The Experimental Study of Pangium Edule Biodiesel in a High-Speed Diesel Generator for Biopower Electricity

Abstract

Despite the rapid development of electric vehicles, the shrinking number of fossil fuels that are the source of electricity remains conventional. The availability of energy sources and technology is sometimes naturally limited, high-priced, and might be politically circumscribed. This leads to an increased desirability of biodiesel due to its modest and economically higher energy density in comparison to batteries. The palm oil industry accounts for 23% of total deforestation in Indonesia. Contrary to palm oil, pangium edule (PE) is considered more sustainable and it intercrops with most of the forest’s vegetation while supplying biodiesel feedstock. A relatively higher pangium edule methyl ester (PEME) was delivered through PE feedstock, provided that it was processed with a heterogeneous catalyst, K2O/PKS-AC. This feedstock consumed a lower alcohol ratio and had a reasonably swift production process without sacrificing biodiesel quality. Therefore, this study aims to assess the performance of the PE biodiesel blend in a power generator. Furthermore, PEME was blended with diesel fuel in the variation of B0, B20, B30, B40, and B100. It was also tested with four-stroke single-cylinder diesel power generators to produce electricity. The B30 blend stands out in this experiment, achieving the highest engine power of 0.845 kW at a low load and dominating at a higher load with a minimum fuel consumption of 1.33 kg/h, the lowest BSFC of 0.243 kg/kWh, and second in BTE values at 21.16%. The result revealed that the main parameters, which include actual and specific fuel consumption, and the thermal efficiency of PE biodiesel performed satisfactorily. Although there was a slight decrease in the total power delivered, the overall performance was comparable to petroleum diesel.