Hasan Serin

Biodiesel Production From Tea Seed (Camellia Sinensis) Oil and its Blends With Diesel Fuel

Biodiesel has been produced from various vegetable oils, such as palm, canola (rapeseed), cottonseed, sunflower, and soybean oils as well as a variety of less common oils. This study evaluated the production of biodiesel using tea seed (Camellia sinensis) oil as a raw material. Methyl ester was produced by transesterification of tea seed oil with methanol in the presence of a catalyst (NaOH). The fuel properties such as pour point (PP), kinematic viscosity, cetane number, flash point, density, copper strip corrosion, and heating value were determined and discussed in light of American (ASTM D6751) and European (EN 14214) biodiesel standards. Not only the specifications of pure biodiesel but also its blends with diesel fuel were analyzed. Biodiesel produced from tea seed oil exhibit a low pour point value of −5°C, one of the lowest found for a biodiesel fuel. The cold flow properties of tea seed methyl ester (TSME) demonstrate its operational viability during the cold weather conditions. As a result, tea seed oil, as agricultural crop, might be a reasonable raw material for the biodiesel production.

Performance and Emission Studies of Castor Bean (Ricinus Communis) Oil Biodiesel and Its Blends with Diesel Fuel

Abstract An experimental study was conducted to evaluate the use of various blends of castor (Ricinus Communis) oil methyl ester with diesel fuel. Performance and exhaust emissions of castor oil biodiesel with diesel fuel in a commercial compression ignition engine were presented in this study. Biodiesel produced from castor oil was blended with diesel fuel at the volumetric ratios of 5% (B5), 10% (B10), 25% (B25), 50% (B50), and 100% (B100). Fuel properties of castor oil methyl ester and its blends with diesel fuel were stated. The performance results showed that blends of castor oil methyl ester with diesel provided an increase on brake specific fuel consumption and a small decrease on brake power output. Compared with diesel fuel, diesel-castor oil methyl ester blends showed that while the carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emissions became reduced; the oxides of nitrogen emissions observed higher than diesel fuel emission characteristics. Test results showed that B25 was determined as a suitable alternative fuel for diesel engines.

Engine Performance and Emission Characteristics of Plastic Oil Produced from Waste Polyethylene and Its Blends with Diesel Fuel

The overall objective of this study was to explore the utility of waste plastics as a potential source of diesel fuel. An experimental study was conducted to evaluate the use of various blends of plastic oil produced from waste polyethylene (WPE) with diesel fuel (D). WPE was degraded thermally and catalytically using sodium aluminum silicate as a catalyst. The oil collected at optimum conditions (414°C–480°C range and 1 h reaction time) was fractionated at different temperatures and fuel properties of the fractions were measured. Plastic oil was blended with diesel fuel at the volumetric ratios of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 100%. Fuel properties of blends are found comparable with those of diesel fuel within the EN 590 Diesel Fuel standard and they can also be used as fuel in compression ignition engines without any modification. Engine performance and exhaust emission studies of 5% WPE-D (WPE5) blend were performed. Experimental results showed that carbon monoxide (CO) emission is decreased by 20.63%, carbon dioxide (CO2) emission is increased by 3.34%, and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emission is increased by 9.17% with WPE-D (WPE5) blend compared to diesel fuel.

The Performance and Emissions of a Diesel Engine Fueled with Tea Seed (Camellia sinensis) Oil Biodiesel-Diesel Fuel Blends

The study presents the results of investigations carried out on a four-cylinder, four-stroke, direct injection diesel engine operated with tea seed (Camellia sinensis) oil biodiesel. The oil from tea seeds was extracted from grounded seeds using the Soxhlet extraction apparatus. The biodiesel was produced by transesterification of tea seed oil with methanol in the presence of a catalyst (NaOH). After being blended with regular diesel fuel (D), the fuel properties of tea seed biodiesel (B) was determined according to ASTM and EN standards. The fuel mixtures (biodiesel content at the volumetric ratios of 10%B–90%D (B10), 20%B–80%D (B20), and 100%B (B100)) were tested in a direct injection diesel engine at full load condition. The results indicated a decrease in the observed power output with the increase in biodiesel content in the mixture. Specific fuel consumption (SFC) values were increased depending on the amount of biodiesel in the test fuels. While CO and CO2 emissions were reduced, NOx emissions were increased with increasing biodiesel contents in the mixture. It can be concluded that, tea seed oil, as an agricultural crop, might be a reasonable raw material for the biodiesel production. It was also shown that, up to 20% volumetric content of tea seed biodiesel could be effectively used in fuel mixture serving the purpose of reduction in diesel fuel usage.

Effect of Spark Plug Alteration on Performance Using Hydrogen Enriched Gasoline in Si Engine Under Various Loads and Compression Ratios

In this study, change in brake power (BP) of a variable compression spark ignited engine was investigated with different spark plugs and hydrogen enrichment. The tests were carried out with a four stroke, single cylinder, naturally aspirated, variable compression ratio (VCR) engine. Two different compression ratios (CR) of 8.5:1 and 10:1 under %50 part throttle condition were implemented throughout the experiments. Moreover, engine loads of 8 Nm, 13 Nm and 17 Nm were applied to evaluate effects of different spark plugs and hydrogen usage at different engine loads. Copper, iridium and platinum spark plugs were tested for each experiment condition. In addition, hydrogen was added through the intake manifold with flow rates of 0, 2 and 4 lit/min to enhance combustion of VCR engine. According to test results, iridium and platinum spark plug usage, hydrogen addition and higher compression ratio improved BP significantly. This variance occurred more obvious with platinum spark plug usage comparing to iridium spark plug. In addition, effects of spark plug alteration, hydrogen addition and higher CR on enhancement of BP were comparatively lower at higher engine loads.