Comparative analysis of particulates collected from blends of Jatropha, <em>Calophyllum inophyllum</em> and Microalgae biodiesel

The back pressure created by the accumulation of particulate matter (PM) in the porosity zone has a major impact on the operation of a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF), which in turn impacts the engine's performance by increasing fuel consumption while decreasing power and torque. The chemical reactivity, content, size and shape of particulate agglomerates influence the deposition and regeneration performance of a diesel particulate filter. In this work, PM samples were collected using a quartz filter system from the exhaust of a diesel engine running on diesel fuel, as well as B20, B40, and B60 blends of Jatropha, Calophyllum inophyllum, and Microalgae biodiesels, to analyse their morphology. The engine running parameters were kept constant to compare the results of diesel and biodiesel blends. The open-source ImageJ software is used to analyse SEM images of various Particulate samples to determine their size and form. The picture analysis demonstrates that as the proportion of biodiesel in diesel grew, the size of the agglomerates decreased for all biodiesel mixes. The PM agglomeration found with B60 microalgae biodiesel is the smallest in size among all fuel combinations investigated. This characteristic is beneficial in less clogging of Diesel particulate filter when used with Bio diesel blends as compared to the Diesel. There was no discernible shape found in agglomerates of any PM samples tested from diesel and various biodiesel blends. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) examination revealed the elemental composition of the PM samples, with biodiesel blends having a greater mass-based oxygen percentage than neat diesel, with oxygen content increasing as the quantity of biodiesel in the mix increased. Presence of oxygen in soot improves its reactivity and is beneficial for active and passive regeneration in the dpf improving the overall DPF efficiency.