Transesterified palm oil as an alternate fuel for compression ignition engine

The use of biodiesel fuels derived from vegetable oils as a substitute for conventional petroleum fuel in diesel engines is receiving an increasing amount of attention. This interest is based on a number of properties of biodiesel, including the fact that it is produced from a renewable resource, its biodegradability, and its potential to reduce exhaust emissions. An experimental investigation is carried out evaluate the effect of palm oil biodiesel on the performance and exhaust emissions of a single cylinder, water cooled, direct injection, diesel engine. The engine performance (brake thermal efficiency, specific fuel consumption and exhaust temperature) and emission (HC, CO and NO_x) parameters were measured and evaluated. The results proved that the use of palm oil biodiesel in compression ignition engine is a viable alternative to diesel.