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Biodiesel was prepared through transesterification of castor oil and ethanol. The optimization of parameters related to the yield of transesterification, such as oil to ethanol molar ratio, concentration of catalyst, reaction temperature and reaction time, was investigated. The results indicated that the optimum condition for castor oil ethyl ester (COEE) production was 1:12 oil to ethanol molar ratio, 1.5% catalyst concentration, 40 °C reaction temperature and 150 minutes reaction time. To avoid extremely high viscosity of castor oil which can affect the fuel injection system, COEE was blended with commercial diesel fuel at different concentrations ranged from 5%-15% volume and key properties of fuel blends, mainly focused on fuel lubricity and viscosity were evaluated.

Reducing carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas) is one of the most important drivers to promote biofuels. Fuel from biomass has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and can gradually reduce the dependence on fossil fuels. However, fuel properties can differ significantly from standard diesel fuel and this will affect exhaust emissions and environmental pollution. Diesel – ethanol fuel blends development and specification are currently driven by the engine technology, existing fossil fuel specification and availability of feedstock. Thus, the aims of this study to investigate the effects of fuel additives with diesel–ethanol fuel blend under steady-state conditions. In the present study, the additives were palm diesel, n-butanol, ethyl acetate and di-tert-butyl peroxide (DTBP). The ratio of conventional diesel fuel to ethanol fuel to fuel additive are 80:15:5 by volume of fuel blends.

In this study, two oxygenated fuels consisting of butanol and diethyl ether (DEE), both possess same number of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atom but difference functional group, were blended with the waste plastic pyrolysis oil to use in a 4-cylinder direct injection diesel engine without any engine modification. In addition, the effect of castor oil addition to such fuel blends was also investigated. Four tested fuels with same oxygen content were prepared for engine test, comprising DEE16 (84% waste plastic oil blended with 16% DEE), BU16 (84% waste plastic oil blended with 16% butanol), DEE11.5BIO5 (83.5% waste plastic oil blended with 11.5% DEE and 5% castor oil) and BU11.5BIO5 (83.5% waste plastic oil blended with 11.5% butanol and 5% castor oil). The results found that the DEE addition to waste plastic oil increased more HC and smoke emissions than the butanol addition at low engine operating condition.

Due to the emission benefits of the oxygen in the fuel molecule, the interest for the use of ethanol as fuel blend components in compression ignition engines has been increased. However the use of fuel blends with high percentage of ethanol can lead to poor fuel blend quality (e.g. fuel miscibility, cetane number, viscosity and lubricity). An approach which can be used to improve these properties is the addition of biodiesel forming ternary blends (ethanol-biodiesel-diesel). The addition of castor oil-derived biodiesel (COME) containing a high proportion of methyl ricinoleate (C18:1 OH) is an attractive approach in order to i) reduce the use of first generation biodiesel derived from edible sources, ii) balance the reduction in viscosity and lubricity of ethanol-diesel blends due to the high viscosity and excellent lubricity of methyl ricinoleate.

The lubricating properties of two sustainable alternative diesels blended with ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD) were investigated. The candidate fuels were a biodiesel consisting of fatty acid methyl esters derived from rapeseed (RME) and gas-to-liquid (GTL). Lubricity tests were conducted on a high frequency reciprocating rig (HFRR). The mating specimen surfaces were analysed using optical microscopy and profilometery for wear scar diameters and profiles respectively. Microscopic surface topography and deposit composition was evaluated using a scanning electronic microscope (SEM) with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Like all modern zero sulphur diesel fuel (ZSD), GTL fuels need a lubricity agent to meet modern lubricity specifications. It has been proven that GTL responds well to typical lubricity additives in the marketplace.