Abstract:
With the growing global emphasis on sustainability and energy security, biodiesel derived from waste cooking oil has emerged as a viable alternative to conventional fossil fuels. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the performance and emission characteristics of biodiesel–petrodiesel blends in unmodified diesel engines. Biodiesel was synthesized from waste cooking palm oil through microwave-assisted transesterification using a biocatalyst, offering an efficient and cost-effective production pathway. The resulting biodiesel was blended with conventional diesel in varying ratios and tested on two single-cylinder, four-stroke, water-cooled diesel engines (KIRLOSKAR TV-1 and AV-1) under variable compression ratios.
Experimental evaluations focused on key engine parameters including brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC), brake thermal efficiency, air-fuel ratio, exhaust gas temperature, smoke density, and Hartridge Smoke Unit (HSU) across different load conditions. The results demonstrate that increasing the compression ratio significantly improves thermal efficiency and reduces BSFC, indicating the practicality of biodiesel blends in standard diesel engines without requiring hardware modifications.
In addition to experimental testing, the study explores the application of emerging quantum computing techniques-such as quantum simulation, optimization, and quantum machine learning (QML) - for modelling combustion behaviour, predicting performance trends, and optimizing biodiesel blend formulations. This hybrid approach integrates renewable energy research with advanced computational modelling, offering a scalable, data-driven framework for improving engine performance and accelerating the transition toward cleaner fuels.
Keywords: Biodiesel,
Brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC),
Brake thermal efficiency,
Hartridge smoke unit (HSU),
Quantum simulation,
Variable compression ratio
Recieved: 20.11.2025,
Revised: 23.12.2025,
Accepted: 27.01.2026
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