Optimization of Diethyl Ether-Modified Sesame Biodiesel–Diesel Fuel Blends for Enhanced Engine Performance and Emission Mitigation

Year 2025, Volume: 9 Issue: 3, 294 - 304, 30.09.2025

Arif Savaş , Samet Uslu

https://doi.org/10.30939/ijastech..1724235

Abstract

Different alternative fuels are being tested in place of diesel fuels in order to address the growing need for energy. Because it has many of the same physical and chemical characteristics as diesel, biodiesel is the most significant of these fuels. But there are drawbacks to biodiesels as well, namely their high density and viscosity. This study includes adding three different volumes of diethyl ether (DEE) to a diesel/sesame oil biodiesel blend in order to address these issues with biodiesel. The effect of this addition on emissions and engine performance was then investigated experimentally. The study was conducted at a constant speed of 3000 rpm and six different loads were used. In the optimization study, engine load and DEE were determined as input parameters, while carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), hydrocarbons (HC), and brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) were determined as output factors. The findings of the study showed that all output parameters had correlation coefficients (R2) above 90%. The error rates between the actual experimental results and the results obtained from the RSM prediction, ranging from 1.61% to 9.06%, are all less than 10%. In the optimization study conducted to obtain the lowest BSFC value and minimum emissions, the optimum operating parameters were found to be 4 mL DEE and 1.3 kW load. Under these loads, BSFC was found to be 699.99 g/kWh, NOx 487.33 ppm, CO2 5.05%, HC 16.78 ppm and CO 0.0394%. Compared to the diesel/sesame oil biodiesel blend with 4 ml of diethyl ether, when only diesel/sesame biodiesel was used under 1.3 kW load, CO emissions increased by 18.27% and unburned HC emissions increased by 37.84%. On the other hand, NOₓ emissions decreased by 18.89% and CO₂ emissions decreased by 2.05%. In addition, the BSFC value increased by 18.51%.

Keywords

Biodiesel , Diethyl ether , Optimization , Emission , RSM

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