Comparative Analysis of Biosolar and Dexlite Fuel on the Performance of Generator Set Type Cummins 60 kVA

Abstract

The development of fuel in the engine greatly affects the performance of diesel engines so that improvements to fuel quality certainly occur from time to time. Diesel engines at first only use diesel fuel. However, now it has developed and now available other types of fuel. Two of them are Biosolar and Dexlite. Biosolar is a mixture of diesel fuel and vegetable oil obtained from palm oil or crude palm oil (CPO). Biodiesel has the same physical properties as diesel oil so it can be used as a substitute for diesel fuel for diesel engines. Meanwhile, Dexlite is Pertamina's newest fuel oil for diesel-engined vehicles in Indonesia and is a new variant for consumers who want fuel with quality above ordinary (subsidized) diesel. Therefore, testing of the two types of fuel was carried out on a 48 kW Cummins Type Generator Set engine. The fuel testing process is carried out alternately with the parameters taken, namely rotation data, current, voltage, cos φ, frequency, and fuel consumption time. The test results show that Dexlite at maximum load has a higher efficiency value of 32,6704% with produces a prices of Rp4,147.1/kWh and to generate power of 18,1646 kW, the specific fuel consumption produced is 0,291 L/kWh. Whereas Biodiesel at maximum load has a lower efficiency value of  29.0359% with produces a prices of Rp2,287.17/kWh and to generate power of 17.2077 kW, the resulting specific fuel consumption is 0,3363 L/kWh. This is of course influenced by different fuel characteristics, where the calorific value and cetane number contained in Dexlite are better when compared to Biosolar.  

Keywords : fuel characteristics, biodiesel, dexlite, generator set, engine performance