Engine Performance Evaluation of Biodiesel Produced from Watermelon using Modified Catalyst

Abstract

This study used a composite catalyst consisting of marble and periwinkle doped with barium to produce biodiesel from watermelon and its performance and emission characteristics was evaluated with a diesel engine. The physiochemical features of the oil and fatty acid methyl ester were determined using acceptable protocols outlined in (ASTM) 6751(1973) to investigate the impact of the triglyceride's properties and the biodiesel was produced by transesterification reaction. The engine performance and emission characteristics of the biodiesel was carried out using Perkins 4:108 diesel engine test bed. The properties of the watermelon seed oil showed that they do not require pre-treatment before transesterification and the yield under the process parameters; catalyst weight of 6.83 wt%, methanol/oil molar ratio 9.69:1, temperature of 61, time of 3.48 hours and speed of 295 rpm was 87.64 %. The engine performance revealed that the biodiesel blends exhibited higher brake power than conventional diesel but B20 has similar thermal efficiency with B0. Additionally, the blends of biodiesel showed reduced emissions as compared to regular fuel. With very little gaseous pollution emissions, the engine evaluation metrics of the biodiesel mix, particularly B20, were comparable to those of conventional diesel fuel.