Fuel xxx (2016) xxx–xxx

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Fuel
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Full Length Article

Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel

(EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine
Harish Venu ⇑, Venkataramanan Madhavan
Institute for Energy Studies, Anna University, Chennai 600025, India

h i g h l i g h t s

Cylinder pressure and peak pressure rise were higher for EBD-5DEE.

Highest HRR is observed for neat EBD without additives.

Lowest NOx and BSFC were recorded for MBD-5DEE.

DEE addition in EBD reduces the ignition delay, EGO, PM and smoke emissions.

DEE addition in MBD lowers the combustion duration, HC and NOx emissions.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The present work focuses on improving the performance of ternary blends (alcohol-biodiesel-diesel) by
Received 28 January 2016 using DEE (diethyl ether) as ignition enhancer. The test fuels used are diesel, a blend of ethanol (20%)-
Received in revised form 20 October 2016 biodiesel (40%)-diesel (40%) (denoted as EBD), blend of methanol (20%)-biodiesel (40%)-diesel (40%)
Accepted 25 October 2016
(denoted as MBD), a blend of EBD with 5% Diethyl ether (denoted as EBD-5DEE), a blend of EBD with
Available online xxxx
10% Diethyl ether (denoted as EBD-10DEE) and a blend of MBD with 5% Diethyl ether (denoted as
MBD-5DEE). MBD-10DEE blend was very viscous and the engine stopped working at higher engine loads.
Keywords:
Hence, MBD-10DEE was not considered among the test fuels. Experimental results revealed that, the
Ethanol-biodiesel-diesel
Methanol-biodiesel-diesel
addition of DEE in EBD increased the combustion duration, cylinder pressure and BSFC with reduced
Diethyl ether NOx, PM and smoke emissions due to reduced ignition delay and higher latent heat evaporation.
Engine performance Whereas, DEE addition in MBD increased the PM, CO, CO2 and smoke emissions with lowered BSFC, cylin-
Emission der pressure, heat release rate (HRR) and combustion duration. In comparison with EBD-10DEE, EBD-
5DEE effectuated in higher cylinder pressure, HRR, EGT and NOx with lowered combustion duration,
THC, CO2 and PM. This is due to improved fuel atomization and enhanced fuel spray characteristics.
The peak HRR of EBD is highest and that of MBD-5DEE is lowest. Overall, EBD-5DEE and MBD-5DEE
reflects better engine performance, combustion and emission characteristics than EBD blend.
Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Since the 20th century, several researchers have focused on
developing a potential alternative feedstock for diesel engine due
to depleting fossil fuel reserves and stringent emission norms.
While biodiesel from various edible sources were reported such
as soybean [1], coconut [2], vegetable oils [3] and sunflower [4],
non-edible sources of biodiesel was also a major research which
includes karanja [5], jatropha [6], rapeseed [7], animal fat [8], pon-
gamia [9], and canola [10]. The usage of alcohol (ethanol, methanol)
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: harishvenuresearch@gmail.com (H. Venu), venkat@annauniv.
edu (V. Madhavan).
[11–20] and its blends with diesel emerged as another research pat-
tern during the beginning of 21st century. But there emerged a
major issue called stratification. Alcohols, especially ethanol when
blended with diesel becomes a hygroscopic mixture (attraction
towards water molecules) resulting in clogging of fuel injector.
Use of biodiesel in diesel-ethanol blend resulted in absence of strat-
ification, thereby paving way for a ternary fuel blend called alcohol-
diesel-biodiesel blend and numerous works were reported with
alcohol-diesel-biodiesel fuel blends [21–32]. Ethanol and methanol
were used significantly among various alcohol alternatives due to
their improved volatile and latent heat properties. Among alcohol,
ethanol and methanol were blended with biodiesel-diesel blends
and their performance were studied by several researchers.
Moreover, comparative studies were also performed using

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101
0016-2361/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Venu H, Madhavan V. Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-
diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine. Fuel (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101
2 H. Venu, V. Madhavan / Fuel xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
Nomenclature
Abbreviations
EBD ethanol-biodiesel-diesel
MBD methanol-biodiesel-diesel
BSFC brake specific fuel consumption
BSU Bosch Smoke Unit
CD combustion duration
CO carbon monoxide
CO2 carbon dioxide
DEE diethyl ether
EGO exhaust gas oxygen
ethanol-biodiesel-diesel and methanol-biodiesel-diesel blends in
diesel engine [25]. Even though various literatures focus on devel-
oping the ternary blend as an alternative feedstock, there are sev-
eral drawbacks like phase separation, lowered heating value of
the mixture with higher ethanol concentration (20%v/v), and unre-
liability for storage and transport [26]. Also, very few works focus
on optimizing the ternary blend with additive for better engine per-
formance and minimized emissions [27,28]. Hence, in order to
improve the performance of the ternary blend with higher ethanol
(20%v/v) and biodiesel (40%v/v) concentration, DEE (Diethyl ether)
is proposed as an additive for ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) blends
and methanol-biodiesel-diesel blends (MBD) and its performance
and emissions were studied briefly.
1.1. Biodiesel-alcohol-diesel blends - a review
Trabold et al. [21] developed an optimization model to analyze
the biodiesel-ethanol-diesel blends based on which a ternary dia-
gram is developed with all sides of triangle representing the three
mixing fuels. Ethanol used in the blend was derived from waste
feedstock instead of edible sources like biomass. The research work
was focused on optimizing the fuel blend based on fuel properties
like kinematic viscosity, density, cloud point and pour point.
Considerable profit could be made when ethanol used is extracted
from food wastes about $13.42 million compared to ethanol
obtained from corn grain ($12.96 million) and switch grass
($12.78 million). Randazzo and Sodre [22] studied the cold starting
fuel consumption of 4 cylinder 63 kW diesel engine fuelled with
diesel-soybean biodiesel and ethanol. They found that, as the per-
centage of biodiesel increased by 3%, 5%, 10% and 20%, cold starting
time also increases. Also, specific fuel consumption does not make
an impact towards increasing biodiesel concentration. Whereas,
increasing ethanol concentration resulted in increased fuel con-
sumption. Huang et al. [23] studied the effect of ethanol-
biodiesel-diesel fuel blends in a 4 cylinder diesel engine. The whole
experiment was carried out on premixed Low Temperature Com-
bustion (LTC) which is achieved by moderate EGR and prolonged
ignition delay. Results revealed that HC and CO emissions were
increased and NOx emissions were reduced. Moreover, the pres-
ence of higher oxygen and lengthened ignition delay resulted in
considerable smoke reduction. They concluded that 20% ethanol
blending in the mixture would significantly improve the brake
thermal efficiency with lowered NOx and smoke emissions. Qi
et al. [24] performed a comparative study of addition of DEE
(diethyl ether) and ethanol in biodiesel-diesel blends with neat
biodiesel blends (B30). Results indicated that DEE blended fuel
gives lowered BSFC and NOx compared to ethanol blended fuel.
For both the fuel blend smoke was drastically reduced at higher
engine loads. Moreover, for both blends HC emissions were higher
and CO was lower compared to B30. At both lower and higher
engine loads, the peak pressure rise rate and heat release rate is
Please cite this article in press as: Venu H, Madhavan V. Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-
diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine. Fuel (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101
EGT exhaust gas temperature
THC total unburned hydrocarbon
HRR heat release rate
ID ignition delay
LTC Low Temperature Combustion
LPG liquefied petroleum gas
NOx oxides of nitrogen
PM particulate matter
TDC top dead centre
highest for DEE blends compared to ethanol blends. They identified
that DEE could be the best alternative for diesel-biodiesel blends
instead of ethanol. Kwanchareon et al. [29] investigated the
diesel-biodiesel-ethanol blends for its stability and fuel properties.
They revealed that, phase separation was evident below 20 °C and
inter solubility of the mixture decreases as the temperature
decreases. Moreover, the heat of combustion of all blends was
lower than that of neat diesel. They also found that when blending
diesel-biodiesel-ethanol in a ratio of 80–15–5%, the heating value
of the blend became closer to diesel fuel followed by higher cetane
index. In addition, HC and CO emissions reduced significantly with
slightly increased NOx. Following all these considerations, they
selected diesel (80%)-biodiesel (15%)-ethanol (5%) blend for opti-
mum fuel property and emission reduction. Hulwan and Joshi
[30] performed a combustion and emission test on a multi-
cylinder diesel engine using diesel-biodiesel-ethanol blends of
varying ethanol concentration (20%, 30% and 40%). But as the etha-
nol concentration increased, the engine stopped running. Hence,
the authors advanced the injection timing to 18° and 21°CAbTDC
from 13°bTDC. By doing so, the engine ran without complications
but the NO emissions doubled and CO emissions reduced com-
pared to diesel. Also, the combustion too delayed as the ethanol
content increased. Effects of soybean biodiesel-diesel blends in a
passenger vehicle were studied by Randazzo and Sodré [31] with
varying biodiesel concentrations (3%, 5%, 10% and 20%). Experi-
ments were also conducted with varying ethanol concentrations
(2% and 5%) in B20 blend. Results revealed that, as the biodiesel
concentration increases CO2 and NOx increases with reduction of
HC and CO emissions. Further, addition of ethanol controlled the
NOx and CO2 emissions but with a mere compensation of increased
CO and HC emissions. Armas et al. [32] presented a novel way of
using biodiesel (27.69%)-ethanol (7.7%)-diesel (69.61%) in CRDI
injection pump and compared the results with normal diesel fuel.
The research work was neither focused on performance nor on
emissions, but solely dedicated to durability of injection pump,
its components and nozzle sections when subjected to above said
fuel blend. With a CRDI pump of 1500 bar pressure operating for
about 600 h, the test results were presented for the pump compo-
nents in terms of optical microscopy, surface roughness, wear and
tear, etc. Also, analysis with piston, cylinder, flange and drive shafts
were done. Analysis results revealed that the differences caused
due to subjection of biodiesel-diesel-ethanol blends in CRDI pump
is 0.55%, which was far below the equipment error range. More-
over, results by the precision balance equipment the relative differ-
ences of weight between pump elements like pistons, cylinders,
cam and drive, springs after the durability test were calculated to
be 0.017% which was very less indeed. Nozzle section holes were
investigated before and after the test and focused to be 0.1 lm
for both the fuel blends. Overall, the authors concluded that the
possibility of using BED blend in controlled condition is very
promising with slight injector modifications. Barabas [33] made
 H. Venu, V. Madhavan / Fuel xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
significant contribution towards the evaluation of biodiesel-diesel-
ethanol blends in terms of density. For experimentation, the author
used two different blends rapeseed biodiesel-diesel-ethanol blends
and used cooking oil-diesel-ethanol blends each of 15 numbers
with variation of concentration of biodiesel and bio-ethanol
between 5% and 25% at 5% increment. Density was measured in
15 steps between temperature ranges of 273.15–343.15 K. Also, 4
new models were developed and tested with linear mixing rule
which had 0.125% average relative deviation. Developed models
after testing, generated an average relative deviation under
0.053% which is very accurate and can be used for various CFD
applications, manufacturing processes, transesterification, etc.,
Huang et al. [34] experimented with ethanol-biodiesel diesel
blends in a high temperature combustion chamber. Initially when
biodiesel added to diesel, soot formation and burning rate reduced
significantly. The biodiesel used was castor oil which is found to be
a promising alternative for soot reduction since castor oil contains
an extra –OH functional group in its molecular structure. More-
over, there was micro-explosion phenomenon during the burning
of biodiesel-diesel blends with ethanol, thus reducing the overall
burning time and fuel consumption. Barabas et al. [35] used
diesel-biodiesel-ethanol blends in a CI engine and analyzed briefly
its performance and emission. Experimental results show that,
BSFC increased at lower loads with reducing BTE (21.7%). CO emis-
sions decreased with increasing CO2 and NOx emissions. HC emis-
sions reduced inn all engine load conditions. Hu et al. [36]
investigated about 9 kinds of volatile organic compound (VOC)
emissions from a single cylinder diesel engine fuelled with
ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and diesel. Test results revealed
that, at 10% and 50% engine loads, the VOC emissions of EBD were
lower by 14.85% and 20.39%, while at 100% load, there was a sud-
den rise of 84.2% for EBD in comparison with diesel. They also
revealed that, the ozone specific reactivity (SR) too lowered for
EBD at low and medium loads in comparison with diesel, similar
to VOC emissions.
While several works focused on ethanol as an alcohol compo-
nent in ternary blends (diesel-biodiesel-alcohol), very few research
works were reported on using methanol as alcohol substitute in
ternary blends. Qi et al. [37] analyzed the performance, combus-
tion and emission characteristics of a compression ignition engine
fuelled with biodiesel-methanol-diesel blends. The baseline fuel
chosen is a blend of 50% biodiesel and 50% diesel fuel (BD50). Fur-
ther, methanol was added as an additive to BD50 with concentra-
tions of 5% (MBD5) and 10% (MBD10). They found that, both MBD5
and MBD10 showed considerable reduction of smoke emissions
and with marginal CO reduction. The trend of HC and NOx emis-
sions at full load for MBD5 and MBD10, were similar to that of
BD50. Moreover, combustion started lately for both the test fuels
in comparison with BD50 at lower loads. Both MBD5 and MBD10
have lowered power and torque characteristics in comparison with
BD50. Yilmaz [25] performed a comparative study in a single cylin-
der diesel engine powered by biodiesel-ethanol-diesel (BED) and
biodiesel-methanol-diesel (BMD) blend. The author concluded
that, ethanol addition resulted in increased NOx emissions,
whereas methanol addition resulted in reduction of HC and CO
emissions. Also, the author concluded that dependence of opti-
mum alcohol blend ratio is essential in emission control as the
blend ratio influences the oxygen content and cooling effects.
Žaglinskis et al. [38] analyzed the performance of a CI engine
fuelled with biodiesel-diesel blends (BD) and biodiesel-diesel
blends with methanol (10%v/v) as additive (MBD). They revealed
that, for BD blends, BSFC were higher by 3.5% while it fluctuated
from 2 to 13% for MBD blends in comparison with diesel. Also,
the reduction of CO, HC and soot emissions were 8%, 32% and
22% for BD blend whereas for MBD blend, the reduction is about
13%, 18% and 45%, respectively.
Please cite this article in press as: Venu H, Madhavan V. Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-
diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine. Fuel (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101
3
1.2. Diethyl ether as an ignition enhancer- a review
Works with antioxidants [39], N,N-diphenyl-1 and 4-
phenylenediamine and oxygenated additives such as ethanol, n-
butanol and DEE [40] found promising in reducing the CO and
NOx emissions simultaneously. Among the various ether additives,
diethyl ether (DEE) and dimethyl ether (DME) were used pro-
foundly as additives for diesel fuel and alternative feedstock owing
to its lower chain of carbon atoms in its structure and promising
ignition improving qualities. Even though of higher DME, which
has similar properties of that of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) in
lowering NOx and smoke simultaneously [41], it is not currently
adaptable for distribution of higher quantity of gaseous fuels in
an unmodified diesel engine. Moreover, the DME production cost
in current manufacturing scenario is also considerably higher.
The solution stands with DEE, which has reflective properties of
DME, but in liquid form (at ambient conditions) thus subjugating
the demerits of current automotive technology and fuel supply
cost. Also, DEE has comparatively lower production cost and can
be synthesized by ethanol which in turn can be developed from
biomass [42] through dehydration process.
DEE has favorable properties for application in diesel engines,
such as higher cetane number (>125), moderate energy density
(for bulk storage applications), higher O2 content in its structure,
lower auto-ignition temperature, prolonged flammability and
improved miscibility with diesel. Babu et al. [43] analyzed the
effect of DEE in mahua oil methyl ester (MOME) and revealed that,
carbon monoxide and smoke were reduced greater than 50% with
DEE addition. Sivalakshmi and Balusamy [44] performed experi-
ments in a single cylinder diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel
and various percentage of DEE addition (5%, 10%, 15%) and con-
cluded that, 5% DEE addition lowered the CO and smoke emissions
with increased HC and NOx formation. Venu and Madhavan [45]
used DEE as an ignition improver in biodiesel (80%)-ethanol
(20%) (BE) blend fuelled in a stationary single cylinder diesel
engine. The authors performed a comparative study of effect of
diethyl ether with nanoparticles (titanium oxide and zirconium
oxide) in influencing the performance and combustion characteris-
tics. They found that, 50 ml DEE addition with BE blend reduced
the BSFC, NOx and smoke significantly with marginal rise in HC
and CO emissions. The authors also observed that, DEE addition
in BE blend promoted Low Temperature Combustion (LTC). Subra-
manian and Ramesh [46] evaluated the performance, combustion
and emission characteristics of diesel with DEE blends (5–15% by
wt) on a single cylinder DE diesel engine. They interpreted that,
10% DEE addition improved the BTE, lowered the smoke and CO
emissions without affecting NOx. Mohanan et al. [47] conducted
series of experiments with diesel-DEE blends at DEE ratio of 5–
25% with increments of 5% (by vol). They reported that, 5% DEE
addition resulted in higher BTE with lowered CO and smoke emis-
sions compared to diesel. At sharp contrast, with higher percent-
ages of DEE (20% and 25%), deteriorated BTE, with increase in CO
and smoke as compared to diesel. They attributed the above emis-
sion changeover to phase separation, injector nozzle cavitations
and improper fuel droplet injection in cylinder chamber. Examin-
ing the above scenario of influence of lower DEE concentrations
in improving combustion, the above research team [48] published
an article with DEE blend percentages of 1–10% with 1% increment.
They concluded that, 5% DEE addition has better engine perfor-
mance than other DEE dosing ratios.
Even though various literatures focused on using oxygenated
additives to improve a base fuel and developing a ternary fuel
blend, there were merely negligible works in context of improving
the ternary blends with an oxygenated additive. With this prime
objective, the current study is focused on improving the perfor-
mance of the ternary blends (alcohol-biodiesel-diesel) with the
4 H. Venu, V. Madhavan / Fuel xxx (2016) xxx–xxx

use of diethyl ether (DEE) in EBD (ethanol (20%)-biodiesel (40%)-
diesel (40%)) and MBD (methanol (20%)-biodiesel (40%)-diesel
(40%)) blends. Jatropha biodiesel is synthesized using conventional
transesterification and the physical properties along with fatty acid
composition were analyzed. In addition, the combustion and per-
formance parameters like cylinder pressure, heat release rate,
BSFC, ignition delay, combustion duration along with various reg-
ulated emissions like HC, CO, CO2, NOx, smoke and particulate
matter (PM) were further analyzed. Results revealed that the addi-
tion of DEE in EBD lowers the EGO, PM, smoke and ignition delay
while DEE addition in MBD lowers the HC, CO, NOx and combus-
tion duration.
2. Experimental material & methods
2.1. Experimental fuels
Diesel fuel employed for experimentation was from a commer-
cial petroleum reserve. Raw Jatropha oil was obtained from Rasha
Pvt Ltd. Jatropha biodiesel was prepared by conventional transes-
terification in fuel processing laboratory, Institute for energy stud-
ies, Anna University. The fatty acid composition of Jatropha curcas
biodiesel was analyzed using gas chromatography equipped with
flame ionization detector and results were shown in Table 1. The
main properties of blending stocks were given in Table 2. Ethanol
used for experimentation is industrial grade anhydrous ethanol
(99.97% pure). Ethanol, methanol and diethyl ether were supplied
by chemical laboratory, Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI),
Chennai. Fuel blending is done on volumetric basis on a magnetic
stirrer without temperature input for 30 min for every test fuel
preparation. Blended fuels are then checked for settling at room
temperature and no settling were observed for about 96 h. Only
after the prior investigation of settling, the test fuels are subjected
for further experimentation.
2.2. Experimental equipment
Data Acquisition System (DAS) records the cylinder pressure
and the obtained data were stored in computer for further analysis.
Using combustion analyzer assembly, the heat release rate (HRR),
ignition delay (ID), combustion duration (CD) and mass fraction
of fuel burnt in the cylinder were evaluated. A high precision flow
meter was installed to measure the fuel flow every 20 s. A piezo-
electric transducer was equipped for monitoring the cylinder pres-
sure and connected with a charge amplifier. The specifications of
measuring instruments were given in Table 3. A non-contact type
optical sensor was mounted near flywheel to ensure constant
engine speed (1500 rev/min). Exhaust gas temperature (EGT) were
measured by K-type thermocouples which were installed at vari-
ous locations of the cylinder chamber. The exhaust gas concentra-
tions like HC, CO, CO2, NOx and O2 were measured using exhaust
gas analyzer (QROTECH-402). During the steady state engine oper-
ation at every stage of experiment, the exhaust gas was permitted
to surge through the probe followed by a condensation trap filter
for evolving moisture free gas. The filtered gas was now allowed
to pass to NDIR sensor for the measurement of HC, CO and CO2
emissions. With electrochemical sensor NOx was measured. Partic-
ulate matter (PM) emissions were done by real-time soot analyzer
(MEXA-1230PM). With smoke meter (AVL 437C), smoke opacity
was measured. The schematic layout of test installation is shown
in Fig. 1. The specifications of the test engine were briefed in
Table 4.
2.3. Engine test procedure
Experiments were carried out on a single cylinder diesel engine
coupled with an eddy current dynamometer for load fluctuations.
Kirloskar make (model: TAF-1) engine was employed since com-
mercial mobile generators and agricultural applications in India

Table 1
Fatty acid composition of Jatropha methyl ester.

Fatty acid Molecular weight Structure Systematic name Formula Composition (%)
Arachidic 312 20:0 Eicosanoic C20H40O2 0.3
Lauric 200 12:0 Dodecanoic C12H24O2 0.2
Linoleic 280 18:2 Cis-9-cis-12-Octadecadienoic C18H32O2 32.4
Linolenic 278 18:3 Cis-9-cis-12 C18H30 O2 0.5
Myristic 228 14:0 Tetradecanoic C14H28O2 0.2
Palmitic 256 16:0 Hexadecanoic C16H32O2 15.2
Palmitoleic 254 16:1 Hexadec-9-enoic C16H30O2 0.8
Oleaic 282 18:1 Cis-9-Octadecenoic C18H34O2 43.2
Stearic 284 18:0 Octadecanoic C18H36 O2 7.2
Saturated 22.6
Monosaturated 32.9
Polysaturated 44.5

Table 2
Main properties of blending stocks.

Property Diesel Jatropha biodiesel Ethanola Methanolb Diethyl etherc

3
Density @ 20 °C (kg m ) 840 874.3 789 795 718
Kinematic viscosity @ 40 °C (cSt) 2.84 4.34 1.2 0.59 0.23
Lower calorific value (kJ/kg) 42,700 42,673 26,800 19,700 33,900
Cetane number 48 52.7 5–8 <5 >125
Flash point (°C) 68 130 13.5 11 45
Latent heat of vaporization (kJ/kg) 250 200 840 1109 350
Molecular weight 170 290 46.07 32 74
Elemental analysis (%wt)
C (%) 80.12 82.22 52.18 37.5 64.9
H (%) 12.2 11.96 13.04 12.5 13.5
O2 (%) 1.21 5.74 34.8 50 21.6
N (%) 1.68 0.041 – – –
S (%) 4.79 0.038 – – –
a,b,c
Data taken from Refs. [25,54,51].

Please cite this article in press as: Venu H, Madhavan V. Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-
diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine. Fuel (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101
 H. Venu, V. Madhavan / Fuel xxx (2016) xxx–xxx 5

Table 3
Specifications of measuring instruments.

Device specification Range Accuracy Uncertainties

Exhaust analyzer
(QROTECH Co Ltd) 0–9.99% vol ±0.02% ±0.3
Carbon monoxide (CO) 0–19.99% vol ±0.03% ±0.2
Carbon dioxide (CO2) 0–10,000 ppm ±20 ppm ±0.3
Total Hydrocarbon (THC) 0–5000 ppm ±10 ppm ±0.5
Oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
Smoke meter AVL 437C 0–100 BSU ±0.1 BSU ±0.4
Particulate matter (PM) MEXA-1230PM 0–150 mg/m3 ±0.1 mg/m3 ±0.2
Exhaust gas temperature (EGT) 0–900 °C ±1 °C ±0.15
Fuel flow meter 1–30 cc ±0.1 cc ±1
Pressure transducer (KISTLER 7063-A) 0–10 MPa ±0.1 MPa ±1
Crank angle encoder 0–720 deg CA 0.2CAbTDC ±0.2
Digital tachometer (for speed measurement) 0–15,000 rpm ±2 rpm ±1
Eddy current dynamometer 200–8000 W 15 W ±0.4

mental tests were carried out using EBD (ethanol (20%)-biodiesel

(40%)-diesel (40%)), MBD-5DEE (methanol (20%)-biodiesel (40%)-
diesel (40%)) with 5% ethyl ether, EBD-5DEE (EBD with 5% diethyl
ether), EBD-10DEE (EBD with 10% diethyl ether) and diesel fuel.
MBD was very viscous and the engine does not run. So, overall
the tests were performed with EBD, EBD-5DEE, EBD-10DEE,
MBD-5DEE and diesel.

2.4. Uncertainty analysis

For enhanced accuracy, experimentation with each test fuel is

carried out five times and their average values were considered
for further calculation. During experimentation, there are several
chances for errors and uncertainties due to calibration, observa-
tion, instrument selection, working condition, environmental con-
dition, etc., In order to prove the level of accuracy in measured and
calculated readings, uncertainty analysis is must. Also, for normal-
izing the fixed/random errors occurred due to manufacturing syn-
Fig. 1. Schematic layout of test installation. tax of various equipments, uncertainties were estimated in
measured parameters using analytical method and the calculated
uncertainties for various measured quantities were listed in
Table 4 Table 3.
Test engine specification.

Engine make Kirloskar TAF 1 3. Results and discussion

Engine type 4 S, vertical diesel engine
No. of cylinders 1
Rated power 4.4 kW @ 1500 rpm 3.1. Performance and combustion analysis
Bore and stroke 87.5 mm and 110 mm
Compression ratio 17.5:1 3.1.1. Brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC)
Displacement volume 661 cc BSFC is defined as the quantity (mass flow rate) of the fuel per
Injection timing 23 deg bDTC (rated)
unit of developed brake power. Also, it is the quantification of fuel
Injection pressure 200 bar
Combustion chamber geometry Hemispherical chamber utilized by the engine for developing certain brake power. From
No. of nozzle holes 3 Fig. 2, it is observed that at 25% load condition, highest BSFC of
Diameter of nozzle hole 0.3 mm 0.62 kg/kW h for EBD-5DEE followed by 0.54 kg/kW h, 0.49 kg/
Angle of fuel spray (cone angle) 120 deg
kW h, 0.47 kg/kW h and 0.44 kg/kW h for EBD-10DEE, EBD, diesel
Piston geometry Hemispherical
Swept volume 661 cc and MBD-5DEE. At lower engine loads, BSFC of EBD increased
Inlet valve open (IVO) bTDC 4.5 deg and as the load increases the BSFC is dropped below EBD-10DEE.
Inlet valve close (IVC) aBDC 35.5 deg This is because, ay lower loads very less fuel is injected into the
Exhaust valve open (EVO) bBDC 35.5 deg combustion chamber resulting in lowered cylinder pressure and
Exhaust valve close (EVC) aTDC 4.5 deg
temperatures. The presence of pure ethanol in EBD might have
reduced the ignition temperature and would have refrained from
burning. With increase in load, more fuel enters the combustion
uses this engine type profoundly. Tests were performed at 5 load chamber resulting in elevated temperatures which is sufficient
intervals of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% which are equivalent to for ethanol in EBD to reach its auto-ignition temperature thereby
their respective brake power ranges. Initially, the engine was run reducing the BSFC gradually. As the load increases, the BSFC of
with diesel for 20 min to warm it up before the testing of other EBD drops to 0.32 kg/kW h. Highest BSFC is observed with 5EBD-
blends. Similarly, between one test fuel and other, engine was 5DEE and found varying from 0.62 kg/kW h to 0.32 kg/kW h. This
allowed to run with diesel for 10 min to ensure complete combus- is due to higher cetane number of the blend causing reduced igni-
tion of the residual fuel and in-cylinder homogeneity. The experi- tion delay (Fig. 6). Therefore, the charge gets less time to react with

Please cite this article in press as: Venu H, Madhavan V. Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-
diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine. Fuel (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101
6 H. Venu, V. Madhavan / Fuel xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
0.7
0.6
0.5
BSFC (kg/kWh)
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
1.082 2.164 3.246
BRAKE POWER (kW)
Fig. 2. Variation of brake specific fuel consumption with brake power.
air and the resulting heterogeneous mixture reduces the com-
bustibility and increases the fuel requirement to maintain constant
engine speed. With increase in concentration of DEE, ignition delay
increases (Fig. 6). EBD-10DEE reduces the BSFC by 21% and 7.7% in
comparison to EBD-5DEE at 25% and 100% loads respectively. This
is purely attributed to higher cetane index of DEE, resulting in ear-
lier charge combustion presumably near the TDC (Figs. 3 and 4) fol-
lowed by complete combustion, thereby resulting in lowered rate
of fuel supplied to engine. MBD-5DEE exhibits lowest BSFC among
the blends, due to its higher available oxygen with presence of DEE
(21.6% oxygen content) and methanol (50% oxygen content) which
reduces the overall combustion duration (Fig. 7) followed by low-
ered BSFC. Also, the presence of DEE with auto ignition tempera-
ture (160 °C) along with high oxygen content of methanol (50%)
creates number of ignition centres within the combustion chamber
thereby promoting faster burning rate resulting in much lower fuel
consumption compared to diesel fuel.
3.1.2. Cylinder pressure
In CI engines, the maximum pressure attained by the fuel
depends mainly on the mass of fuel burnt during the premixed
combustion phase. Fig. 3 depicts the cylinder pressure variation
of all the test fuels with respect to crank angle at 25%, 50%, 75%
and 100% engine load condition. At lower engine loads, reduced
wall temperatures and residual gas temperatures prevails which
eventually leads to a lower charge temperature with prolonged
ignition delay. Hence, due to longer ID, combustion starts
later for MBD-5DEE and EBD-10DEE in comparison with rest of
the blends. At 25% engine load, combustion starts later for
EBD-10DEE and MBD-5DEE. It is observed that, for MBD-5DEE
the pressure attained is lowest and occurs farther away from
TDC (top dead centre) during the expansion stroke. This is due to
denser mixture with the presence of methanol and even though
the oxygen content is higher with the presence of DEE, lowered
temperature prevailing in the combustion chamber do not enhance
the combustion. Thus, lowered rate of combustion with high
ignition delay causes lower cylinder pressure. At 25% load, with
EBD-5DEE 3.57% higher pressure is observed (55.4 bar) while
EBD-10DEE do not enhance the pressure and it diminishes the
pressure attained to 46.8 bar which is 13.33% lower than EBD. This
is perhaps, due to lower ignition delay of EBD in comparison with
EBD-10DEE thereby causing higher in-cylinder pressures. With 10%
DEE addition, as a result of higher latent heat of vaporization of the
Please cite this article in press as: Venu H, Madhavan V. Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-
diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine. Fuel (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101
DIESEL mixture, the peak pressure attains lower value and occurs away
MBD-5DEE from TDC later during the expansion stroke. As the engine load
EBD-5DEE increases, more fuel takes part in combustion. Increased in-
EBD-10DEE cylinder temperatures favors the oxidation of MBD-5DEE and from
EBD Fig. 3, we can infer that at 50% and 75% load the pressure attained
by MBD-5DEE is slightly higher and approaches near that of EBD-
10DEE, while at 100% load it is still higher than EBD-10DEE. Also,
with increasing engine load, the cylinder pressure of diesel
approaches to that of EBD and EBD-5DEE. Overall, the presence
of 5%DEE both at lower and higher loads improves the cylinder
pressure, while 10% DEE addition in EBD do not make any signifi-
cance due to prolonged ignition delay as a result of higher latent
heat vaporization of mixture.
3.1.3. Cylinder peak pressure
Peak pressure rise increases with increasing engine load condi-
tion due to more fuel fraction consumed at higher loads. Fig. 4
4.328 shows the variation of peak pressure rise for various test fuels.
Lowest peak pressure is observed for MBD-5DEE due to higher fuel
viscosity and higher ignition delay of the mixture resulting in
improper combustion. Lowered peak pressure can also be attribu-
ted to cooled intake charge of the mixture which lowers the in-
cylinder temperature leading to deteriorated combustion rate fol-
lowed by lower peak pressure. Maximum peak pressure is
observed for EBD-5DEE especially at lower loads. Increase of peak
pressure by 11.5%, 5.5% and 3.1% for EBD-5DEE at 0%, 25% and 100%
engine loads in comparison with EBD indicates improved oxidation
and combustion rate. The main reason for EBD-5DEE to exhibit
higher peak pressure in comparison with EBD-10DEE could be
attributed to lowered ignition delay, easier evaporation, better
oxygen utilization followed by accelerated combustion rate overall
resulting in higher peak pressure. Peak pressure of diesel is mar-
ginally lower than that of EBD and significantly higher than that
of EBD-10DEE and MBD-5DEE.
3.1.4. Heat release rate (HRR)
The heat release rate (HRR) at each crank angle for various test
fuels were calculated using the correlation derived from first law of
thermodynamics by Eq. (1):
   
dQn c dV 1 dP
¼ P þ V þ Q_ lw: ð1Þ
dh c  1 dh c  1 dh
where dQ dh
is the heat release rate (J/deg CA), P is the instantaneous
cylinder pressure (N/m2), V is the instantaneous cylinder volume
(m3), h is crank angle (deg) and c is the ratio of specific heats
Cp/Cv (kJ/kg K). c depends on temperature and influences the inten-
sity of dQ n and Q_ . Q_ is the blow by losses which are evaluated by
dh lw lw
Sahoo et al. [49]. The gross heat release rate can be calculated by Eq.
(2):
dQg dQn dQlw
¼ þ ð2Þ
dh dh dh
where dQlw
dh
is the amount of heat transfer rate to the combustion
chamber walls [50]. Fig. 5 shows the variation of heat release rate
(HRR) for all the test fuels with respect to crank angle at 25%,
50%, 75% and 100% engine loads, respectively. Initially, negative
heat release is observed for all the blends indicating the vaporiza-
tion of mixture. It is followed by a positive heat release due to igni-
tion delay period followed by rapid burning during the premixed
fuel-air mixture and diffusion combustion phase (DCP) where the
burning rate is controlled by fuel-air mixing velocity. At lower
engine loads (25% and 50%), longer ignition delay of MBD-5DEE
and EBD-10DEE resulted in later start of combustion which resulted
in lowered peak pressure and heat release rate. The increase in igni-
tion delay with higher concentrations of DEE in BDE can be
 H. Venu, V. Madhavan / Fuel xxx (2016) xxx–xxx 7

EBD-5DEE EBD-10DEE DIESEL MBD-5DEE EBD

60 60

CYLINDER PRESSURE (bar)

CYLINDER PRESSURE (bar)

50 50

40 40

30 30

20 20
(b) BRAKE POWER 2.164 kW
(a) BRAKE POWER 1.082kW
(50% load)
(25% load)
10 10
-20 -10 0 10 20 30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
CRANK ANGLE (deg CA) CRANK ANGLE (deg CA)

70
70

60
CYLINDER PRESSURE (bar)

60
CYLINDER PRESSURE (bar)

50
50

40
40

30
30

20
(c) BRAKE POWER 3.246 kW
20
(d) BRAKE POWER 4.4kW
(75% load) (100% load)
10 10
-20 -10 0 10 20 30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
CRANK ANGLE (deg CA) CRANK ANGLE (deg CA)

Fig. 3. Variation of cylinder pressure with crank angle at (a) 25% load (b) 50% load (c) 75% load and (d) 100% load.

explained by the vaporization of ethanol and DEE in BDE blend

80 DIESEL
MBD-5DEE
which causes the fuel spray injection in an environment of rela-
EBD-5DEE tively lower gas temperatures, especially at lower loads [24]. EBD-
70
EBD-10DEE 5DEE exhibits highest HRR (heat release rate) of 96.24 J/deg CA
EBD which is 8.3% higher than that of EBD. This is possibly due to higher
PEAK PRESSURE (bar)

60 volatility and low latent heat properties of DEE causing excess fuel
accumulation during the PCP (premixed combustion phase) fol-
50 lowed by higher HRR, especially at lower engine loads. The follow-
ing were observed at higher engine loads; peak HRR of EBD-10DEE
40 and MBD-5DEE approaches near TDC; HRR of EBD attains higher
heat release than EBD-10DEE; the peak HRR of EBD-10DEE occurs
exactly near the TDC. The above observations can be explained on
30
the basis of latent heat properties, cetane number and ignition delay
of the fuel mixture. Despite the higher cetane number of DEE, the
20
higher concentrations of DEE prolonged the ID [51]. The HRR of die-
sel is closer to that of EBD-10DEE. But, the angle of occurrence of
10 main HRR for diesel fuel occurs earlier with respect to TDC. This
1.082 2.164 3.246 4.328
could be attributed to earlier start of combustion followed by low-
BRAKE POWER (kW)
ered ignition delay. MBD-5DEE, with higher oxygen content and vis-
Fig. 4. Variation of peak pressure rise with brake power. cosity in blends eventually results in poor mixture formation along

Please cite this article in press as: Venu H, Madhavan V. Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-
diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine. Fuel (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101
8 H. Venu, V. Madhavan / Fuel xxx (2016) xxx–xxx

EBD-5DEE EBD-10DEE DIESEL MBD-5DEE EBD

(a) BRAKE POWER 1.082 kW (b) BRAKE POWER 2.164 kW

(25% load) (50% load)
100
100

HEAT RELEASE RATE (J/deg CA)

HEAT RELEASE RATE (J/deg CA)

80
80

60 60

40 40

20 20

0 0

-20 -20
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50
CRANK ANGLE (deg CA) CRANK ANGLE (deg CA)

(c) BRAKE POWER 3.246 kW (d) BRAKE POWER 4.4kW

100 (75% load) 100 (100% load)
HEAT RELEASE RATE (J/deg CA)

HEAT RELEASE RATE (J/deg CA)

80 80

60 60

40 40

20 20

0 0

-20 -20
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50
CRANK ANGLE (deg CA) CRANK ANGLE (deg CA)

Fig. 5. Variation of heat release rate with crank angle at (a) 25% load (b) 50% load (c) 75% load and (d) 100% load.

50 DIESEL 80 DIESEL
MBD-5DEE MBD-5DEE
45 EBD-5DEE 70 EBD-5DEE
COMBUSTION DURATION (deg CA)

EBD-10DEE EBD-10DEE
40
EBD EBD
IGNITION DELAY (deg CA)

60
35
50
30

25 40

20 30

15
20
10
10
5

0 0
1.082 2.164 3.246 4.328 1.082 2.164 3.246 4.328
BRAKE POWER (kW) BRAKE POWER (kW)

Fig. 6. Variation of ignition delay with brake power. Fig. 7. Variation of combustion duration with brake power.

Please cite this article in press as: Venu H, Madhavan V. Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-
diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine. Fuel (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101
 H. Venu, V. Madhavan / Fuel xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
with prolonged ignition delay (Fig. 6), thereby lowering the PCP
resulting in lowered HRR. The shift of HRR away from TDC could
be attributed to combined effects of methanol and DEE in MBD-
5DEE resulting in higher latent heat of vaporization, reduced in-
cylinder temperatures and longer ignition delay. As a result, at
lower loads, the above factors along with lean air-methanol mixture
results in shift of HRR away from the TDC. With increase in engine
loads, reduced ignition delay along with the above factors with rich
air-methanol mixture causes more fuel burnt during the PCP fol-
lowed by a marginal shift of peak HRR nearer to TDC.
3.1.5. Ignition delay (ID)
Ignition delay (ID) is the duration between start of injection
(SOI) and start of combustion (SOC) in terms of CA degrees. ID for-
mation depends mainly on physical/chemical properties of the
fuel, cetane number, angle of fuel injection advance, cylinder tem-
perature and pressure. Fig. 6 shows the variation of ID with brake
power for all the test fuels. As the engine load increases, the phys-
ical ID reduces [52]. It is observed that diesel, EBD-5DEE and EBD
exhibits almost similar trends of ID and varies between 26 deg
CA and 22 deg CA. EBD-10DEE has highest ID in comparison with
rest of the blends ranging from 28 deg CA to 25 deg CA throughout
the engine load. 5% DEE addition reduced the ID while 10% DEE
addition showed higher ID. When the concentration of DEE
increases, in spite of higher cetane number of the blends, ignition
delay increases due to reduced formation of ignition centres inside
the combustion chamber. This is in accordance with previous
research findings [51]. ID of diesel fuel stays closer to that of EBD
and EBD-5DEE except at 75% load condition where diesel reports
ID of 16 deg CA. MBD-5DEE exhibits highest ID throughout the load
condition ranging from 29 deg CA to 28 deg CA. This is attributed to
high O2 content, denser mixture, higher viscosity, and heavier
molecular structure of methanol blend which reduces the mixing
rate and evaporation rate [12]. With higher dilution of mixture,
the ignition delay increases significantly. This could be explained
in terms of cetane index of the fuel blends. Cetane number is a
property for smoother engine operation. Higher the cetane number
is, advanced the timing is, due to shortened ignition delay [53] as
observed in case of EBD-5DEE. But the same does not hold good
for EBD-10DEE.
3.1.6. Combustion duration (CD)
Combustion duration (CD) is defined as the time interval
between Start of combustion (SOC) and end of combustion (EOC)
in terms of degree crank angle (CA). SOC is the angle at which sud-
den rise in heat release rate, while EOC is taken at the angle where
90% of the combustion occurred. CD indicates the burn progress in
the cycle. From Fig. 7, we infer that CD increases with increasing
engine load due to more quantity of fuel injected. Lowest CD is
observed for MBD-5DEE and it ranges from 41 deg CA at 25% load
to 53 deg CA at 100% load. The above can be explained on the basis
of higher oxygen content which dilutes the mixture thereby reduc-
ing the cylinder temperature. Lowered in-cylinder temperatures
were also evident from reduced heat release rate and lowered
NOx formation. Effective utilization of fuel for combustion is evi-
dent from BSFC, thereby very less fuel taking part during the com-
bustion along with lesser reaction time followed by less CD. At 25%
load, CD of EBD is higher than diesel, while at 75% load, the CD of
EBD stays closer to that of diesel fuel. This shows the load depen-
dence of EBD without any additives in influencing the duration of
combustion. CD of diesel fuel fluctuates from 49 deg CA at 25% load
to 57 deg CA at 100% load. This could be correlated with earlier SOC
along with longer diffusion combustion which prolongs the com-
bustion followed by longer CD. With addition of DEE, the CD
reduces significantly indicating improved rate of combustion with
ignition enhancer. As the DEE concentration increases from 5% to
Please cite this article in press as: Venu H, Madhavan V. Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-
diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine. Fuel (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101
9
10%, CD reduces by 3.2%, 13.7%, 13.4% and 4.3% for engine loads
of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% respectively. This is because, DEE
improves the latent heat vaporization and volatility of the mixture
and forms several ignition centres within the combustion chamber
which reduces the overall mixing and reaction time followed by
lowered CD.
3.1.7. Exhaust gas temperature (EGT)
Exhaust gas temperature (EGT) from CI engines reflects the
amount of heat released during the combustion process within
the cylinder and for some extent; EGT has influence over the pol-
lutant formation. Fig. 8 represents the variation of exhaust temper-
atures of all the test fuels. At lower engine loads, diesel possess
higher EGT, while with increase in load, MBD-5DEE exhibits higher
temperatures. This is because, methanol blended fuel has heavier
molecular structure, high density and viscosity which is difficult
to get vaporized at lower loads due to reduced in-cylinder temper-
atures. EBD-5DEE and EBD-10DEE exhibits lowest and similar tem-
perature ranges. EBD remains constant throughout the engine load,
while EBD-5DEE has a sharp rise of EGT at 100% load to 429 °C,
which could be attributed to complete vaporization of ethanol
and DEE at higher in-cylinder temperatures promoting complete
combustion followed by higher EGT. At higher loads, highest EGT
for EBD-5DEE could be attributed to formation of several ignition
centres inside the combustion chamber with DEE addition, result-
ing in occurrence of spontaneous ignition followed by higher EGT.
Also, at high engine loads, elevated temperatures breakdown the
heavy molecular structure of MBD-5DEE and enhances the oxida-
tion of O2 molecules, along with the presence of DEE resulting in
higher EGT’s at 75% and 100% loads (340 °C and 442 °C)
3.2. Emission analysis
3.2.1. Total unburned hydrocarbon (THC)
There are various possible sources for unburned hydrocarbon
formation in CI engines. Fuel trapped in nozzle, crevice areas and
cylinder piston interface accounts for majority of THC emission.
Other factors includes incomplete evaporation of fuel mixture,
local over rich/over lean mixture and liquid wall film interface with
more spray impingement [52]. Fig. 9 illustrates the variation of
THC with respect to brake power. Throughout the engine load con-
dition, reduced HC were observed for diesel fuel operation. Both
EBD and MBD blends showed higher THC emissions in comparison
with diesel. This could be attributed to the concentration of alcohol
450 DIESEL
MBD-5DEE
400
EBD-5DEE
EBD-10DEE
350
EBD
300
EGT ( C)
250
o
200
150
100
50
0
0.000 1.082 2.164 3.246 4.328
BRAKE POWER (kW)
Fig. 8. Variation of exhaust gas temperature with brake power.
10 H. Venu, V. Madhavan / Fuel xxx (2016) xxx–xxx

DIESEL 0.10 DIESEL

3.5 MBD-5DEE MBD-5DEE
0.09
EBD-5DEE EBD-5DEE
EBD-10DEE

CARBON MONOXIDE (g/kWh)

3.0 EBD-10DEE 0.08
EBD EBD
0.07
2.5
THC (g/kWh)

0.06
2.0
0.05

1.5 0.04

0.03
1.0
0.02
0.5
0.01

0.0 0.00
1.082 2.164 3.246 4.328 1.082 2.164 3.246 4.328
BRAKE POWER (kW) BRAKE POWER (kW)

Fig. 9. Variation of total unburned hydrocarbon with respect to brake power. Fig. 10. Variation of carbon monoxide with respect to brake power.

(20%v/v) which could possibly result in cooling effect of blends
thereby reduced cylinder temperatures and incomplete combus-
tion followed by higher THC. The concentration of alcohol in blends
is a key aspect in utilization of oxygen content. For example, 10%
alcohol concentration could have a positive effect of higher O2 con-
tent, while further increase in alcohol content could result in
excess cooling effect and higher THC formation [25]. With increase
in concentration of DEE in EBD, higher THC was observed. On one
hand, this could be attributed to the promotion of LTC by DEE addi-
tion, especially near the cylinder wall zone during the mixture for-
mation thus liberating higher level of THC. DEE addition makes the
evaporation of fuel easier followed by fuel slipping into the cylin-
der chamber, especially during the expansion stroke [54]. On the
other hand, with higher DEE concentration, EBD-10DEE consumes
more fuel per energy extracted as the engine load decreases. Thus,
dominating the excess fuel carry over, resulting in higher level of
THC emission, especially at lower and part loads. Addition of DEE
in MBD blend reduced the THC emissions at lower loads and
increased THC is evident at higher loads with respect to EBD. This
is because, at higher engine loads more fuel takes part in combus-
tion along with higher in-cylinder gas temperature which impedes
the cooling effect of methanol in comparison to that of lower
engine loads thereby causing increased THC.
3.2.2. Carbon monoxide (CO)
In general, diesel engines operates well over the lean mixture
zone, hence CO liberated from a diesel engine is considerably lower
to be unimportant. But, the effect of alcohol and ignition improver
conditions, diesel exhibits lowest CO, except for 100% load where
diesel exhibits 44.4% higher CO than EBD. At 100% load, EBD-
10DEE has 10.5% higher CO than EBD-5DEE. This is because DEE
addition lowers the fuel energy content due to its lower C/H ratio.
Higher levels of DEE could further reduce the energy content. At
higher loads, more fuel enters the cylinder and when more fuel
with lesser energy content takes part in combustion, incomplete
combustion occur which results in higher CO emission.
3.2.3. Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Carbon dioxide and water vapor are considered to be the prod-
ucts of complete combustion of a hydrocarbon fuel. Higher levels
of CO2 from engine exhaust indicates better fuel oxidation. CO2 for-
mation depends on elemental carbon, C/H ratio, mixture density
and total available oxygen during combustion. From Fig. 11, we
infer that throughout the engine load condition CO2 for diesel fuel
is lowest in comparison with oxygenated fuel blends indicating
poor oxidation for diesel fuel. EBD-5DEE exhibits highest CO2 of
9.42 g/kW h and 6.86 k/kW h at 25% and 50% engine loads while
at 75% load, CO2 of EBD-10DEE is highest (7.47 g/kW h). The above
can be explained on the basis of oxygenation of blends during com-
DIESEL
14
MBD-5DEE
EBD-5DEE
12 EBD-10DEE
EBD
CARBON DIOXIDE(g/kWh)

changes the fuel spray characteristics, oxygen content, oxidation 10

rate, cylinder temperatures and ignition centre formation which
influences the formation of CO. Also, CO formation depends upon 8
the physical-chemical properties of the fuel. From Fig. 10, it is
deceivable that, the addition of DEE in both EBD and MBD
6
increased the CO emissions throughout the engine load condition.
This could be attributed to the lower cetane index of alcohol
blended fuels which increases the ignition delay (Fig. 6) followed 4
by incomplete combustion and higher CO formation. At lower
engine loads, CO emissions increases drastically while with 2
increasing loads, the variation is not that significant. The drastic
increase in CO at lower loads is due to the reduced cylinder gas
temperatures along with delayed combustion (evident from cylin- 0
1.082 2.164 3.246 4.328
der pressure and heat release variation). So, even though EBD BRAKE POWER (kW)
blends have enough oxygen available for combustion, the oxida-
tion rate is suppressed at lower temperatures. Throughout the load Fig. 11. Variation of carbon dioxide with respect to brake power.

Please cite this article in press as: Venu H, Madhavan V. Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-
diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine. Fuel (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101

bustion which is evident from amount of exhaust oxygen content
(Fig. 12), where a significant improvement in oxidation is notice-
able at 75% and 100% engine load conditions. Also, the inbuilt fuel
bound oxygen reacts with the unburned carbon atoms during the
combustion and increases the possible formation of CO2. In simple,
more the CO2 in the exhaust is, more complete the hydrocarbon
combustion is, owing to improved oxidation rate [61]. Better oxi-
dation of MBD-5DEE and EBD-10DEE ensures complete combus-
tion followed by higher CO2 formation, especially at higher
engine loads.
3.2.4. Exhaust gas oxygen (EGO)
EGO level indicates the amount of oxidation achieved by the
test fuels during combustion. EGO is provided by the EGO sensor
which gives details about the O2 levels from exhaust and it is very
useful for analyzing the transition from rich to lean mixture range.
With rich mixtures, more O2 is burnt during the combustion, while
with lean mixtures, less oxygen is utilized during combustion and
more oxygen escapes ‘‘un-combusted” so the EGO level rises. In
simple, EGO levels are inversely proportional to combustion effi-
ciency. Fig. 12 indicates the variation of EGO for all the test fuels
with respect to brake power. As the engine load increases EGO
reduces due to higher in-cylinder temperatures. From Fig. 12, it
is observed that EBD-5DEE exhibits lowest EGO throughout the
engine condition indicating better oxidation of fuel droplets due
to finer atomization and improved fuel spray characteristics.
Higher levels of EGO were observed for diesel and EBD blends
throughout the load. In comparison with EBD-5DEE, EBD-10DEE
exhibits higher EGO by 3.3%, 5% and 4.5% at 0%, 25% and 75% engine
loads, respectively. This is because, with higher DEE concentration,
the volatile and latent heat properties of the mixture are affected
chiefly. Also, the ID is prolonged and CD is lowered, cylinder pres-
sure and heat release rate is lower which overall affects the mass of
fuel burnt during the PCP and makes it difficult for evaporation of
the mixture, thereby reducing the oxidation rate for EBD-10DEE
resulting in higher EGO in comparison with EBD-5DEE. In sharp
contrast, at 100% engine load lowest EGO (6.2%) is observed for
EBD-10DEE, which could be accounted for elevated temperatures
at full load causing easier evaporation and better oxygen utiliza-
tion during combustion.
3.2.5. Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
In General, NO (Nitric oxide) and NO2 (Nitrogen dioxide) were
grouped under NOx emissions. However, NO is the predominant
22
20
18
EXHAUST GAS OXYGEN (%)
16
14
12
10
8 6
6
4
2
0 0
0.000 1.082 2.164
BRAKE POWER (kW)
Fig. 12. Variation of exhaust gas oxygen with respect to brake power.
Please cite this article in press as: Venu H, Madhavan V. Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-
diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine. Fuel (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101
H. Venu, V. Madhavan / Fuel xxx (2016) xxx–xxx 11
oxide produced in the engine cylinder. At higher gas temperatures
(above 1500 °C) during the combustion reaction, N2 in the air
reacts with O2 to form NOx emissions. The various reasons associ-
ated with NOx formation are lowered radiation heat transfer,
higher adiabatic flame temperature, faster burning rate and avail-
able inbuilt excess oxygen [52]. The presence of O2 plays a signif-
icant role in NOx formation. NOx emissions increases at lean
mixture range (k = 1.1–1.2) where profusion of O2 molecules
occurs resulting in elevated combustion temperatures [55–59].
From Fig. 13, it can be observed that NOx emissions of EBD-
5DEE, EBD and diesel were significantly higher than that of EBD-
10DEE and MBD-5DEE. Except 25% load condition, the NOx emitted
by EBD is highest followed by diesel and EBD-5DEE throughout the
engine load. At 25% load, a sudden bump of NOx is observed for
EBD-5DEE (11.2 g/kW h), which can be accounted for relative
higher in-cylinder temperatures prevailing for EBD-5DEE (evident
from higher heat release rate). With higher cylinder temperature
and oxygen content, NOx is higher for EBD-5DEE at 25% load. As
the engine load increases, more fuel enters the combustion cham-
ber with elevated temperatures favoring the chemistry of NOx for-
mation. The reason for EBD to exhibit higher NOx in comparison to
EBD-5DEE is the presence of pure ethanol without any additives
which acts as a dominating factor in elevating the in-cylinder tem-
perature and pressures followed by higher NOx. This is in accor-
dance with previous research findings [24] where the presence of
neat ethanol dominated the addition of ignition improvers in ele-
vated NOx. EBD-10DEE and MBD-5DEE exhibits lowest NOx
throughout the engine load condition. The possible explanations
could be, the longer ignition delay of oxygenated blends (due to
presence of more oxygen content and DEE) resulting in less resid-
ual gas temperature and wall temperature followed by lowered
NOx. It is to be observed that, in spite of higher DEE concentration
in EBD-10DEE, significant charge dilution occurs for MBD-5DEE as
a result of prolonged ignition delay and lowered combustion dura-
tion favors the low temperature environment for MBD-5DEE
thereby resulting in lowered NOx throughout the engine load
condition.
3.2.6. Smoke opacity
Smoke is a result of incomplete combustion. Smoke emissions
from CI engine occur primarily due to deficiency of air in combus-
tion rich zone, higher fuel viscosity, higher C/H ratio, poor atomiza-
tion and excessive fuel accumulation in combustion chamber.
Fig. 14 depicts the variation of smoke level of various test fuels
16
DIESEL DIESEL
MBD-5DEE MBD-5DEE
EBD-5DEE 14 EBD-5DEE
EBD-10DEE EBD-10DEE
NITROGEN OXIDES (g/kWh)
EBD 12 EBD
10
8
4
2
3.246 4.328 1.082 2.164 3.246 4.328
BRAKE POWER (kW)
Fig. 13. Variation of nitrogen oxides with respect to brake power.
12
with respect to brake power. It is observed that the smoke opacity
increases with increasing engine loads due to creation of more fuel
rich zones inside the chamber along with elevated temperatures.
The smoke levels at 100% engine load for the test fuels of MBD-
5DEE, diesel, EBD, EBD-5DEE and EBD-10DEE are 26.2 Bosch Smoke
Unit (BSU), 21.4 BSU, 15.3BSU, 12.4 BSU and 6.4 BSU respectively.
At lower engine loads, EBD exhibits highest smoke characteristics
due to lower in-cylinder temperatures where the presence of pure
ethanol cannot be utilized in combustion, but readily available
excess oxygen in MBD-5DEE makes significance in reducing the
smoke by 65.27% and 44.4% at 25% and 50% engine loads in com-
parison with EBD. As the engine load increases, MBD-5DEE shows
highest smoke range of 12.4 BSU and 26.2 BSU at 75% and 100%
load condition. This is because, at higher loads more fuel enters
the combustion chamber and as a result of heavy molecular
structure, higher density and viscosity of MBD-5DEE, poor mixture
formation and diminished spray characteristics resulted in higher
smoke opacity. With DEE addition, both EBD-5DEE and EBD-
10DEE exhibits lowest smoke characteristics at all the loads except
100% load condition. Also, at full load, EBD-5DEE and EBD-10DEE
reduces the smoke by 18.42% and 60.25% in comparison with
EBD. This drastic reduction is attributed to the presence of DEE
in blends, which has higher fuel bound oxygen atoms, reduced vis-
cosity, improved volatility and better fuel-air mixing overall result-
ing in better spray atomization with reduced fuel rich zones
thereby leading to drastic smoke reduction. EBD exhibits higher
smoke than diesel fuel by 59.27%, 9.42% and 16.8% at engine loads
of 25%, 50% and 75%, respectively. While at 100% load, EBD has
28.53% lowered smoke than diesel. Despite the fact that the oxy-
genated fuel blends exhibits lower smoke emissions due to
improved diffusion combustion, the main reason for BDE to exhibit
higher smoke, in comparison with diesel fuel except 100% load is,
poor atomization and insufficient time for oxidation (evident from
higher HC and CO emissions). At 100% engine load, the amount of
heat released by BDE is highest and that of HC and CO formation
were lowest. This reflects the load dependence of BDE in promot-
ing complete oxidation of soot precursors, especially at 100% load
where the elevated temperatures help the vaporization of pure
ethanol in BDE followed by improved combustion and lowered
smoke characteristics.
3.2.7. Brake specific particulate matter (PM)
PM is formed due to insufficient oxygen in fuel rich zones dur-
ing heterogeneous combustion [60]. In general, biodiesel and oxy-
30
DIESEL
MBD-5DEE
EBD-5DEE
25
EBD-10DEE
SMOKE OPACITY (BSU)
EBD
20
15
10
5 5DEE.
0
1.082 2.164 3.246
BRAKE POWER (kW)
Fig. 14. Variation of smoke opacity with respect to brake power.
Please cite this article in press as: Venu H, Madhavan V. Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-
diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine. Fuel (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101
H. Venu, V. Madhavan / Fuel xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
DIESEL
MBD-5DEE
25
EBD-5DEE
EBD-10DEE
EBD
20
BSPM (mg/kWh)
15
10
5
0
1.082 2.164 3.246 4.328
BRAKE POWER (kW)
Fig. 15. Variation of brake specific particulate matter (PM) with respect to brake
power.
genated additives exhibits lower PM emissions in comparison with
diesel due to the presence of readily available oxygen, lower C/H
ratio, absence of aromatic compounds, etc., which helps in improv-
ing the rate of combustion followed by lowered PM concentration
at exhaust. PM formation depends also on engine load, ignition
delay, fuel viscosity and fuel cetane rating as all these factors
affects the amount of fuel fraction burnt during the premixed com-
bustion phase (PCP) which has a direct influence on PM formation.
From Fig. 15, we can infer that the MBD-5DEE exhibits highest PM
formation in comparison with diesel and other oxygenated fuel
blends. At no load condition, MBD-5DEE has 10.8% PM reduction
in comparison with diesel. This is because, at no load condition
very less fuel fraction is burnt which makes almost all the fuel pre-
sent in the chamber to get vaporized followed by lower PM emis-
sions. As the engine load increases, PM of MBD-5DEE is higher than
diesel by 9.6%, 20.4%, 5% and 8.3% at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% engine
loads, respectively. In spite of being an oxygenated fuel, the main
reason for MBD-5DEE to have higher PM could be attributed to
higher fuel viscosity and dominant cooling effect with the presence
of methanol and DEE which deteriorates the fuel atomization and
makes it difficult for oxidation of soot precursors. Secondly, the
higher ignition delay of MBD-5DEE (Fig. 6) along with lowered
cylinder heat release (Fig. 4) makes it insufficient for oxidation of
fuel particulates causing incomplete combustion followed by
higher PM emissions. EBD-5DEE exhibits lowest PM at lower and
part engine loads, while at 75% and 100% loads, lowest PM is
observed in case of EBD. This could be attributed to the presence
of pure ethanol in EBD which oxidizes quickly at higher in-
cylinder temperatures resulting in better atomization and higher
combustion rate followed by lowered PM. Further diethyl ether
addition (EBD-10DEE) does not enhance the soot oxidation as com-
pares to that of EBD-5DEE. This is because, with increase in DEE
concentration, the mixture density too increases which prolong
the oxidation of soot precursors and affects the formation of num-
ber of ignition centres within the combustion chamber thereby
causing slightly increased PM in comparison with EBD and EBD-
4. Conclusion
4.328
An experimental study is conducted to evaluate and compare
the effect of diethyl ether (DEE) in ethanol-biodiesel diesel blend
(EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-diesel blend (MBD) with blend
 H. Venu, V. Madhavan / Fuel xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
ratios of 20/40/40 (% volume). Tests were performed in a single
cylinder diesel engine at a constant speed of 1500 rev/min and
major findings were summarized below.

Performance wise, DEE addition in EBD blend resulted in
increase in BSFC, cylinder pressure, heat release rate, peak pres-
sure rise and combustion duration along with lowered ignition
delay. Emission wise, increase in HC, CO2, CO with lowered EGO,
NOx, smoke and PM in comparison with diesel fuel were
observed.

Performance wise, DEE addition in MBD blend resulted in low-
ered BSFC, cylinder pressure, heat release rate, peak pressure,
and combustion duration with higher ignition delay. Emission
wise, increase in PM, CO, CO2, smoke with lowered EGO and
NOx were observed.

In comparison with EBD-10DEE, EBD-5DEE effectuated higher
cylinder pressure, heat release rate, peak pressure, EGT and
NOx with lowered combustion duration, HC, CO, PM emissions
due to improved fuel atomization and enhanced fuel spray
characteristics.
Overall, EBD-5DEE and MBD-5DEE results in better engine per-
formance with minimal emissions and can be directly used as a
potential alternative feedstock for diesel engine without any
modifications.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
(MNRE) of Government of India for its technical support for this
investigation, thank Institute for Energy Studies, Anna University
for its financial support, thank Rasha Petroleum Pvt Ltd. for provid-
ing Jatropha seed oil and Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI),
Chennai for providing ethanol, methanol and diethyl ether.
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Please cite this article in press as: Venu H, Madhavan V. Influence of diethyl ether (DEE) addition in ethanol-biodiesel-diesel (EBD) and methanol-biodiesel-
diesel (MBD) blends in a diesel engine. Fuel (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.101