Jerekias Gandure

Experimental Investigations of Fuel Properties of Biodiesel Derived from Tylosema Esculentum Kernel Oil

The alternative fuels debate continues to attract the attention of researchers and scientists globally. This paper reports experimental results on selected properties of biodiesel derived from Tylosema Esculentum kernel oil and compares them with similar properties of petroleum diesel to assess its suitability for use as fuel in diesel engines. Results indicate an ester content of 90% for tylosema biodiesel fuel, while its viscosity profile meets requirements of American standards for biodiesel fuel (ASTM D 6751-02). The flash point and cold flow properties of tylosema biodiesel were found to be typical of a biodiesel fuel, while its acidity is within range of both American and European standards by 72.5%, and 56% respectively. It was also observed that biodiesel engine performance is marginally better than that of petroleum diesel, with lower concentrations of hydrocarbon emissions. Levels of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide (CO) are largely comparable to those of petroleum diesel.

Comparative performance analysis of marula oil and petrodiesel fuels on a variable compression ratio engine

The quest for biofuel production and use in Botswana is driven by factors including volatile oil prices, need for fuel security, potential for job creation, potential reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and economic diversification. In line with national efforts to come up with energy sources that are both environmentally friendly and sustainable, this work was carried out to compare performance properties of native marula seed oil and petrodiesel fuels on a variable compression engine test rig with automatic data acquisition set up. Parameters such as engine torque, brake power and specific fuel consumption were measured at different loads for the two fuels. The results indicated that engine performance when powered with marula oil as fuel was very close to that when powered with petrodiesel. The engine performance was also analysed for same parameters of engine torque, brake power and specific fuel consumption when powered by the same two fuels over varying compression ratios at a fixed load of 80%. The results indicated that compression ratio of 16∶1 yields optimum performance in terms of engine torque and brake power for both petrodiesel and marula oil fuels; marula oil fuel has a smooth rising performance profile across all compression ratios which out-performs petrodiesel on lower compression ratios for engine torque and brake power, and is largely better than petrodiesel on fuel consumption.

Sclerocarya Birrea Biodiesel as an Alternative Fuel for Compression Ignition Engines

The continued escalation of fuel prices and environmental concerns among other factors has stimulated active research interest in non petroleum, renewable, and less polluting fuels. Biodiesel (Fatty acid methyl ester) has been identified as a suitable replacement for petroleum diesel in diesel engines [1]. Many feedstocks for biodiesel production have been proposed, with most vegetable oils being suitable substrates. As such, availability of property data is necessary for as many biodiesel fuels as possible, based on different plant oils, to evaluate suitability for use in diesel engines. With birrea plant’s huge abundance in Southern Africa and its high kernel oil content [2, 3], property data of its derived bio‐ diesel is deemed necessary. Moreover, one way of reducing the biodiesel production costs is to use the less expensive feedstock containing fatty acids such as inedible oils and by products of refinery processes [4]. This study investigated selected properties of birrea bi‐ odiesel including chemical composition, viscosity, acidity and calorific value. Engine per‐ formance in terms of fuel consumption, brake power and torque at a compression ratio of 16:1, and emission levels of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of ni‐ trogen and oxygen were also studied. Petroleum diesel is used to generate similar sets of data in order to compare the performance of the diesel engine using the two diesel fuels. This study is deemed significant as authors are not aware of any study that attempts to investigate sclerocarya birrea plant oil as a potential substrate for biodiesel production. As such, results from this work, including chemical composition, thermo-physical properties and performance of birrea biodiesel, provide new knowledge of a novel fuel source, and provide baseline information for further exploration.

Innovative Approaches to Energy Provision in Off-Grid Rural Communities—A Case of Botswana

Although renewable energy technologies applications to rural communities to improve energy access have been embraced in numerous parts of the world, sustainability of these systems is increasingly becoming critical as far as realization of long term benefits is concerned. The current manuscript proposes approaches deemed to provide appropriate match between technology and users in a select of Botswana’s rural communities. The methodology includes a participatory and inclusive approach in which the local community is engaged in the generation of their own energy. Available information indicates that available feedstock in selected communities is sufficient to generate and provide sustainable energy supply for the community.

On-road performance analysis of Tallow Biodiesel on a 2.8 Toyota Raider Hilux

Biodiesel has generated increased interest globally as an alternative to petroleum diesel. Biodiesel burns more completely than petroleum diesel due to its high oxygen content, producing lower emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulate matter. Biodiesel may however produce high or low nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emissions, depending on feedstock, engine type and test conditions. The current study therefore sought to analyse emissions from biodiesel blend of 10% (B10) synthesized from tallow, on an on-road setting using an emissions gas analyser on 2.8 Toyota Raider Hilux. The results showed significantly lower emissions of HC and CO with increase in speed, while NOx emission levels demonstrated a linear relationship with increase in vehicle speed. The trends are attributed to road landscape and surface conditions. The results from the current tests are specific to the 2.8 Toyota Raider Hilux tested, and cannot be generalized to other vehicles.

INVESTIGATING SCHIZIOPHYTON RAUTANENII BIODIESEL AS FUEL FOR THE DIESEL ENGINE

The search for plant kernel oils for use as potential substrates for production of biodiesel continues to draw global attention. In the current paper, the performance and emission characteristics of biodiesel derived from schiziophyton rautanenii kernel oil were investigated in a diesel engine. The parameters investigated are brake thermal efficiency, engine torque, brake power, specific fuel consumption, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxygen and soot production. The results indicate that Schiziophyton rautanenii biodiesel used in this study was comparable to petroleum diesel in terms of performance and emission characteristics, and is recommended for use in diesel engines.

Application of spreadsheet in beam bending calculations

The paper presents the application of an Excel spreadsheet as an educational tool for the beam bending calculations. It describes the advantages of using the spreadsheet in engineering education. It also describes the spreadsheet which uses Macaulays method for beam calculations. The spreadsheet can be applied to both statically determined and indeterminate beams. It calculates the reactions (both forces and moments), shear force and bending moment as well as deflections for any of four typical beam end-fixing conditions (simply supported, cantilever, propped and built-in). The dimensions of the beam, the loads and their location are given by the user. The spreadsheet works as a menu driven program and is designed to be user-friendly. The paper therefore makes a case for the use of spreadsheets in beam bending calculation to improve students understanding and performance in this topic.