Fuel Properties and Diesel Engine Performances of Biodiesel Blends derived from Salacca zalacca Seed Oil

Biodiesel has been proposed as an alternative renewable fuel to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels. Since the quality of the biodiesel blends depends on the feedstock and the biodiesel-to-diesel ratio, an extensive study on a specific biodiesel feedstock should be conducted. Despite the abundance of Salacca zalacca plants in Southeast Asia, there is a lack of studies regarding their potential as biodiesel feedstock. Therefore, this study investigated the fuel properties and the diesel engine performances of biodiesel derived from Salacca zalacca seed oil. The biodiesel blends investigated have a biodiesel-to-diesel ratio of 10:90 (B10) and 20:80 (B20). Studies of the fuel property found that the flash point, distillation temperature at 90% recovery, and the Sulphur content of B10 and B20 need improvement to adhere to the biodiesel standards. The results from the engine performance studies under engine speeds of 1800 to 3000 RPM suggest that the performances of B10 are comparable to that of conventional diesel fuel. However, B10 falls short on its brake specific fuel consumption and thermal efficiency under low engine speed. Future works will focus on improving the fuel properties and engine performances of B10 to allow biodiesel derived from Salacca zalacca seed oil as a fossil fuel substitute.