PERFORMANCE AND EVALUATION OF PONGAMIA(KARANJ) OIL AS AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL FOR SURFACE TRANSPORTATION.

BY-PRASHANT SAURABH Prashant2065@gmail.com SAIGANESH KRISHNAN saiganeshkrishnan@yahoo.co.in Mr. S. K. BHELE Lecturer, Dept. of Mechanical Engg Kavikulguru Institute of Tech. And Science Ramtek, Nagpur (Dist.) bhele_sk@yahoo.com

Abstract:- Biodiesel is a non-toxic, biodegradable and renewable fuel with the potential to reduce engine exhaust emissions. The ethyl ester of Karanj oil known as Biodiesel, is receiving increasing attention as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. The Biodiesel is obtained through transesterification process. Various properties of the biodiesel thus developed are evaluated and compared in relation to that of conventional diesel oil. In the present investigation, neat Karanj oil Methyl ester (KME) as well as the blends of varying proportions of Karanj oil Methyl ester (KME )and diesel were used to run a C.I. engine. A four stroke diesel engine having compression ratio of 17.5:1 and developing 5 hp at 1500rpm was used. Experiments were initially carried out on the engine at all loads using diesel to provide base line data. Significant improvements in engine performance Characteristics was observed. INTRODUCTION: In the view of the rapid depletion of the fossil fuels, it is imperative that some alternate form of renewable energy is though of for purpose of automotive traction and stationary power generation. Demand for petrol and diesel at a global level are increasing day by day. Reserves of these non-renewable resources are on the verge of becoming extinct. Petrol and diesel engines are the main sources of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbon emission and increase in carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide levels in the atmosphere leads to global warming and green house effect. India with a population exceeding more than one billion is also one of the fastest growing economies in the world. With such a large population, the various types of energy demands are also increasing. In India the single large source of energy after coal is petroleum and its derived product, which are used by almost every transport vehicle.

India alone consumes roughly 3% of worlds total energy. The present situation has stimulated active research in non-petroleum and low-emission fuels, particularly for the transportation and agricultural sectors. As the compression ignition engines play a dominant role in transportation and agricultural sectors because of their superior thermal efficiency and durability characteristics. It is highly sought to develop sustainable alternative fuels. Hence a lot of research is focused on the use of vegetable oils as an alternate fuel since it is biodegradable and renewable source of energy. Inherent properties of vegetable oils make them suitable for use in diesel engines solely with an acceptable loss in efficiency. There are more than 300 different species of trees in India, which produces oil bearing; therefore we do not have to pursue any monoculture to obtain them. Most of these trees are wild and therefore once established will look after themselves. There are two types of vegetable oils derived namely edible oil and non-edible oils. Due to growing population there always exists great demand for edible oil and for too expensive for this application. With abundance of forest and tree borne, non-edible oils such honge, mahua and Jatropha being available in our country. If we can harness the non-edible oils to make synthetic diesel, our dependency on imported crude oil, if not totally eliminated, can be reduced. The major problem associated with direct use of vegetable oils is their viscosity and low volatility. The high viscosity of vegetable oils tends to alter the injection spray pattern inside the engine causing fuel impingement on the piston and the other combustion surfaces. One possible method to overcome the problem of higher viscosity is trans-esterification of oils to produce esters (Commonly Know as Bio-diesel) of respective oils. The esters of fatty acids derived from trans-esterification of vegetable oils have properties closer to petroleum fuels. The diesel engines play a major role in the current world economically. There are approximately 200 million diesel engines in use, and over 20 million engines are built each year. Further, demand for new compression ignition engines will also continue to grow, since these engines are capable of providing power more consistently.

NOMENCLATURE: BSFC BP EFF BMEP KME B0 B20 B40 B60 = Brake Specific Fuel Consumption = Brake Power = Efficiency = Brake Mean Effective Pressure = Karanj Oil Methyl Ester = !00% Diesel = 80% Diesel and 20% KME = 60% Diesel and 40% KME = 40% Diesel and 60% KME

TRANSESTERIFICATION Several works have been reported to improve the performance of engines fuelled by vegetable oils with property medications by preheating the oil, use of hot surface ignition, blending with the diesel oil, emulsions with lighter alcohols and by transesterification. Pure vegetable oil blends can be used in lieu of diesel oil directly without any engine modification. But increase in the percentage of vegetable oil in the blend creates problems like cocking and gum formation. That is the reason why the diesel oil cannot be replaced by neat vegetable oil without engine modifications. As many of the problems associated with the use of pure vegetable oil in diesel engines are mainly due to high viscosity, reduction of viscosity of the vegetable oil may help in possible replacement. Reduction of viscosity can be effected by any of the processes like transesterification, mineralization, and pyrolysis. Mineralization consumes more time and pyrolysis brings about irregular molecular break down. Hence trans-esterification is the only method, which reduces the viscosity of the vegetable oil and paves way for possible replacement to diesel fuel in internal combustion engines. In this work conventional laboratory equipment has been used for the trans-esterification of Karanj oil to get methyl ester. Various properties of methyl ester has been tested for comparison with diesel laboratory based D.I. diesel engine with methyl esters prepared in the laboratory in pure form and also in conjunction with diesel oil. A trail was made to evaluate their compatibility with diesel oil for possible replacement. Experimentation is carried out at various loads to study the cylinder pressure and heat release rate with respect to the crank angle for comparison. Engine cylinder head vibration is monitored at each load and for each blend simultaneously to

compare the cylinder excitation frequencies with the base line frequencies of engine run with diesel oil. Time waveforms on the cylinder head are also obtained to understand the combustion propensity, which usually indicate the knock and detonation. Transesterification also called alcoholysis i.e. is the displacement of alcohol from an ester by another alcohol in a process similar to hydrolysis. This process has been widely used to reduce the viscosity of triglycerides. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP: The work was carried out on single cylinder four stroke, direct injection and water cooled diesel engine. A cast iron piston with anionic alloy from with an air gap between the crown and the piston. The schematic diagram of the test set up is shown in figure. The test setup consists of the engine, rope brake dynamometer and measuring instruments like dial thermometer, U-tube manometer. The coolant inlet and outlet temperature of water, exhaust temperature were measured using thermometer. Speed of the shaft can be measured by tachometer. Fuel flow is controlled by three way valve. The specification of the existing diesel engine is as follows: No. of cylinder Bore Stroke No. of Strokes Orifice Diameter Cooling Media Dynamometer Dynamometer Drum Dia. Rated power output No. of revolutions Coefficient of discharge : : : : : : : : : : : 01 80 mm 95 mm 04 24mm Water Rope Dynamometer 140mm 5 Hp 1500 rpm. 0.64

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS :-

BP vs BSFC
Brake Specific fuel consumption (Kg/KW-hr)
1.5 1 0.5 0 0.431 0.862 1.293 1.5 Brake power (KW) B.O. B20 B40 B60

B.P.vs.vol.eff.(%)
Volumetric eff. (%)
95 90 85 80 75 0.431 0.8624 1.293 1.5 Brake power(KW) B.O. B20 B40 B60

Figure 1: Variations of Brake Specific Fuel Consumption with Brake Power for various Blends of Karanj oil

Figure 2: Variation of Volumetric Efficiency with Brake Power for various Blends of Karanj oil

B.P.vs Brake Thermal Eff.

30 20 10 0 0.431 0.8624 1.293 Brake power(KW) 1.5

B.P.vs BMEP
Brake mean Effective pressure (Bar)
B.O. B20 B40 B60 4 3 2 1 0 0.431 0.8624 1.293 Brake power (KW) 1.5 B.O. B20 B40 B60

Figure 3: Variation of Brake Thermal Efficiency with Brake Power for various Blends of Karanj oil

Brake Thermal Eff.(%)

Figure 4: Variation of Brake Mean Effective Pressure with Brake Power for various Blends of Karanj oil

Figure 1 shows variation of Brake Specific Fuel Consumpotion (kg/kW-hr) with Brake Power(kW) for different blends of esterified Karanj oil and diesel. Figure shows that fuel consumption in case of B40 and B60 is less as compared to diesel. This is due to more oxygen available for complete combustion of fuel.

Figure 2 shows the variation of volumetric efficiency with Brake Power for different blends of esterified Karanj oil and diesel. Figure shows Volumetric efficiency in case of blends is higher than diesel fuel. Figure 3 shows Brake thermal efficiency is higher in case of diesel fuel as compared to different blends. This is found due to higher calorific value diesel as compared to blends of esterified Karanj oil with diesel. Figure 4 shows Brake Mean effective Pressure (BMEP) is higher in case of diesel fuel as compared to different blends. BMEP of B20 is higher as compared to B40 and B60. This is due to higher calorific value. CONCLUSIONS The following are the conclusions based on experimental results1. Transesterification is a process, which brings about a change in the molecular structure of the vegetable oil molecules, thus bringing down the level of viscosity of vegetable oil. The viscosity of vegetable oil reduces substantially after transesterificatioon. The density and viscosity of the esterified Karanj oil formed after transesterificatioon were found to be very close to petroleum diesel oil. The flash point of esterified Karanj oil was higher than that of diesel oil. 2. The use of esterified Karanj oil can be effective in existing diesel engine. The use of variouys blends of esterified Karanj oil with diesel substitutes can go a long way in conservation measure, boosting farm economy, reducing uncertainty of fuel availability and making farmers more self reliant. 3. The Brake Fuel Consumption at lower load is lower as compared to diesel but as load increases BSFC increases slightly as compared to diesel. The Volumetric efficiency is higher than diesel fuel at all load conditions and Brake Mean Effective Pressure (BMEP). In case of Brake thermal efficiency, it is lower as compared to diesel in all load conditions. This is due to lower calorific value of fuel.

REFERENCES 1. Suryawanshi J.G, Deshpande N.V , Emissions and Performance Study on a Compression Ignition Engine Fuelled with Pongamia Oil Methyl Ester Proceedings of Second World Conference and Technology Exhibition on Biomass for Energy, Industry and Climate Protection Organised at Rome, Italy. 2. Proceedings of 17th of national conference on I.C. engines and Combustion, KREC, Surathkal. Dec. 2001 3. Senthil Kumar M, Ramesh A , and Nagalingam B, Experimental investigation on Jatropha Oil Methanol Dual Fuel Engine , SAE Paper 200101-0153,2001