Author(s)

C. Arapatsakos, A. Karkanis, D. Cristoforidis, D. Mitroulias & C. Teka

Abstract

Nowadays the petroleum oil crisis is leading to the use of renewable sources of energy. This paper examines the use of diesel-sunflower oil mixtures in diesel engines. The mixtures used are the following: diesel-10%sunflower oil, diesel-20% sunflower oil, diesel-30% sunflower oil, diesel-40% sunflower oil, diesel-50% sunflower oil. For those mixtures the gas emissions of Carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and Nitrogen monoxide (NO) are being measured and the fuel consumption is also examined. 1 Introduction One of the most important and renewable sources of energy is biomass. Biomass is every material that is produced from an embryo organism in to a renewable base, such as plants, animals and microorganisms. Biomass is a source of energy, which is continuously renewable due to photosynthesis. During photosynthesis, committed solar energy is changed into chemical (energy). During the combustion of biomass the committed solar energy is changed into thermic, while the dioxide of coal (CO2) (which is committed for the production) returns into the atmosphere, while the inorganic elements that are contained in the ash enrich the soil with nutritious elements. Nowadays, the use of biomass covers approximately 4% of the total energy that is consumed in the USA and 45% of the renewable sources of energy [1]. It is important to mention that biomass constituted the first fuel used by human beings. An important source of biomass is the forest. The kinds of biomass for energy that are produced in the forest are firewood and charcoals, as well as the

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