Effects of Pilot Injection Timing and EGR on Combustion, Performance and Exhaust Emissions in a Common Rail Diesel Engine Fueled with a Canola Oil Biodiesel-Diesel Blend

Biodiesel as a clean energy source could reduce environmental pollution compared to fossil fuel, so it is becoming increasingly important. In this study, we investigated the effects of different pilot injection timings from before top dead center (BTDC) and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on combustion, engine performance, and exhaust emission characteristics in a common rail diesel engine fueled with canola oil biodiesel-diesel (BD) blend. The pilot injection timing and EGR rate were changed at an engine speed of 2000 rpm fueled with BD20 (20 vol % canola oil and 80 vol % diesel fuel blend). As the injection timing advanced, the combustion pressure, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), and peak combustion pressure (Pmax) changed slightly. Carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM) emissions clearly decreased at BTDC 20° compared with BTDC 5°, but nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions increased slightly. With an increasing EGR rate, the combustion pressure and indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) decreased slightly at BTDC 20° compared to other injection timings. However, the Pmax showed a remarkable decrease. The BSFC and PM emissions increased slightly, but the NOx emission decreased considerably. OPEN ACCESS Energies 2015, 8 7313