Bundit Fungtammasan

Biodiesel as an Additive for Diesohol

This article discusses the use of biodiesel as an additive for diesohol—a mixture of regular diesel and ethanol. Physical and chemical properties of the diesohol blends were obtained and compared with those of regular diesel. The results showed that, in general, the fuel properties of diesohol with biodiesel as an emulsifier satisfy the requirement of regular diesel, although there is a tendency that increasing fraction of biodiesel results in more carbon residue. Engine performance and emissions of a selected blend (5% vol. biodiesel in the 95:5 diesel:ethanol mixture) were tested on a light-duty truck with a 2.5 L inter-cooled direct injection diesel engine. The results showed that biodiesel-emulsified diesohol produced less maximum power output than regular diesel. No significant difference in the emissions of CO2, CO, and NOx between diesohol and regular diesel was observed. But the use of diesohol resulted in a reduction of particulate matter.

An investigation of diesel-ethanol-biodiesel blends for diesel engine: Part 2 - Emission and engine performance of a light-duty truck.

Abstract In this experimental study, the performance of a selected diesohol-biodiesel blend consisting of 84.00% (vol.) diesel, 0.25% hydrous ethanol, 4.75% anhydrous ethanol, and 11.00% biodiesel was tested on a light-duty truck with a 2.5L inter-cooled direct injection diesel engine. Emission and engine performance tests for the diesohol-biodiesel blend and regular diesel were conducted on a chassis dynamometer using a Bangkok Driving Cycle. It was found that the two fuels show no significant difference on the emissions of CO2 and NOx. However, running the test engine on diesohol-biodiesel blend resulted in lower particulate matter and CO emissions compared to regular diesel. It also yielded a lower maximum power output due to its lower heating value. There was no significant difference in the fuel consumption of the two fuels.

An investigation of diesel-ethanol-biodiesel blends for diesel engine: Part 1. Emulsion stability and fuel properties.

Abstract Diesohol, a blend of regular diesel and ethanol, is one of the potential alternative fuels to reduce the use of regular diesel. In the present study, biodiesel offers its alternative application as an emulsifier for diesohol blends, in which both hydrous and anhydrous alcohols were blended with regular diesel at different compositions. The emulsification tests were initially conducted to obtain homogeneous diesohol emulsion. The selected blends with different compositions were tested for physical and chemical properties to meet the diesel fuel requirements. The results show that only the blend of 84.00% (vol.) diesel, 0.25% hydrous ethanol, 4.75% anhydrous ethanol, and 11.00% biodiesel can meet the requirements of standard diesel.

Pyrolysis behaviors of woody biomass torrefied at temperatures below 300°C

Torrefaction is the thermal treatment techniques performed at relatively low temperature (< 300 °C) in an inert atmosphere, which aims to improve the fuel energy density and the fuel grindability. In this study, woody biomass (Leucaena leucocephala) was torrefied at various temperatures and holding times and the pyrolysis behaviors of the torrefied wood was examined in detail by using TG-MS technique. It was found that the carbon content and the calorific value of the torrefied leucaena increased significantly when increase the temperature and holding time during the torrefaction. From the TG-MS analysis, the pyrolysis behaviors of the torrefied leucaena were significantly different from that of the raw leucaena. The char yield at 800 °C for the torrefied leucaena was increased when increasing the holding time during the torrefaction. On the other hand, the tar yield during the pyrolysis decreased significantly with the increase in the holding time during the torrefaction. Through the results from the TG-MS analysis, it was concluded that the structure of leucaena was changed by the torrefaction at temperature below 275 oC and the cross-linking reactions occurred during the pyrolysis resulting in increase in char yields and decrease in tar yields. It was also suggested that the longer the holding time during the torrefaction, the more the cross-linking reactions proceed during the pyrolysis. The results obtained from the study provide the basic information for the pyrolyser and/or gasifier design by using torrefied biomass as a fuel.

Analysis and Characterization of Premixed CH4/Air Flame Based on Invariant Transform of 2D CH∗-Chemiluminescence Measurements

This work describes the development of a flame analysis and characterization technique based on the application of invariant transform to the measured optical data of flame images. In this technique, we utilize matrix-norm analysis to obtain the scalar quantity of the post-transform images, which are specific to each global equivalence ratio, or flame state. To demonstrate the potential of the proposed technique, the invariant transform of a time-resolved projection image of a CH4/air flame captured by a CCD camera was compared with those obtained by computed tomographic reconstruction (CT) at three different equivalence ratios: 0.97, 1.09, and 1.29. The results show that the invariant transform can determine flame states more effectively than the projection and reconstruction data. It is also found that if care is taken in selecting an appropriate nonlinear kernel function for a particular flame image data, a tradeoff between computational time and the ability to extract flame information is optimized. Thus, it is feasible to implement the technique as an online visualization and analysis tool for combustion process monitoring and control.

Industry-Oriented Graduate Programs in Thailand: A Review

In 2011, the World Bank upgraded Thailand’s income categorization from a middle-income economy to an upper-middle income one. Indeed, spanning half a century from the early 1950s, Thailand had been regarded as one of the most successful world economies, with annual GDP growth hovering close to 10 % in the early and mid-1990s. However, the recent performance of Thailand has been quite the opposite, with an 11-year average annual growth of only about 4 % dating from 1997. This decline, coupled with lower medium-term growth prospects, indicates fundamental problems with the country’s current state of development, raising the possibility that Thailand might now be falling into a “middle-income trap” (MIT) (Jitsuchon 2012). Some would even argue that Thailand has already been caught in a MIT for more than 20 years, as it has been unable to compete against advanced economies while also facing increasing competition from lower income economies (Phongpaichit and Benyaapikul 2012). The main cause of this is believed to be the continued dependence of Thailand on the “cheap labor” development model with a low level of technological innovation. One of the reasons for Thailand to be perpetuating this mode of development is that the Thai education system has been unable to equip graduates with relevant skills to meet the challenges of global competition, be they technical skills or soft skills such as thinking skills, communication skills, and leadership (Jitsuchon 2012). In engineering education in particular, the tightly structured and teacher-directed nature of education has been turning out graduates that generally lack strong analytical and problem-solving skills needed for the real world (Ziguras 2001; Ku et al. 2005). A low level of R&D activities and spending, which has been stagnated at 0.2 % of GDP for a number of years, is another hindrance for the country to advance to the next level of competition where more product and process innovation is needed (Jitsuchon 2012).

Energy sector scenario for low carbon society in Thailand towards 2050

During 1990 – 2007, Thailands CO2 emission from energy sector increased substantially by 190%, as compared to world average growth of 40% for the same period. To curb CO2 emission, it is of vital importance to understand the impact of energy supply and consumption on emission under different scenarios. This study investigates the abatement options and its associated greenhouse gas under three scenarios in Thailand over a 40-year period (2011–2050). These include Frozen Technology (FT), Official Plan (OP) and Climate Plan (CP) scenarios. FT scenario represents the energy pathway with penetration of existing technologies. OP scenario relies on selected official policy planning e.g. Power Development Plan (PDP 2010). CP scenario comprises various abatement options in energy supply, commercial and residential as well as industrial sectors. The Long range Energy Alternatives Planning Systems (LEAPs) program is used as a tool for constructing the scenarios. The results show that CP scenario offers a more attractive pathway for fulfilling Thailands GHG mitigation commitments.