M. Cheralathan

Potential of Various Sources for Biodiesel Production

The use of vegetable oils as an alternative fuel for diesel engines is accelerated by the energy crisis due to depletion of resources and increased environmental problems. A consistent supply of feedstock is being faced as a major challenge by the biodiesel production industry. In this article, different edible and non-edible feedstock sources for biodiesel production were compared based on their properties, availability, oil content, and, particularly, yield per hectare. Also, the greenhouse gas emissions from diesel and biodiesel during production and operation, and the possible emission reduction for pure biodiesel and biodiesel blend were compared. Further, the mandatory blending policy is also discussed to understand the potential of biodiesel requirement. The vegetable oil can be chosen based on non-edibility nature, higher yield, better property, perennial continuous yield for many years, such as from tree and direct use without esterification. This review is useful to refer the various properties and yields of biodiesel feed stocks.

Experimental investigation to reduce emissions of CI (compression ignition) engine fuelled with methyl ester of cottonseed oil using antioxidant

Biodiesel offers cleaner combustion over conventional diesel fuel, including reduced particulate matter, carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbon (HC) emissions. However, several studies point to increase in NOx emissions (about 13%) for biodiesel fuel compared with conventional diesel fuel. In this paper, the experimental investigation on the effect of antioxidant additive (l-ascorbic acid) on NOx emissions in a methyl ester of cottonseed oil- (MECSO) fuelled direct injection diesel engine has been reported. The antioxidant additive is mixed in various proportions (100–400 mg) with MECSO and was tested in computerised four-stroke water-cooled single-cylinder diesel engine of 3.5 kW rated power. Results show that the antioxidant additive is effective in controlling the NOx and HC emissions of MECSO-fuelled diesel engines.

Experimental investigation of varying the fuel injection pressure in a direct injection diesel engine fuelled with methyl ester of neem oil

ABSTRACT Being a fuel of different origin, the standard design parameters of a diesel engine may not be suitable for methyl ester of neem oil (MENO). So the engine parameters need to be optimised to suit the specific fuel properties. This experimental investigation is to find the effects of one of the engine parameters, that is, fuel injection pressure (FIP) jointly on the performance with regard to brake thermal efficiency (BTE), brake-specific energy consumption (BSEC), and emissions of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbon, nitrogen oxides, and smoke intensity with neat MENO as fuel. Comparison of performance and emission test were done for different values of IP to find the best possible IP for the optimum performance and emission. The optimum FIP was found to be 240 bar. It is found that the increase in IP increases the BTE and reduces the BSEC while having lower emissions.

The effect of antioxidant additives with methyl ester of neem oil on the oxidation stability

ABSTRACT Biodiesel as an alternative to diesel fuel prepared from vegetable oils or animal fats has attracted more and more attention because of its renewability and environment-friendly nature. But biodiesel undergoes oxidation and degenerates more quickly than mineral diesel. This problem needs to be addressed to increase the biodiesel usage. In this paper, the experimental investigation on the effect of antioxidant additives on the oxidation stability of a methyl ester of neem oil (MENO) was reported. The antioxidant additive is mixed in various proportions (100–400 ppm) with MENO. The oxidation stability was tested in the Rancimat apparatus. Results show that the antioxidant additive is effective in increasing the oxidation stability of MENO.

Experimental investigation to reduce exhaust emissions in a single cylinder CI engine fuelled with methyl ester of neem oil using antioxidant (L-ascorbic acid)

ABSTRACT Biodiesel offers cleaner combustion over conventional diesel fuel, including reduced particulate matter, carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbon emissions. However, several studies point to a slight increase in NOx emissions (about 13%) for biodiesel fuel compared with conventional diesel fuel. The use of antioxidant additives is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce the formation of NOx. In this study, the effect of antioxidant additive (L-ascorbic acid) on NOx emissions in a neem methyl ester fuelled direct injection diesel engine has been investigated experimentally. The antioxidant additive is mixed in various proportions with neem methyl ester and was tested in computerized four-stroke, water-cooled single cylinder diesel engine of 3.5 kW rated power. Results show that the antioxidant additive is effective in controlling the emissions like NOx, HC and CO2 of neem biodiesel fuelled diesel engines. Particularly for LA300 mixture, NOx emissions reduce by 16.95% at full load conditions due to the delay or inhibitions of the oxidative process by donating an electron or hydrogen atom to a radical derivative. However, there is a slight increase in carbon monoxide emissions to a slight decrease in brake thermal efficiency.

Simultaneous Reduction of NOx and HC Emissions in a CI Engine Fueled with Methyl Ester of Neem Oil Using Ethylenediamine as Antioxidant Additive

Biodiesel offers cleaner combustion over conventional diesel fuel, including reduced particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and unburned hydrocarbon emissions. However, several studies point to an increase in NOx emissions for biodiesel fuel compared with conventional diesel fuel. In this article, the experimental investigation of the effect of antioxidant additive (ethylenediamine) on NOx and HC emissions in a methyl ester of neem oil fueled direct-injection diesel engine has been reported. The antioxidant additive is mixed in various proportions with methyl ester of neem oil and was tested in a computerized four-stroke water-cooled single-cylinder diesel engine of 3.5 kW rated power. Results show that the antioxidant additive is effective in controlling the NOx and HC emissions of methyl ester of neem oil fueled diesel engines.

An experimental study on energy and exergy performance of a cavity receiver for solar parabolic dish concentrator

In this paper, an experimental study is carried out to investigate the thermal performance of a conical frustum cavity receiver for a 16 m2 Scheffler concentrator, using energy and exergy analyses. The experiment is conducted with heat transfer fluid having a flow rate of 2.5 litres per minute (LPM) under an average beam radiation of 608.17 W/m2. The average thermal energy efficiency of the receiver is found to be 57.39% with a peak value of 66.75%. The receiver could attain a very low overall heat loss factor of about 0.027 kW/K. The overall system efficiency of the solar collector is 69.47%. The average exergy efficiency of the receiver is found to be 5.88% with a peak value of 10.35%. A peak exergy factor of 0.152 is obtained for the receiver. Experiments are also conducted with flow rates of 1, 1.5 and 2 LPM in addition to the flow rate of 2.5 LPM and the receiver showed better performance for 2.5 LPM.