ALCOHOL AS AN

ALTERNATIVE FUEL IN I.C.

ENGINES

ALCOHOL AS AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL

BY- HRUSHIKESH AGASHE

SEMINAR GUIDE PROF K.R.PATIL
SEAT NO T120450856

HRUSHIKESH AGASHE T.E. MECH

10/7/15

INTRODUCTION
Condensers play an important role in refrigeration and air

conditioning systems.
The air-cooled condensers of domestic airconditioning units
and heat pumps are the widely prevalent domains of in-tube
condensation.exchangers, another emerging technology for
internal condensation
in domestic units is the utilization of flat extruded aluminum
multiport microchannels.
Microchannel condensers are already used in automobile air
conditioning condenser with a similar heat transfer area, the
overall heat transfer
coefficient of the minichannel heat exchanger is 62% higher
th that of the plate-type condenser, even with 23% less
refrigerant .
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CHEMICAL FORMULA OF METHANOL

& ETHANOL
METHANOL
CH3OH

HRUSHIKESH AGASHE T.E. MECH

ETHANOL
C2H5OH

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Ethanol
Ethanol is an alcohol-based fuel made from corn, wheat, barley , grass, etc.

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EETHANOL BASICS
Renewable fuel produced from

plant materials (biomass)

Same chemical compound in
alcoholic beverages (C2H5OH)
Comes from starchy feedstocks
(corn, sugar cane, sugar beets)
and cellulosic feedstocks (yard
waste, grasses, poplars)
Increasingly available as E85,
for use in flex fuel vehicles
High-octane fuel

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ETHANOL BLENDS
E10
Contains 10% ethanol, 90% gasoline
Most common blend in U.S.
EPA: Substantially similar to gasoline in all vehicles
E15
Contains 15% ethanol, 85% gasoline
EPA: Substantially similar to gasoline in MY2001 and newer

vehicles
E85
Contains 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline
Alternative fuel under Energy Policy Act of 1992
Used in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs)
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PRODUCTION OF ETHANOL

Alcohol produced from the fermentation of

-sugarcane and corn.

Corn , Sugar beet or wheat: mainly produced

in Europe, India, China and America.

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Benefits of Ethanol
Ethanol is renewable.

It lowers carbon
monoxide emissions

Ethanol is widely
available.

Ethanol (with
government tax
incentives) is
competitively priced.

With depleting

petroleum reserves, is a
promising alternative
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ETHANOL AND THE ENVIRONMENT

For 100% bio-ethanol the reductions are

typically 50 to 60% on a life-cycle basis

compared with conventional fossil fuels.
5% blends would bring approximately 2.5 to

3% net reductions.

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METHANOL
Methanol is wood alcohol, which can be made from natural gas, coal, or
wood

HRUSHIKESH AGASHE T.E. MECH

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INTRODUCTION OF METHANOL

Most promising and has

experienced major research and
development.

Pure methanol and mixtures of

methanol and gasoline in various
percentages have been extensively
tested in engines and vehicles.

The most common mixtures are

M85 (85% methanol and 15%
gasoline).

The data of these tests which

include performance and emission

levels are compared with pure
gasoline (M0) and pure methanol
(M100).
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MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED TO
CONVERT S.I. ENGINE FOR USING
ETHANOL FUEL
1) CHOKE ALTERATION

Installing a manual choke is better than an automatic choke designed for

gasoline. Conversion kits are available for cheap.
2) IGNITION TIMING
To take advantage of the great antiknock qualities ,advance the engine's
ignition timing by turning the distributor housing in the opposite direction
that the rotor spins. Moving about 20 degrees is a ball park figure to work
with.
3) COMPRESSION RATIO CHANGES
The ratio can be increased to 14 or 15 : 1. Gasoline is usually at about roughly
8 :1. It isn't imperative to go all the way to 14 or 15 any increase will give
you some of the benefit.
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Schematic arrangement of fuel supply

systems of ethanol engine

1 - Alcohol tank
2 - Alcohol filter
3 - Alcohol pump
4 - Gasoline pump
5 - Alcohol float chamber
6 - Carburettor
7 - T-tube
8 - Engine
9 - Gasoline filter
10 - Gasoline tank

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Structure of the carburettor for ethanol

engine

1- Gasoline inlet
2 - Carburettor
3 - Alcohol float
4 - Alcohol outlet
5 - Alcohol pipe
6 - Alcohol inlet

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chamber

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ETHANOL VS METHANOL

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ADVANTAGES OF ALCOHOL
High octane fuel with anti-knock index numbers of

over 100.
Higher flame speed.
Produce less overall emissions compared to
gasoline.
Low sulphur content in the fuel.
Reduced petroleum imports and transportation.

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DISADVANTAGES OF ALCOHOL\
Poor ignition characteristics.
Almost invisible flame.
Less NOx emissions because of low flame

temperatures.
Many people find the strong odor of alcohol very
offensive.
Possibility of vapor lock in fuel delivery systems.
Engine diificlt to start in cold climates.

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ALCOHOL FOR SI ENGINES:

Engine compression ratios between 11:1 and 13:1 are usual.
Todays gasoline engines use a compression ratio of around

7:1 or 9:1, much too low for pure alcohol.

In a properly designed engine and fuel system, alcohol
produces fewer harmful exhaust emissions.
Alcohol contains about half the heat energy of gasoline per
liter.
The stoichiometric air fuel ratio is lesser for alcohol than for
gasoline.
Proper fuel air mixture, a carburetor or fuel injector & fuel
passage should be doubled in area to allow extra fuel flow.
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ALCOHOL FOR SI ENGINES

Does not vaporize as easily as gasoline. Its latent heat of vaporization is

much greater.
This affects cold weather starting.
Engine may be difficult or even impossible to start in extremely cold
climate.
To overcome this, gasoline is introduced in the engine until the engine
starts and warms up.
Once the engines warms, alcohols when introduced will vaporize quickly
and completely and normally.
Ignition timing must be changed, so that more spark advance is provided.
This will give the slow burning alcohol more time to develop the pressure
and power in the cylinder.
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ALCOHOL FOR CI ENGINES:

Techniques of using alcohol in diesel engines areAlcohol diesel emulsions.
Alcohol fumigation
Dual fuel injection
Surface ignition of alcohols
Alcohols containing ignition improving additives.

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ALCOHOL FOR CI ENGINES

Ethyl

and methyl alcohols have high self ignition temperatures. Hence,

very high compression ratios (25-27) will be required to self ignite.
A little before the end of compression stroke, a small quantity of diesel oil
is injected into the compression stroke, a quantity of diesel oil is injected
into the combustion chamber through the normal diesel pump and spray
nozzle.
The diesel oil readily ignites and initiates combustion in the alcohol air
mixtures also.
Several methods are adopted for induction of alcohol into the intake
manifold. They are micro fog unit,
pneumatic spray nozzles,
vaporizer,
carburetor
fuel injector.
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APPLICATIONS
Use in racing
Used extensively in drag racing, primarily in the Top Alcohol category.
In pre war grand prix racing methanol was often used in the fuel.

Use as internal combustion engine fuel

Using methanol as a fuel in spark ignition engines can offer an increased

thermal efficiency and increased power output (as compared to gasoline) due to
its high octane rating (114) and high heat of vaporisation.

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CONCLUSION
Alternative fuels generally lower emissions

making them appealing for environmental

concerns. Many of these fuels are renewable
and would lessen the need for petroleum
products.
A lot of these fuels are going to be used in
coming years. With making the public aware of
these alternatives it could hasten the
development of these fuels and the
technologies to run them.

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THANKYOU!!!

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