An experimental investigation in a diesel engine using carbon nanotubes blended water-diesel emulsion fuel

An experimental investigation is carried out to establish the performance, emission, and combustion characteristics of a diesel engine using carbon nanotubes (CNT) blended water-diesel emulsion fuels. The investigation is carried out in three phases using an experimental set-up consisting of a single-cylinder diesel engine coupled with an electrical loading device, an AVL Di-gas analyser, an AVL smoke meter, and a data-acquisition system comprising a Kistler piezoelectric pressure transducer and a crank angle encoder: using neat diesel in the first phase, water-diesel emulsion fuel in the second phase, and CNT blended water-diesel emulsion fuels in the third phase. The water-diesel emulsion fuel is prepared in the proportion of 5 per cent water, 93 per cent diesel, and 2 per cent surfactants (Span 80 and Tween 80) by volume with a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of 8. The CNT are blended with the water-diesel emulsion fuel in the mass fractions of 25 and 50 ppm with the aid of a mechanical homogenizer and an ultra-sonicator. Subsequently, the stability characteristics of CNT blended water-diesel emulsion fuels are analysed under static conditions. All the experiments are conducted at a constant speed of 1500 r/min and the results revealed a considerable enhancement in the brake thermal efficiency and substantial reduction in the harmful pollutants due to the incorporation of CNT in the water-diesel emulsion fuel.