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    A straightforward preparation of levulinic esters from biorenewable levulinic acid using methanesulfonic acid supported on silica gel (MSA-SG) as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2023) Vinod, N.; Bandibairanahalli Onkarappa, S.; Madhwaraj Girija, V.; Dutta, S.
    The present work reports methanesulfonic acid supported on silica gel (MSA-SG) as an inexpensive heterogeneous solid acid catalyst for the high-yielding production of various alkyl levulinates from biomass-derived levulinic acid. The catalyst was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX). The reactions were conducted in a batch-type glass pressure reactor under conventional heating. The esterification reaction was optimized on temperature, duration, and catalyst loading. The optimized reaction conditions (120 °C, 8 h, 8 wt% MSA-SG) afforded methyl- to butyl levulinate in excellent isolated yields (≥90 %). The catalyst was filtered, and the products were purified by simply evaporating the excess alcohol reagent. © 2022
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    Recent Advances in the Value Addition of Biomass-Derived Levulinic Acid: A Review Focusing on its Chemical Reactivity Patterns
    (John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2021) Dutta, S.; Bhat, N.S.
    Levulinic acid (LA) is one of the most prominent biomass-derived chemical building blocks that can be transformed into specialty chemicals like fuels, solvents, monomers for polymers, plasticizers, surfactants, agrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Over the past three decades, an enormous amount of research data have been acquired on the preparation and downstream value addition of LA, and these works have been reviewed. However, considering the astonishing number of publications appearing every year on LA derivatives, the periodical review of recent works focusing on unique aspects of chemistry must be undertaken to critically evaluate the achievements to date, reassess the challenges, and recognize new opportunities. This review discusses the chemical-catalytic synthesis of various derivatives of LA by focusing on its functionalities and reactivity patterns. Recent literature on some crucial derivatives such as γ-valerolactone, 4,4’-diphenolic acid, and ethyl levulinate have been tabulated and discussed. The synthetic interconversion between various derivatives, mechanistic insights, critical analysis of the reaction parameters toward selective preparation of various derivatives, and their potential commercial applications have been elaborated using predominantly heterogeneous catalysts. A critical assessment of the relative advantages and shortcomings of the existing synthetic strategies for various derivatives of LA has been presented to enkindle fresh ideas. © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH
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    A study of the effect of injection pressure on the combustion, performance, and emission characteristics of cardanol biofuel blend fuelled compression ignition engine
    (John Wiley and Sons Ltd Southern Gate Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8SQ, 2015) Dinesha, P.; Mohanan, P.
    The use of biodiesel along with other alternative fuel sources is expected to address the twin problems of pollution and energy security. This study investigates the effect of injection pressure (IP) on the performance, combustion, and emission characteristics of a four-stroke single cylinder direct injection diesel engine fuelled with a biofuel, namely cardanol-methanol-diesel blend (B20M10). The results are compared with baseline diesel operations under standard operating conditions. The biofuel blend B20M10 (20% cardanol, 10% methanol, and 70% diesel) is used as fuel, and the combustion, performance, and emission characteristics are investigated at IP levels of 180, 200, and 220 bar. The test results show that the optimum fuel IP is 220 bar with B20M10. At this optimized pressure, a reduction in CO, HC, and smoke emissions with an increase in the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and brake thermal efficiency (BTE) are noticed compared with 180 and 200 bar B20M10 operations. When compared with diesel (180 bar IP), B20M10 blend at 220 bar IP gives marginally lower BTE and lower CO and HC emissions, but oxides of nitrogen and smoke are slightly more. © 2014 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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    Artificial neural network based modeling to evaluate methane yield from biogas in a laboratory-scale anaerobic bioreactor
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2016) Nair, V.V.; Dhar, H.; Kumar, S.; Thalla, A.K.; Mukherjee, S.; Wong, J.W.C.
    The performance of a laboratory-scale anaerobic bioreactor was investigated in the present study to determine methane (CH4) content in biogas yield from digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). OFMSW consists of food waste, vegetable waste and yard trimming. An organic loading between 40 and 120 kg VS/m3 was applied in different runs of the bioreactor. The study was aimed to focus on the effects of various factors, such as pH, moisture content (MC), total volatile solids (TVS), volatile fatty acids (VFAs), and CH4 fraction on biogas production. OFMSW witnessed high CH4 yield as 346.65 L CH4/kg VS added. A target of 60–70% of CH4 fraction in biogas was set as an optimized condition. The experimental results were statistically optimized by application of ANN model using free forward back propagation in MATLAB environment. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd
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    Biocomposite composed of PVA reinforced with cellulose microfibers isolated from biofuel industrial dissipate: Jatropha Curcus L. seed shell
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2017) Manjula, M.; Srinikethan, G.; Shetty K, V.K.
    Biofuel production by Jatropha Curcas L. (JC) seeds result in large quantities of unused seed shells contributing as an extensive potential source for cellulose production. Present work consummates on isolation of cellulose microfibers (CMF) from JC seed shell by chlorination treatment and were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and 13C NMR. Removal of hemicellulose and lignin were confirmed from FTIR results. Cellulose microfibers with diameter 0.23-1.04 ?m demonstrated considerable increase in crystallinity and thermal stability by chlorination treatment. Procured cellulose microfibers were reinforced in Poly-vinyl Alcohol (PVA) by solution casting in water to form biocomposites. Mechanical properties and thermal stability of these biocomposites increased on addition of cellulose microfiber, ensuring the potentiality of cellulose fibers as filler in biocomposites which can reinstate traditional plastics. © 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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    Use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) for enhanced lipid production in micro-algae based biofuels
    (Elsevier B.V., 2017) Severes, A.; Hegde, S.; D'Souza, L.; Hegde, S.
    Microalgae are an alternative source for renewable energy to overcome the energy crises caused by exhaustion of fuel reserves. Algal biofuel technology demands a cost effective strategy for net profitable productivity. Inconsistent illumination intensities hinder microalgal growth. The light-utilizing efficiency of the cells is critical. Light scarcity leads to low production and high intensities cause photo-inhibition. We report effective usage of LEDs of different band wavelengths on the growth of microalgae in a closed, controlled environment to generate biomass and lipid yields. Among the different intensity and wavelengths tested. The light intensities of 500 lx of blue-red combination gave maximum biomass in terms of cell density. LED of red light 220 lx wavelength doubled the lipid dry weight from 30% (w/w) in white light to 60% (w/w). Thin layer lipid chromatogram demonstrated a dense and prominent spot of triacylglycerols in the red light, 220 lx grown cultures. The FTIR profile indicates that different wavelength exposure did not alter the functional groups or change the chemical composition of the extracted lipids ensuring the quality of the product. We reiterate the fact that combination of red and blue LEDs is favoured over white light illumination for generation of biomass. In addition, we report an exciting finding of exposure to LEDs of red wavelength post-biomass generation lead to enhanced lipid production. This simple process doubled the lipid content harvested in 20 days culture period. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.
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    Hydrogen-Economic Synthesis of Gasoline-like Hydrocarbons by Catalytic Hydrodecarboxylation of the Biomass-derived Angelica Lactone Dimer
    (Wiley Blackwell info@wiley.com, 2017) Chang, F.; Dutta, S.; Mascal, M.
    The biomass-derived platform molecule levulinic acid is converted into the angelica lactone dimer (ALD) in high overall yield using simple inorganic catalysts. Hydrodecarboxylation of ALD using a Pd/?-Al2O3 catalyst under moderate hydrogen gas pressure at high temperatures generates branched C8–C9 hydrocarbons in nearly quantitative yield consuming as little as a single equivalent of external hydrogen. These molecules are high-octane “drop-in” equivalents of isoalkanes used in commercial gasoline. Catalytic hydrodecarboxylation is presented as a highly effective means to reduce hydrogen demand in biomass-to-biofuel conversion technologies. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
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    Combined effect of oxygen enrichment and exhaust gas recirculation on the performance and emissions of a diesel engine fueled with biofuel blends
    (Taylor and Francis Ltd. michael.wagreich@univie.ac.at, 2018) Dinesha, P.; Mohanan, P.
    The present study investigates the combined effect of oxygen enrichment and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on the performance and emission characteristics of a cardanol biofuel blend, namely B20M10 (20% cardanol, 70% diesel and 10% methanol by volume). The tests are conducted on a four-stroke single-cylinder diesel engine at different loading conditions. Intake air is enriched by 7% of the atmospheric oxygen concentration and exhaust gas is recirculated by 10, 15 and 20% of the total intake charge. Research results reveal that the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emission decreases as the percentage of EGR increases from 0 to 20%. The results shows 11.8% lower NOx B20M10 at 7% oxygen enrichment and 20% EGR when compared to B20M10 without oxygen enrichment and 0% EGR. Higher carbon monoxide (CO), unburnt hydrocarbon (HC) and smoke, and lower brake thermal efficiency are obtained for higher EGR percentages. From the studies it can be stated that B20M10 cardanol biofuel blend with 7% intake air oxygen enrichment and 15% EGR shows better reduction in NOx emissions with minimum penalty of performance and other emission characteristics. © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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    Experimental study of methyl tert-butyl ether as an oxygenated additive in diesel and Calophyllum inophyllum methyl ester blended fuel in CI engine
    (Springer Verlag service@springer.de, 2018) Bragadeshwaran, A.; Kasianantham, N.; Ballusamy, S.; Tarun, K.R.; Arumuga Perumal, D.A.; Kaisan, M.U.
    This work presents the effect of the ternary oxygenated additive on diesel biodiesel blended fuel to evaluate the engine characteristics. The Calophyllum inophyllum trees being abundant in India can lessen the dependence on petroleum imports to a specific extent. Methyl tertiary butyl ether is used as an oxygenated additive for the ternary blends preparation as 5–20% by volume. Seven blends of neat baseline diesel, biodiesel (Calophyllum inophyllum Methyl Ester), a blend of diesel (50%)-biodiesel (50%), a blend of diesel (50%)-biodiesel-methyl tert-butyl ether (5, 10, 15, and 20%) are prepared which are tested on a single cylinder, constant speed diesel engine. The experimental results were revealed that the replacement of biodiesel by MTBE has shown a slight reduction in brake thermal efficiency with a slight increase in brake-specific fuel consumption. Further, the MTBE addition in ternary blends reduced the unburned hydrocarbon, CO, and NOx by 63.9, 6.4, and 3.37% respectively. In addition, the carbon dioxide emission is almost similar to diesel fuel at a higher addition of MTBE with diesel-biodiesel blend. In the combustion point of view, the addition of 5% MTBE resulted in 3.49 and 5.1% reduction of peak pressure and heat release rate are observed as compared to diesel fuel. Critical analysis in combustion aspects is also carried out and it is witnessed with prolonged ignition delay during MTBE addition with diesel-biodiesel blends. © 2018, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
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    An investigation on CRDi engine characteristic using renewable orange-peel oil
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2019) Bragadeshwaran, B.; Kasianantham, K.; Arumuga Perumal, D.A.; Babu, J.M.; Tiwari, A.; Sharma, A.
    Aiming towards discovering a solution for the imminent fossil fuel crisis, the research contributes towards the utilisation of orange peel oil as a potential alternative to mineral diesel while strictly adhering to the emission norms. The study reveals the performance, combustion and emissions characteristics obtained upon operating a 20% by volume of OPO blended with diesel, in a compression ignition engine, integrated with a common rail direct injection (CRDi) system. The fuel injection pressures were varied as 400 bar, 500 bar and 600 bar. Furthermore, two stage injection strategies were employed while varying the pilot charge quantity as 10%, 20% and 30%. Subsequently, 10% EGR was employed for the test with 30% pilot injection quantity upon realising that the respective NOx emissions were the highest for the same. All the results were compared with the test results while utilising diesel at 600 bar injection pressure. For OPO20 the brake thermal efficiency at full load was observed to be 31.37% higher and the brake specific fuel consumption 5.53% lower than that for diesel. In-cylinder pressure values recorded were almost similar to diesel corresponding to brake power. Heat release rate was significantly higher in case of orange peel oil. Additionally, it was found that smoke, unburned hydrocarbons content and carbon monoxide emission decreased by 16.30%, 27.63% and 42.28% respectively in the engine exhaust. Oxides of nitrogen were recorded to be 15.46% higher than that of diesel. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd