This paper presents an investigation on the combustion performance of different Coconut Methyl Ester (CME) biodiesel blends with Conventional Diesel Fuel (CDF) under B5 (5% CME, 95% CDF), B15 (15% CME, 85% CDF), and B25 (25% CME, 75% CDF) conditions. The performances of these fuels were evaluated based on the temperature profiles of the combustor wall and emission concentration of Oxides of Nitrogen (NO x ), Sulphur Dioxide (SO 2 ), and Carbon Monoxide (CO). The fuel properties of the CME biodiesel blends were measured and compared with CDF. All tested fuels were combusted using an open-ended combustion chamber at three different equivalence ratios, i.e., lean fuel to air mixture (Φ = 0.8), stoichiometry (Φ = 1.0), and rich fuel to air mixture (Φ =1.2), using a standard solid spray fuel nozzle. The results indicated that CME biodiesel blends combust at a lower temperature and produce less emission in comparison with CDF for all equivalence ratios. Moreover, the increase of CME content in biodiesel blends reduced the temperature of the combustor wall and the emission concentration. Results also proved that the utilization of biodiesel is beneficial to various industrial applications, especially in the transportation sector due to it being environmentally friendly, and serves as an alternative to petroleum diesel fuel.

Insufficient and various environmental issues of fossil fuels as the current world dominated energy is now becoming a serious global issue. The rapidly increasing demand for alternative energy sources has contributed to the steady growth of renewable energy. Owing to the fact of the abundant presence of palm kernel shell (PKS) as one of palm biomass wastes in South East Asia region, this paper investigates syngas produced from gasified PKS. The investigation is regarding its composition and combustion performance in a gas burner system. It covers emissions analysis, temperature profile and flame length. The produced syngas from downdraft gasifier was burned in the combustion chamber in air-rich and fuel-rich combustion conditions.  From the experiment, the results showed that the oxidation zone temperature of above 750°C for the downdraft gasifier is suitable for producing syngas. Produced syngas can be classified as pure-carbon monoxide (CO) syngas due to 94.9% CO content with no hydrogen (H2) content and low heating value (LHV) of 10.7 MJ/kg. The wall temperature profiles for burnt syngas produced via downdraft gasification was higher with longer pattern at fuel-rich condition, which signified higher energy of syngas produced from downdraft gasifier compared to fluidised bed gasifier.  The associated flame length was also longer at fuel-rich condition. Produced emission of 56 ppm NOX, 37 ppm CO and 1 ppm SO2 can still be considered as acceptable to human.  It can be concluded that syngas produced from PKS shown a high potential to serve as an alternative source of energy due to its high energy content.

In this study, pure Jatropha oil (inedible plant oil) was converted into biodiesel (Jatropha Methyl-Ester or JME) through an esterification and trans-esterification process. It is then blended with commercial diesel in various ratios to produce four different blends. The ratio of Jatropha biodiesel to diesel (Jatropha:diesel) is 5:95% (B5), 10:90% (B10), 15:85% (B15) and 20:80% (B20). The letter B indicates the total volume of biodiesel in a mixture with diesel. Each batch of the fuel blend was then tested for their physical properties compared to diesel. Combustion performance tests were performed and temperature and emission (NOx and CO) profiles were measured at five different equivalence ratios. Experimental results are presented and they show that the temperature profile of each mixture does not exceed the value of diesel, and results in lower emissions (NOx and CO) than diesel.

The current study investigated the combustion performance of sunflower oil-based biodiesel fuel blends with diesel at the ratio of B10 (10% biodiesel, 90% diesel), B15 (15% biodiesel, 85% diesel), B25 (25% biodiesel, 75% diesel) and B50 (50% biodiesel, 50% diesel). The combustion performance of this fuel is evaluated based on the value of the combustion chamber wall temperature, the thermal efficiency of the burner as well as the concentration of emission gases released such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO?), and carbon monoxide (CO). Sunflower oil-based biodiesel blend fuel was measured and compared to diesel. All fuels tested were burned using a combustion chamber with one of its ends open, at five different equivalence ratios, namely, fuel-lean condition (? = 0.8 and 0.9), stoichiometry (? = 1.0), and fuel-rich (? = 1.1 and 1.2). The results show that sunflower oil-based biodiesel fuels burn at lower temperatures. This results in lower fuel thermal energy, and thus, lower thermal efficiency of the burner compared to diesel. Moreover, the emissions produced are lower (except for NOx) compared to diesel for all equivalence ratios. The results also show that the use of biodiesel is useful for different modern applications, especially in the industrial sector as it is more environmentally friendly and can be used as an alternative to petroleum fuels.