Performance evaluation of a spark ignition engine using gasoline and essential oil fuel blend

Abstract

Clove oil is an essential oil that has recently been used not only as a health or aromatherapy ingredient but is also widely used as an additive in fuel, especially for compression ignition engines. Essential oils are extracted through distillation from various parts of the clove tree, such as flowers, tree bark, leaves, and even fruit. This study aims to evaluate the combustion performance of a spark-ignition engine fueled by gasoline and essential oil at a concentration of 5-20 % as a blend. This type of research has not been conducted by many researchers, making it difficult to find scientific references related to this type of research. Experiments carried out on a research engine with engine speed variations of 1400–1800 rpm and a constant load of 3 kg. The results show that increasing the essential oil content increases the fuel energy and indicative power, thereby increasing the thermal efficiency. However, the brake power will decrease because most of it is lost owing to heat transfer and friction; therefore, the mechanical efficiency decreases if the percentage of essential oil in gasoline increases. Meanwhile, increased essential oils will reduce CO₂ emissions, but HC and CO emissions will increase, especially at high engine speeds.