Experimental investigation of direct injection diesel engine using waste plastic oil as fuel

Abstract

Recycling of waste plastics for power generation, automotive traction can provide perfect source of energy due to their energy content. Plastics utilization is growing daily although it is not environment friendly material but can be utilized for different applications. The disposal of after use plastic is a major task and quality of oil obtained from the same has properties similar to fuel. The main advantage of conversion of used plastic to gasoline provides additional fuel generation to be derived besides addressing the disposal issues. The plastic oil obtained from pyrolysis can be added with conventional fuel efficiently and acceptable engine overall performance. Therefore, blends of plastic oil with diesel are considered for the diesel engine applications. In the present study pyrolysis of plastic is done in presence of catalyst at temperature of 380°C to obtain oil with properties similar to petroleum fuels. The plastic oil is mixed with diesel in different volume proportions ranging from 10 to 40% and used as fuel in diesel engine to study its characteristics. Properties of plastic oil blends with diesel obtained were analysed. The lower plastic oil blends P10increased the brake thermal efficiency by 5%and lowered the rate of fuel consumption by 10%. As the blending ratio increased in-cylinder pressures and heat release rates were higher and the longer ignition delay were obtained. The emissions of HC, NOx decreased with lower plastic oil blending as compared to higher blending ratio. The result suggests that the plastic oil P10 can be used effectively as alternative fuel to diesel for engine with optimized operating situations. Utilization of PO with diesel blends of 10 to 30% in conventional engines provide acceptable engine performance and reduction in emission and hence can effectively reduce the dependence on fossil diesel fuel and reduce the foreign exchange.