Coconut Biodiesel Research Articles

Investigations of DI CI engine using algal particles contained coconut biodiesel

Day to day increasing vehicles usage for human activities is caused to accumulate greenhouse emissions into the environment. The biodiesel is a best alternative fuel to run diesel engines. But its lower Calorific value and higher NOx emissions makes the consumer should compromise with engine performance and emission characteristics. As we know, that the use of additives to improve engine Combustion and emissions are caused to increase the fuel cost due to the higher cost of additives. The biodiesel conversion process of third generation biodiesel is costlier and required technological advancements for qualitative fuel. In the present work, the author used mixed culture micro algal particles in Coconut biodiesel (CCNME+AP) to improve engine characteristics. The Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE) was enhanced, and the NOx emissions were less due to the absorption of heat in the Combustion chamber, it led to cool combustion phenomena with the Algal particles contained Coconut Biodiesel (CCNME+AP).

Influence of diglyme addition to diesel-biodiesel blends on notable reductions of particulate matter and number emissions

Diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (DGM), also known as diglyme, has a very high cetane number with fuel-bound oxygen of up to 36%, it has strong potential to reduce diesel emissions. This work is an investigation of the turbocharged diesel engine’s emissions and performance parameters using coconut biodiesel-diglyme-diesel blends. Coconut biodiesel was used as an oxygenated fuel, while DGM was utilised as an oxygenated additive for its excellent cetane number and higher fuel-bound oxygen. The reason for adding diglyme to coconut biodiesel blends is to study the influence of cetane number and fuel-bound oxygen on performance, combustion and emission characteristics. There were five fuels tested in this study. To compare the performance, combustion and emissions data, a regular diesel was used as a base fuel. The neat diesel (100% diesel) and the neat coconut biodiesel (100% coconut biodiesel) were designated as diesel and Ox4 respectively. Blend of 70% diesel + 30% coconut biodiesel is abbreviated as Ox1, 70% diesel + 20% coconut biodiesel + 10% diglyme blend is abbreviated as Ox2, and 70% diesel + 10% coconut biodiesel + 20% diglyme blend is labelled as Ox3. All blending percentages were based on a volume basis. Engine experiments were performed with an unmodified Cummins 6-cylinder common rail diesel engine. The engine was fitted with precision measuring instruments. Using GT-Power, a one-dimensional (1-D) model was developed to examine some key performance parameters with those of experimental data. Most of the performance results show the variations between experimental and simulation data were within 10%.

Influence of fuel-oxygen content on morphology and nanostructure of soot particles

The share of biofuels in the fuel market has increased over the last several decades. This is related to their potential to reduce the emissions including particulate matter. It has been frequently reported that the fuel oxygen content is the main reason for the reduction in particulate matter emissions. To understand the effect of fuel oxygen content on morphology and nanostructure characteristics of soot particles, different fuels such as diesel, coconut biodiesel and triacetin were tested in a diesel engine with various mixing proportions. The fuel blending was done in such a way that overall oxygen content of fuel was kept in range of 0% to 14% (wt.%). The soot particles were sampled from the engine exhaust system and analysed with a transmission electron microscope (TEM) at low and high spatial resolution. The TEM images were post-processed with the help of an in-house developed image analysis program to determine the morphology and nanostructure characteristics. The results show that oxygenated fuel blends emit smaller sized soot particles forming compact aggregates. The investigation of the internal structure of soot particles show disordered arrangement of graphene layers for fuels up to 11.01% fuel oxygen content (pure biodiesel); however, the opposite trend was observed for fuel blends with triacetin which could be related to the presence of oxygen in a different chemical functional group.

Multicomponent Evaporation Characteristics of Biodiesel Sprays

The vapor mass fraction distribution of the multicomponent surrogate of diesel and biodiesel fuel is studied using multicomponent evaporation model at engine-relevant conditions. The numerical model is validated with experimental liquid tip penetration and vapor penetration for diesel and biodiesel. The vapor distribution for a multicomponent surrogate is significantly different than that of single-component fuel. The tetradecane, single-component surrogate for diesel has different vapor mass distribution unlike in multicomponent diesel fuel. The spatial mass fraction distribution profile of biodiesel is found to be the function of volatility differential of the pure components and their proportion in the composition. The vapor mass fraction distribution for biodiesel of palm and soybean is found to be similar to that of their single-component surrogate due to comparable volatility of components of these biodiesels. However, methyl laurate in coconut biodiesel has volatility differential with other components and also has a significant share of 40% to 50% in the coconut biodiesel composition. The change in percentage of methyl laurate in coconut composition is found to have strong impact on vapor distribution. The vapor mass fraction distribution is observed to be affected by the change in the biodiesel composition specifically volatile component.

Techno-economic assessment of coconut biodiesel as a potential alternative fuel for compression ignition engines

Over the past years, there were dramatic improvements in identifying and assessing various feedstocks for the production of biodiesel fuels. To promote a particular feedstock as a renewable source of energy, it is important to analyze their energy, economic, and engine performance characteristics. The current work attempts to evaluate the net energy and economic indices for both fossil diesel and coconut-blended diesel (B20) considering the diesel consumption by the Indian railways. Further, we present the experimental results of a multi-cylinder diesel engine operated with neat coconut biodiesel (B100) and fossil diesel at various load and speed conditions. The engine experiments reveal that the coconut biodiesel exhibits leaner combustion and shorter ignition delay than fossil diesel. Lower amount of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, and smoke emission is observed in the case of coconut biodiesel, with higher levels of nitric oxide (14%) and fuel consumption than diesel. The coefficient of variation in indicated mean effective pressure is within the range of better driveability zone for both the fuels at all test conditions. Overall the engine performance, emission and combustion results with neat coconut biodiesel are favorable with a penalty in NO emission at high load conditions. The techno-economical study highlights higher production cost per liter of B20 than the cost of fossil diesel. However, the net energy ratio (NER) for B20 is 1.021, favoring higher output than diesel and thus lowers the dependency on crude oil.

Achievement Analysis of One Cylinder Diesel Engine Using Virgin Coconut Oil Biodiesel

Coconut biodiesel is one of the alternative fuels as a substitute for diesel fuel because it can be produced from renewable energy sources, such as virgin coconut oil (VCO). VCO is one of the most potential ingredients as biodiesel feedstock because of its high oil content. Biodiesel from virgin coconut oil in this study produced a transesterification reaction process using CaO catalyst. This study aims to compare the performance of diesel engines “Dong Feng R-175” using biosolar (B5) and virgin coconut oil biodiesel. This study shows that pure coconut oil biodiesel can be used directly in “Dong Feng R-175” diesel engines. The maximum torque of virgin coconut oil biodiesel is 9.81 Nm at 1200 RPM, and the maximum power produced is 1.33 kW at 1700 RPM with specific fuel consumption (SFC) 0.24 kg / kWh. On average, the thermal efficiency of diesel engines “Dong Feng R-175” using virgin coconut oil biodiesel increased by 33.08% compared to using biodiesel B5.

The potential impact of unsaturation degree of the biodiesels obtained from beverage and food processing biomass streams on the performance, combustion and emission characteristics in a single-cylinder CI engine.

The purpose of this study is to experimentally investigate the effect of unsaturation of the biodiesels obtained from grapeseed oil, wheat germ oil and coconut oil (reference fuel) for compression ignition (CI) engine application. Fatty acid profile analysis and physio-chemical properties were determined by standard test procedures. Engine testing was carried out in a 5.2-kW single-cylinder CI engine and the combustion, performance and emission characteristics were analysed. The effect of fuel property variation and the combustion reaction kinetics due to unsaturation difference have been discussed. The maximum brake thermal efficiency at full load for diesel was found to be 32.3% followed by 31.3%, 30.2% and 27.4 %, respectively, for coconut biodiesel (CBD), grapeseed biodiesel (GSBD) and wheat germ biodiesel (WGBD). Maximum heat release rate as observed for diesel, CBD, GSBD and WGBD are 63.2J/°CA 60.7J/°CA and 59J/°CA and 43.4J/°CA respectively. The brake-specific NO emission at full load is higher for CBD followed by GSBD, WGBD and diesel having values of 9.23g/kWh, 8.91g/kWh, 8.21g/kWh and 7.6g/kWh respectively. Conversely, the smoke emission is lower for CBD compared to the other tested fuels.

Effect of biodiesel, biodiesel binary blends, hydrogenated biodiesel and injection parameters on NOx and soot emissions in a turbocharged diesel engine

Recent research works show that the biodiesel is one of the most promising renewable and sustainable fuels for diesel engines because it is biodegradable, oxygenated, sulphur free and renewable in nature. The major issue in using the biodiesel fuel is the increase in oxides of nitrogen emission compared to that of fossil diesel which is coined as Biodiesel-NOx penalty. Hence, it is attractive to focus on the parameters that mitigate the NOx emission for enhancing the usage of sustainable biodiesel fuels. Therefore, this paper presents comprehensive experimental investigation and multi-zone phenomenological model for analyzing the combustion and emission characteristics of biodiesel fuels. The test fuels include the baseline diesel, karanja, coconut biodiesel, binary blends of karanja, coconut and hydrogenated karanja samples. The model results are validated with the experimental results at a wide range of speed and load conditions. The model predictions are observed to be matching well with the measured data with a maximum prediction error of 7% and 18% for NO and soot emissions respectively. The parametric investigations in terms of experiments and validated model to study the effect of start of injection, fuel formulation and blends of biodiesel fuels on the emission characteristics of biodiesel fuels demonstrate that biodiesel-NOx penalty could be alleviated by restoring the start of injection of biodiesel fuel to that of diesel and through fuel formulation technique. While, the binary blends of karanja and coconut does not significantly alter the emission characteristics at lower speed, it shows a beneficial effect on NO emission at higher speeds.

THE EFFECTS OF VARIATION OF CATALYST CONCENTRATION ON BIODIESEL PRODUCTION

Biodiesel is defined as mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, which conform to ASTM D6751 specifications for use in diesel engines. Fuel-grade biodiesel must be produced to strict industry specifications in order to ensure proper performance. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. From the production and characterization of biodiesel via the alkaline transesterification of coconut oil using different concentrations homogeneous catalyst (sodium hydroxide), oil to methanol molar ratio of 1:6, reaction temperature of 550C and reaction time of 60 min. Biodiesel can serve as a potential feedstock for the production of biodiesel owing to its high conversion rate and relatively low FFA content. At a catalyst concentration of 1%w/w oil NaOH catalyst, optimum yield of up to 96% was achieved. It is interesting to note that the viscosity of the biodiesel obtained falls within the limit as specified by ASTM D445 (2003). A flash point of 154.2 was obtained for the coconut biodiesel. This shows that the biodiesel is safe for handling as the flash point exceeds the minimum stipulated by the ASTM (93min). The transformation of the triglycerides present in most oils into methyl ester was confirmed by FT-IR studied. Further investigation regarding the profile of the acid methyl esters present in the oil was confirmed using GC-MS analysis.

Transesterification, emission, and performance analysis of coconut oil biodiesel- alumina nanoparticles mixture in diesel engine

ABSTRACTIn order to improve its transesterification process, performance and emission parameters, nanoparticles are mixed to neat biodiesel. This work aims to investigate the cause of alumina nanoparticles on transesterification, emission and performance of coconut biodiesel. Two fuel samples are prepared by transesterification process with and without adding alumina nanoparticles. Experimental results revealed that the nitrogen oxide emission and smoke emission are reduced by 6% and 8% for coconut biodiesel by transesterification with adding alumina nanoparticles (CBD100A) when compared to coconut biodiesel by transesterification without alumina nanoparticles (CBD100). In addition, the introduction of alumina nanoparticles in coconut biodiesel during transesterification reduces the unburned hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide emissions considerably. Experimental results show that the CBD100A reduces fuel consumption which increases brake thermal efficiency.

Mixed Culture Microalgae-Based Coconut Biodiesel as Fuel to Improve DI CI Engine Performance, Emission Characteristics

The depleting Fossil fuels reserves are caused to look into new Renewable energy sources to fulfill Diesel fuel demand in developing countries such as India. Increasing urbanization is lead to the search for new alternative sources like biodiesel. In India demand of diesel fuel in Industry and Transportation sector. To resolve all the above problems, researchers, scientists were produced biodiesel from first, second and third generation biodiesel sources. Among all the sources Algae was the most Oil rich sources. The byproducts in algae to biodiesel conversion process are most valuable than other. In the present work author tried to work in a new approach, i.e. the mixed culture algae particles are emulsified in pure Coconut biodiesel fuel by using TritonX-100 as a surfactant to prepare an emulsified fuel. This fuel sample was applied to DI CI engine to improve performance, emission characteristics. The experimental results were shown that there is the improvement in diesel engine performance; emission characteristics especially break thermal efficiency and NOx emission reduction than diesel fuel due to its clean combustion.

Second Generation Coconut Biodiesel, the Best Biodiesel Alternative to Diesel as a Fuel in a Compression Ignition Engine

Second Generation Coconut Biodiesel, the Best Biodiesel Alternative to Diesel as a Fuel in a Compression Ignition Engine

Effect of fatty acid composition on the performance and emission characteristics of an IDI supercharged engine using neat palm biodiesel and coconut biodiesel as an additive

ABSTRACTThis paper studies the effects of Palm Methyl Ester (PME) with Coconut Methyl Ester (COME) additive replacing conventional diesel fuel in a supercharged Indirect Diesel Injection (IDI) engine. Engine efficiency and emission reductions were studied. The main motive behind adding COME to PME in small quantities is to increase the shelf life of the biodiesel, decrease NOx and improve thermal efficiency. A radical change in fatty acid composition was observed through chromatography tests. The performance and emission characteristics of different additive blends were compared with neat diesel fuel. Experimental analysis revealed that biodiesel with 3% COME additive resulted in significant emission reductions. Apart from zero CO emissions, CO2, NOx and smoke were reduced by 1.54%, 44 ppm and 37.6 HSU, respectively. Brake thermal efficiency was increased by 2.35% when the engine was run at maximum load defined arbitrarily without throttle control.

Influence of poly(methyl acrylate) additive on cold flow properties of coconut biodiesel blends and exhaust gas emissions

Biodiesel comprises fatty acid esters and is used as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. However, biodiesel has poor cold flow properties (i.e., CP, CFPP and PP) than mineral diesel fuel. This study aims to reduce the PP, CFPP and CP of coconut biodiesel (CB) blends using poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) additives and investigate their effects on single-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine performance and exhaust gas emission. DSC and TGA were used to observe crystal behavior and thermal stability of the biodiesel fuel blends. Engine performance and emission were analyzed by Dynomax-2000 software and gas analyzer, respectively. Results showed that 20% of CB blended with diesel and 0.03 wt% of PMA showed significant improvement in the PP, CFPP and CP. Other properties of B20 with additives met the requirements of ASTM D6751. The BSFC of B20 with PMA was reduced by 3.247%, whereas the BTE was increased by 2.16%, compared with those of B20. Burning B20 with PMA increased the NO emission by 2.15%, whereas HC, CO and smoke emissions were 19.81%, 13.35% and 3.93% lower than those of B20, respectively. Therefore, CB20 blend with 0.03 wt% PMA can be used as an alternative fuel in cold regions without compromising fuel quality.

Effects of biodiesel composition on its long term storage stability

Biodiesel is accepted worldwide as an alternative for diesel fuel in compression ignition engine applications as it is renewable, non-toxic, biodegradable, safe to store, handle and transport, locally available, has zero sulfur content and a higher cetane number. Upon these advantages, the poor storage stability of biodiesel owing to its unsaturated methyl ester constituents is a major concern. The fatty acid methyl ester composition of biodiesel fuels vary significantly according to the nature of vegetable oil feedstock used in their production process and are found to influence fuel stability upon long term storage. In the present work, experiments are done to investigate the effects of changes in biodiesel composition on its long term storage stability. For this study, two biodiesel fuels with significantly different compositions, viz. Coconut biodiesel having a higher proportion of saturated methyl esters (∼90%) and Karanja biodiesel with higher amounts of unsaturated methyl esters (∼70%) are chosen. The different blends of these two biodiesel fuels are prepared (referred herein as bio-mix) to alter their composition. The fuel blends are also made by mixing Karanja biodiesel with petro diesel. Six fuel samples with two neat biodiesel fuels and four blends are made by using this approach and are stored under four different storage conditions for a period of 10months. The changes in compositions and the important properties of these fuel samples are measured at regular intervals to assess their rate of degradation. The obtained results show that the rate of degradation is higher for neat Karanja biodiesel as compared to all other fuel samples due to its higher unsaturated methyl ester contents. Further, it is observed that by blending Karanja and Coconut biodiesel, the rate of degradation is reduced on long term storage. Surprisingly, blending with diesel results in a higher rate of degradation as compared to bio-mix. Among the different storage conditions investigated, the direct exposure to air and sunlight results in a higher rate of biodiesel degradation.

Tailoring fuel properties using jatropha, palm and coconut biodiesel to improve CI engine performance and emission characteristics

Biodiesel can be used effectively as engine fuel despite several limitations in its fuel properties. A set of experiment was conducted to improve fuel properties by blending palm biodiesel (PB) with coconut biodiesel (CB) and jatropha biodiesel (JB). MATLAB optimization tool was used to identify the optimum blend ratio for good fuel properties. A linear relationship among fuel properties was considered for MATLAB coding. The resulting optimum blend ratio and the equations of the MATLAB code were used to predict the fuel property values and were compared with the experimental values of the optimum blend fuel properties. Two new biodiesel blends were developed, namely, the optimum blends of palm–coconut (PC) biodiesels and jatropha–palm–coconut (JPC) biodiesels. Both biodiesels demonstrated overall improved fuel properties compared with those of the individual biodiesels presented in the blends. Engine performance and emission were tested using 20% blend of each biodiesel (JB, PB, CB, PC, and JPC) with petroleum diesel (OD). The engine performance and emission characteristics for the PC and JPC blends were then compared with those of OD. The average engine power for the blend of 20% JPC biodiesel and 80% OD (JPC20) was maximum at lower fuel consumption than the blend of 20% PC biodiesel and 80% OD (PC20) at full load condition. The emission characteristics of JPC20 were also comparable to or lower than those of OD, except for HC. However, when both engine performance and emission were considered, JPC20 was found to be the best fuel compared with OD and other fuel blends.

Effects of Palm–Coconut Biodiesel Blends on the Performance and Emission of a Single-Cylinder Diesel Engine

This study aims to investigate the effects of palm or coconut biodiesel blend and their combination on the performance and emissions of a single-cylinder diesel engine. A 20% v/v blend of palm biodiesel (PB20) or coconut biodiesel (CB20) and varying percentage mixtures of these two feedstocks (PB15CB5, PB10CB10, and PB5CB15) were used in the experiments. Biodiesel was produced using one-step transesterification. Physicochemical analysis showed that both palm and coconut biodiesel met the specifications of ASTM D6751. A 10 kW, horizontal, one-cylinder, four-stroke direct injection diesel engine was used to carry out tests under full load conditions at varying speeds from 1400 to 2400 rpm with an interval of 200 rpm. Burning of CB20 reduced break power by 1.72% and increased brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and NOx emission by 4.07% and 4.49%, respectively. Conversely, burning of PB20 negligibly reduced brake power and increased NOx emission by only 1.79%. Meanwhile, combined palm–coconut biodiesel at a constant final blend reduced NOx emission by 0.54% to 1.85% and slightly improved brake power and BSFC. Thus, the advantages of the high cetane number of coconut and the high ignition quality of palm biodiesel were aggregated in the combined blends.

Evaluation of combustion, performance, and emissions of optimum palm–coconut blend in turbocharged and non-turbocharged conditions of a diesel engine

Fossil fuel depletion, global warming with rapid changes in climate, and increases in oil prices have motivated scientists to search for alternative fuel. Biodiesel can be an effective solution despite some limitations, such as poor fuel properties and engine performance. From this perspective, experiments were carried out to improve fuel properties and engine performance by using a binary blend of palm and coconut biodiesel at an optimized ratio. MATLAB optimization tool was used to determine this blend ratio. A new biodiesel was developed and represented by PC (optimum blend of palm and coconut biodiesel). Engine performance and emission were tested under a full load at variable speed condition by using a 20% blend of each biodiesel with petroleum diesel, and the results were compared with petroleum diesel under both turbocharged and non-turbocharged conditions. PC20 (blend of 20% PC biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel) showed the highest engine power with lower brake-specific fuel consumption than the other tested fuels in the presence of a turbocharger. The emissions of PC20 were lower than those of all other tested fuels. The experimental analysis reveals that PC showed superior performance and emission over palm biodiesel blend.

Comparative Study of Properties and Engine Performance Using Blend of Palm and Coconut Biodiesel

Now-a-days the demand of alternative fuel is continuously increasing all over the world due to the rapid depletion of fossil fuel and increased global demand. Biodiesel is renewable and sustainable energy source derived from vegetable oils and animal fats which can be the best substitute of fossil fuel. This paper investigates the property of different biodiesel such as palm, coconut and their blends with conventional diesel also analyzed the engine performance like engine break power, speed, break specific fuel consumption (BSFC), torque in diesel engine. In this paper 20% palm biodiesel with diesel (P20), 20% coconut biodiesel with diesel (C20), 30% palm biodiesel with diesel (P30), 30% coconut biodiesel with diesel (C30) and combination of 15% palm biodiesel and 15% of coconut biodiesel with diesel (C15P15) were used for study. Biodiesel was produced by using transesterification process. The density and kinematic viscosity for C15P15 fuel is slightly higher and flash point is slightly lower than diesel fuel as well as others two biodiesel blends whereas pure palm oil biodiesel shows the higher flash point and acid value. Engine performance test was carried out at 75 kg load condition with variable speeds of 1400 rpm to 2000 rpm at an interval of 200 rpm. Engine brake power produced by mixed biodiesel (C15P15) is slightly lower than the fossil diesel but slightly higher than biodiesel (only palm or coconut). Engine torque produce by the mixed biodiesel is almost the same with the fossil diesel but higher than the others biodiesel blends. Engine brake specific fuel consumption of mixed biodiesel is slightly higher than fossil diesel but lower than others existing biodiesel. It can be reported that the fuel C15P15 showed better performance and can be used as fuel alternative to diesel fuel to reduce the greenhouse gas emission and dependency on crude oil.

Performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fueled by an optimum biodiesel–biodiesel blend

Biodiesel can be an effective renewable transportation fuel despite some limitations in properties. An experiment was conducted to improve the fuel properties of palm oil derived biodiesel by blending it with coconut oil and jatropha oil derived biodiesel. The MATLAB optimization tool was used to find the optimum blend ratio to achieve overall better fuel properties. The linear relationship among the fuel properties of these three oils was considered for MATLAB coding. The resultant optimum blend ratio and the equations of the MATLAB code were used to predict the fuel property values and compared with the experimental values of the optimum blends of fuel properties. A new biodiesel blend was developed which was an optimum blend of jatropha, palm and coconut biodiesel that demonstrated overall improved fuel properties compared to the individual biodiesels present in the blends. Engine performance and emissions were tested using a 20% blend of each of the biodiesels (jatropha, palm, coconut and the optimized biodiesel) with petroleum diesel. The blend of 20% optimized biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel showed the highest engine power at full load conditions. The emission characteristics of the optimized blend are also very much comparable and lower than petroleum diesel except hydrocarbons. However, when engine performance and emissions were considered together, the optimized blend was found to be the best fuel compared to other fuel blends including petroleum diesel.