Abstract
Cape Chestnut oil was processed to biodiesel through transesterification. Cape Chestnut kennels are reported to have oil content of 60% - 63% [1]. Properties of biodiesel were determined and compared with those of diesel and engine tests done at a constant speed of 1500 RPM on the biodiesel blends to evaluate their performance and emissions characteristics. Performance evaluation was in terms of Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC), Brake Horse Power (BHP) and Brake Thermal Efficiency (ETE). The engine was initially run on diesel to establish the reference characteristics before running on biodiesel blends. The biodiesel was blended with diesel volumetrically to 80% (B80), 50% (B50), 20% (B20) and 5% (B5) the percentage being the volume of biodiesel in the blended fuel. Diesel fuel had the lowest BSFC followed by B5 whose BSFC was 7.3% higher than that of diesel. BTE for B100 was lower than that of diesel by 20.3% while that of B5 was 7.6% lower. Concentration of SO2 in B100 was 92.7% lower than that of diesel fuel while that of B20 was 24.7% lower. NO and NO2 concentrations for B100 were around 15% higher than that of diesel. Particulate matter of less than 10 μm diameter (PM10) for diesel was found to be 72% of the total collected from all the test fuels as compared to that of biodiesel blends at 28%. The study concluded that Cape Chestnut biodiesel blends containing up to 20% biodiesel can be used in an unmodified diesel engine since their performance and emission characteristics were very similar to that of diesel but with reduced toxic gas emissions therefore friendly to the environment.
Highlights
Biofuels are broadly defined as liquids, solids or gaseous fuels that are predominantly or exclusively produced from biomass
To evaluate the particulate matter emitted by fuels, a filter was attached to the engine exhaust pipe which enabled it to pick any PM10 emitted as the exhaust gases exited
The reason why only one filter was used for all the Cape Chestnut Methyl Ester (CCME) and its blends is because the PM10 in them was almost negligible for each to be considered independently
Summary
Biofuels are broadly defined as liquids, solids or gaseous fuels that are predominantly or exclusively produced from biomass. The main types of biofuels include ethanol, biodiesel and biogas derived from crops residues or wastes All of these can be used as substitutes or supplements for the traditional fossil fuels used for transportation, domestic and industrial uses [2]. It has been the focus of considerable amount of recent research because it is renewable and reduces the emissions of some pollutants [3]. Because of the increase in crude oil prices, limited resources of fossil oil and environmental concerns, there has been a renewed focus in vegetable oils and animal fats to make biodiesel [4]. There is need to develop biodiesel locally which can be produced most efficiently and effectively considering the land use, environment, economic and social issues
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