Impact of multifunctional additive Thermol-D on performance, combustion and emission characteristics of CRDI diesel engines using waste plastic oil

• Waste plastic oil is a potential feedstock for production of biodiesel. • Thermol-D substantially improves cetane index and heating value of fuel. • Waste plastic oil with 2m l Thermol-D increases 2.6% BTE and reduces 15% BSFC. • The HC, CO and NOx emissions reduce by 28.2, 26.3 and 7.5% due to 2m l Thermol-D. The use of waste plastic oil as an automotive fuel can offer an excellent alternative to petroleum diesel and a potential solution to the handling of hazardous plastic waste. The present research investigation has adopted pyrolysis mechanism to extract fuel from different kinds of plastic wastes. Thermol-D has been adopted as a multifunctional additive by 1, 1.5 and 2m l on volume basis with 1 l of waste plastic oil for enhancement of combustion, performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine. A Common Rail Direct Injection diesel engine running at constant speed of 2000 rpm has been used for experimental investigation with engine load ranging from 20 to 80%. The use of 2m l Thermol-D experiences 5.8% higher brake thermal efficiency with 15% lower fuel consumption for unit power generation. Simultaneously, the hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide emissions can drop by 28.2, 26.3 and 7.4% respectively due to inclusion of 2m l Thermol-D. The rate of heat release drops by 8.8 J/deg with peak cylinder pressure lower by 2.4 bar. The significant improvement of performance and emission parameters suggest Thermol-D as a potential additive to improve the efficiency and environmental sustainability of CRDI engines.