Author : Vaibhav R. Wakode and A. B. Kanase-Patil

Diesel engines are widely used in transportation and power generation sectors in the world. The harmful exhaust emissions from these engines are responsible for degradation of environmental quality. The fuel economy of these engines is also an important factor, as petroleum diesel is on the verge of depletion. There is need to substitute diesel fuel with alternative fuel which will improve the engine performance and emissions. Among the various alternatives to diesel, alcohols are promising fuels. Out of alcohols, only lower alcohols like ethanol have been studied for testing engine performance. This paper investigates the significance of butanol as an alternative to diesel. Various butanol-diesel blends were prepared and tested for physical properties. The engine output characteristics are tested with diesel for various compression ratios. The results of engine performance and emissions for diesel are presented.

Keywords: diesel engines, compression ratio, performance, emissions, butanol.