Performance and Emission

characteristics of Biodiesel in
CI Engine
A.R.Palanivelrajan (1467006)
Guided by
Mr. G.Anbarasu M.E.,
Assistant Professor (Selection Grade)
Thermal Engineering Department
Sri Ramakrishna College Of Engineering
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Biodiesel
Biodieselrefers to avegetable oil- or animal fat-based
diesel fuelconsisting of long-chainalkyl(methyl,ethyl, or
propyl)esters[8].
TheNational Biodiesel Board(USA) also has a technical
definition of "biodiesel" as a mono-alkyl ester[8].
Blends of biodiesel and conventional hydrocarbon-based
diesel are products most commonly distributed for use in
the retail diesel fuel marketplace.
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Why Biodiesel ?
Due to increase in demand for fuel and with increasing price of the Petroleum

products . Depletion of the fossil fuel resources, to fulfill the need of

Transportation sector globally it is 2 nd [7] in consumption of petroleum products.
India importing the crude oil, which lead to the increase in price of petrol and
diesel. Remedy for this price hike is Alternate Resource of fuel.
The alternate resource of fuel can be obtained from the vegetable/animals
fats/seeds of various Trees/biomass liquefaction.
Biodiesel has been a solution for alternate fuels and it has been in research for
past 10 years. Over 95% of world biodiesel is from Edible oils[7].
Due to the conflict between food and fuel now more research is done on Nonedible oils[7].
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Why not direct use of crude

seed/vegetable/animal fat oil in Engines ?
There has always been speculations that why not to use the
crude oil from the above sources in CI Engines.
Most of Diesel Engines can directly run on Crude oils, but
the manufacturers of Engines are never in acceptance with
crude oil usage. Since it may cause issues in Engines by [2]
Increasing Wear/tear
Choking of injector due to poor atomization of crude oil
Incomplete combustion causing carbon emission and Increase
Knocking.
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Properties of crude oil affects CI

engines

Viscosity
Calorific value
Acidic nature of oil
Flash/fire point
volatility

Methods to convert crude oils to CI

engine Biofuel
The important property of crude oil is VISCOSITY which
when reduced leads to various property change to the crude
oil.
Initially there were 4 methods used in viscosity reduction of
the Crude oil, namely :[1]
Pyrolysis
Dilution
Micro emulsion
Trans-esterification
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Trans-esterification
It is one of the foremost methods used, this method is still
used other than the other three methods.
It is due to the conversion efficiency of the crude oil to
Biofuel with reduced viscosity.
Trans-esterification uses catalyst that is acidic or base
catalyst in addition with alcohols like methanol , ethanol etc.
The final product obtained is called methyl ester or ethyl
ester based on the alcohol used.
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Contd.,
There are also Two step process for certain seed crude oil[2]
Acid esterification : reducing the acidic nature producing Fatty acid compounds
Alkali Trans-esterification :Reduction of Viscosity

List of catalysts used commonly in Esterification & Transesterification :[1],[2]

NaoH
KoH
H2SO4
Hydrochloric acid
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Factors effecting the yield of

Trans-esterification
The trans-esterification process yields depends on factor
like[1] :
Percentage of catalyst added.
Percentage of methanol/ethanol added.
Temperature at which the process is occurring.
Speed of the magnetic stirrer.
Time duration of the stirring, when not stirred or over stirring can
cause soapy solution.
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Maximum Yield of Biofuel in Trans-esterification Process[1]

% of catalyst to % of alcohol added + magnetic stirrer speed
+ favorable temperature
=
High Yield of Biofuel

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ASTM Standard for Biodiesel[6]

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Biodiesel Standard[9]

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Standards followed in India/other

countries
Generally most of the journals read in the literature
review are being from outside India. They consider the
standards given by American Society of Testing &
Materials.
In India we have our own standards Provided by Bureau of
Indian Standards(BIS)

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Project
Phase I Progress
Literature Review
How various biodiesel can be prepared from the various sources as mentioned
above[3].

What is Major Engine related issues with usage of Non trans-esterified oils[1].
Study on what all engine parameters are noted when using biodiesel[2].

Engine Torque
Brake Power
Fuel consumption at different loads
Exhaust Gas temperature measurement
Emissions
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Histogram representation of properties of Ceiba

petandra and Nigella Sativa blends biodiesels[6]

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Contd.,

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Contd.,
Preparation of various biodiesel from various oils and
their engine performance
Cebia Petandra biodiesel production[3].
Engine performance of jatropha , sterculia foetida[4].
Visit to Tamil Nadu forest university to enquire availability
of seeds at present and to know the feasible biodiesel
possible now.
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Contd.,
In context to availability of seeds and developing biodiesels, based on
literature review few biodiesel production feasible Tree seeds, namely
Silk cotton seed(cebia petandra)(Illava maram)
Illupai (madhuca longifolia)
Sorghum tree seeds
Punnai (cannophyllum innophyllum)
Further more literature review has to be done on what is to be done from
the above seeds.
Many related ideas has been discussed with my project guide, depending
on the facilities available in Coimbatore further work has to be done.
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List of Papers
Biodiesel Production from Kapok Seed Oil (Ceiba Pentandra) Through the Transesterification

Process by Using Cao as Catalyst

A comprehensive review on biodiesel as an alternative energy resource an its characteristics.
Optimization and kinetic studies on biodiesel production from underutilized Ceiba Pentandra
oil.
Nano sized heterogeneous acid catalyst from Ceiba pentandra stalks for production of
biodiesel using extracted oil from Ceiba pentandra seeds.
Parametric Optimization of Kapok (Ceiba Pentandra) Oil Methyl Ester Production using
Taguchi Approach
A review on conversion of biomass to biofuel by nanocatalysts

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Contd,.
An investigation of biodiesel production from microalgae found in Mauritian

waters
Catalytic cracking of edible and non-edible oils for the production of biofuels
Progress and recent trends in biodiesel fuels
Optimization of Production and Performance of Biodiesel through Optimization
Techniques: A Review
Prospects of 2nd generation biodiesel as a sustainable fuel Part:1 selection of
feedstock , oil extraction techniques and conversion technologies
More than 80 journals at present are collected in the Literature review
phase. Above mentioned are few of the journals related to biodiesel.
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Reference(literature reviewed papers)

1) Effective Conversion of Kapok seed oil into Biodiesel and Investigation of Effects of catalyst
concentrations and chromatographic characterization.
Authors : M.A.Asokan & R.Vijayan

2) Experimental Study on Performance & Exhaust Emission of a diesel engine fuelled with ceiba
petandra biodiesel blends(2013)
Authors : A.S.Silitonga, H.H.Masjuki, T.M.I.Mahila, Hwai Chyuan, W.T.Chong
3) CEIBA PETANDRA: A feasible non-edible oil source for biodiesel production.(2012)
Authors : A.S.Silitonga , H.H.Masjuki, T.M.I.Mahila.
4) Production and comparative fuel properities of various biodiesel from Jatropha Curcas , Sterculia
Foetida &
Ceiba Pentandra.
Authors : A.S.Silitonga, H.H.Masjuki, T.M.I.Mahila, Hwai Chyuan, W.T.Chong, M.H.Boosroh
5) Utilization of Kapok Seed as Potential Feedstock for Biodiesel Production.
Authors : Norafneeza Norazahar, Suzana Yusup, Murni M. Ahmad, Junaid Ahmad, Suliana Abu
Bakar
6) Ceiba Pentandra , Nigella Sativa and their Blend as Prospective Feedstock's for Biodiesel.
7) Influence of Biodiesel Blending on Physiochemical Properities & Importance of Mathematical Model
for Predicting the Properties of Biodiesel Blend
8) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel
9) http://www.biodieseltechnocrats.in/b_standard.html

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Thank you
By
A.R.PALANIVELRAJAN
1467006

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