Engine performance and emission characterization of modelled biodiesel fuels from hybridised moringa oleifera and jatropha curcas seed oils

Biodiesel fuels are one of the easiest alternative fuels to be utilized in compression ignition engines. They are renewable, environmentally friendly and produce less gaseous and exhaust emissions. A variety of biodiesel feedstocks have been experimented with using different engine types and for various performance evaluations. In this study, overall engine performance tests and gaseous/emission characterizations were conducted in a four stroke versatile internal combustion engine (TD 300) over a wide range of throttle from the feedstocks of Moringa and Jatropha biodiesel and their resultant biodiesel hybrids. The hybrid compositions were J50M50, J40M10, J30M20, J20M30, and J10M40 from crude oil samples (in situ) and: BM50J50, BM40J10, BM30J20, BM20J30 and BM10J40 from produced biodiesel (ex situ). The biodiesel hybrids were produced by transesterification at specific optimization protocols and subjected to a novel approach in biodiesel development and hybridization using in situ and ex situ processes as reported in our earlier studies (Eloka-Eboka and Inambao [16]). The single stock biodiesel of Moringa and Jatropha and their hybrids performed favourably in comparison to AGO following ASTM standardized procedures. The torque, air consumption, ambient air temperature and pressure, specific fuel consumption, brake thermal and mechanical efficiency, brake power, engine noise, exhaust temperature and smoke opacity were determined. Also, gaseous emission was conducted using an online sampler which was subjected to a GC-MS spectrophotometer interacting with a flame induced detector (FID) for all comparisons. Results show greater improvement in performance from the hybrids and Moringa biodiesel with close similarity to AGO. The emissions were however insignificant to the immediate environment as against those of AGO. Biodiesel development continues to be currently researched until the much needed breakthrough is achieved globally.