Project on Production & testing of cocnut oil based biodiesel fuel

7/29/2019 Project on Production & testing of cocnut oil based biodiesel fuel

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PRODUCTION AND TESTING OF COCONUT OIL BASED BIO DIESEL

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview

The world is presently confronted with the twin crisis of fossil fuel depletion

and environmental degradation. Supply of affordable energy to all strata's of

society is at the top of the development agenda of the most developing

countries.

Petroleum based fuels such as diesel and petrol continues to be the major source

of power, but these fossil fuel reserves are estimated to last only a few more

decades from now. According to an estimate, the reserves will last for 218 years

for coal, 41 years for oil, and 63 years for natural gas. India imports about 70%

of its petroleum consumption. Security of even this supply is not guaranteed as

most of India's import is from the Gulf countries that are most of the time under

political turmoil. By 2011 this percentage is likely to increase to 82%.

Environmental concerns have increased significantly in the world over the past

decade, particularly after the Earth Summit '92. Excessive use of fossil fuels has

led to global environmental degradation effects such as green house effect, acid

rain, ozone depletion, climate change, etc and its implications are being felt in

day-to-day life.(Usage of these fossil fuels has led to increase in CO2 levels in

atmosphere from 280PPM in pre-industrial era to 350PPM now.) In the Kyoto

conference on global climate change, nations world over have committed to

reduce GHG emissions significantly.

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In fact, projections for the 30-year period from 1990 to 2020 indicate that

vehicle travel, and consequently fossil fuel demand, will almost triple and the

resulting emissions will pose a serious problem. Combustion of various fossilfuels lead to emission of several pollutants, which are categorized as regulated

(ones whose limits have been prescribed by environmental legislations) and

unregulated pollutants (for which no legislative limits have been prescribe).

Regulated pollutants include NOx, CO, HC, particulate matter (PM) and

unregulated pollutants include formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, Xylene (BTX),

aldehydes, SO, CO, methane etc. They contribute to several harmful

effects on human health, which are categorized as short and long term health

effects. The short term health effects are caused by CO, nitrogen oxides, PM,(primarily unregulated pollutants) formaldehyde etc. While long term health

effects are caused mainly by poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), BTX,

formaldehyde, (primarily unregulated pollutants) etc.

Scientists around the world have explored several alternative energy resources,

which have the potential to quench the ever-increasing energy thirst of todays

population. Ever since the advent of the IC engines, vegetable oils have beentried as an alternative to the diesel fuel. The inventor of the diesel engine,

Rudolf Diesel, in 1885, used peanut oil as a diesel fuel for demonstration at the

1990 world exhibition in Paris. Speaking to the engineering society of St. Louis,

Missouri, in 1992, Diesel said, The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may

seem insignificant today, but such oils may become in course of time as

important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present times.

1.2 Resurgence of Bio-fuels

Gasoline emerged as the dominant transportation fuel in the early twentieth

century because of the ease of operation of gasoline engines with the materials

then available for engine construction, and a growing supply of cheaper

petroleum from oil field discoveries. But gasoline had many disadvantages as an

automotive fuel. The new fuel had a lower octane rating than ethanol, was

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much more toxic (particularly when blended with tetra-ethyl lead and other

compounds to enhance octane rating), was generally more dangerous and

emitted harmful air pollutants. Gasoline was more likely to explode and burn

accidently, gum would form on storage surfaces, and carbon deposits would

form in combustion chamber. Petroleum was much more physically and

chemically diverse than ethanol, necessitating complex refining procedures to

ensure the manufacture of a consistent gasoline product. Because of its lower

octane rating relative to ethanol, the use of gasoline meant the use of lower

compression engines and larger cooling systems. Diesel engine technology,

which developed soon after the emergence of gasoline as the dominant

transportation fuel, also resulted in the generation of larger quantities of

pollutants.

However, despite these environmental flaws, fuels made from petroleum have

dominated automobile transportation for the past three-quarters of a century.

There are two key reasons: first, cost per kilometre of travel has been virtually

the sole selection criteria. Second, the large investments made by the oil and

auto industries in physical capital, human skills and technology make the entry

of a new cost-competitive industry difficult.

The result was, for many years, a near elimination of the biomass fuel

production infrastructure. Only recently have environmental impact concerns,

decreasing cost differential and recent political events in the middle- east made

biomass fuels such as biodiesel a growing alternative. In 1991, the European

Community proposed a 90% tax reduction for the use of bio-fuels, including

biodiesel. Today 21 countries worldwide produce biodiesel. Today 21 countries

worldwide produce biodiesel. India is one of the largest petroleum consuming

and importing countries.

Europe has committed to promotion of the use of bio fuels or other renewable

fuels as a substitute for gasoline or diesel in the transport sector. It requires EU

member states to set indicative targets for bio fuel sales and the reference values

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are 2 % bio fuel penetration in gasoline and diesel by 2005, raising it to 5.75%

by 2010.

1.3 Potential of Bio-fuels

Governments aim to reduce reliance on imported energy and promote domestic

renewable energy programs, which could utilize domestic resources and create

new economic activities. Though bio fuels remain relatively small in use

compared to other forms of energy, the scenario is changing rapidly. When

factors are coupled with vast agro-resources, new technologies that reduce cost,emphasise on environment and pollution abatement and a strong will from both

government and private entrepreneurs; the markets for bio fuels are slowly but

surely gaining momentum.

Various bio fuel energy resources explored include biomass, biogas, primary

alcohols, vegetable oil, biodiesel etc. These alternative energy resources are

largely environment-friendly but they need to be evaluated on case-to-case basisfor their advantages, disadvantages and specific applications. Some of these

fuels can be used directly while others need to be formulated to bring the

relevant properties closer to conventional fuels.

In the Indian context, vegetable oils can be seriously considered as a fuel for CI

engines as the huge scope for cultivating oil crops is a major advantage. Also

the combustion related properties of vegetable oils and its derivatives aresomewhat similar to diesel oil. Moreover there is a vast forest resource from

which oil can be derived and formulated to give combustion related properties

close to that of diesel oil. Use of ethanol-diesel blends and biodiesel are the two

possibilities.

Biodiesel is chemically modified alternative fuel for diesel engines, derived

from vegetable oil fatty acids, and animal fat. Chemically it is defined as themono alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from renewable lipid sources

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that is, vegetable oils. This bio fuel obtained after transesterification is labelled

pure biodiesel (B100). But usually this pure bio fuel is mixed or blended with

different proportions of diesel to obtain various blends. In the present study the

blends prepared are B10, B20 and B30, B40, B50.

Broadly speaking, due to wide variations in climate, soil conditions, and

competing use of land, different nations and researchers look upon different

vegetable oils, which are locally available, as potential fuels. Considering the

huge rates of consumption of petroleum fuels at present, it is clear that

vegetable oils can, at best, provide only a partial replacement.

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CHAPTER 2

BIODIESEL AS AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL

2.1 Requirements of fuel used in CI engines

2.1.1 Ignition quality

Satisfactory diesel combustion demands self-ignition of the fuel as it is sprayed

near TDC into the hot swirling compressed cylinder gas. Long ignition delay is

not acceptable as it lead to knock. Therefore, the cetane number of the substitute

fuel should be high enough, which is a measure of knock tendency of the fuel.

Satisfactory fuel must have a cetane number between 40 and 60.

2.1.2 Viscosity

Fuel viscosity plays an important role in the combustion of fuel used. The direct

injection in the open combustion chamber through the nozzle and pattern of fuel

spray decides the ease of combustion and the thermal efficiency of the engine.

The high viscosity of vegetable oil tends to alter the injection spray pattern

inside the engine causing fuel impingement on the piston and other combustion

chamber surfaces. Viscosity of vegetable oils exerts a strong influence on the

shape of the fuel spray. High viscosity causes poor atomization, large droplets,

and high spray jet penetration. With high viscosities, the jet tends to be a solid

stream instead of spray of small droplets. As a result, the fuel is not distributed

in or mixed with the air required for burning. This results in poor combustion,

accompanied by loss of power and economy. This leads to formation of carbon

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deposits in the engine that eventually result in problems such as struck piston

rings with subsequent engine failures that wouldnt occur when using diesel.

Too low viscosity can lead to excessive internal pump leakage. The effect of

viscosity is critical at low speed or light load conditions.

2.1.3 Heating

Pour point and cloud point are important for cold weather operation of the I.C

engine. For satisfactory working, the values of both should be well below the

freezing point of the oil used. Flash point is an important temperature from asafety point of view. This temperature should be as high as practically possible.

Typical values of commercial vegetable oils fuel range between 50 and 110C.

2.1.4 Other properties

The sulphur content, carbon residue and ash are responsible for corrosion andforming a residue on the engine parts which will affect the engine life. These

values should be as small as possible. Practical values are 0.5% sulphur, 0.27%

carbon residue and 0.01% ash. Engine emissions should be within prescribed

limits.

2.2 Feasibility of introducing a new fuel

For successful use of any new fuel, therefore, requires a comprehensive

evaluation of the physical and chemical properties of the fuel, and their impact

on the engine performance, fuel economy, lubricating oil performance, engine-

out emissions, durability, safety and health effect. Such an evaluation requires

an extensive range of testing, both short-term as well as long term. The table

below gives the checklist for introducing a new automotive fuel.

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There are several factors that need to be taken care before recommending any

alternative fuel to be used in existing technologies on a large scale. These

factors are stated below.

1. Extent of modifications required in existing hardware, i.e., if any

alternative fuel needs extensive modification in the existing hardware

involving huge capital then it may be difficult to implement.

2. Investment costs for developing infrastructure for processing thesealternative fuels. Excessive infrastructure cost may act as a constraint for

the development of the energy resource.

3. Environmental compatibility compared to conventional fuels. If the new

fuel is more polluting then it will be unacceptable as fuel.

4. Additional cost to the user in terms of routine maintenance, fuel economy

equipment wear and lubricating oil life. Excessive additional cost will

have an adverse effect on the widespread acceptance of this fuel.

5. Safety

6. Stability in storage and handling

2.3 Vegetable Oil and Diesel Fuel: A Comparison

Vegetable oils have comparable energy density, cetane number, heat of

vaporization and stoichiometric air/fuel ratio with mineral diesel fuel. The ideal

diesel fuel molecules are saturated non-branched hydrocarbon molecules withcarbon number ranging between12 to 18 whereas vegetable oil molecules are

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triglycerides generally with no branched chains of different lengths and degrees

of saturation.

Vegetable oils have larger molecules, up to four times larger than typical diesel

fuel molecules. The high molecular weights of vegetable oils result in low

volatility as compared to diesel fuel and a high flash point, which leads to the

oils sticking to the injector or cylinder walls. Oils then undergo oxidative and

thermal polymerization, causing a deposition on the injector, forming a film that

continues to trap fuel and interfere with combustion and leads to more deposit

formation, carbonization of injector tips, ring sticking and lubricating oil

dilution and degradation. The accompanying inefficient mixing with air

contributes to incomplete combustion. The combination of high viscosity and

low volatility of vegetable oils causes poor cold engine start-up, misfire, and

ignition delay.

Due to the above said reasons neat vegetable oil cannot be used in a diesel

engine on a long term basis and has to be modified to bring their combustion

related properties closer to that of mineral diesel oil. This fuel modification is

mainly aimed at reducing the viscosity and increasing the volatility.

2.4 Biodiesel

Biodiesel is mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from renewable

lipid feed stocks such as vegetable oil and animal fats. The mono-alkyl esterdefinition eliminates pure vegetable oil from being classified as biodiesel. There

are only five chains that are common in most vegetable oils and animal fats

(others are present in small amounts). The relative amounts of the five methyl

esters determine the physical properties of the fuel, including the cetane

number, cold flow, and oxidative stability.

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2.5 Methods to prepare Biodiesel

Considerable efforts have been made to develop vegetable oil derivatives thatapproximate the properties and performance of hydrocarbon fuel. The efforts

can be classified into four main classes

Direct use and blending

Micro emulsions

Pyrolysis( Thermal cracking)

Transesterification

2.5.1 Direct use and blending

Direct use of vegetable oils or the blends of the oils have generally been

unsatisfactory and impractical for both DI and IDI engines. The high viscosity,

acid composition, free fatty acid content as well as gum formation due to

oxidation and polymerization during storage and combustion, carbon deposits

and lubricating oil thickening are obvious problems.

2.5.2 Micro emulsions

To solve the problem of high viscosity of vegetable oils, micro emulsions with

solvents like methanol, ethanol and I-butanol have been studied. A micro

emulsion is defined as a colloidal equilibrium dispersion of optically isotropicfluid microstructures with dimensions in the range 1-150 nm formed from two

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immiscible liquids. Micro emulsion can improve spray characteristics by

explosive vaporization of low boiling point constituents in it. Short term

performance of micro emulsions of aqueous ethanol in soybean oil was nearly

as good as that of diesel in spite of lower cetane number and energy content.

2.5.3 Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis strictly defined is the conversion of one substance into another by

means of heat. The pyrolyzed material can be vegetable oil, animal oil, natural

fatty acid and methyl ester of fatty acid. The pyrolysis of fats has beeninvestigated for more than 100 years now. Thermal decomposition of

triglycerides produces a mixture of compounds such as alkanes, alkenes,

alkadienes, aromatics and carboxylic acids. However this process is

economically unviable.

2.5.4 Transesterification

Transesterification process utilizes methanol or ethanol and vegetable oils as the

process inputs. Biodiesel is produced by chemically reacting a fat or oil with an

alcohol, in the presence of a catalyst. Methyl esters are preferred as methanol is

non hygroscopic and is less expensive than other alcohols. In general, due to

high value of free fatty acids (FFA) of used cooking oils, acid catalysed

Transesterification is adopted. However FFA of the feedstock used in this work

is less and hence alkali catalysed transesterification process is employed for theconversion. Almost all biodiesel is produced using base catalysed

transesterification as this is the most economical process. It requires only low

temperatures and pressures and produces a 98% conversion yield. In the most

cases, methanol or ethanol is the alcohol used, where methanol produces methyl

esters, and ethanol produces ethyl esters. Potassium hydroxide has been found

to be more suitable for the ethyl ester biodiesel production. Either base catalyst

can be used for the methyl ester.

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The transesterification is as equilibrium reaction in which excess alcohol is

required to drive the reaction close to completion. During methanolosis, two

distinct phases are present as the solubility of the oil in methanol is low and thereaction mixture needs vigorous steering.

The product of the reaction is a mixture of methyl esters, which are known as

biodiesel, and glycerol, which is a high value co-product. The process is known

as transesterification as shown as in the equation below.

There are only five chains that are common in most vegetable oils and animal

fats (others are present in small amounts). The relative amounts of the five

methyl esters determine the physical properties of the fuel, including the cetane

number, cold-flow and oxidative stability. While virtually all commercial

biodiesel producers use an alkali-catalysed process for the transesterification

process, other approaches have been proposed including acid catalysis andenzymes the use of acid catalysts has been found to be useful for pre-treating

high free fatty acid feed stocks but the reaction rates for converting triglycerides

to methyl esters are very slow.

Both formaldehyde and acetaldehyde emissions increased (almost double) with

the ethanol blend. This route of utilizing alcohol as a diesel engine fuel is

definitely a superior route as the toxic emissions (aldehydes) are drastically

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reduced. The problem of corrosion various engine parts utilizing alcohol as fuel

is also solved by way of transesterification

Alkali-catalyzed transesterification

This process involves biodiesel production from feed stocks containing low

levels of free fatty acids (FFA). This includes soybean oil, canola (rapeseed) oil,

and the higher grades of waste restaurant oils. Alcohol, catalyst, and oil are

combined in a reactor and agitated for approximately one hour at 60C. The

reaction is sometimes done in two steps where approximately 80% of thealcohol and catalyst is added to the oil in a final stage. Then, the product stream

from this reactor goes through a glycerol removal step before entering a second.

The remaining 20% of the alcohol and catalyst is added in this second reactor.

This system provides a very complete reaction with the potential using less

alcohol than single step. Following the reaction, the glycerol is removed from

the methyl esters. Due to the slow solubility of glycerol in the esters, this

separation generally occurs quickly and may be accomplished with either a

settling tank or a centrifuge. The excess methanol tends to act as a solubilizerand can slow the separation. However, this excess methanol is usually not

removed from the reaction stream until after the glycerol and ethyl esters are

separated due to concern about reversing the transesterification reaction.

Water may be added to the reaction mixture after the transesterification iscomplete to improve the separation of glycerol. The salts will be removed

during the water washing step and free fatty acids will stay in the biodiesel. The

water washing step is intended to remove any remaining catalyst, soap, salts,

methanol or free glycerol from the biodiesel. Neutralization before washing

reduces the water required and minimizes the potential for emulsions to form

when the wash water is added to the biodiesel by vacuum flash process. The

glycerol stream leaving the separator is only about 50% glycerol. It contains

some of the excess and most of the catalyst and soap. In this form, the glycerol

has little value and disposal may be difficult. The methanol content requires the

glycerol to be treated as hazardous waste.

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Biodiesel is an important new alternative transportation fuel. It can beproduced from many vegetable oil or animal fat feed stocks. Conventional

processing involves an alkali-catalyzed process but this unsatisfactory for lowercost high free fatty acid feed stocks due to soap formation. Pretreatment

processes using strong acid catalysts have been shown to provide good

conversion yields and high quality final products. These techniques have been

extended to allow biodiesel production from feed stocks like soap stock that are

often considered to be waste. Adherence to a quality standard is essential for

proper performance of the fuel in the engine and will be necessary for wide

spread use of biodiesel.

2.6 Variables affecting transesterification

The most important variables affecting the yield of biodiesel from trans

esterification are:

2.6.1 The effect of reaction temperature

The rate of reaction is strongly influenced by the reaction temperature. However

given enough time the reaction will proceed to near completion at room

temperature. The maximum yield of esters occurred at temperature ranging

from 60 degree Celsius to 80 degree Celsius.

2.6.2 The effect of molar ratio

Another important variable affecting the yield of ester is the molar ratio of

alcohol to vegetable oil. The stoichiometry of transesterification reaction

requires 3 moles of alcohol per mole of triglyceride to yield 3 moles of fattyesters and 1 mole of glycerol. To shift the transesterification reaction in forward

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direction, it is necessary to use either an excess amount of alcohol or to remove

one of the products from the reaction mixture. A molar ratio of 6:1 is normally

used in industrial process to obtain methyl ester yields higher than 98% by

weight.

2.6.3 The effect of catalyst

Catalysts are classified as alkali, acid or enzyme. Alkali catalyst

transesterification is much faster than acid catalysts. However if a tri-glyceride

has high free fatty acid content and more water, alkali catalyst

transesterification is suitable. Alkali catalyst concentration in the range 0.5 to 1

by weight yields 94 to 99% conversion of vegetable oil into esters. Further

increase in catalyst concentration does not increase the conversion, but it adds

cost because it is necessary to remove from the reaction medium at the end.

2.6.4 The effect of reaction time

Many researchers already conducted have found out that the conversion rate

increases with reaction time

2.6.5 The effect of moisture and free fatty acids

Starting materials used for alkali catalysts transesterification must meet certain

specification. The glyceride should have an acid value less than 1 and should be

anhydrous. If the acid value is greater than 1 more NaOH is required to

neutralize the free fatty acid. The transesterification works well when the input

oil is of high quality.

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Often low quality oils are used as raw materials for biodiesel preparation. In

cases where FFA content of the oil is above 1%, difficulties arise due to the

formation of soap, which promote emulsification during the water washing

stage. If the FFA content is above 2%, the process becomes unworkable.

Interference of FFA with transesterification deactivates the basic catalyst and

biodiesel yield.

Presence of water causes soap formation which is difficult to remove and

consumes the catalyst and reduces catalyst efficiency. The resulting soap cause

an increase of viscosity, formation of gel and make separation of glycerol

difficult.

2.7 Properties of biodiesel

The biodiesel thus produced by this process is totally miscible with mineral

diesel in any proportion. The conversion of triglycerides into methyl or ethyl

esters through the transesterification process reduces the molecular weight to

one- thirds that of the triglycerides, the viscosity by a factor of about eight and

increases the volatility marginally. Biodiesel has viscosity close to mineral

diesel, hence no problems in the existing fuel handling system.

These vegetable oil ester contains 10-11% oxygen by weight, which may

encourage combustion than hydrocarbon based diesel in an engine.

Biodiesel has lower volumetric heating values (about 10%) than mineral diesel

but has a high cetane number and flash point. The esters have cloud point and

pour points that are 15-25C higher than those of mineral diesel. Calorific value

of biodiesel found to be very close to mineral diesel.

Some typical observations from the engine tests suggested that the thermal

efficiency of engine generally improves; cooling losses and exhaust gas

temperature increase, smoke opacity generally gets lower for biodiesel blends.

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Possible reason may be additional lubricity of the biodiesel; hence reduced

frictional loses

2.8 Advantages of biodiesel

2.8.1 Reductions in wear and tear

The use of biodiesel can extend the life of vital moving components in the

engine because it has inherent lubricating capacity. Tests conducted around the

world have indicated lowering of friction of engine parts and hence a reductionin wear of engine parts up to 30%.

Atomic absorption spectroscopy tests conducted on lubricating oil samples

drawn from biodiesel operated engines suggested low concentration of wear

metals such as Fe, Cu, Zn, Mg, Cr, Pb and Co. Ferrography tests showed

smaller size and lower concentration of wear debris for biodiesel operated

engines. The carbon deposits on piston top and injector choking is substantially

reduced.

2.8.2 Biodiesel A clean fuel

The use of biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine results in substantial

reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulate matter.

Emissions of nitrogen oxides are slightly reduced or slightly increased

depending on duty cycle and testing methods. Exhaust temperatures increased

as a function of the concentration of biodiesel blend higher were the exhaust

temperatures. Increase in the exhaust temperature of biodiesel fueled engine led

to approximately 5% increase in NOx emissions biodiesel blend.

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Particulate emissions from conventional diesel engines can be divided into

three components. The first component, and the one most closely related to the

visible smoke often associated with diesel exhaust, is the carbonaceous material.

This can occur as a result of insufficient combustion air, over fuelling or poor

in-cylinder fuel-air mixing. Smoke emissions also reduced appreciably. The

higher the concentration of biodiesel blend, higher was the reduction in exhaust

smoke levels. Biodiesel is an oxygenated fuel; emissions of carbon monoxide

and soot tend to reduce.

The second component is hydrocarbon or PAH material which is absorbed

on the carbon particles. A portion of this material is result of incomplete

combustion of the fuel and remainder is derived from the engine lube oil.

Finally, the third particulate component is comprised of sulfates and bound

water. The amount of this material is directly related to fuel sulfur content. The

use of biodiesel decreases the solid carbon fraction of particulate matter,

eliminate the sulfate fraction (as there is no sulfur in the fuel) (biodiesel

contains less than 24ppm sulfur), while the soluble or hydrocarbon fraction

stays the same or is increased. It also decreases the level of corrosive sulphuric

acid accumulating in the engine crankcase oil over time.

Biodiesel works well with new technologies such as catalysts (which reducethe soluble fraction of diesel particulate), particulate traps and exhaust gas

recirculation (potentially longer engine life due to less carbon). Particulate

matter reductions of 50% were obtained when using neat biodiesel compared todiesel fuel. The addition of catalyst reduced the biodiesel SOF by an additional

48%.

The lack of toxic and carcinogenic aromatics in biodiesel means the fuel

mixture combustion gases will have reduced impact on human health and

environment. The high cetane rating of biodiesel is another measure of the

additive ability to improve combustion ability. Combustion of biodiesel alone

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produces over a 90% reduction in total unburned hydrocarbons and a 75-90%

reduction in aromatic hydrocarbons.

2.8.3 Biodiesel CO cycle

The use of biodiesels can reduce emission of CO and other gases

associated with global climatic changes. As plants grow they capture CO

released during combustion processes effectively recycling the carbon. As a

result biofuel can significantly reduce net emissions. Thus there is a large a

potential for the application of biodiesel to provide sustainable fuel supplies fordistributed generation and regional energy security. Biodiesel has good potential

for rural employment generation.

2.9 Economics of biodiesel

Factors which influence the economic feasibility of biodiesel are

Economic feasibility of biodiesel depends on the price of the crude

petroleum and the cost of transporting diesel long distances to remote

markets. It is certain that the cost of crude petroleum is bound to increase

due to increase in demand and limited supply. Further, the strict

regulations on the aromatics and sulfur contents in diesel will result inhigher cost of production of diesel fuels.

The cost of producing methyl or ethyl esters from edible oils is currently

much more expensive than hydrocarbon based diesel fuel. Due to

relatively high costs of vegetable oils (about 1.5 to two times the cost of

diesel), methyl esters produced from it cannot compete economically with

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hydrocarbon based diesel fuels unless granted production from

considerable tax levies applied to the latter. Figures suggest that pure

biodiesel is of order of 120-175% more expensive. That is replacing 1litre

of conventional diesel requires 1.1litre of biodiesel.

Most of the biodiesel that is currently made uses soybean oil, methanol

and an alkaline catalyst. The high value of soybean oil as a food product

makes production of a cost-effective fuel very challenging. However,

there are large amounts of low costs oil and fats, such as restaurant waste

and animal fats that could be converted to biodiesel

The problem with processing these low cost oils and fats is that they often

contain large amount of FFA that cannot be converted to biodiesel using

alkaline catalyst. The cost of biodiesel production results in a generally

accepted view of industry in Europe that biodiesel production is notprofitable without fiscal support from the government.

From amongst the large number of vegetable oils available in the world, if any

specific oil needs to be adopted as a continuing energy crop, it is then essential

that an oilseed variety having higher productivity and oil content must be

produced. Nevertheless, technologies must be developed for the use of

vegetable oils as an alternative diesel fuel that will permit crop production to

proceed in an emergency situation. With pre-tax diesel priced at US $0.18/1 in

the US and US $0.20-.024/1 in some European countries, biodiesel is thus

certainly not economically feasible, and more research and technological

development will be needed.

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CHAPTER 3

COCONUT OIL AS AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL

3.1 Introduction

Coconut oil is an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of maturedcoconut harvested from the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). Throughout thetropical world it has provided the primary source of fat in the diets of millionsof people for generations. It has various applications in food, medicine, andindustry. Coconut oil is very heat stable so is suited to methods of cooking athigh temperatures like frying. Because of its stability it is slow to oxidize andthus resistant to rancidity, lasting up to two years due to high saturated fatcontent. Numerous governmental agencies and medical organizationsrecommend against the consumption of significant amounts of coconut oil dueto the high saturated fat content.

3.2. Production

Coconut oil can be extracted through "dry" or "wet" processing. Dry processingrequires the meat to be extracted from the shell and dried using fire, sunlight or

kilns to create copra. The copra is pressed or dissolved with solvents, producingthe coconut oil and a high protein, high fiber mash. The mash is of poor quality

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for human consumption and is instead fed to ruminants; there is no process toextract the protein from the mash. The preparation and storage of copra oftenoccurs in unhygienic conditions which results in a poor quality oil that requiresrefining before consumption. A considerable portion of the oil extracted from

copra is lost due to spoilage, consumption by insects and rodents, and during theextraction process. All "wet" process involves raw coconut rather than driedcopra, using the protein in the coconut to create an emulsion of the oil and

water. The more problematic step is breaking up the emulsion to recover the oil.Originally this was done through lengthy boiling, but this produces a discoloredoil and is not economical; modern techniques uses centrifuges and various pre-treatments including cold, heat, acids, salts, enzymes, electrolysis, shock waves,

or some combination of them. Despite numerous variations and technologies,wet processing is less viable than dry processing due to a 10-15% lower yield,even compared to the losses due to spoilage and pests with dry processing. Wet

processes also requires an expensive investment of equipment and energy,incurring high capital and operating costs.

Proper harvesting of the coconut (the age of a coconut can be 2 to 20 months

when picked) makes a significant difference in the efficacy of the oil makingprocess and the use of a centrifuge process makes the best final extractedproduct. Copra made from immature nuts is more difficult to work with andproduces an inferior product with lower yields .Conventional coconut oil useshexane to extract up to 10% more oil than just using rotary mills and expellers.The oil is then refined to remove certain free fatty acids, in order to reducesusceptibility rancidification. Other processes to increase shelf life include usingcopra with a moisture content below 6%, keeping the moisture content of the oil

below 0.2%, heating the oil to 130150 C (266302 F) and adding salt or

citric acid. Virgin coconut oil (VCO) can be produced from fresh coconut meat,milk or residue. Producing it from the fresh meat involves removing the shelland washing, then either wet-milling or drying the residue and using a screw

press to extract the oil. VCO can also be extracted from fresh meat by gratingand drying it to a moisture content of 10-12%, then using a manual press toextract the oil. Producing it from coconut milk involves grating the coconut andmixing it with water, then squeezing out the oil. The milk can also be fermentedfor 36-48 hours, the oil removed and the cream heated to remove any remainingoil. A third option involves using a centrifuge to separate the oil from the otherliquids. Coconut oil can also be extracted from the dry residue left over from the

production of coconut milk.

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A thousand mature coconuts weighing approximately 8,640 kilograms(19,000 lb) yields around 170 kilograms (370 lb) of copra from which around

70 litres (15 imp gal) of coconut oil can be extracted

.

3.3 Properties of coconut oil

For proper utilization of anything, it is essential to have complete knowledge

regarding that substance. Same is the case with Coconut Oil. Before you useCoconut Oil, it will be quite helpful if you get yourself acquainted with the

properties of Coconut Oil. Broadly, the properties of Coconut Oil can beclassified as under;

Physical Properties: These properties of coconut oil are known to almosteveryone. Still, let us have a look at them;

Colour: Colourless at or above 30 degree Celsius. White when solid.

Odour: Typical smell of Coconut (if not refined, bleached &deodorized).

Melting Point: Melts at 25 degree Celsius (76 degree Fahrenheit). Solidbelow this temperature.

Smoking Point: 177 degree Celsius (350 degree Fahrenheit).

Solubility in Water: Forms a white homogenous mixture when beatenwell in little water. Otherwise insoluble in water at room temperature.

Density: 924.27 Kg/Meter Cube

3.4 Industrial applications of coconut oil

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Coconut oil has been tested for use as a feedstock for biodiesel to be used as adiesel engine fuel. In this manner it can be applied to power generators andtransport using diesel engines. Since straight coconut oil has a high gellingtemperature (2225 C), a high viscosity, and a minimum combustion chamber

temperature of 500 C (932 F) (to avoid polymerization of the fuel), coconutoil is typically transesterified to make biodiesel. Use of B100 (100% biodiesel)

is only possible in temperate climates as the gel point is approximately 10 C(50 F). The oil needs to meet the Weihenstephan standards for pure vegetableoil used as a fuel otherwise moderate to severe damage from carbonisation andclogging will occur in an unmodified engine.

The Philippines, Vanuatu, Samoa, and several other tropical island countries areusing coconut oil as an alternative fuel source to run automobiles, trucks, and

buses, and to power generators. Coconut oil is currently used as a fuel fortransport in the Philippinesfurther research into the oil's potential as a fuel forelectricity generation is being carried out in the islands of the Pacific. Coconutoil has been tested for use as an engine lubricants and a transformer oil.

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CHAPTER 4

PRODUCTION OF BIO DIESEL

4.1 TRANSESTERIFICATION PROCESS

Coconut oil like any other vegetable oils and animal fats are triglycerides,

inherently containing glycerine. The biodiesel process (transesterification) turns

the oils into esters, separating out the glycerine from the main product

(biodiesel). The glycerine sinks to the bottom and the biodiesel floats on top and

can be decanted off. The process is called transesterification, which substitutes

alcohol for the glycerine in a chemical reaction, using a catalyst.

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4.2 Materials required

3 litres of coconut oil, 1litre of methanol, 30grams of NaOH, measuring beakers

for methanol and oil , container with swirling arrangement enhanced by a motor

, thermometer , a heater and a 500ml separator bottle

4.3 Procedure

The entire production processes was done in our IC engines laboratory.

1litre of coconut oil was measured out in a measuring flask and is poured into

the container. The container is provided with a mechanical stirrer which is

enhanced by a motor .Now, the motor is switched on for swirling the oil. After 5

minutes, 300 ml of methanol is carefully taken and poured into the container.

Then the heater is switched on and a thermometer is inserted in the container.

The reaction temperature was set to 65 degrees which is way below the boiling

point of methanol (70 degrees). This reaction is enhanced by sodium hydroxide,

which is the catalyst . 10 grams of NaOH is carefully added to the mixture.

When the temperature is 60 degrees the heater is switched off and container isstirred at high speed .At that point additional 70 ml of methanol is also added.

The temperature is maintained at 60 degrees by frequent operation of heater and

is stirred for about 40 minutes until a visible change in the mixture is noticed.

Around 1litre of water which is preheated to 50 degrees is added to the mixture

along with 10 ml of concentrated HCl. The mixture is again swirled for another

20 minutes .This is to dissolve the glycerine which is the bi product of this

process.

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Now the mixture from the container is poured on to the seperator on which it is

kept for seperation.24 hours is allowed for the seperation process. On the next

day , it is seperated by decanting the glycerine at the bottom .In this processaround 900 ml of biodiesel is obtained The same process is repeated for about 3

times and a gross bio diesel yield of 2.7 litres is obtained . The bio diesel

obtained is stored in a container.

4.4 Process flow chart

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CHAPTER 5

EXPERIMENTS

Mainly two experiments are done. They are,

1. Load test on Kirloskar diesel engine.

2. Test to determine calorific value of bio diesel using Bomb calorie meter

Both of them are discussed in detail below,

5.1 Load test on kirloskar diesel engine

Aim

To conduct a load test on the Kirloskar diesel engine using 3 different fuels. viz

coconut oil, coconut oil based biodiesel and diesel .and to plot the following

graphs,1) Total fuel consumption(TFC) Vs Brake Power

2) Specific fuel consumption(SFC) Vs Brake Power

3) Brake mean effective pressure(BMEP) Vs Brake Power

4) Brake thermal efficiency(B Th ) Vs Brake Power

5) Indicated mean effective pressure(IMEP) Vs Brake Power

6) Indicated thermal efficiency(I Th ) Vs Brake Power

7) Mechanical efficiency(Mech ) Vs Brake Power

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Specifications

Type : Single cylinder water cooled BHP : 10

RPM : 1500 Bore :110 mm

Stroke : 110 mm Dynamometer constant : 1000

Apparatus

Engine test rig with loading system, stopwatch, etc.

Precautions

1) Open the fuel supply valve

2) Check the lubricating oil level

3) Start the engine on no load condition

4)Open the water inlet ad outlet series

Procedure

Calculate the maximum load that can be applied on the

engine. Start the engine on no load. Allow it to run for 5 minutes for the engine

to get heated up. At this no load condition, note the time taken for 10cc of fuel

consumption using the stopwatch .Apply the next load on the loading system.

Wait for 2 or 3 minutes and note the time taken for 10cc of fuel consumption.

Repeat this procedure by applyingthe remaining load up to the maximum

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load in 5 or 6 equal steps. Note all the observations, unload the engine and stop

it by cutting off the fuel supply.

Results & Inference

All the different graphs mentioned above are

plotted and the different parameters are compared. The different graphs are

discussed in the chapter 6. The readings taken during the experiment are given

in tables 1, 2 & 3

5.2 Test to determine calorific value of bio diesel

using Bomb calorie meter

Aim

To determine the calorific value of the given liquid fuel.

Description of the apparatus

The oxygen bomb calorimeter is very satisfactory for finding the calorific value

of solid and liquid fuels. The bomb calorimeter consists of a strong steel vessel.

The inside of the vessel is lined to prevent corrosion. It is closed by a screwed

on cover, which contains a needle valve to admit compressed oxygen. The fuel

whose calorific value is required is placed in the crucible. The fuel is ignited by

means of a fine wire, which dips into the fuel and is heated by electric current.

The copper calorimeter is surrounded by a water jacket and an air jacket, which

reduces the loss of heat by radiation and convection. A stirrer is provided so thatwater is constantly stirred throughout the experiment. The temperatures are

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measured by means of a precision thermometer. The heat equivalent or water

equivalent of the calorimeter is first determined. The water equivalent of the

bomb is the amount of water which has the same thermal capacity as the bomb

and its bucket. The value of the water equivalent of the calorimeter is found by

burning a known weight of a substance of known calorific value.

Procedure

Knowing the water equivalent of the calorimeter, find out the water to be taken

in the calorimeter. Take the calculated amount of water in the calorimeter andplace inside the chamber.

Take 10cc of distilled water inside bomb. Weigh out the given fuel accurately in

a common balance. Place the crucible with the fuel in provision made. The two

terminals are connected by a platinum wire and are connected to the fuel. Admit

oxygen into the bomb under pressure (25 Atmosphere). Place the bomb in the

calorimeter such that the water covers the bomb completely.

Replace the lid and tighten it correctly. Start the stirrer. Introduce the

thermometer. Observe the temperatures for 5 minutes (preliminary method) in

every one minute. At the end of 5th minute, switch on the electric supply to

fire the fuel. Observe the temperature rise in every 30 seconds. A sudden rise of

temperature indicates the firing of fuel.

Observe the maximum temperature attained. The period known as chief period.

Observe the fall in temperature until two consecutive reading shows constant

fall of temperature. To set correct rise in temperature a correction is to be

applied

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Result & Inference

The calorific value of bio diesel is found out and it is discussed in chapter 7.

The readings of the experiment are noted down in table 4.

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CHAPTER 6

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

6.1 Fuel properties

The oil considered in the present work is coconut oil. After transesterification

process, it is converted into bio diesel. The different fuel properties like calorific

value and density are calculated using the tests mentioned in chapter 4

6.1.1 Calorific value

The calorific value of the fuel is found out using bomb calorie meter. The

calorific value of coconut oil based bio diesel is found to be 38216.5kJ/kg,

which is way below the calorific value of diesel which is 45208.85kJ/kg. The

calorific value of pure coconut oil is found out to be 37802.3kJ/kg.

Since the calorific value of biodiesel and coconut oil is below the value for

diesel, the specific fuel consumption and total fuel consumption for both of

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them will be less. This can be clearly be evident from the figures 1 and 2 which

comes under the engine performance section

6.2 Engine performance

The performance of a diesel engine running using coconut oil, biodiesel and

diesel is studied using a Kirloskar diesel engine as explained in the previous

chapter 5

6.2.1 Brake power

Variation of brake power with load for different loads fuels was noted. The

brake power increased with increase in load. This was due to increase in fuel

consumption with increase in load. By and large the brake power is not

sacrificed by using different blends.

6.2.2 Total fuel consumption

FIGURE 1: Variation of total fuel consumption with different fuels.

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Total fuel consumption is a factor which depends on the density of fuel. Totalfuel consumption is a factor which depends on the density of fuel. The density

of coconut oil is about 0.91 gm/cc and that of coconut oil based bio diesel is

0.89 gm/cc .Both of them are above the density of diesel which is 0.85 gm/cc.

The significance of the graph is to find the value of frictional power, which is

the key factor in finding the mechanical efficiency. Frictional power is obtained

by extending backwards the middle portion of this graph to intercept the X axis

in the negative direction to obtain the frictional power. It is found that the

frictional power for diesel is more (2.25KW) and it is the least for coconut oil(2.05KW) owing to its lubricational properties .The frictional power while using

bio diesel is about 2.20KW.

6.2.3 Specific fuel consumption

FIGURE 2: Variation of specific fuel consumption with different fuels

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Specific fuel consumption depends on total fuel consumption and brake power.

after looking at the tables 1,2 and 3 which are the readings of the load test , it is

found that the total fuel consumption for coconut oil based bio diesel is higher

at lighter loads .but as the loads goes on increasing the total fuel consumption of

coconut oil increases and for diesel it is the least at peak load. The fuel

consumption is higher for coconut oil and bio diesel is comparable at all loads.

But for petroleum diesel is way below when compared to both of them. This

might be due to the lower density and higher calorific value of diesel.

6.2.4 Brake mean effective pressure

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FIGURE 3: Variation of brake mean effective pressure with different fuels.

This is one of the insignificant graphs among the lot. Because of the fact that the

brake mean effective pressure is an engine parameter which is completely

independent of the fuel used .It depends on brake power and parameters like

stroke, area of the cylinder, number of working strokes and number of

cylinders. But it gives an indication of the performance of the Kirloskar diesel

engine which is used to conduct this test.

6.2.5 Brake thermal efficiency

FIGURE 4: Variation of brake thermal efficiency with different fuels

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Brake thermal efficiency is an engine parameter which depends on total fuel

consumption and calorific value. It is found that at lighter loads, the brake

thermal efficiency is higher for coconut oil. Next coconut oil based bio diesel

and the least for diesel. But it is evident from the graph that as the load picks up

the brake thermal efficiency of diesel increases and that of coconut oil

decreases. At peak load, the efficiency is least for coconut oil and highest for

diesel .This scenario can be concluded like this the calorific value of diesel isthe highest among the three and the fuel consumption is least while using diesel

at lighter loads.

6.2.6 Indicated mean effective pressure

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FIGURE 5: Variation of indicated mean effective pressure with different fuels

Indicated mean effective pressure is solely depended on Indicated power other

than engine parameters .so indicated power will be having a greater effect on

the indicated mean effective pressure Vs brake power. Indicated power depends

on frictional power , due to the increased lubrication properties of coconut oil it

is having least frictional power (2.05 kW) when compared to bio diesel (2.20

kW) and diesel (2.25 kW) . Due to the above mentioned properties the indicated

mean effective pressure is more for diesel at all loads and least for diesel.

6.2.7 Indicated thermal efficiency

FIGURE 6: Variation of indicated thermal efficiency with different fuels

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The inference from the indicated thermal efficiency Vs brake power graph is

that at light loads, it is found that the indicated thermal efficiency is more for

coconut oil and least for diesel. But as the load goes on increasing the indicated

thermal efficiency increases for diesel and decreases for coconut oil .this can be

due to the greater calorific value of diesel which is about 45208.8kJ/kg when

compared to coconut oil (37802.3 kJ/kg) and bio diesel (38216.5 kJ/kg).

6.2.8 Mechanical efficiency

FIGURE 7: Variation of mechanical efficiency with different fuels

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Mechanical efficiency is found to be higher for coconut oil. Also, mechanical

efficiency is found to be lower for diesel. The reason for this can be concluded

like this; the lubrication efficiency of coconut oil reduces the friction on the

engine parts. As a result of this, the frictional power is much lower for coconut

oil. It is found that the frictional power is more for diesel. The self lubrication

power of coconut oil and coconut oil based bio diesel will reduce the wear and

tear on the engine parts which will increase the efficiency and reduce the

maintenance that are needed for the engine.

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CHAPTER 7

CONCLUSION

Bio diesel has become more attractive recently because of its environmental

benefits and the fact that it is made from renewable resources. A continuous

transesterification process is a method of choice to lower the production cost.

The use of bio fuels as IC engine fuels can play a vital role in reducing the

environmental impact of fossil fuels, strengthening the agricultural econ omy,besides providing rural employment and energy security.

All tests for characterization of coconut oil biodiesel demonstrated that almost

all the important properties of bio diesel are in very close agreement with the

mineral diesel. But Engine performance was found to be slightly (3 to 5%) less

as compared to fossil fuels.

This detailed experimental investigation confirms that bio diesel can substitute

mineral diesel without any modification in the engine. There is also an

advantage of bio diesel having a self lubricating power inherent from coconut

oil which reduces the frictional power.

Coupled with the fact that, there is enormous scope for production of coconutoil in the country and considering that extra land area is not needed for its

production, it can be a potential candidate for the application in CI engines.

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REFERENCES

1. Production and Testing of Coconut Oil Biodiesel Fuel and its Blend

by J Alamu1*, Dehinbo2 and M Sulaiman2 (1Department of Mechanical

Engineering, Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria 2Department of

Mechanical Engineering, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ibogun, Nigeria.

2. Perfomance analysis of rice bran biodiesel blends on diesel engine by

Abhilash Das H , Aravind M , Libin V Joseph (Department of

Mechanical Engineering , Thangal Kunju Musaliar college of

Engineering ,Kollam)

3. Use of vegetable oils in diesel engines by Dr J Nazar (Department of

Mechanical Engineering , Thangal Kunju Musaliar college of

Engineering , kollam)

4. Kavitha P.L., Studies on transesterified mahua oil as an alternative fuel

for diesel engines. M.Sc. thesis: Anna University, Chennal-600 025.

India, (2003).

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5. Chitra P., Venkatachalam P., Sampathrajan A., Optimisation of

experimental conditions for biodiesel production from alkali-catalysed

transesterification of Jatropha curcus oil. Energy for Sustainable

Development, 2005, IX (3), p. 13-18.

6. Peterson C.L., Cruz R.O., Perkings L., Korus R., Auld D.L.,

Transesterification of vegetable oil for use as diesel fuel: A progress

report., ASAE Paper 1990, No. 90-610.

7. Bio fuels applications as fuels for internal combustion engines by

Avinash Kumar Agarwal , Department of Mechanical Engineering ,

Indian Institute of Technology , Kanpur .

8. Performance evaluation of single cylinder diesel engine using bio diesel

by B Murali Krishna ,proceedings of 14th ISME international

conference on mechanical engineering in knowledge age, December 12-

14,2005

9. Perfomance of Renewable Fuel Based CI engine by R N Singh, S P

Singh and B S Pathak Sardar Patel Renewable Energy Research Institute,

Vallabh Vidya Nagar, Gujarat ( India)

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10.Biodiesel: Technology & Business Opportunities An Insight by S

Biswas, N Kaushik & G Srikanth Technology Information Forecastingand Assessment Council (TIFAC) Department of Science & Technology,

New Delhi

APPENDIX A

Load test values during the performance analysis on Kirloskar diesel engine

TABLE 1: DIESEL

Sl.No.

Load(kg)

TimeFor10ccfuelCons:(s)

BrakePower(KW)

TotalFuelCons:(kg/hr)

SpecificFuelCons:(kg/kWhr)

BMEP(KN/m)

B Th:(%)

Indi:Power(KW)

IMEP(KN/m)

I Th:(%)

Mech:(%)

1 0 41.2 0 0.74 0 0 2.25 172.26

24.32

0

2 1.3 29.5 1.43 1.04 0.73 109.75

11.01

3.68 281.74

28.31

38.86

3 2.6 26.1 2.87 1.17 0.41 219.49

19.62

5.12 391.98

35.01

56.05

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4 4 18.9 4.41 1.62 0.37 337.68

21.78

6.66 505.30

32.89

66.22

5 5.3 15 5.84 2.04 0.35 447.43

22.90

8.09 619.37

31.73

72.19

6 6.7 10.3 7.39 2.97 0.40 565.6

1

19.9

1

9.64 738.0

4

25.9

6

76.65

TABLE 2: COCONUT OIL

Sl.No

Load(kg)

TimeFor10cc

fuelCons:(s)

BrakePower(KW



BMEP(KN/m)

B Th

:(%)

Indi:Power(KW)

IMEP(KN/m)

I Th:(%)

Mech :(%)

1 0 40.25

0 0.81 0 0 2.05 156.95

24.04 0

2 1.3 33 1.43 0.99 0.69 109.75 13.72

3.48 266.42

33.39 41.09

3 2.6 23.3 2.87 1.41 0.49 219.49 19.34

4.92 376.68

33.15 58.33

4 4 17.3 4.41 1.89 0.428 337.68 22.12

6.46 494.58

32.47 68.27

5 5.3 13.1 5.84 2.50 0.428 447.43 22.19

7.89 604.06

29.98 74.01

6 6.7 8 7.39 4.09 0.553 565.61 17.16

9.44 722.73

21.93 78.28

TABLE 3: BIO DIESEL

Sl.No.

load(kg)

TimeFor10cc

fuelCon

BrakePower(KW



BMEP(KN/m)

B Th

:(%)

Indi:Power(KW)

IMEP(KN/m)

I Th:(%)

Mech:(%)

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s:(s)

1 0 38.5 0 0.83 0 0 2.20 168.4

3

24.92 0

2 1.3 29.1 1.43 1.10 0.77 109.75 12.22

3.63 277.91

31.02 39.39

3 2.6 21.5 2.87 1.49 0.52 219.49 18.11

5.07 388.16

31.98 56.61

4 4 15.5 4.41 2.07 0.47 337.68 20.03

6.61 506.06

30.02 66.72

5 5.3 13.5 5.84 2.37 0.41 447.43 23.16

8.04 615.54

31.88 72.64

6 6.7 8.5 7.39 3.77 0.51 565.61 18.43

9.59 734.21

23.91 77.06

APPENDIX B

Observation values of Bomb calorimeter experiment for coconut oil based bio diesel

TABLE 4: CALORIFIC VALUE

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TIME (minutes) TEMPERATURE(C)

1 0.32

2 0.343 0.36

4 0.36

5 0.365.5 0.936 1.70

6.5 2.31

7 2.65

7.5 2.858 2.93

8.5 3.00

9 3.07

9.5 3.1310 3.18

10.5 3.2211 3.25

11.5 3.2712 3.28

12.5 3.29

13 3.28

APPENDIX C

SAMPLE CALCULATION OF LOAD TEST

(TABLE 1 ; set no:3)

BRAKE POWER

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BP = WN HP

K

= WN X 0.735 kW

K

W = load in kg

N = speed in RPM

K =Dynamometer constant

= 2.6 X 1500 X 0.735 Kw

1000

= 2.87 Kw

MAXIMUM LOAD

Wmax = BHP K kg

N

= 10 x 1000 kg

1500

= 6.67 kg

TOTAL FUEL CONSUMPTION

TFC = 10 3600 kg/hrt1000

where t - time taken for 10cc of fuel consumption , s;

density of fuel , gm/cc (0.85gm/cc)

= 10x0.85x3600 kg/hr

26.1x1000

= 1.17 kg/hr

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SPECIFIC FUEL CONSUMPTION

SFC = TFC kg/kWhr

BP

= 1.17 kg/kWhr

2.87

= 0.41 kg/kWhr

BRAKE MEAN EFFECTIVE PRESSURE

BMEP = BP 60 kN/m

LAnX where BP brake power , kW ;

A - area of cylinder , m

L - length of stroke , m

n no. of working strokes

X no. of cylinders

= 2.87x60 kN/m

0.783

= 219.49 kN/m

BRAKE THERMAL EFFICIENCY

B Th = Brake Power 100%

Heat input

where TFC Total fuel consumption , kg/hr

CV Calorific value of fuel (45208.8kJ/kg)

= BP 3600 100%

TFC x CV

= 2.87 x 3600 x 100%50



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1.17x45208.8

= 19.62%

INDICATED POWER

IP = BP + FP kW

where FP Frictional power of engine (from graph TFC vs BP)

FP = 2.25 KW (from graph)

IP = 2.87 + 2.25

= 5.12 kW

INDICATED MEAN EFFECTIVE PRESSURE

IMEP = IP 60 KN/mLAnX

where IP Indicated power , kW

=5.12x60 KN/ m

0.783

= 391.98 KN/ m

INDICATED THERMAL EFFICIENCY

I Th = IP 3600 100%

TFC CV

= 5.12 x 3600 x100%

1.17x45208.8

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= 35.01%

MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY

Mech = BP 100%

IP

= 2.87 x 100%

5.12

= 56.05%

APPENDIX D

CALCULATION FOR CALORIFIC VALUE OF BIO DIESEL

ON BOMB CALORIE METER (TABLE 4)

Weight of fuel used; f = 0.001 kg

Steady temperature before combustion; T= 0.32 C

Maximum temperature after combustion; t =3.29C

Water equivalent of calorimeter; Q = 0.94 Kg

Observed rise in temperature; R = t-T

=2.97C

Actual rise in temperature; A = R + 0.5rk; where r- rate of cooling

k-time elapsed for maximum temperature to attain

=3.025C

Specific heat of water C (w) = 4.187kJ/kgK

Weight of water in calorimeter; W = 2.25kg

Assuming fuse wire correction = 2000 KJ/kg of fuel

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Heat liberated by fuel and fuse wire = Heat absorbed by calorimeter

f x CV (f) = (Q+W) C(w) x A

CV (f) = (Q+W) C(w) x A -2000

f

= (0.94+2.25) 4.187 x 3.025 - 2000

0.001

=38216.5 kJ/kg

Documents

Project on Production & testing of cocnut oil based biodiesel fuel