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Biodiesel appears as a replenishable and sustainable energy source and can be used a direct replacement to petro-diesel without any major transformations in ongoing diesel engines. This work concentrates on production of Calophyllum Inophyllum biodiesel (CIB) and preparing 10% blend (CIB10) sample to investigate the effects of varying the injection strategies and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) in common-rail direct injection engine. The experimental results shows that 10% of pilot fuel and 90% main injection strategy (B10@P10-M90) is superior among all others injection strategies with respect to pure diesel. B10@P10-M90 fuel injection strategy produces the maximum efficiency of 35.8% and lowest fuel consumption of 0.25 kg/kWh compared to all the injection strategies. The carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions are also found to be quite low compared to all the other test samples including pure diesel. However B10@P10-M90 results in higher average oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emission which is 18.9% higher in contrast to conventional diesel at full load condition. With the implementation of 10% and 20% EGR with B10@P10-M90, the average NOx emissions decreased by 14.4% and 27.6% respectively compared to B10@P10-M90 without any EGR without significant loss in the performance of the existing diesel engine.

Although diesel engines have higher thermal and volumetric efficiencies, sufficiently large amount of particulate matter (PM) including soot is emitted during its exhaust stage. Thus, a need is raised for implementation of the diesel particulate filters (DPFs) in diesel engines as it has become the customary technology for the control of soot aerosol emissions. An analytical study of the performance of a circular ceramic honeycomb substrate (cordierite) diesel particulate filter with and without the use of metal foam filter at both ends as well as variation in channel length of ceramic substrate is reported to observe the change in the amount of soot particles trapped and pressure drop along its axis. The drop in pressure and filtration process depends on the filter pore structure properties such as permeability, porosity (40%) as well as channel length (60 and 100 mm). For each case, the depositions of soot through the filter were calculated by weighing approach, optimum drop in pressure using water U-tube manometer, and permeability of material by adopting graphical approach. However, after certain time, it is observed that due to increase in the accumulation of soot inside the diesel particulate filter there is a rise in pressure loss.

Diesel fuel exhaust, produced in an internal combustion engine, also contains particulate matter. Its composition differs based on the type of fuel, its consumption rate, and the mode of engine operation. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified diesel exhaust as a carcinogenic, inhaling which can cause lung cancer. A standard wall-flow filtration device like diesel particulate filter (DPF) is used to remove particulate matter or soot from diesel exhaust. With BS-VI emission norms, the emission standards have become stricter and thus an attempt is made to compare the microstructure and amount of soot produced by diesel and a biodiesel blend. The use of biodiesel is increasing continuously since it has lower net CO2 emission, and the EU demands the use of renewable sources in the transport sector. It has been found, by weighing the respective DPFs, that engine running with biodiesel blends is producing less soot. Size of soot particles affects its reactivity during filter regeneration. Soot trapped is analyzed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to observe its structure and density. EDX analysis revealed the presence of zinc in low concentration in biodiesel soot. This also indicates uniform blending of biodiesel.

In the contemporary world, human consumption of energy in the form of fossil fuels is growing at an alarming rate and is a major concern for scientists as well as economists. In order to counter these phenomena, the study of biodiesel fuels is carried out by most researchers as an alternative to the conventional fossil fuels. In this present study, the effects of Calophyllum Inophyllum biodiesel blends on the engine performance, combustion, and emission characteristics were investigated. An experimental study was done on a twin cylinder diesel engine of direct injection type at a constant speed of 1500 rpm with Calophyllum Inophyllum methyl ester (CIME) biodiesel blends B5, B10, B20, and B100 by volume. Results showed that CIME blend B5 produced 3.28% lower BSFC and 4.8% higher BTE compared to pure diesel. Comparable combustion characteristics were observed for all biodiesel blends among which B5 showed the best results. B5 CIME blend depicted lower emission results with 12.29% and 9.57% decrease in HC and CO, respectively, as compared to conventional diesel. However, NOx emissions were found to be higher for all blend concentrations with respect to conventional diesel.