Effect of Ni and Al nanoadditives on the performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with diesel-castor oil biodiesel-n-butanol blends

Biodiesel has emerged as a viable renewable fuel with the potential to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and partially replace petroleum-based fuels. Moreover, using biodiesel reduces pollutant emissions. However, utilizing biodiesel results in inferior engine performance along with elevated NOx emissions. There is a scope to address these concerns by employing n-butanol and metallic nanoparticles (NPs) as fuel additives. In this study, castor oil biodiesel is blended with 100 ppm Ni and Al NPs and diesel along with n-butanol forming various stable fuel blends such as D100, D90B10, D80B10Bu10, D90B10+Ni, D80B10Bu10+Ni, D90B10+Al, and D80B10Bu10+Al to investigate their effect on engine performance and emission. The use of n-butanol substantially diminishes engine performance. However, the inclusion of Ni and Al NPs with…