Performance Tests and Study of Combustion Characteristics Of Rice Bran Oil As a C.I Engine Fuel

At present, about 80% of the world's demand for transportation fuels- road, rail, air and sea- are met by derivatives from the fossil fuels such as petroleum and diesel. This project aims at finding an alternative for these fossil fuels. The various parameters that have been considered for the selection of the oil are kinematic viscosity, viscosity index, calorific value, flash point, fire point, sulphur content, carbon content, pour point, and density etc. The various properties of the oil was tested at M/s Industrial testing and analysis laboratories, Chennai. The oil was then converted to biodiesel using trans-esterification process. This transesterification process was carried out at the Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai. The first step consisted of testing and analysis of the performance and combustion characteristics of diesel, the rice bran oil, ethyl ester of rice bran oil and various blends of both these oils with diesel. This step also consisted of measuring and observing the emission characteristics with the help of a Bosch smoke meter. The final step consisted of evaluating and comparing the performance, combustion, and emission characteristics of the fuels with one another with the help of graphs.