Comprehensive investigation of the effects on fuel, performance and emission properties of modify fuel blends addition of graphene nanoplatelets to ternary fuel blends (diesel, waste cooking biodiesel, and butanol) in a diesel engine

Development of alternative fuels from organic waste for the applications in CI diesel engines is an important

research area for a sustainable energy future. In CI diesel engines, binary and ternary fuel blends can be prepared

by blending fossil diesel fuel with biodiesel and alcohols. In recent years, various fuel blends have been improved

with different metal or non-metal nanoparticles. In this work, non-metallic Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs) were

added to ternary fuel blends, followed by the characterization of the prepared samples. Subsequently, an

investigation was conducted to examine their effects in engine performance and exhaust emissions. In this study,

ternary blends were prepared by adding biodiesel obtained from the recycling of waste cooking oils and 10 %,

15 %, and 20 % butanol to diesel fuel. Subsequently, 50 ppm of GNPs were added to these blends. Initially, the

chemical properties of all fuel blends, such as cetane index, calorific value, density, and kinematic viscosity, were

analyzed. Additionally, TG, DSC, FTIR, UV–VIS, and GS-FID characterizations were conducted for all fuel samples.

Afterwards, engine performance, combustion characteristics, and exhaust emissions were performed. A total

of 7 distinct fuel samples were employed in the engine testing procedure, wherein the engine was operated at 2

different speeds and 5 engine loads. The experiment results indicated that the lowest BSFC values occurred in

diesel fuel under all conditions. With the addition of GNPs to the ternary fuels, the BSFC value decreased by an

average of 1.11 % at 1500 rpm and 1.89 % at 2000 rpm for all loads. Upon analysis of BTE values, it was revealed

that diesel fuel had the greatest BTE value. The incorporation of GNPs into the ternary blends resulted in an

average enhancement in BTE values of 1.40 % at 1500 rpm and 2.60 % at 2000 rpm at all loads. The examination

of the in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate indicated that the incorporation of GNPs led to a little decrease

in the duration of the ignition delay. In the examination of NOx emissions, the inclusion of GNPs resulted in an

average increase in emissions of 9.89 % at 1500 rpm and 5.37 % at 2000 rpm at all loads. Furthermore, when

analyzing CO2 emissions, with the exception of non-load conditions, the incorporation of GNPs resulted in an

average rise of 3.10 % in CO2 emissions at 1500 rpm and 3.55 % at 2000 rpm at all load conditions. The study

revealed that fuel samples exhibited qualities close to those of diesel fuel standards.