Abstract
The purpose of this study is to compare the diesel engine performance of several fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). Tests are conducted by using three kinds of FAME made from coconuts oil, tallow (beef suet) and soybean. The test engine is driven by the electrical motor without engine warm-up, and the fuel is started to inject at the full load setting when the engine revolution reaches 3000 rpm. Indicator diagrams are taken until the engine reaches stable condition, and the ignitability and combustion characteristics of three neat FAMEs are compared from indicator diagrams. The smoke, hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide concentrations are improved by FAMEs compared with diesel fuel. The coconut-oil methyl ester and tallow methyl ester has a good ignition characteristics because both coconut-oil and tallow include a lot of saturated fatty acid. The break mean effective pressure and thermal efficiency of soybean methyl ester are lowest among three FAMEs.
