameters with
engine load on a single plot, for both diesel and dual fuel operation.
The brake specific CO emission in the dual fuel operation is
considerably higher than that of diesel under all test conditions.
This is due to incomplete combustion caused by dilution of charge
by the CO2 present in biogas and deficiency of oxygen. Hence, the
flame formed in the ignition region of the pilot fuel is normally
suppressed, and does not proceed until the biogas fueleair mixture
reach a minimum limiting value for autoignition [46,47]. The CO
emission is higher by about 24% with biogas, at the flow rate of
1.2 kg/h at full load, in comparison with diesel, whereas, only 17%
increment in CO emission is observed with the biogas at the flow
rate of 0.9 kg/h at full load, compared with diesel. The poor mixture
formation of gaseous and liquid fuel may also be another reason for
the higher CO emission [48].
The concentration of brake specific HC emissions in dual fuel
operation is considerably higher than that of diesel, under all the
test conditions. The HC emission is found to be higher by about 41%
with biogas at the flow rate of 1.2 kg/h, whereas, 30% increment in
HC emission was observed with biogas at the flow rate of 0.9 kg/h in
comparison with diesel at full load. This higher HC emission is due
0.06 Diesel
Diesel+biogas 0.3 kg/h
CO emission,
to the incomplete combustion of the fuel. The biogas induction
through the intake manifold reduces the volume of inducted air;
hence, the combustion takes place with less oxygen resulting in
higher HC emission [47]. In addition to this, there are contributions
from the crevice volumes, in which the gaseair mixture is forced
during the compression stroke and then remains unburned [15].
The overlapping between the intake and exhaust valves to facilitate
scavenging might also cause an increase in HC emissions for dual
fuel combustion, because the unburned airebiogas mixture leaves
the cylinder through the exhaust manifold [49].
The NO formation is highly dependent on the combustion
temperature, availability of oxygen, compression ratio and the
retention time for the reaction. The concentration of the brake
specific NO emission is found to decrease steeply for all the test
conditions with an increase in the load. Lower NO emissions are
found in the dual fuel operation compared to that of diesel
throughout the load spectrum. This is due to the presence of CO2
having a high molar specific heat, dilutes the charge and lowers the
cycle temperature significantly. In addition, CO2 in biogas lowers
the oxygen concentration of the charge followed by overall
decrease in cycle temperature. Hence, the NO formation is sup-
pressed with the combined effect of these phenomena [50,51]. The
biogas induction at the flow rate of 1.2 kg/h lowers the NO emission
by about 42.8% at full load, compared to that of diesel.
The CO2 emission is an indication of complete combustion of
fuel in the combustion chamber with the presence of excess oxygen
[48]. The brake specific CO2 emission for all the test fuels shows a

Diesel+biogas 0.6 kg/h decreasing trend from no load to full load. Because, at no load the
0.04
g/kWh

Diesel+biogas 0.9 kg/h

Diesel+biogas 1.2 kg/h fuel consumption of the engine is found to be lower, compared to
that of full load and the availability of air in the combustion
0.02 chamber is sufficient enough to perform complete combustion,
which is quite impossible at full load. The dual fuel operation shows
0 a lower CO2 emission compared to diesel. This is due to the defi-
0.11 ciency of oxygen, lower combustion chamber temperature, and less
time for combustion, which leads to incomplete combustion,
HC emission,

0.08 causing less CO2 emission [15,52]. At full load, diesel exhibits a
g/kWh

higher CO2 emission of about 24% than that of dual fuel operation.
0.05 The smoke opacity is higher when a fuel's ratio of hydrogen to
carbon is less than two [53]. The smoke density in the case of dual
fuel operation is found to be less than that of diesel operation. This
0.02
is due to the absence of aromatic compounds in the biogas [17].
6
Also, the smoke density is strongly dependent on the amount of air
NO emission,

in the cylinder, as well as on the amount of oxygen in the fuel. It is

g/kWh

4 obvious that, the fuel composition affects the amount of smoke

produced by the engine. In dual fuel operation, some amount of
2 diesel is replaced by the biogas resulting in less smoke emission. In
general the reduction of smoke is attributed to flame temperature
0 reduction and increased oxidation of soot precursors in the soot
9 forming region by the enhanced concentration of O and OH around
CO2 emission,

the flame (resulting a high oxidation) produced from the CO2 in

g/kWh

6 biogas [17]. The CO2 concentration in the fuel causes a decrease in

overall cycle temperature, which has a positive (i.e. reduction)
3 impact on smoke formation and, at the same time, does not seem to
have an adverse (i.e. increase) effect on the NO emissions [54,55].
0 Biogas at the flow rates of 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h and 1.2 kg/h
gives reduction in smoke by about 30%, 41%, 49% and 62% respec-
Smoke opacity, %

40
30 tively, at full load, compared with diesel. The detailed emission
parameters for diesel and dual fuel operation at full load are
20 summarized in Table 12.
10
4. Conclusions
0
0 25 50 75 100
Engine load, % The P. pinnata de-oiled cake has the potential for biogas pro-
duction, and up to 73% methane is obtainable. In dual fuel opera-
Fig. 7. Variation of emission parameters with engine load. tion, the biogas flow rate of 0.9 kg/h shows the optimum result in
770 D. Barik, S. Murugan / Energy 72 (2014) 760e771
Table 12
Emission parameters of diesel and dual fuel operation at full load.
Parameters Diesel Diesel þ biogas 0.3 kg/h Diesel þ biogas 0.6 kg/h
BSCO, g/kWh 0.0171 0.0189 0.0203
BSHC, g/kWh 0.025 0.031 0.034
BSNO, g/kWh 2.83 2.23 2.07
BSCO2, g/kWh 2.82 2.37 1.91
Smoke opacity, % 33.1 23 19.4
combustion, performance and emission compared to other flow
rates. The diesel replacement of 0.215 kg/h is possible with biogas
flow rate of 0.9 kg/h at full load. About 36% increase in the BSFC and
6.2% drop in BTE is noticed in dual fuel operation with biogas flow
rate of 0.9 kg/h in comparison with diesel, at full load. At full load,
17% and 30% increase in the CO and HC emission is observed with
biogas flow rate of 0.9 kg/h, in comparison with diesel. 39%, 42% and
49% reduction in NO, CO2 and smoke emission are observed with
biogas flow rate of 0.9 kg/h, in comparison with diesel, at full load
respectively. On the whole, the use of biogas with diesel in a CI
engine seems to be desirable to reduce emissions, saving of con-
ventional diesel and to utilize bio energy from biomass. It is also a
promising technique for the on farm electricity generation. This
biogas dual fuel engine, not only consumes a wide range of gaseous
fuel resources effectively, but also has the potential to avoid much
of the current and future problems to the diesel engines including
very significant reduction in its exhaust emissions trade-offs.
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