V. Edwin Geo

Effect of Free Fatty Acids and Short Chain Alcohols on Conversion of Waste Cooking Oil to Biodiesel

In this article, the transesterification of three types of waste cooking oil (WCO) with methanol and ethanol was studied using alkali catalyzed process. The catalyst used in this study was sodium hydroxide. The effects of temperature, catalyst amount, alcohol to oil ratio, and the time of reaction on the yield were studied. The temperature and the catalyst amount were the most important factors affecting the yield of biodiesel. Also the process exhibited some sensitivity to the level of free fatty acids (FFA) in the WCO and to the type of alcohol. The yields of methyl esters varied from 97% with the lowest acidity (0.4% FFA WCO) to 76% with the highest acidity (3.25% FFA WCO). The ethyl esters yields were lower and the difference increased with the level of FFA in the oil, the maximum yield was 95% and 73% with the lowest and the medium acidities respectively and no reaction was registered with the highest one. The chromatographic analysis of the produced biodiesel showed high contents of fatty acid methyl esters varying from 96.5% to 98%. The physical-chemical characteristics of produced biodiesel were studied and compared to the European norm, EN 14214.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and sequestration using biofuels and an exhaust catalytic carbon capture system in a single-cylinder CI engine: an experimental study

ABSTRACT In the present study, tests were conducted to reduce CO2 emissions from a single-cylinder CI engine using biofuels and an exhaust catalytic carbon capture system (ECCCS) to evaluate CO2 sequestration of biofuels. Karanja oil is a second generation non-edible oil available abundantly in India. A Karanja oil methyl ester (KOME) operated CI engine emits higher CO2 emissions due to the higher carbon content in its structure compared to diesel. Hence, the low carbon biofuel Orange oil (ORG) was blended on an equal volume basis with KOME. The blend reduced CO2 emissions by 27% compared to KOME at 100% load condition. For further enhancement, acetone (A) was blended 20% by volume basis with the KOME-ORG blend. CO2 emissions were reduced by about 30% for KOME-ORG + A20 blend compared to KOME at 100% load condition. Employing ECCCS along with KOME-ORG + A20 blend reduces CO2 emissions further. CO2 emissions are reduced by about 44% for KOME-ORG + A20 + Zeolite and reduced by about 32% for KOME-ORG + A20 + activated carbon. The results clearly indicate that KOME-ORG + A20 + zeolite is optimal among the blends based on carbon capture and maximum CO2 sequestration.

Experimental analysis of Deccan hemp oil as a new energy feedstock for compression ignition engine

ABSTRACT This study investigates the biodiesel from Deccan hemp oil and its blends for the purpose of fuelling diesel engine. The performance and emission characteristics of Deccan hemp biodiesel are estimated and compared with diesel fuel. The experimental investigations are carried out with different blends of Deccan hemp biodiesel. Results show that brake thermal efficiency is improved significantly by 4.15% with 50 BDH when compared with diesel fuel. The Deccan hemp biodiesel reduces NOx, HC and CO emission along with a marginal increase in CO2 and smoke emissions with an increase in the biodiesel proportion in the diesel fuel. The improvement in heat release rates shows an increase in the combustion rate with different percentage blends of Deccan hemp biodiesel. From the engine test results, it has been established that 30–50 BDH of Deccan hemp biodiesel can be substituted for diesel.

Effect of the second generation and third generation biofuel blend on performance, emission and combustion characteristics of CI engine

ABSTRACT The present work aims to utilise second-generation biofuel, namely jatropha oil (JO) and third-generation biofuel, namely waste tire pyrolysis oil (TPO) to replace diesel in a CI engine completely. However, fuel from a single source cannot fulfil the energy requirement. Hence, multiple sources of alternative fuels are necessary. JO has high viscosity, while TPO has low cetane number and high sulfur content. The merits and demerits of JO and TPO are mutually balanced, and the optimum blend matching the diesel performance will be identified. The engine used for this study is a single-cylinder CI engine producing 4.4 kW power at a constant speed of 1500 rpm. JO and TPO are blended in various proportions on a volume basis of 75% JO and 25% TPO (JO75 + TPO25), JO50 + TPO50 and JO25 + TPO75 and tested at different load conditions. Compared with diesel, JO exhibits poor combustion due to high viscosity leading to higher soot. Blending TPO with JO improves the performance and reduces soot considerably due to lower viscosity of TPO. With about 5% improvement in BTE and significant NO-soot tradeoff, JO50 + TPO50 is identified optimum to replace diesel in CI engine.

Study of engine performance, emission and combustion characteristics fueled with diesel-like fuel produced from waste engine oil and waste plastics

Utilizing oil extracted from waste engine oil and waste plastics, by pyrolysis, as a fuel for internal combustion engines has been demonstrated to be one of the best available waste management methods. Separate blends of fuel from waste engine oil and waste plastic oil was prepared by mixing with diesel and experimental investigation is conducted to study engine performance, combustion and exhaust emissions. It is observed that carbon monoxide (CO) emission increases by 50% for 50% waste plastic oil (50WPO:50D) and by 58% for 50% waste engine oil (50WEO:50D) at full load as compared to diesel. Unburnt hydrocarbon (HC) emission increases by 16% for 50WPO:50D and by 32% for 50WEO:50D as compared to diesel at maximum load. Smoke is found to decrease at all loading conditions for 50WPO:50D operation, but it is comparatively higher for 50WEO:50D operation. 50WPO:50D operation shows higher brake thermal efficiency for all loads as compared to 50WEO:50D and diesel fuel operation. Exhaust gas temperature is higher at all loads for 50WPO:50D and 50WEO:50D as compared to diesel fuel operation.

Combined effect of fuel-design and after-treatment system on reduction of local and global emissions from CI engine

ABSTRACT This experimental study aims to mitigate harmful emissions from a CI engine using bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) approach. The engine used for this experimental work is a single cylinder CI engine with a rated power of 5.2 kW at a constant speed of 1500 rpm. The BECCS approach is a combination of plant-based biofuels and carbon capture and storage (CCS) system. The whole investigation was done in four phases: (1) Substituting diesel with Karanja oil methyl ester (KOME) (2) Equal volume blending of Orange oil (ORG) with KOME (3) 20% blending of n-butanol (B) with KOME-ORG blend (4) CCS system with zeolite based non-selective catalytic reduction (NSCR) and mono ethanolamine (MEA) based selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) system with KOME-ORG + B20 blend. The experimental results show that substitution of diesel with KOME reduces smoke emission, but increases NO and CO2 emission. KOME-ORG blend reduces CO2 and smoke emissions with high NO emission due to combustion improvement. In comparison with the sole combustion of KOME at full load condition, the combination of KOME-ORG + B20 as bio-fuel with zeolite based post-combustion treatment system resulted in a maximum reduction of NO, smoke and CO2 emission by 41%, 19% and 15% respectively.

Effect of methanol fumigation on performance and emission characteristics in a waste cooking oil-fuelled single cylinder CI engine

ABSTRACT Use of bio-oils in diesel engines results in increased NOx and smoke and reduced brake thermal efficiency. Dual-fuel engines can use a wide range of fuels mainly alcohols and yet operate with high thermal efficiency and simultaneous reduction of NO and smoke emissions. The present study aims to explore the effect of methanol–waste cooking oil (WCO) dual-fuel mode on performance and emission characteristics in a single cylinder Compression ignition (CI) engine producing 3.7 kW at 1,500 rpm. WCO was injected in the conventional injection system, replacing diesel as pilot fuel. Methanol was fumigated along with intake air using a variable jet carburetor, which was installed in the inlet manifold. The methanol was fumigated, and the energy share was varied for each load till the knock limit. Performance parameters like brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and emission parameters like HC, CO, NO, and smoke emissions were tested for various energy shares of methanol with WCO as a pilot fuel. The results show that an increase in methanol fumigation reduced BTE at lower loads. At 75% and 100% load conditions, BTE was higher with methanol addition. The maximum BTE was observed for 38% methanol share, which is about 11% higher, compared to WCO at 100% load condition. Methanol fumigation aided in the simultaneous reduction of NO and smoke emission, and the maximum reduction was occurred with 51% methanol share at 100% load condition. HC and CO emissions were higher at all load conditions with methanol fumigation.

A mixed finite element and analytical method to predict load, mechanical power loss and improved efficiency in non-standard spur gear drives

A reasonably accurate estimation of gear power loss is desirable to maximize gear performance. The load share by teeth pair, contact stress, sliding speed, elastohydrodynamic film thickness and coefficient of friction are some of the most important contributing factors which determine frictional power losses in gears. This paper presents an improvement concept to minimize the load-related power losses (sliding and rolling power losses), which will lead to an enhancement in gear efficiency by selection of non-standard gears. The tooth thickness at the pitch circle of the pinion and gear is different in non-standard gears (kpπm > 0.5 πm and kgπm < 0.5 πm), whereas it is equal in standard gears (kpπm = kgπm = 0.5 πm). In this work, the load share-based frictional power loss and the respective mechanical efficiency have been determined for comparative performance of standard and non-standard gears. Finally, the influence of various gear and drive parameters such as gear ratio, pressure angle pinion teeth number and addendum height factor on gear efficiency has also been investigated and the results of the parametric study are discussed.