ALTERNATE FUELS

ABSTRACT:

India is spending about Rs.3000 crores per annum in foreign exchange on

importing deficit petroleum requirements (l)due to the increase in gap between
demand and supply of petroleum increasing products(6 ).Hence it becomes
necessary to conserve and stretch the oil reserves by way of alternative fuel
research. Vegetable oil presents a very promising alternative fuel to diesel.
Properties of vegetable oils are comparable with the characteristics required for
compression ignition fuels(2). Experimental investigations have been carried out
to access the suitability of Karanji oil as CI engine fuel. Current investigations
reveal that the engine performance with diesel-Karanji oil blends and esterified
Karanji oil as comparable with diesel fuel operations. Hence modified Karanji oil
can profitably be employed in existing CI engines without major engine
modification and thus provide an immediate though partial solution to growing
diesel oil scarcity in developing countries like ours.
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PLANT OIL - A FLEXIBLE OPTION FOR
DIESEL ENGINE
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INTRODUCTION:

Dr. Rudolf diesel predicted that plant oil would be widely used to operate his engine.
In fact, he used pra-nut oil as fuel for demonstrating his engine at the paris exposition of
1900 (6).However, due to their high viscosity, poor volatility and high cost, the vegetable
oils were not accepted since long as alternative of diesel fuel. It is only in recent years that
systematic efforts have been made to utilize vegetable oils as fuels in engine (3). This is
obviously because of the problem of fast dwindling resources of petroleum fuels, the
economic and political factors associated with their procurement and environmental
pollution caused by the combustion of these fuels in the engines(4). The production of
vegetable oil is very simple and in mainly agricultural country as ours, it can be quite
economical. Further, the auto ignition properties of vegetable are almost the same those of
diesel fuels and hence can be used in diesel engines with little or no engine modification
(5). Vegetable oils can be used in CI engine by various techniques as fuel modification by
esterification, diesel-vegetable oil blends, vegetable oil heating, etc.
OBJECTIVES :

To ascertain the feasibility of using modified Karanji oil as fuel for CI engine the
performance test was conducted. Engine tests were conducted with esterfied Karanji oil,
blends of Karanji oil with diesel, heated Karanji oil and the diesel fuel. The fuel injection
parameters were changed and a variable load test was performed at governor controlled
speed. To get the picture of the effect of variation of injection timing the test was performed
at 26 degrees btdc and 30 degrees btdc with esterified Karanji oil and 35% Karanji oil
diesel blend. Further the effect of injection pressures variation was also studied by
testing each fuel under three injection pressures viz., 175 kgfCm2 , 205 kgfCm2 and 225
kgfCm2 (6).

EXPERIMENTAL SET UP & PROCEDURE:

The test engine was a Kirloskar make, single cylinder, naturally aspirated water
cooled diesel engine having 10 BHP as rated power at 1500 rpm. The engine was coupled
to a hydraulic dynamometer to measure its output. The fuel flow rates were timed with
calibrated burretes. Exhaust gas was analysed at 205 kgfCm2 injection pressures by
means of infra-red gas analyzer. Since Karanji oil and diesel form a homogeneous mixture,
blends of 20%,35% and 50%.Karanji oil-diesel was prepared. Methyl ester of Karanji oil
was prepared by direct esterification process wherein methyl alcohol was mixed with
karanji oil and stored at specific temperature for about a fortnight. At the end of this period
there was slight waxy substance suspended in the ester which was separated. All the tests
were conducted at identical conditions of engine stability. The engine was run for about 20
minutes for steady state conditions. Cooling water temperature was maintained at
32degrees centigrade.
TABLE1:
PROPERTIES OF TEST FUELS :

Fuel Viscosity Density Calorific Flash Carbon

at 30deg. (gm/cc) value point residue
centistokes Kcal/kg) (deg. C) (%)
Diesel 3.93 0.844 10430 70 0.095
20% K.O.Blend 5.89 0.860 10160 92 0.237
35% K.O. Blend 11.12 0.872 9875 112 0.340
5°% 1<.0. Blend 15.85 0.885 9600 143 0.441
Karanji Oil 49.67 0.926 8814 215 0.756
Esterified K.O. 6.4 0.892 8785 174 0.134

The precise values of the properties of tests fuels are give in Table1 tested in
laboratory. The table shows that they are quite comparable with that of diesel fuel. The
viscosity as compared to diesel oil at 30 deg.C were 1.5, 2.8,12.6 and 1.6 times for
20%,35%,50% Karanji oil diesel blend, Karanji oil and esterified Karanji oil respectively.
The densities and calorific values of 20%,35%,50% Karanji oil blend Karanji oil and Karanji
oil ester were 1.019,1.033,1.048,1.097 and 97.4,94.7,92,84.5,84.2% respectively as
compared to that of diesel fuel (6).
RESULTS& DISCUSSION:

The test results are plotted in graphs and the following observations are made
that at 26 deg. btdc injection timing, the b.s.f.c. with all the Karanji oil test fuels are more
than that with neat diesel. However, 20% Karanji oil blend have minimum b.s.f.c. among all
the karanji oil test fuels. show that at 26deg. Btdc injection timing, the brake thermal
efficiency of all the blended fuels are less than that of 100% diesel. However esterified
Karanji oils shows higher brake thermal efficiency than the blends. As cetane no improves
with esterified Karanji oil it is comparable and even more than that of neat diesel. shows
that the increase in injection pressure to 205kg/cm2 improves the performance for 50%
Karanji oil blend and to 225 kg/cm2 for heated karanji oil esterified Karanji oil.shows that
fuel injection advance from 26 deg. btdc to 30 deg, btdc improves the engine performance
for 35% Karanji oil blend but no improvements is observed for methylester of Karanji oil. It
is also seen that at 30 deg. btdc injection timing for 35% karanji oil blend, the best
performance is observed at 225 kgfcm2 injection pressure. The improvement in engine
performance at 30 deg. Btdc injection timing over 26 deg. btdc for 35% Karanji oil blend
can be attributed to its longer delay period and combustion duration(3).However esterified
Karanji oil has shorter delay period and combustion duration (3) and hence this results in
no positive improvement in engine performance at advanced injection timing.
Shows that all other test fuels give higher CO emission compared to 100% diesel over the
entire load. However CO emission of 20%,35% Karanji oil blend and Karanji oil ester are
comparable with that for neat diesel. Shows that for 35% Karanji blend, fuel injection
advance to 30 deg.btdc from 26 deg.btdc reduces CO emission. But except at higher load,
there is no positive improvement in CO emission at advanced injection timing for Karanji oil
ester.
ADVANTAGES:-
1. Plant oil is safe, biodegradable and reduces air pollutants.
2. It decreases solid carbon and sulphate fraction.
3. Blends of plant oil that is less than 20% do not require any engine modification and it
can provide same capacity and range as Diesel.

DISADVATAGES:-
1. Using pure form of plant oil may require certain modification in the engines.
2. Plant oil also requires special management
3. Higher concentration of plant oil leads to increase in nitrogen oxides.

CONCLUSION:
So, from the above investigation, the following conclusion can be drawn:
1. The fuel properties tested in the laboratory show that they are quite
comparable with diesel fuel.

2. The b.s.f.c. with all 1he Karanji oil test fuels are comparable with that
of diesel fuel. However, 20% Karanji oil blend have minimum b.s.f.c. at 175 kgfCm2 among
all1he Karanji oil test fuels under all injection pressures.

3. Both Karanji oil blends with diesel and esterified Karanji oil perform with
acceptable thermal efficiencies as fuels for diesel engines. However, mainly ester of Karanji
oil have maximum brake thermal efficiency, even more than that of 100% diesel.

4. The higher injection pressure, in general leads to improvement in performance

with 50% Karanji oil blend, Karanji oil ester and heated Karanji oil.

5. The performance of the engine is improved by the advancing the fuel injection
timing by 4 deg. with 35% Karanji oil blend whereas no significant change is observed with
esterified Karanji oil.
 6. CO emission with all the Karanji oil test fuels are more than that of 100% diesel.
However, in general, CO emission can be reduced by advancing fuel injection timing from
26 deg.btdc to 30 deg. btdc (The option of the use of catalytic converter may also be
considered)

7. All the Karanji oil test fuels may be effectively used in low heat rejection engine or
adiabatic engine. Thus the above investigations suggest that esterified Karanji oil and upto
50% Karanji oil - diesel blend can be effectively employed as suitable alternative fuels in
existing diesel engine.
There is further scope for improvement in this field.
REFERENCES:

1)Ganla,A.N. & Chinchankar, V.V.: Development of Dual fuel Engines: XI National

Conference on l.e.Engines &Combustion.

2).K.C.Sinhai &A.Rehman : Plant-oil Diesel Engine Fuel, XIII

National conference on I.C.Engines and Combustion.

3)Srinivasa Rao, & R.Gopalakrishnan, :Esterified vegetable oils as fuels in diesel Engines.

4)Singhai ,K.C &Mathur H.B : Performance and combustion characteristics of ethanol-

diesel dual direct injection diesel: XI National conference on I.C>Engines & Combustion.

5) T .Bhaskar, B.Nagalingam and K. V.Gopalakrishnan : The use of Jatropha oil and its
blends with diesel in low heat rejection diesel engine:XII National Conferenced on
1.C.Ehgines &Combustion.

6.P.K.Bose & K.Datta : XIV National Conference on 1.C.Engines and Combustion.