Micro distributed energy system driven with preheated Croton megalocarpus oil – A performance and particulate emission study

As a carbon neutral biofuel, the cold pressed Croton megalocarpus oil (CMO) has the nature of easy production without any further chemical process, but suffers for its high viscosity and poor atomisation if being applied on the compression-ignition (CI) engine generator. A micro distributed energy system comprised of a modified 6.5 kWe CI engine generator and an engine exhaust driven diffusion absorption refrigerator has been set up for domestic application, which applies both diesel and CMO. To minimise the negative impact of fuel properties of CMO, the temperature before injection has been elevated with the trace heater and the waste heat from the engine. The performance of the preheated CMO up to 90 °C on the engine generator system reflects an improvement of the atomisation and combustion in the cylinder compared to the non-preheated CMO. The particulate emission test reveals the similarity of both the total number and the total weigh of the particulates emitted from the engine generator system running on diesel and CMO in 90 °C.