Invesiıgation of exhaust emissions during cold and hot start in a diesel powered generator set fueled by biodiesel

Diesel engines are commonly used in the areas such as transportation, construction, agricultural and industrial facilities due to their high efficiency and durability. Besides they are preferred for generator sets as mechanical energy source. The generator sets, which are mostly located close to the public areas and the atmospheric places, are activated at mostly in cold operating conditions in the case of a power failure. The increased use of generator sets makes it important to investigate exhaust emissions in the case of cold or hot start-up. However, it is also important to investigate the effect of biodiesel fuel on exhaust emissions under these operating conditions. In this study, the effects of soy-oil biodiesel and petroleum diesel on exhaust emissions of a diesel engine powered generator set during cold and hot start were investigated. The experiments were carried out at constant engine speed and 50% of load and no load conditions. Experiments were carried out under similar conditions for both test fuels. As a result of the experiments, it was observed that the increase in fuel consumption in the use of biodiesel in cold start condition while a slight decrease was observed in the exhaust and engine coolant temperature. When the exhaust emissions were evaluated, it was determined that the use of biodiesel fuel significantly decreased unburned HC emissions compared to petroleum diesel fuel in the case of loaded and except for cold start conditions, and NOx emission decreased under all conditions However, there was an increase in smoke emissions.