Effects of Murumuru (Astrocaryum murumuru Mart.) and soybean biodiesel blends on tractor performance and smoke density

Abstract

The usage of biodiesel, a renewable and biodegradable fuel, is becoming increasingly popular. The objective of the study was to evaluate the operational performance-tractor forward speed, drawbar power, and fuel consumption-and smoke density of an agricultural tractor using biodiesel, diesel, and biodiesel/diesel mixtures as fuel in a tilled field. Soybean biodiesel, murumuru biodiesel, and three combinations of soybean biodiesel and murumuru were used: 90S10M (90% soybean and 10% murumuru), 80S20M (80% soybean and 20% murumuru), and 70S30M (70% soybean and 30% murumuru). The biodiesel/diesel ratios were: B0, B5, B15, B25, B50, and B100; the letter B indicates the presence of biodiesel and the number is the percentage of biodiesel in the diesel. The results showed an increase in specific fuel consumption (SFC) of 10.13%, 16.66%, 12.69%, 14.59%, and 17.42% for murumuru, soybean, 90S10M, 80S20M, and 70S30M, respectively, when comparing B100 to B0. SFC was influenced by the type of biodiesel, B100 of soybean, 90S10M, 80S20M, and 70S30M consumptions were, respectively, 7.8%, 2.9%, 5.2%, and 8.8% higher than those of murumuru. The hourly volumetric consumption (HVC) of 90S10M was 4.8% higher than soybean and murumuru. The tractor's forward speed and drawbar power did not have any significant difference. Smoke density was reduced by 51.6%, 23.04%, 30.41%, 37.8%, and 36.9% for Murumuru, Soybean, 90S10M, 80S20M, and 70S30M, respectively, when comparing B100 to B0. For Murumuru, the smoke density was 59.0%, 43.8%, 28.6%, and 30.5% lower for this variety of biodiesel when compared to soybean at 90S10M, 80S20M and 70S30M, respectively. The results demonstrate the potential usage of biodiesel as a substitution for diesel.