Experimental investigation of the effects of nanoparticles as an additive in diesel and biodiesel fuelled engines: a review

The rising consumption and demand for fossil fuels have increased concern over its depletion rate and therefore stimulated the actions necessary to tackle the issue with an efficient and less polluting alternative fuel for diesel. The use of nanoparticles with liquid fuel (either diesel or biodiesel) has shown promising and challenging results. When biodiesel was used as fuel, engine performance was lower and NOx emissions increased. Adding nanoparticles of metal and metal oxides to diesel/biodiesel resulted in an improvement in engine performance and reduced emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and NO_x. This paper discusses a summary of the work conducted by the different researchers, and the benefits, difficulties and future challenges when using nanoparticles as an additive in diesel/biodiesel fuelled engines.