Effects of blending different ratios of cottonseed oil with diesel fuel in a single-cylinder diesel engine

The persistent reliance on internal combustion engines, particularly within the transportation sector, continues to pose significant environmental challenges due to the emission of exhaust gases. This issue has intensified global efforts to identify and develop alternative fuels that can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil fuel consumption. Concurrently, the gradual depletion of petroleum reserves and volatility in fuel prices have introduced economic sustainability concerns. In this experimental study, the impact of blending conventional diesel fuel with 10% and 20% cottonseed oil by volume on engine performance and exhaust emissions was evaluated using a single cylinder direct injection diesel engine. The results demonstrated that the addition of cottonseed oil did not significantly affect engine power output or brake specific fuel consumption. However, a notable decrease in carbon monoxide (CO) emissions was observed, accompanied by an increase in nitrogen oxides (NO) emissions with higher biodiesel ratios. These findings indicate that cottonseed oil–diesel blends up to 20% by volume can be considered a technically viable partial substitute for conventional diesel fuel in compression ignition engines, with tradeoffs in emission characteristics.