Faculty Publications
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Item Characterization and effect of using Mahua oil biodiesel as fuel in compression ignition engine(2009) Kapilan, N.; Ashok Babu, T.P.; Reddy, R.P.There is an increasing interest in India, to search for suitable alternative fuels that are environment friendly. This led to the choice of Mahua Oil (MO) as one of the main alternative fuels to diesel. In this investigation, Mahua Oil Biodiesel (MOB) and its blend with diesel were used as fuel in a single cylinder, direct injection and compression ignition engine. The MOB was prepared from MO by transesterification using methanol and potassium hydroxide. The fuel properties of MOB are close to the diesel and confirm to the ASTM standards. From the engine test analysis, it was observed that the MOB, B5 and B20 blend results in lower CO, HC and smoke emissions as compared to diesel. But the B5 and B20 blends results in higher efficiency as compared to MOB. Hence MOB or blends of MOB and diesel (B5 or B20) can be used as a substitute for diesel in diesel engines used in transportation as well as in the agriculture sector. © 2009 Science Press, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, CAS and Springer Berlin Heidelberg.Item Experimental analysis of SI engine performance and emission characteristics with gasoline-denatured spirit blends as alternative fuels(2010) Hubballi, P.A.; Ashok Babu, T.P.The experimental study focused on investigating benefits of unleaded gasoline (P100) - denatured spirit [DNS (ethanol 93.3% v/v + water 6.7% v/v)] blends as fuel in a four cylinder four stroke SI engine. Performance tests were conducted to study volumetric efficiency (VolE), brake thermal efficiency (BThE), brake power (BP), engine torque (torque), brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC). Engine exhaust emissions were investigated for carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Experiments were conducted at different engine speeds between 2500 - 4500 rpm maintaining throttle position of 50% throughout the experiments. The fuel blends used include DNS30P70 (ethanol 28 % + water 2% + gasoline 70 %), DNS50P50 (ethanol 46.65 % + water 3.35 % + gasoline 50 %) and DNS85P15 (ethanol 79.3 % + water 5.7 % + gasoline 15 %) which were compared with base fuel P100. The investigations revealed that blending DNS with P100 increases BThE, VolE, BP, torque and BSFC. The CO, HC, NOx and CO2 emissions in the exhaust decrease when compared to P100 operation. The DNS85P15 blend produced encouraging results in improved engine performance and decreased engine exhaust emission.Item Performance characteristics of a dual fuel engine operated with Mahua biodiesel and liquefied petroleum gas(ASTM International, 2011) Kapilan, N.; Ashok Babu, T.P.; Reddy, R.P.Fuel crisis because of dramatic increase in vehicular population and environmental concerns have renewed the interest of the scientific community to look for alternative fuels of bio-origin such as vegetable oils and ethanol. India is looking at biodiesel derived from Mahua oil (MO), as one of the renewable alternative fuels for compression ignition (CI) engine. Although MO biodiesel (MOB) has several advantages over fossil diesel, in the present scenario, the use of biodiesel is restricted due to its high cost. In India, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is easily available and is one of the cheapest gaseous fuels. Hence, use of LPG to fuel a CI engine along with MOB seems to be an option for substitution of fossil diesel. In the present work, LPG, which was fumigated along with the air and biodiesel was admitted into the engine cylinder through conventional fueling device as an igniter. A single cylinder CI engine was modified to work in dual fuel mode and engine tests were carried out at rated speed under variable load conditions. The performance of the engine in dual fuel mode was compared with the diesel. The dual fuel operation results in thermal efficiency close to the diesel and also reduces the NOx and smoke emissions significantly. From the experimental results, we concluded that biodiesel in dual fuel mode with cheaper gaseous fuel induction is an option for reducing the operating cost of the biodiesel fuelled CI engine. Copyright ©2011 by ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959.