Influence of Nano Fuel Additives on Filter Blocking Characteristics Blended with Biodiesel-Bioethanol-Diesel Blends

In recent years, ethanol has emerged as a popular additive for biodiesel/diesel blends, to decrease the carbon footprint left by combustion products. Nanoparticles added with biodiesel/diesel have promoted greater ignition and combustion rate, lower ignition delay, and reduced exhaust emissions. This study evaluated the filter performance of prosopis juliflora biodiesel and bioethanol mixed with diesel with selected nano particles, namely graphene(G) and graphene oxide(GO) nanoparticles. Different nano additive proportions of 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 ppm were blended in diesel blends of BED20 (10% biodiesel + 10% ethanol + 80% diesel) and the filtration characteristics of these fuel blends were evaluated to determine the best nanoparticle mixture. Tamson filter blocking tendency (TFBT) apparatus was utilized to determine filter blocking tendency (FBT). The filtration performance was measured by following the ASTM standard (D2068-14) for initial pressure, fuel temperature and fuel flow rate. Results found that the FBT tends to rise with the addition of additive proportion. It was seen that FBT values of 200 ppm of grapheme (G) nanoparticles and 250 ppm graphene oxide (GO) were found to be 1.32 and 1.4 respectively which inline the acceptable range (1.41).