Performance, Combustion and Emission Characteristics of a Single-Cylinder CI Engine Fuelled with Waste Cooking Oil Biodiesel Blends Doped with Alumina Nanoparticles

Author(s): Anjali R. Deshmukh, Vivek S. Thakare, Harpreet Singh Brar

Affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Beant College of Engineering and Technology, Gurdaspur, Punjab, India

Page No: 1-7

Volume, Issue & Publishing Year: Volume 3 Issue 3,Aug-2026

Journal: International Journal of Advanced Engineering Application (IJAEA)

ISSN NO: 3048-6807

Abstract:
The depletion of fossil diesel reserves and the tightening of emission legislation have intensified interest in waste cooking oil (WCO) biodiesel as a renewable, low-cost substitute fuel that simultaneously addresses the disposal burden of an otherwise discarded waste stream. However, biodiesel's inherently lower calorific value, higher viscosity, and delayed combustion relative to mineral diesel limit its unblended adoption in unmodified compression ignition (CI) engines, motivating the use of metal-oxide nanoparticle additives to restore combustion quality through enhanced fuel oxidation and improved spray atomisation. This study evaluates the performance, combustion, and emission behaviour of a single-cylinder, four-stroke CI engine operated on waste cooking oil biodiesel-diesel blends (B20, B40) doped with alumina (Al₂O₃) nanoparticles at 50 and 100 ppm dosages, benchmarked against neat diesel (D100) across five engine load conditions (20-100% of rated load). Performance parameters (brake thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption, exhaust gas temperature), regulated emissions (NOx, CO, HC, smoke opacity), and in-cylinder combustion characteristics (cylinder pressure and heat release rate versus crank angle) were measured using a calibrated eddy-current dynamometer test rig instrumented with a piezoelectric pressure transducer and AVL-class exhaust gas analyser. The B20+100ppm Al₂O₃ blend achieves the highest brake thermal efficiency of 32.3% at full load, a 9.1% improvement over neat diesel, alongside the lowest brake specific fuel consumption of 0.30 kg/kWh. Nanoparticle dosing reduces CO, HC, and smoke opacity across all loads, with B20+100ppm Al₂O₃ recording a 45% reduction in smoke opacity at full load relative to diesel, at the expense of a 17.4% increase in NOx attributable to elevated in-cylinder peak pressure and heat release rate. Combustion analysis confirms that Al₂O₃ dosing advances and intensifies the premixed combustion phase, with peak heat release rate increasing from 42.1 J/° for diesel to 48.3 J/° for the nano-dosed B20 blend. The results establish B20+100ppm Al₂O₃ as the optimum fuel formulation for unmodified CI engines seeking simultaneous gains in thermal efficiency and particulate emission reduction, with NOx after-treatment recommended to offset the associated trade-off.

Keywords: waste cooking oil biodiesel, alumina nanoparticles, compression ignition engine, brake thermal efficiency, exhaust emissions, combustion analysis, heat release rate, nanofuel additive

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