Experimental Performance Analysis of Lower Concentration Blends of Thumba Methyl Ester with Diesel

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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering

Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 10, October 2014)

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Experimental Performance Analysis of Lower Concentration

Blends of Thumba Methyl Ester with Diesel

Vandana Kaushik

1

_{, Dr. O. P. Jakhar}

2

_{, Dr. Y. B. Mathur}

3 1_{M.Tech. Scholar, Govt Engineering College, Bikaner, India}

2_{Professor, Deptt. of Mechanical Engg., Govt. Engineering College, Bikaner, India} 3_{Associate Professor, Deptt. of Mechanical Engg., Govt. Polytechnic College, Bikaner, India} Abstract—In all over the world the demand of energy is

increasing day by day and fossil fuels are depleting at a very fast rate, therefore to fulfill the energy demand of the world there is a need to find out an alternative fuel and in this depleting fossil fuel era Biodiesel is one of the best available energy source to overcome the world’s energy demand. There is a long list of shrubs, trees, and herbs available abundantly in India, which can be exploited for the production of biodiesel. Citrullus Colocynthis (Thumba, non-edible oil), easily available in western Rajasthan and can be efficiently used for production of biodiesel.

In the present study single cylinder, water-cooled, four stroke, naturally aspirated variable compression ratio multi-fuel diesel engine is used with lower concentration blends of thumba methyl ester with diesel. The study show that low concentration blends of methyl ester of thumba up to 30% by volume with diesel can be used successfully and satisfactorily with no major reduction in engine performance.

Keywords—Thumba Methyl Ester, Variable Compression Ratio Diesel Engine, Biodiesel, Vegetable oil

I. INTRODUCTION

Energy is the prime mover of economic growth and is vital to the sustenance of a modern economy. Future economic growth crucially depends on the long-term availability of energy from sources that are affordable, accessible and environmental friendly [1-2]. Increasing industrialization, growing energy demands, limited reserves of fossil fuel and increasing environmental pollution have joined necessitated exploring some alternative of conventional petroleum fuels. Biofuels are strongly emerging as partial substitutes for fossil fuel from the economic as well as environmental angle. Among the biofuels, biodiesel derived from jatropha oil, karanja oil, castor oil, jojoba oil, cotton seed oil, neem oil, mahua oil, thumba oil, palm oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil etc. are being explored as promising alternative to hydrocarbon based fuels to full fill the future energy needs. [3]. Vegetable oils can be used as alternative fuels because they are biodegradable, non-toxic and significantly reduce pollution.

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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering

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Figure [1] Thumba Fruits and Thumba Seeds

Table [I]

Some Important Fuel Properties Of Thumba Oil And Thumba Methyl Ester

Properties Diesel Thumba Oil Thumba Biodiesel

Specific Gravity at 20⁰ C 0.835 0.905 0.889

Viscosity, cst at 40⁰ C 2.75 31.52 5.86

Calorific Value, MJ/kg 42.25 39.78 39.37

Flash Point, ⁰ C 66 201 174

Pour Point, ⁰ C -20 -5 -8

Free Fatty Acid, % - < 1 0.48

Cetane Number * 47* 45* 53*

II. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

The experiments were conducted on naturally aspirated 4-stroke single cylinder, water-cooled, multi fuel, variable compression ratio, direct injection diesel engine test rig having rated power output of 3 to 5 HP. The view of the experimental setup and instrumentation are shown in the Figure [2] Thetechnical specifications of engine are given in Table [II].

An eddy current dynamometer was used for loading the engine. Fuel flow rate was measured on volumetric basis by using a burette equipped with an electronic sensor.

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Figure [2] Overall View of Experimental Setup

A. Experimental Procedure And Methodology

By using diesel, specified blends of thumbamethyl ester with diesel as fuel at 1500rev/min, a series of tests were carried out on variable compression ratio multi fuel diesel engine. These tests were conducted to find the suitability of thumbamethylester as a diesel engine fuel. Engine Performance parameters like brake thermal efficiency, exhaust gas temperature, brake specific fuel consumption,

volumetric efficiency etc. at different engine operating

conditions were studied to assess the performance of the engine with diesel, thumba biodiesel blends. After that the effect of compression ratio on performance were studied with thumbamethyl ester blends. The experiments were conducted on naturally aspirated 4-stroke water-cooled, single cylinder, variable compression ratio direct injection diesel engine test rig. An eddy current dynamometer was used for loading the engine. The fuel flow rate was measured on a volumetric basis by using a burette equipped with an electronic sensor. Thermocouples located at various positions have been used for measuring the temperatures. Experiments have been initially carried out on the engine using diesel fuel for generating base line data. Subsequently, performance were obtained with thumbamethylester blends with diesel indifferent proportions i.e. TME10, TME20, TME30 and optimization of engine

operation using different thumbamethyl ester

blends(TME10,TME20,TME30) was carried out in terms of compression ratio. In last stage of work, comparison of optimum performance of engine with optimized thumbamethyl ester blends and diesel fuel was presented.

All tests were carried out under steady state engine conditions i.e. For each fuel, the engine has been operated on different load conditions (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% load) at constant speed of 1500 rev/min.

Table [II]

Technical Specifications of Test Engine

Make Legion Brothers

Compression Ratio Variable from 5:1 to 20:1

Number of Cylinder Single Cooling System Water cooling

Spark Timing Variable from 0-70˚

Fuel Diesel/petrol

Speed 1400-1500 rpm

HP 3 to 5 HP

Starting Manual Crank Start Lubrication Forced

Bore 80 mm

Stroke Length 110 mm

Loading Eddy Current Dynamometer Software Engine Test Express (Legion

Brothers) Injection Pressure 203 bar

Overall Dimension 1400*1300*1100 mm

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In the present paper, the performance characteristics of multi fuel diesel engine with low concentration blends of thumbamethyl ester with diesel fuel of different proportions was evaluated and compared with diesel fuel engine operation. The engine performance parameters like brake thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption, exhaust gas temperature, mechanical efficiency, volumetric efficiency etc. were evaluated / recorded to assess the performance characteristics of compression ignition engine running with different blends of thumbamethyl ester with diesel as well as on diesel fuel.

A. Brake Thermal Efficiency

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When blending has been increased to 30% thumbamethyl ester in diesel, brake thermal efficiency was found marginally lower as compared to blend of 20% thumbamethyl ester in diesel. The brake thermal efficiency of thumbamethyl esteris lower than pure diesel because biodiesels have lower calorific value or lower heating value and high viscosity coupled with density.

B. Brake Specific Fuel Consumption

In Figure [4] it is clearly seen from the plot that the specific fuel consumption for various blends of thumbamethyl ester in diesel found marginally higher than diesel at all load conditions. The brake specific fuel consumption for different thumbamethyl ester diesel blends initially decreases slightly with the addition of thumbamethyl ester content in the blend until it reaches 20% by volume and then, increases with more addition of the thumbamethyl ester content owing to the lower calorific value, poor mixture preparation, slow burning which deviates the cycle from constant volume combustion. At maximum load the specific fuel consumption of engine

fuelled with 20% thumbamethyl ester diesel blend was

found minimum among all the tested blends of

thumbamethyl ester in diesel

.

C. Exhaust Gas Temperature

The exhaust gas temperature increases with increase in load for diesel as well as for all thumbamethyl ester blends as indicated in Figure [5]. The exhaust gas temperature was observed higher for all thumbamethyl ester blends compared to diesel fuel at high loads due to the higher viscosity then diesel fuel which results in poorer atomization, poorer evaporation and extended combustion which goes on up to exhaust stroke. The lowest exhaust temperature among all the thumbamethyl ester diesel blends was observed for the blend of 20% thumbamethyl ester in diesel at low as well as at high load conditions

D. Volumetric Efficiency

In figure[6] it is shown that the volumetric efficiency for methyl ester will be higher than that pure diesel. When engine isfueled with blends of thumbamethyl ester the higher volumetric efficiency obtained is highest for TME20CR19 than TME10 CR18 and TME30 CR19.

E. Mechanical Efficiency

In Figure [7], the curve shows the variation of mechanical efficiency with load at different compression ratios and different blending composition. The mechanical efficiency is a measure of effectiveness of the system and it increases with increase in load as obtained in curve.

The diesel fuel has the highest mechanical efficiency then TME fuel. Mechanical efficiency for TME blends as shown in curve is very closer to each other. The highest efficiency at full load is achieved for TME20 CR19 than TME10 CR18 and TME30 CR20.

Figure [3]Variation of Brake Thermal Efficiency to Load at Different ThumbaMethyl Ester -Diesel Blends

Figure [4]Variation of Specific Fuel Consumption to Load at Different ThumbaMethyl Ester -Diesel Blends

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Figure [6]Variation of Volumetric Efficiency to Load at Different ThumbaMethyl Ester -Diesel Blends

Figure [7] Variation of Mechanical Efficiency to Load at Different ThumbaMethyl Ester -Diesel Blends

IV. CONCLUSIONS

In the present study a series of performance test of thumba (citrulluscollocyntis) methyl ester blends of low concentration with diesel fuel in variable compression ratio with multi fuel diesel engine have been conducted. Citrulluscolocynths (thumba) can be considered as potential feed stok for the production of biodiesel. The main feature of the thumba plant is that it grows in sandy soil in the form of creeper with the crop cycle of six months and the availability of raw material decides the economics of this product. The main conclusions of the present study are as follows

 From the optimization of the performance test results

obtained for the lower concentration blends of thumba methyl ester (10%, 20%, 30%) with diesel it can be concluded that the engine performance is better or optimized with TME20 (thumbamethyl ester 20% with 80%diesel) and the compression ratio is at CR19.

 Higher volumetric efficiency, higher mechanical

efficiency, lower exhaust gas temperature, lower specific fuel consumption, higher break thermal efficiency for diesel fuel at optimum engine parameters(CR18) were observed.

 For short term engine operation low concentration

blends of thumbamethyl ester (TME20) withdiesel gives satisfactory results.

 Large amount of thumbamethyl ester production is

possible in Rajasthan because of theavailability of large mass of waste land for cultivation of thumba plant.

 Thumbamethyl ester is feasible as a alternative fuel

without any modification in thecompression ignition engine.

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