Jatropha Methyl Ester Research Articles

Role of Additives on Emission Characteristics of Methyl Ester in Constant Speed Diesel Engine

In this study, the outcome of adding n-butyl alcohol to jatropha methyl ester on the emissions characteristics of compression ignition engines is investigated. Single cylinder diesel engine was fuelled with n-butyl alcohol / jatropha methyl ester blends. The doping volume of n-butyl alcohol to jatropha methyl ester blends was in the range of 10, 20 and 30%. Emission parameters such as Hydro carbon (HC), Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen oxides (NOX) and Smoke emissions were examined at different load conditions. The engine speed was maintained constant throughout the trail. This work resulted in a significant reduction in reduction in all the emissions. Addition of n-butyl alcohol as additive improves the rate of combustion, mixing and vaporization of the blends with air and reduces the emissions associated with it. Further, it can be used in the existing engine with any modification. This also results that the addition of n-butyl alcohol to jatropha methyl ester reduces the emissions associated with it. Further, no damage to engine components was observed during the trail.

Effect of a zinc oxide nanoparticle fuel additive on the emission reduction of a hydrogen dual-fuelled engine with jatropha methyl ester biodiesel blends

Emissions from a Direct Injection (DI) diesel engine can be reduced by the addition of metallic fuel-borne additives. However, the effect of fuel-borne catalysts in a dual fuel engine with hydrogen (H2) as a secondary fuel is not well known. Hence, experimentation was carried out to investigate the effects of nano-metallic oxide fuel additives on the major physicochemical properties and performance of jatropha biodiesel blends in a DI diesel engine in dual fuel mode. Jatropha methyl ester (JME) biodiesel is produced from degummed crude jatropha oil after reducing the free fatty acid (FFA) content to less than 2% and performing transesterification using a 20 kHz frequency ultrasonicator with a sodium hydroxide (NaOH) catalyst. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles at 100 ppm with a size of 20 and 40 nm were suspended in primary fuel of JME biodiesel. H2 as a secondary fuel with flowrates of 0.5 and 1.5 L/min was maintained during the experiments. The experimental results reveal that the nanoparticle size influences the engine performance and emissions. The presence of nanoparticles in the fuel blends reduced the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. However, the effects of the size and concentration were marginal with an increasing H2 flowrate. With an increasing H2 flow rate, hydrocarbon (HC) emissions decreased for nanoparticles of size 20 nm, but increased for 40 nm. Smoke opacity was increased compared with pure biodiesel owing to the presence of surfactant Triton-X100.

Vibration analysis of a diesel engine using biodiesel fuel blended with nano particles by dual fueling of hydrogen

In pursuit of environmental friendly alternative fuels for diesel engines, biodiesel is a promising alternative. Efforts are on in utilizing the biodiesel with diesel in Internal Combustion (IC) engines, because of its reduced pollution characteristics. Long-term effects of these biofuels in IC engines have not been explored earnestly. Enduring effects of which are high noise & vibration and irregular & erratic combustion leading to knocking. Few researches on vibration analysis of biodiesel blends have been reported. Hence, an effort is made to study the vibration characteristics of biodiesel blends amidst Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nano particles with hydrogen in dual fuel mode. Initially, experimentation is carried out to record vibration signatures with 100 ppm concentration of ZnO particles of 20 & 40 nm sizes suspended in Jatropha Methyl Ester (JME) biodiesel along with hydrogen as secondary fuel. In order to avoid strenuous experimentation Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was developed to predict Root Mean Square (RMS) of velocity. ANN predictions are found to be scrupulously matching with the experimental values as manifested by the regression values of 0.97185, 0.98574 & 0.96913 for prediction of RMS velocities in horizontal, vertical & axial directions respectively. It is found that the best fuel blend with least vibration is B30 & B20 with nano particle of size 40 nm for hydrogen flow rates of 0.5, 1.0 & 1.5 l/min.

Effects of n-Butanol Blending with Jatropha Methyl Esters on Compression Ignition Engine

The diminishing oil reserves, environmental degradation and increasing prices of petroleum-derived fuels have necessitated the search for cleaner and renewable alternative fuels, such as biodiesel. In this context, the objective of this research is to evaluate the suitability of n-butanol as a blending stock in jatropha methyl ester (JME) for use in a C.I. engine as substitute of diesel and to evaluate the performance and emission characteristics of an unmodified diesel engine. Three blends of n-butanol–JME (5, 10 and 20 % n-butanol with JME on volumetric basis) were prepared. Fuel properties including calorific value, kinematic viscosity and density of blends were found to decrease with increasing percentage of n-butanol in JME. The brake thermal efficiency of the engine was higher for blends and was found to increase by increasing the percentage of n-butanol in the blends. Carbon monoxide (CO), the oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and smoke opacity of blends were found lower than JME during the whole experimental range. However, unburnt hydrocarbon (HC) emission was found to have slightly increased. The experimental results suggested that the engine performance had improved and emissions have significantly reduced (except HC) with blends of n-butanol and JME in comparison with neat JME. Therefore, it could be concluded that n-butanol is a potential alternative fuel to be blended with JME for diesel engine application.

Effect of biodiesel saturation on soot formation in diesel engines

To understand soot formation in a diesel engine fueled with different biodiesels, a numerical study was performed using the KIVA-3V code, combined with a multi-step phenomenological soot model. The simulations were used to predict differences in soot formation for three various biodiesel feedstock types. Good agreements on soot emissions were achieved in comparisons of engine experiments and simulations at various engine operating conditions. The experimental data and simulated results showed that the degree of saturation and the oxygen content of biodiesel fuels are the major factors responsible for biodiesel soot production. The reduction of soot mass concentration for biodiesel is achieved due to the suppressed soot formation process and improved oxidation rate compared with diesel. It is observed that the acetylene generated in the pyrolysis of biodiesel is proportional to the content of unsaturated fatty acid methyl ester (the number of CC double bonds). Among the three different biodiesel fuels, the lowest soot tendency was found for the Jatropha Methyl Ester because of its lowest amount of unsaturated alkyl esters through both numerical modeling and diesel engine experiments.

Performance, Combustion and Emission characteristics of a Manifold Injected HCNG-Biodiesel Dual Fuel Operation / Bir Manifolda Enjekte Edilen HCNG-Biyodizelin Çift Yakıtlı Çalışmasının Performans, Yanma ve Emisyon Karakteristikleri

Vehicular exhaust emission control and engine efficiency are the most important parameters in current engine design. The Euro V emission norms aredirecting the research towards developing new technologies for combating engine emissions. Natural gas has become a widely used alternative fuel due to its many advantages including its ready availability and its low emission levels. Addition of hydrogen in CNG improves the composition and properties of base fuel CNG. In the present work adiesel engine was converted to operate in dual fuel engine mode in which Hydrogen-compressed natural gas (HCNG) was injected into the intake manifoldusing a specially developed electronic control unit (ECU) while diesel/biodiesel was injected directly inside the combustion chamber during the compression stroke. Experimental investigations were then carried out on a single cylinder four stroke CI engine test rig operatedin dual fuel mode using Diesel, Honge methyl ester (HOME),Jatropha methyl ester (JOME)as injected pilot fuels and HCNG as injectedprimary fuel.ECU was used for varying the injectiontimings and injection durations for HCNG injection while the optimum injection timing for diesel/biodieselwas maintained at 27°bTDC.The pilot fuel injection pressure was maintained at 230 bar. Engine was operated with constantcompression ratio of 17.5 and HCNG flow rate was maintained at 0.5kg/h. The experimental results showedthat an injection timing of 5obTDC and injection duration of 40obTDCfor HCNG injection was found to be optimum based on the improved performance, combustion and emission characteristics. The brake thermal efficiency formanifold injected HCNGdual fuel operation with diesel, HOME and JOME at 80% load was found to be 28.1%, 27.2% and 26.2% respectively. The Smoke emissions, Carbon monoxide (CO), Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were found to be lesser with aninjection timing of 5obTDC and injection duration of 40o bTDCin HCNG injected dual fuel operation.The use of HCNG manifold injection in the dual fuel operatedCI engine improves the performance and reduces the exhaust emissions from the engine except for HC and NOX emissions.

A COMPARISON OF DIESEL AND JATROPHA METHYL ESTER (JME) SPRAY CHARACTERISTICS: EFFECT OF NOZZLE ENTRY RADIUS

In the present article, diesel and Jatropha methyl ester (JME) sprays are compared in a detailed manner in terms of their macroscopic and microscopic spray characteristics. The comparison is made at injection pressures of 500, 1000, and 1500 bar by injecting the fuels through a nozzle having a single hole of 200 mu m diameter and 70 mu m entry radius into a spray chamber (with optical access). From the measurements of macroscopic spray structure, it is observed that the spray tip penetration is faster and spray cone angle is narrower by approximately 10% for JME than those of diesel, indicating that the JME spray atomization is poor. Droplet sizes are measured for diesel and JME sprays at 4 ms after the start of injection using particle/droplet image analysis, which showed that the Sauter mean diameter (SMD) of JME sprays is higher by around 5% as compared to that of diesel. Subsequently, a nozzle with a hole diameter of approximately 200 mu m having an entry radius of 10 mu m is studied to understand the effect of nozzle entry radius on breakup of diesel and JME sprays. Computational fluid dynamic modeling of inner-nozzle flow showed that there is significant inner-nozzle cavitation for this nozzle. A comparison of spray structure at injection pressures of 500 and 1500 bar showed that the spray tip penetration is slower and spray cone angles are wider by approximately 5% to 12% for sprays from the cavitating nozzle than those from the noncavitating nozzle. Droplet size comparison showed that SMD of spray from the cavitating nozzle is lower by approximately 5% as compared to that from the noncavitating nozzle. Thus improvement in spray atomization due to inner-nozzle cavitation may be able to compensate for the inferior atomization of JME, although with an associated penalty in the coefficient of discharge.

Experimental Investigations on Combustion Characteristics of Jatropha biodiesel (JME) and its Diesel Blends for Tubular Combustor Application

Scarcity of fossil fuels and their negative impact on environment drive the research in the field of alternative fuels. Biodiesel is one such promising alternative fuel that is used in automobile, gas turbine, boiler and other furnace applications. In the present study, combustion characteristics of biodiesel (Jatropha methyl ester) and its diesel blends in gas turbine like combustor have been studied experimentally. An airblast atomizer along with axial swirler (swirler no. 0.76) is employed to investigate the combustion characteristics. During the experiment, heat rate (24 kW), Air to liquid ratio (ALR=2) and air temperature (600K) was kept constant. For different equivalence ratio, spray and flame characterization, flame temperature, combustion efficiency and emission parameters such as carbon dioxide (CO2), Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen oxide (NOx) and unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) were determined. It is found that the flame temperature increases with increase in JME percentage in diesel whereas and major pollutants such as CO, CO2 and UHC emissions decrease but the NOx emissions increases. The obtained results indicate that the biodiesel can be promising fuel for gas turbine power plants instead of fossil fuels.

The Effect of Tribology Behavior on Machining Performances When Using Bio-based Lubricant as a Sustainable Metalworking Fluid

Metalworking fluid (MWF) is commonly used to reduce wear and friction, thus improve the machining productivity and quality. However, the usage of conventional MWF made from mineral oil causes negative effects to the ecology and human health. Therefore, it is desirable to formulate a sustainable MWFs as an alternative to petroleum-based oils. The crude jatropha oil was chemically altered via transesterification process of jatropha methyl ester and trimethylolpropane to develop various compositions of modified jatropha oils (MJOs). The orthogonal cutting process was carried out and the lubricants were supplied by using minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) technique. It was observed that the MJO5 exhibits an outstanding performance in terms of wear and friction as well as cutting force and maximum cutting temperature when compared to commercial synthetic ester (SE). This works shows that MJO5 is a viable candidate to replace SE as a machining lubricant.

Improvement in the performance and emission characteristics of diesel engine fueled with jatropha methyl ester and tyre pyrolysis oil by addition of nano additives

Experimental study has been carried out to investigate performance parameter and emission characteristics of 4-stroke single cylinder direct injection (DI) diesel engine fueled with jatropha methyl ester (JME) and tyre pyrolysis oil (TPO). The carbon nanotubes (CNT) and cerium oxide (CeO2) were used as nano additives in the various blends. 100 ppm of CNT and CeO2 was mixed in various concentrations of JME and TPO blends (JME90TPO10, JME80TPO20, and JME70TPO30) to analyze the effect of nanoparticles on the engine performance and emission characteristics. Experimental results have indicated the perceptible enhancement of performance parameters along with appreciable decrement in harmful emission of CO, HC and NOx using CNT and CeO2. At full load condition, JME80TPO20, JME80TPO20CeO2100, and JME80TPO20CNT100 gave the optimum results compared to other grades of blended fuels. The CO emission has gone down appreciably by about 43.11, 60.19 and 8.26 %, respectively, for JME80TPO20CeO2100, JME80TPO20CNT100 and JME80TPO20 as compared to diesel fuel. It has been also observed that the addition of nanoparticles (CeO2 and CNT) to the JMETPO blends leads to decrease in the BSEC of JMETPOCeO2/CNT blended fuel. Moreover, with the addition of nanoparticles an increase in the thermal efficiency of the JME80TPO20CeO2100 and JME80TPO20CNT100 blends was observed; the thermal efficiency of these blends at full load condition was around 24.25 and 25.64 %, respectively, which is quite higher than JME80TPO20 blend. Also the JMETPOCNT and JMETPOCeO2 blended fuels produce lower NOx emission as compared to JMETPO blended fuels. The hydrocarbon emission and smoke density were also found to be lower with the addition of nanoparticles in the JMETPO blends.

COMBUSTION PERFORMANCE OF JATROPHA BIODIESEL IN AN OIL BURNER SYSTEM

Jatropha Curcas is a non-edible plant that can be used for renewable or alternative energy. The seeds of Jatropha contain up to 60 percent oil. The oil can be converted into biodiesel by well-known two-step using acid-base catalytic transesterification. This paper shows the combustion performance of biodiesel derived from Jatropha oil in an oil burner designed for conventional diesel. Biodiesel used in this study is a blend of diesel with Jatropha Methyl Ester (JME) and combustion performance was measured and compared with that of conventional diesel fuel (CDF). The combustion performance of Jatropha biodiesel is based on wall temperature profiles and the amount of gaseous emissions emitted such as nitrous oxide (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO). It was demonstrated that biodiesel derived from Jatropha is comparable to the combustion properties of CDF and has high potential to be used as alternative fuel for diesel machines.

Performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with palm, jatropha, and moringa oil methyl ester

This paper aims to investigate the diesel engine performance and emission characteristics fueled with moringa biodiesel and compare those with the performance and emission characteristics of palm biodiesel, jatropha biodiesel, and diesel fuel. In this study, only 20% of each biodiesel (described by MB20, PB20, and JB20, respectively) was tested in diesel engine, given that open literature indicates the possible use of biodiesel of up to 20% in a diesel engine without modification. The physical and chemical properties of all fuel samples are also presented and compared with ASTM D6751 standards. A naturally aspirated multi-cylinder, four-stroke direct-injection diesel engine was used to evaluate their performance at different speeds and full load condition. All biodiesel fuel samples reduce brake power (BP) and increase brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) than diesel fuel. Engine emission results indicated that blended fuel reduces the average carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) emissions except nitric oxides (NO) emissions than diesel fuel. Among the biodiesel-blended fuel, Palm biodiesel showed better performance and minimal emission than jatropha and moringa biodiesel fuel. Although PB20 showed better performance, but performance of MB20 biodiesel blend is comparable with other fuels. Correspondingly, 20% of moringa biodiesel can be used in a diesel engine without any engine modification.

Effect of biodiesel production parameters on viscosity and yield of methyl esters: Jatropha curcas, Elaeis guineensis and Cocos nucifera

In this study, the effect of H2SO4 on viscosity of methyl esters from Jatropha oil (JCME), palm kernel oil (PKOME) from Elaeis guineensis species, and coconut oil (COME) has been studied. Effect of methanol to oil molar mass ratio on yield of the three feedstocks has also been studied. Methyl ester yield was decreased by esterification process using sulphuric acid anhydrous (H2SO4). Jatropha methyl ester experienced a viscosity reduction of 24% (4.1–3.1mm2/s) with the addition of 1% sulphuric acid. In this work palm kernel oil (PKOME), coconut oil (COME) and Jatropha oil (JCME) were used as feedstocks for the production of biodiesel to investigate optimum parameters to obtain high yield. For each of the feedstock, the biodiesel yield increased with increase in NaOH concentration. The highest yield was obtained with 1% NaOH concentration for all. The effect of methanol in the range of 4:1–8:1 (molar ratio) was investigated, keeping other process parameters fixed. Optimum ratios of palm kernel oil and coconut oil biodiesels yielded 98% each at methanol:oil molar ratio of 8:1. The physiochemical properties obtained for each methyl showed superior properties compared with those reported in published data.

Study of reversible kinetic models for alkali-catalyzed Jatropha curcas transesterification

Biodiesel is a promising alternative to diesel fuel because of its renewable feedstocks and potential environmental benefits. Chemically, biodiesel is monoalkyl esters of long-chain fatty acids, which fall in the carbon range of C12–C22. It has similar properties as mineral diesel. Transesterification process is a chemical transformation of triglycerides to biodiesel. Experimental studies of alkali-catalyzed transesterification of nonedible feedstock, Jatropha curcas, to produce Jatropha methyl esters (biodiesel) in a batch reactor are reported. The effects of operating conditions, temperatures (30–60 °C), and stirring rates (750 and 300 rpm), at constant concentration of catalyst (0.5 % w/w of oil) and constant molar ratio of methanol to oil (6:1), on product yields were investigated. The equilibrium conversions of triglycerides to biodiesel were achieved in approximately 40 min for all the experiments conducted and were observed in the range of 43–80 %. The conversion values were observed to increase with the increase in temperature and stirring rate. The main thrust of the present work was to model the kinetics and to simulate alkali-catalyzed transesterification process. Reversible kinetic models for overall transesterification reaction were applied on experimentally obtained conversion data. The model parameters were optimized. The optimal equilibrium rate constant obtained from systematic approaches was found to increase with the increase in temperature and stirring rate. It was concluded that the overall alkali-catalyzed transesterification reaction of Jatropha curcas is a reversible endothermic reaction. Characterization of feedstock oil and biodiesel produced had revealed significant changes in the physical properties during transesterification.

Performance and Emission Investigations of Jatropha and Karanja Biodiesels in a Single-Cylinder Compression-Ignition Engine Using Endoscopic Imaging

Biofuels produced from nonedible sources that are cultivated on marginal lands represent a viable source of renewable and carbon-neutral energy. In this context, biodiesel obtained from Jatropha and Karanja oil seeds have received significant interest, especially in South Asian subcontinent. Both of these fuels are produced from nonedible plant seeds with high oil content, which can be grown on marginal lands. In this research, we have investigated the performance and emission characteristics of Jatropha and Karanja methyl esters (biodiesel) and their blends with diesel. Another objective is to examine the effect of long-term storage on biodiesel's oxidative stability. The biodiesels were produced at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, (IIT Kanpur), India, and the engine experiments were performed in a single cylinder, four-stroke, compression ignition engine at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Chicago. An endoscope was used to visualize in-cylinder combustion events and examine the soot distribution. The effects of fuel and start of injection (SOI) on engine performance and emissions were investigated. Results indicated that ignition delay was shorter with biodiesel. Consequently, the cylinder pressure and premixed heat release were higher for diesel compared to biodiesel. Engine performance data for biodiesel (J100, K100) and biodiesel blends (J30, K30) showed an increase in brake thermal efficiency (BTE) (10.9%, 7.6% for biodiesel and blend, respectively), brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) (13.1% and 5.6%), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission (9.8% and 12.9%), and a reduction in brake specific hydrocarbon emission (BSHC) (8.64% and 12.9%), and brake specific CO emission (BSCO) (15.56% and 4.0%). The soot analysis from optical images qualitatively showed that biodiesel and blends produced less soot compared to diesel. The temperature profiles obtained from optical imaging further supported higher NOx in biodiesels and their blends compared to diesel. Additionally, the data indicated that retarding the injection timing leads to higher BSFC, but lower flame temperatures and NOx levels along with higher soot formation for all test fuels. The physicochemical properties such as fatty acid profile, cetane number, and oxygen content in biodiesels support the observed combustion and emission characteristics of the fuels tested in this study. Finally, the effect of long-term storage is found to increase the glycerol content, acid value, and cetane number of the two biodiesels, indicating some oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids in the fuels.

Effect of Jatropha methyl ester on waste plastic oil fueled DI diesel engine

Rapid demanding of conventional fossil fuels, increasing costs and environmental issues is the major problems for a substitute fuel. On the other hand waste plastic poses a very serious environmental challenges because of their disposal problems all over the world. The oil obtained by pyrolysis of waste plastics can be utilized as an alternate fuel for diesel engine without any modifications to the engine which results, increase the emissions like carbon monoxide (CO) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and Hydrocarbons (HC) compared with diesel. In this present study, the waste plastic oil mixed with 10% vol and 20% vol of Jatropha methyl ester (JME) oil used as fuel for the DI diesel engine and the combustion, performance and emission characteristics were studied. The experimental results indicated that the brake thermal efficiencies of waste plastic oil–JME blends at full load conditions are higher as compared to that of waste plastic oil. BTE increased by about 2.24% with PJ20 operation at full load compared to waste plastic oil. The Brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) increases with an increase in the JME blend ratio and decreases with an increase in engine load. The CO and HC emissions were decreased with increase in percentage of JME in waste plastic oil blends. HC and CO emissions for PJ20 operation are about 11 ppm and 0.13% lower than waste plastic oil at full load respectively. The NOx emission was slightly increased with increase in percentage of JME in waste plastic oils. NOx emission is 20 ppm higher for PJ20 operation than waste plastic oil. Smoke emission decreased by about 11.4% in the case of PJ20 compared to waste plastic oil.

Extraction and Characterization of Oil from the Seeds of Jatropha Curcas Using Supercritical CO<sub>2</sub> and Soxhlet Extraction Process

The ain of the present paper describes about the bio-oil extraction using soxhlet and supercritical CO2 process. The percentage yield 82.34 % was more in the case of supercritical CO2 extraction. The extracted bio-oil was converted into biodiesel using enzymatic trans-esterification reaction. A novel catalyst Gum arabic coated magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles are used in the enzymatic trans-esterification reaction. The extracted bio-oil and produced bio-diesel samples were characterised using GC-MS spectral data. Similarly, physical properties such as density, flash point, kinematic viscosity, cloud point and pour point were found out for Jatropha oil and Jatropha methyl ester. The values obtained from the Jatropha methyl ester is closely matched with the values of conventional diesel and can be used in the existing diesel engine without any modification.

Improving the performance and emission characteristics of a single cylinder diesel engine having reentrant combustion chamber using diesel and Jatropha methyl esters

The emissions from the Compression ignition (CI) engines introduce toxicity to the atmosphere. The undesirable carbon deposits from these engines are realized in the nearby static or dynamic systems such as vehicles, inhabitants, etc. The objective of this research work is to improve the performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine in the modified re-entrant combustion chamber using a diesel and Jatropha methyl ester blend (J20) at three different injection pressures. From the literature, it is revealed that the shape of the combustion chamber and the fuel injection pressure have an impact on the performance and emission parameters of the CI engine. In this work, a re-entrant combustion chamber with three different fuel injection pressures (200, 220 and 240bars) has been used in the place of the conventional hemispherical combustion chamber for diesel and J20. From the experimental results, it is found that the re-entrant chamber improves the brake thermal efficiency of diesel and J20 in all the tested conditions. It is also found that the 20% blend of Jatropha methyl ester showed 4% improvement in the brake thermal efficiency in the re-entrant chamber at the maximum injection pressure. Environmental safety directly relates to the reduction in the undesirable effects on both living and non-living things. Currently environmental pollution is of major concern. Even with the stringent emission norms new methods are required to reduce the harmful effects from automobiles. The toxicity of carbon monoxide (CO) is well known. In the re-entrant combustion chamber, the amount of CO emission is reduced by 26% when compared with the conventional fuel operation of the engine. Moreover, the amount of smoke is reduced by 24% and hydrocarbons (HC) emission by 24%. Thus, the modified re-entrant combustion chamber reduces harmful pollutants such as unburned HC and CO as well as toxic smoke emissions.

Performance, Emissions and Combustion Characteristics of a Single Cylinder Diesel Engine Fuelled with Blends of Jatropha Methyl Ester and Diesel

In order to meet the energy requirements, there has been growing interest in alternative fuels like biodiesels, ethyl alcohol, biogas, hydrogen and producer gas to provide a suitable diesel substitute for internal combustion engines. An experimental investigation was performed to study the performance, emissions and combustion characteristics of diesel engine fuelled with blends of Jatropha methyl ester and diesel. In the present work three different fuel blends of Jatropha methyl ester (B10, B20, B40 and B100) were used. The increments in load on the engine increase the brake thermal efficiency, exhaust gas temperature and lowered the brake specific fuel consumption. The biodiesel blends produce lower carbon monoxide & unburned hydrocarbon emission and higher carbon dioxide & oxides of nitrogen than neat diesel fuel. From the results it was observed that the ignition delays decreased with increase in concentration of biodiesel in biodiesel blends with diesel. The combustion characteristics of single-fuel for biodiesel and diesel have similar combustion pressure and HRR patterns at different engine loads but it was observed that the peak cylinder pressure and heat release rate were lower for biodiesel blends compared to those of diesel fuel combustion.

Process Parameter Optimization in Jatropha Methyl Ester Yield Using Taguchi Technique

Among all alternate fuel sources available, the biodiesel of Jatropha curcas appears to be a potential fuel as it widely exists in Asia. The Jatropha methyl ester (JME) is produced by transesterification process. In the transesterification process, alkyl group of ester exchanges with that of an alcohol. This work focuses on optimizing various parameters like quantities of methanol, KOH, and stirrer speed, which influence high JME yield. Based on L9 orthogonal array, experiments are conducted by using Taguchi technique. All the nine combinations of L9 orthogonal array are experimentally done for extraction of JME, and then it is used for analysis in Taguchi technique. The analysis of maximum yield is done on the basis of “larger is better” signal to noise ratio (S/N ratio). The best combination in the L9 orthogonal array is found to be methanol (110 ml), KOH (1.306 gm), and stirrer speed (1200 rpm). The influence of methanol, KOH, and stirrer speed on the yield is found by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Based on the results of ANOVA, it is found that the influence of methanol, KOH, and stirrer speed on the yield are obtained as 70.10%, 20.35%, and 5.78%, respectively.