Comparative Assessment of Low-Concentration Ethanol and Waste Fish Oil Biodiesel Blends on Emission Reduction and Performance Improvement in Variable Compression Ratio Engine

The costs of conventional fuels are rising on a daily basis as a result of technical limits, a misallocation of resources between demand and supply, and a shortage of conventional fuel. The use of crude oil contributes to increased environmental contamination, and as a result, there is a pressing need to investigate alternate fuel sources for car applications. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel that is derived chemically by reacting with the sources of biodiesel. The present research is based on analyzing the effect of fish oil biodiesel-ethanol blend in variable compression engine for variable compression ratio (VCR). The processed fish oil was procured and subjected to a transesterification process to convert fatty acids into methyl esters. The obtained methyl esters (biodiesel) were blended with ethanol and diesel to obtain a ternary blend. The ternary blend was tested for its stability, and a stable blend was obtained and tested in VCR engines for its performance, combustion, and emission characteristics. In the second phase, experiments are conducted in the diesel engine by fueling the fish oil methyl ester and ethanol blended with diesel fuel in the concentration of 92.5 vol% of Diesel+7.5 vol% of Fish oil+1.25 vol% ethanol, 92.5 vol% of Diesel+7.5 vol% of Fish oil+5 vol% ethanol, 87.5 vol% of Diesel+12.5 vol% of Fish oil+1.25 vol% ethanol, 87.5 vol% of Diesel+12.5 vol% of Fish oil+5 vol% ethanol, 82.5 vol% of Diesel+17.5 vol% of Fish oil+1.25 vol% ethanol, 82.5 vol% of Diesel+17.5 vol% of Fish oil+ 5 vol% ethanol to find out the performance parameters and emissions. Because the alternative fuel performs better in terms of engine performance and pollution management, the percentage chosen is considered the best mix. The results showed that the use of a lower concentration of ethanol in the fish oil biodiesel blend improved the engine thermal efficiency by 5.23% at a higher compression ratio. Similarly, the engine operated with a higher compression ratio reduced the formation of HC and CO emissions, whereas the NO_x and CO₂ emissions increased with an increased proportion of biodiesel in diesel and ethanol blends.