Engine-generator diesel cycle under five proportions of biodiesel and diesel

The study of mineral diesel alternatives, such as biodiesel, a renewable fuel, is important for the environment and to diversify energy sources. This study evaluated an engine-generator BRANCO brand. Specific fuel consumption, calorific value and the overall efficiency as a function of the system load was measured, using diesel oil and biodiesel blends. The biodiesel proportions in the composition were 0% (B0), 20% (B20), 40% (B40), 60% (B60), and 100% (B100). The engine that was used during the test has a power of 7.36 kW, and the electric generator was 5.5 kW. The group was submitted to resistive loading, in the range: 0.5 kW, 1.0 kW, 1.5 kW; growing up to 5.0 kW. The results have shown that, when operating at lower loads (less than 1.5 kW), the engine-generator performance decreased, while the specific consumption increased, leading to an efficiency reduction. The biodiesel proportions B40, B60 and B100 described reduction in caloric value and increased the specific fuel consumption. Therefore, comparing the proportions of biodiesel with diesel oil, the proportion B20 replaced diesel oil without significant losses in engine-generator performance.