<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!DOCTYPE article  PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD Journal Publishing DTD v3.0 20080202//EN" "http://dtd.nlm.nih.gov/publishing/3.0/journalpublishing3.dtd"><article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" dtd-version="3.0" xml:lang="en" article-type="research article"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">MME</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title>Modern Mechanical Engineering</journal-title></journal-title-group><issn pub-type="epub">2164-0165</issn><publisher><publisher-name>Scientific Research Publishing</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.4236/mme.2022.123004</article-id><article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">MME-119145</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="heading"><subject>Articles</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="Discipline-v2"><subject>Engineering</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title>
 
 
  Combined Effect of a Catalytic Reduction Device with Waste Frying Oil-Based Biodiesel on NOx Emissions of Diesel Engines
 
</article-title></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Samson</surname><given-names>K. Fasogbon</given-names></name><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"><sup>1</sup></xref></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Vincent</surname><given-names>N. Ugwah</given-names></name><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2"><sup>2</sup></xref></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Olaleye</surname><given-names>M. Amoo</given-names></name><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3"><sup>3</sup></xref></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Patrick</surname><given-names>Ajaero</given-names></name><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4"><sup>4</sup></xref></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ogagaoghene</surname><given-names>D. Emma-Egoro</given-names></name><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff5"><sup>5</sup></xref></contrib></contrib-group><aff id="aff4"><addr-line>Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria</addr-line></aff><aff id="aff2"><addr-line>Department of Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria</addr-line></aff><aff id="aff3"><addr-line>Department of Systems Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, USA</addr-line></aff><aff id="aff1"><addr-line>Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria</addr-line></aff><aff id="aff5"><addr-line>Department of Chemical Engineering, Landmark University, Kwara State, Nigeria</addr-line></aff><pub-date pub-type="epub"><day>11</day><month>08</month><year>2022</year></pub-date><volume>12</volume><issue>03</issue><fpage>63</fpage><lpage>73</lpage><history><date date-type="received"><day>5,</day>	<month>June</month>	<year>2022</year></date><date date-type="rev-recd"><day>9,</day>	<month>August</month>	<year>2022</year>	</date><date date-type="accepted"><day>12,</day>	<month>August</month>	<year>2022</year></date></history><permissions><copyright-statement>&#169; Copyright  2014 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. </copyright-statement><copyright-year>2014</copyright-year><license><license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</license-p></license></permissions><abstract><p>
 
 
  Internal combustion engines with application in automobiles and other relevant industries constitute significant environmental pollution via the release of toxic exhaust gasses like carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), par
  ticulate matter (PM), and nitrogen oxide (NO<sub>x</sub>). Engine researchers and
   manufacturers are challenged to develop external and internal measures to ensure 
  environmentally friendly solutions to accommodate and conform to the
   growing list of emission standards. Therefore, this work presents an experimental investigation of the NO
  <sub>x</sub>
   emission profile of a diesel engine that is fuelled and fitted with waste frying oil-based biodiesel and catalytic converter. Using a single-cylinder, four-stroke air-cooled CI engine at a constant speed of 1900 rpm and different loadings of 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%; fitted with a catalytic converter at the exhaust outlet of the engine and linked to a dynamometer and a gas analyser, an experiment was conducted at biodiesel/diesel volume 
  blends of B0 (0/10), B5 (5/95), B20 (20/80), B30 (30/70), B70 (70/30), B10
  0 (100/0); and 30% concentration (v/v), 0.5 litre/hr flow rate of aqueous urea from the catalytic converter. The results show an increasing NO
  <sub>x</sub>
   emission as 
  the biodiesel component increased in the blend. The catalytic converter
   showed a downward NO
  <sub>x</sub>
   reduction with a significant 68% reduction in efficiency at high exhaust gas temperatures. It is concluded that the combined utilisation of waste frying oil-based biodiesel and the catalytic converter yields substantial NO
  <sub>x</sub>
   emission reduction.
 
</p></abstract><kwd-group><kwd>Catalytic Converter</kwd><kwd> Waste Frying Oil</kwd><kwd> Biodiesel</kwd><kwd> NOx Emission</kwd><kwd> Diesel Engines</kwd></kwd-group></article-meta></front><body><sec id="s1"><title>1. Introduction</title><p>The emissions from internal combustion engines (IC) include but are not limited to; NO<sub>x</sub>, CO, hydrocarbons (HCs), and particulate matter. A singular IC engine such as an automotive engine will expel an insignificant amount of NO<sub>x</sub> into the atmosphere. However, collectively in a group, internal combustion engines emit most of the total anthropogenic NO<sub>x</sub>. For more than three decades, regulatory agencies have addressed NO<sub>x</sub> emissions; however, there is an appetite for more stringent NO<sub>x</sub> control measures beyond current requirements. The appetite for more stringent NO<sub>x</sub> control is based on the role that NO<sub>x</sub> emission plays in the development of ground-level ozone and photochemical smog (EPA, 2002 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref1">1</xref>] ); (Clean Air Technology Center, 1999 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref2">2</xref>] ). Biodiesel is a fuel type that continues to be evaluated as replacing diesel fuel in the automotive industry. Although it is sourced from many materials such as cooking oil and animal fat, it is cleaner, renewable. It can serve as a suitable replacement or an additive to diesel fuel. More so, it offers a high heat content, high density, and better lubricating properties (Barabas and Todoru, 2012 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref3">3</xref>] ; Shahid and Jamal, 2011 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref4">4</xref>] ; Murugesan et al. 2009 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref5">5</xref>] ; Fasogbon and Asere, 2014 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref6">6</xref>] ). In addition, biodiesel is very different from conventional diesel due to its physicochemical properties. However, with biodiesel, there is reduced emission of carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM), and hydrocarbon (HC), it also causes higher NO<sub>x</sub> emissions primarily because of the presence of oxygen in the oil (Murugesan et al., 2009 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref5">5</xref>] ; Fasogbon, 2015 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref7">7</xref>] ).</p><p>A literature review has shown that NO<sub>x</sub> emissions vary when diesel engines are fired with biodiesel produced from different organic sources. For example, Thangavelu and Thamilkolundhu, 2011 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref8">8</xref>] evaluated the combustion and emission characteristics of compression ignition (CI) engine fueled with Jatropha-diesel oil blends and observed the emissions include but are not limited to; NO<sub>x</sub> emission and combustion characteristics of the blends to be comparatively higher than that of the baseline diesel. In addition, Vallinayagam et al., 2013 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref9">9</xref>] also investigated a Kirloskar stationary CI engine fueled using pine oil blends while loading the engine with an eddy current dynamometer at varying loads. The study observed a significant reduction in NO<sub>x</sub> emission by 15.2% compared to pure diesel and concluded that pine oil biofuel positively impacts the atmosphere.</p><p>Although research is still ongoing on improving the quality and yield of biodiesel from waste frying oil (WFO), the idea of converting WFO to biodiesel originates from the perspective of a waste management approach (Banerjee et al., 2014 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref10">10</xref>] ). The significant characteristics of WFOs concern high levels of free fatty acids, density, and viscosity. However, in producing biodiesel from WFOs, several factors such as; the type of oil source, duration of use, and the nature of the fried food products largely influence the quality of the biodiesel for use as fuel (Al-Kofahi, 2017 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref11">11</xref>] ; Shaban, 2018 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref12">12</xref>] ). Interestingly, with waste frying oil (WFO) biodiesel, studies have shown variations in NO<sub>x</sub> emission, for example, Al-Kofahi, 2017 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref11">11</xref>] ; Guo et al., 2012 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref13">13</xref>] ; and Sanli, 2018 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref14">14</xref>] , reported an increase in NO<sub>x</sub> emission when using pure WFO biodiesel as against using pure diesel while Ko&#231;ak et al., 2007 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref15">15</xref>] , and Utlu et al., 2008 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref16">16</xref>] , reported a decrease in NO<sub>x</sub> emission and some others have reported no significant effect on the NO<sub>x</sub> emission (Dennis, 2001 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref17">17</xref>] ). The variations in the NO<sub>x</sub> emission as observed from using WFO biodiesels in the various studies were probably because of the increased sensitivity of NO<sub>x</sub> emission due to engine combustion conditions and the differences in the chemical properties of the WFO as well as the influence of the injection timing and the subsequent premixed and diffusion burn characteristics during combustion (Benjumea et al., 2011 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref14">14</xref>] ; Guo et al., 2012 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref18">18</xref>] ). However, with the SCR technology, NO<sub>x</sub> emission from diesel engines powered with WFO biodiesel has significantly reduced.</p><p>The Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) method is an efficient approach to reducing NO<sub>x</sub> emissions from biodiesel-fueled CI engines (Sala et al., 2018 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref19">19</xref>] ; Yang et al., 2015 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref20">20</xref>] ). Its principle is based on injecting a reducing agent (urea) into the exhaust gas flow stream of an internal combustion engine. The urea immediately converts to ammonia, and the ammonia reacts with the nitrogen oxide in the presence of a catalyst to produce nitrogen and water as the exhaust (EPA, 2002 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref1">1</xref>] ; Sinzenich, 2015 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref21">21</xref>] ). With diesel fuel, the SCR system is considered a more effective means of reducing NO<sub>x</sub> emission (Sala et al., 2018 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref19">19</xref>] ; Clean Air Technology Center, 1999 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref2">2</xref>] ). However, the SCR technology application is faced with some challenges. One of such challenges is the need to achieve a threshold temperature of about 200˚C before injecting the urea solution into the hot exhaust gas, which in most cases is above the exhaust gas temperature (Kr&#246;cher, 2018 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref22">22</xref>] ). To address this challenge, Sala et al., 2017 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref23">23</xref>] in an experiment preheated and evaporated the urea solution before injecting it into the engine exhaust gas. In addition, while using biodiesel with SCR technology, because of the high concentration of impurities (potassium in the biodiesel), the catalyst [mostly V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>-WO<sub>3</sub>/TiO<sub>2</sub> (VWT) vanadium/titanium-based] has been observed to be deactivated due to the neutralization of the catalyst’s acid sites by the high basicity content of the potassium, thus decreasing the adsorption of NH<sub>3</sub> (Kr&#246;cher, 2018 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref22">22</xref>] ; Schill and Fehrmann, 2018 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref24">24</xref>] ). Several studies have considered using SCR technology alongside biodiesel blends to further investigate and reduce the NO<sub>x</sub> emission from diesel engines. For example, Sundarraj et al., 2014 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref25">25</xref>] achieved a maximum of 73.94% reduction in NO<sub>x</sub> emission using a urea-SCR system (with a urea concentration of 32.5%, at a constant flow rate of 0.75 lit/hr.) fitted to a CI engine operating at different loading conditions and fuelled with diesel-jatropha blends (25% of Jatropha and 75% diesel blends).</p><p>More so, Praveen and Natarajan, 2014 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref26">26</xref>] fueled a CI engine using a diesel-ethanol blend and observed a 70% reduction in NO<sub>x</sub> emission while using a catalytic converter (TiO<sub>2</sub>)-coated catalyst with 5% urea concentration, at a constant flow rate of 0.75 litre per hr. as against 66% reduction in NO<sub>x</sub> emission obtained when the engine was fueled with pure diesel, and 76.9% reduction was also recorded in another study that combines both an SCR device and an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) approach (Praveen and Natarajan, 2014 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref26">26</xref>] ; Praveena et al., 2022 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref27">27</xref>] ). Consequently, it can be concluded that biodiesel blends nonetheless, when coupled with an SCR technology, and without any engine calibration or modifications would produce a significant reduction in NO<sub>x</sub> emission in the range of 58% to 75% (Shi et al., 2008 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref28">28</xref>] ; Praveen and Natarajan, 2014 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref26">26</xref>] ; Sala et al., 2018 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref19">19</xref>] ; Sundarraj et al., 2014 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref25">25</xref>] ; Vallinayagam et al., 2013 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref9">9</xref>] ; Yusuf et al., 2022 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref29">29</xref>] ). In sum, a relevant review pertaining to this research is provided in [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref30">30</xref>] .</p><p>This study primarily observes the NO<sub>x</sub> emission from a diesel engine fueled using biodiesel blends obtained from waste frying oil (WFO) and investigates the influence of a small-scale selective catalytic converter on the NO<sub>x</sub> emission. The objective of the study is limited to examining the level of nitrogen oxide reduction with the catalytic converter when firing with a WFO biodiesel blend. It, however, does not cover the analysis of the biodiesel effect on the catalyst, and neither does it evaluate the engine performance while operating with the WFO biodiesel.</p></sec><sec id="s2"><title>2. Materials and Methods</title><sec id="s2_1"><title>2.1. Biodiesel Production</title><p>This study produced biodiesel from waste vegetable cooking oil via a transesterification process as followed in previous studies by Dennis, 2001 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref17">17</xref>] ; Guo et al., 2012 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref14">14</xref>] ; Ko&#231;ak et al., 2007 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref16">16</xref>] ; and Tziourtzioumis et al., 2017 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref31">31</xref>] . The waste cooking oil sample was collected from roadside bean cake and fried yam sellers on the streets of Agbowo, Ibadan, Nigeria. Using a simple transesterification batch process, 10.5 millilitres of the waste cooking oil sample was measured, filtered to remove residues and unwanted particles, poured into a 250 milliliter conical flask, and heated to a preselected temperature of 50˚C. A solution of potassium methoxide was equally produced using 0.25 g of potassium hydroxide pellet and 63 millilitres of methanol (catalyst concentration of 0.5% and an oil/Methanol mole ratio of 1:6). The potassium hydroxide pellet was stirred vigorously until it dissolved completely in the methanol mixture. The potassium methoxide solution was then mixed with the warm waste cooking oil, stirred vigorously with a mechanical stirrer while heating until 60˚C for about 50 minutes. The solution was kept to cool and settle for a day and later transferred to a gravity separating funnel until two distinct layers were visible. The glycerol and residual catalyst were removed, while the biodiesel was extracted, washed with warm deionized water, and heated to 30˚C to remove water. The WFO based produced biodiesel was characterised and the results presented in <xref ref-type="table" rid="table1">Table 1</xref> and the expected standard for biodiesel properties. Diesel engine test rig for biodiesel-diesel blends with specifications is detailed in <xref ref-type="table" rid="table2">Table 2</xref>. The biodiesel blends were; pure diesel [B0]-0% biodiesel and 100% diesel [B100]; [B5]-5% biodiesel and 95% diesel; [B20]-20% biodiesel and 80% diesel; [B30]-30% biodiesel and 70% diesel; [B70]-70% biodiesel and 30% diesel [B100]-00% biodiesel and 0% diesel.</p><table-wrap id="table1" ><label><xref ref-type="table" rid="table1">Table 1</xref></label><caption><title> Characterization of Waste Frying Oil (WFO) biodiesel and comparison with standard biodiesel properties</title></caption><table><tbody><thead><tr><th align="center" valign="middle" ></th><th align="center" valign="middle" >Property</th><th align="center" valign="middle" >Test method</th><th align="center" valign="middle" >EN14213 EN14214</th><th align="center" valign="middle" >ASTM D6751</th><th align="center" valign="middle" >India</th><th align="center" valign="middle" >Australian</th><th align="center" valign="middle" >WFO-based biodiesel produced</th><th align="center" valign="middle" >units</th></tr></thead><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >1</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >Fire point</td><td align="center" valign="middle" ></td><td align="center" valign="middle" >-</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >-</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >-</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >-</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >205</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >˚C</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >2</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >Density at 15˚C</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >EN ISO 3675, ENISO 12185</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;900</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;900</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;900</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;890</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >854.23</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >kg/m<sup>3</sup></td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >3</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >Viscosity at 40˚C</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >EN ISO 3104, ISO 3105</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;5.0</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;6.0</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;6.0</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;5.0</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >2.5 @38˚C</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >mm<sup>2</sup>/s</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >4</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >Flash point</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >EN ISO 3679</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&gt;120</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&gt;130</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&gt;120</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&gt;120</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >197</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >˚C</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >5</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >Sulfur content</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >EN ISO 20846</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >10</td><td align="center" valign="middle" ></td><td align="center" valign="middle" >50</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >10</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >1.5</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >mg/kg</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >6</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >Carbon residue (in 10% dist. residue)</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >EN ISO 10370</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;0.03</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;0.05</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;0.05</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;0.50</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >0.046</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >% (m/m)</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >7</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >Sulfated ash content</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >ISO 3987</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;0.02</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;0.02</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;0.02</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;0.20</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >0.00</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >% (m/m)</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >8</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >Water content</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >EN ISO 12937</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;500</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;0.05 (% v/v)</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;500</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;0.05 (% v/v)</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >366</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >mg/kg</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >9</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >Oxidative stability, 110˚C</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >EN 14112</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;4.0</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >&lt;3</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >6</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >NA</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >@100˚C 0.96</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >hours</td></tr></tbody></table></table-wrap><table-wrap id="table2" ><label><xref ref-type="table" rid="table2">Table 2</xref></label><caption><title> Test engine specifications</title></caption><table><tbody><thead><tr><th align="center" valign="middle" >Make: Kama KM170F Air Cooled Diesel Engine Parameter</th><th align="center" valign="middle" >Notes/Values</th></tr></thead><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >Combustion system</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >Direct injection</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >No of cylinder</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >Single cylinder</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >Max output</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >2.8 kw - 3.1 kw</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >Con output</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >2.5 kw - 2.8 kw</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >Engine speed</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >3000 rpm - 3600 rpm</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >Bore &#215; stroke</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >70 mm &#215; 55 mm</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >Fuel used</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >Light diesel oil</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >Displacement</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >0.211</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >Fuel tank capacity</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >2.5 L</td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="middle" >Starting system</td><td align="center" valign="middle" >Recoil or electric starter</td></tr></tbody></table></table-wrap></sec><sec id="s2_2"><title>2.2. The Selective Catalytic Converter and Reagent</title><p>The study developed a catalytic converter similar to those previously developed by Tan et al., 2020 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref32">32</xref>] ; and Bhaskarrao and Shinde, 2015 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref33">33</xref>] . The catalytic converter had a honeycomb structure with a cylindrical shell with length and diameter, approximately 92 mm and 69 mm, respectively. It had a converter volume of 0.3393 litres (339.23 cc), designed for an exhaust gas volume flow rate of 0.006349 m<sup>3</sup>/sec. It had a platinum catalyst and a wash-coat coated with an alloy of Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>. The reagent system, however, consists mainly of the following components: a storage tank, a dc pump, piping, a time relay-delay module to regulate the injection timing of the warm aqueous urea solution, an atomizer nozzle, and a 12-volt battery to power the dc pump and the relay-delay module. The study utilized a warm anhydrous aqueous urea of 30% concentration (volume/volume %) at 40˚C stored in a plastic container tightly covered to prevent contamination and for ease of handling and simplicity of design. Although the scope of this study does not cover the analysis on the effect of reagent concentration on the converter, however, the reagent set-up follows a similar approach and set-up put together in the study by Sundarraj et al., 2014 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref25">25</xref>] ; Vallinayagam et al., 2013 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref9">9</xref>] ; and Kumar et al., 2021 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref34">34</xref>] .</p></sec><sec id="s2_3"><title>2.3. Experimentation</title><p>Praveena et al., 2022 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref27">27</xref>] ; Kumar et al., 2021 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref34">34</xref>] ; and Vallinayagam et al., 2013 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref9">9</xref>] developed a similar experimental set-up to those used in this research, as shown in <xref ref-type="fig" rid="fig1">Figure 1</xref>. The experiment was conducted using a four-stroke, air-cooled C.I engine with the specification given in <xref ref-type="table" rid="table2">Table 2</xref>, fueled with biodiesel blends</p><p>[B0], [B5], [B20], [B30], [B70], and [B100], and operating at a constant engine speed of 1900 rpm. The engine was connected to a Megatech DG2 dynamometer for loading varying from 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% full load, a PCA 3 Bacharach Gas analyzer also connected to a computer for data collection, and the catalytic converter connected at the exhaust gas outlet tail end of the diesel engine, as shown in <xref ref-type="fig" rid="fig1">Figure 1</xref>. The warm aqueous urea stored in a container was metered and injected (using a time relay-delay module and a dc pump connected to a 12-volt battery) into the exhaust gas flow stream through a fine atomizer nozzle fixed upstream of the exhaust gas flow. The experiment maintained the procedure over time while varying the engine load; the NO<sub>x</sub> emission data were collected, and the graphs presented the results.</p></sec></sec><sec id="s3"><title>3. Results and Discussions</title><p>The exhaust gas temperature and NO<sub>x</sub> emission against different load ranges are plotted for the base fuel diesel [B0], pure biodiesel [B100], and the various biodiesel blends [B5], [B20], [B30], and [B70].</p><sec id="s3_1"><title>3.1. Exhaust Gas Temperature at Different Load Ranges</title><p>The necessary information on performance characteristics of relevant systems could be found in the work of Utlu et al., 2008 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref15">15</xref>] . Although performance characteristics are not the focus of this work, the extraction of exhaust gas temperature provides an understanding of NO<sub>x</sub> emission. <xref ref-type="fig" rid="fig2">Figure 2</xref> depicts the exhaust gas temperature relative to the load percentage revealing an increasing trend.</p></sec><sec id="s3_2"><title>3.2. NO<sub>x</sub> Profile without the Use of the Catalytic Converter</title><p><xref ref-type="fig" rid="fig3">Figure 3</xref> shows a plot of NO<sub>x</sub> emission against biodiesel-fossil diesel blends without catalytic converter as an add-on technology at different loadings. It was observed that an increasing percentage of biodiesel in biodiesel-fossil diesel blends leads to an increase in NO<sub>x</sub> emission. And this observation is in tandem with Shahid et al., 2011 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref4">4</xref>] and Fasogbon, 2015 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref7">7</xref>] . The study observed that the oxygen richness of biodiesel could have been responsible for the increasing content of NO<sub>x</sub>; as the higher the exhaust gas temperature, the higher the NO<sub>x</sub> emission. Thus, the oxygen content/richness of Waste Frying Oil-based biodiesel must have supported combustion; thereby leading to high NO<sub>x</sub> emission emanating from high exhaust gas temperature.</p></sec><sec id="s3_3"><title>3.3. NO<sub>x</sub> Profile with the Use of the Catalytic Converter</title><p>Even though the increasing percentage of biodiesel in biodiesel-fossil diesel blends leads to an increase in NO<sub>x</sub> emission, as in the case of <xref ref-type="fig" rid="fig3">Figure 3</xref>, the injection of a catalytic converter as an add-on technology/device significantly reduces NO<sub>x</sub> emission, as shown in <xref ref-type="fig" rid="fig4">Figure 4</xref>. At higher engine loads which is equivalent to higher exhaust gas temperature and NO<sub>x</sub> emission, there were higher reductions of NO<sub>x</sub>; this is because, at the higher temperature, Ammonia</p><p>(Urea reagents) do show better reaction with NO<sub>x</sub>. This observation is in line with the work of Sala et al., 2017 [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="scirp.119145-ref23">23</xref>] .</p></sec></sec><sec id="s4"><title>4. Conclusion</title><p>This study ascertained the NO<sub>x</sub> emission profile of a diesel engine powered with a Waste frying oil-based biodiesel at different blends and further evaluated a catalytic converter’s NO<sub>x</sub> emission reduction efficiency. With the conclusion that a combined effect of waste frying oil-based biodiesel and catalytic converter as add-on technology will yield a significant NO<sub>x</sub> emission reduction.</p></sec><sec id="s5"><title>Conflicts of Interest</title><p>The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.</p></sec><sec id="s6"><title>Cite this paper</title><p>Fasogbon, S.K., Ugwah, V.N., Amoo, O.M., Ajaero, P. and Emma-Egoro, O.D. 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