Biodiesel has long been recognized as a viable alternative energy source. In order to enhance the quality, and performance of biodiesel-diesel fuel blends while reducing air pollution from combustion, additives must be employed. The present research aims to focus on the addition of SiO₂ novel nanoparticles (at a concentration of 30, 60, and 90 mg/L) in the ternary fuel (TF) blend (75% of Diesel+ 15% of Sea Mango Methyl Ester (SMME15) + 10% of iso-Butanol on a volume basis) to determine engine performance, combustion, and emission characteristics of a 1-cylinder, direct injection, liquid-cooled, diesel engine. In addition to this, a stability analysis for the prepared samples was also carried out as per the ASTM standard. From the investigation, it was observed that, when the nanoparticles mixed with ternary fuel (i.e., TFSi60), the brake thermal efficiency (BTE), In-cylinder pressure (ICP), and net heat release rate (NHRR) were improved by about 10.09, 17.4, and 10.73 % respectively. Whereas the brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) (19.13%) and hazardous pollutants like carbon monoxide (CO) (20.06%), unburnt hydrocarbons (UHC) (13.9%), nitrogen oxides (NOx) (11.3%), and smoke (11.2%) were significantly decreased. From the above observations, it is concluded that using a ternary fuel blend with nano additives improves engine performance and combustion while lowering toxic emissions.

The aim of the current study is to investigate the combustion, performance, and emission characteristics of a diesel engine adopting graphene nanoplatelets and 10% dimethyl carbonate as fuel additives in a 30% biodiesel and 70% diesel blend. The novel findings are documented in the subsequent sections. The surface modification of graphene nanoplatelets using a lipophilic surfactant was used which gave highest stability in fuel samples which is a main distinctive in this research work. Nanofuels were prepared using 30, 60, and 90 ppm concentrations of nanoparticles through ultrasonication. The behaviour of graphene nanoplatelet was characterized using field emission scanning gun-electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, and X-ray diffraction. A diesel engine having uniform speed of 1500 rpm was used for the experiment at various load conditions to assess the engine operating parameters for all the prepared samples, including baseline diesel. It was observed that the combustion characteristics were found to be greatly enhanced, such as cylinder pressure and heat release rate, increased by about 15.45% and 9.63%, respectively, for B30GNP60DMC10 sample than diesel at higher loads. Performance parameters such as brake thermal efficiency (elevated by 8.98%) and brake-specific fuel consumption (diminished by 25.54%) have been significantly analyzed and compared to diesel. While the emissions (such as hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide) were found to be reduced by 22.87% and 25.67%, respectively, for B30DMC10, the nitrous oxide and smoke opacity were also reduced by 9.57% and 12.4%, respectively, for the B30GNP60DMC10 sample. Hence, a combining operation of graphene nanoplatelets and dimethyl carbonate additives in a biodiesel blend presented great potential in terms of performance improvement and reduction in emission parameters in diesel engine.