Performance and emission comparison of Karanja (pongamia pinnata), Pithraj (aphanamixis polystachya), Neem (azadira chtaindica) and Mahua (madhuca longofolia) seed oil as a potential feedstock for biodiesel production in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper investigates the production of biodiesel (BD) from karanja (Pongamia pinnata), pithraj (Aphanamixis polystachya), neem (Azadira chtaindica) and mahua (Madhuca longofolia) seed oil through acid esterification, followed by the investigation on the transesterification process and physicochemical properties of oils. This study also includes their effects on engine performance and emission on a direct ignition (DI) diesel engine. A maximum 9 of 6% by volume methyl ester (biodiesel) was obtained from mahua oil at methanol concentration of 22vol%, catalyst concentration of 0.5wt% and a temperature of 55°C and at the same condition 94%, 92% and 91% biodiesel extraction was experienced for neem, pithraj and karanja seed oil respectively. The diesel-biodiesel blend (B10) has been used during the test run and it was found that all of the fuels showed performance closer to the neat diesel. Among all the biodiesels, karanja showed better performance compared to the other three. On the other hand, high oxygen content of biodiesel causes less CO and NOx emission. It was experimentally found that mahua emits the least amount of CO and NOx which were 44.44% and 38.3% respectively compared to the neat diesel. Results indicate that these oils are potential biodiesel feedstock and can be used as an alternative to the diesel fuel in the near future. Desirable engine performance and tail pipe emissions are also observed during the experimental investigation.