PROSPECTS OF VEGETABLE OIL DERIVATIVES FOR RURAL AGRICULTURAL ENERGY IN INDIA

Svijet je suočen s dvojnom krizom: krizom nestajanja fosilnih goriva i krizom degradacije okoliša. Alternativna goriva, očuvanje i upravljanje energijom, energetska učinkovitost i zaštita okoliša posljednjih su godina dobili na značenju. Kao alternativa dizel gorivu dosta obećavaju esterificirana biljna ulja koja su ekološki vrlo pogodna. U ruralnoj Indiji potreba za naftom otpada na poljoprivrednu mehanizaciju poput traktora i vršilica. Poljoprivrednici koji posjeduju marginalna i velika zemljišta mogu ispuniti zahtjeve dizel goriva tako da siju uljarice na vlastitoj zemlji. U ovom radu procjenjuje se isplativost lokalne proizvodnje biljnih ulja u jednom malom oglednom selu u središnjoj Indiji. Analiziraju se metilni esteri masnih kiselina iz ulja pamukovog sjemena, sojinog ulja, ulja balanitesa i jatrofina ulja da bi se ustanovila njihova svojstva i radni učinak u dizel motoru, a procjenjuje se i potrebna površina zemljišta za uzgoj tih uljnih kultura kako bi se udovoljilo potrebama seoske poljoprivrede za gorivom. Rezultati pokazuju da kalorična vrijednost metilnih estera iznosi dizela, a i druga su svojstva posve usporediva s dizelom. Analiza radnog učinka metilnih estera u motoru pokazuje neznatno smanjenje toplinske učinkovitosti od oko , dok su emisije smanjene za do u usporedbi s dizelom. Izvršena je i ekonomska analiza te je ustanovljeno da je korištenje derivata biljnih ulja kao zamjene za dizel gorivo skuplje od korištenja mineralnog dizela.The world is confronting the twin crises of fossil fuel depletion and environmental degradation. Alternative fuels, energy conservation and management, energy efficiency and environmental protection have become increasingly import in recent years. Among alternative fuels, esterified vegetable oils hold good promise as eco-friendly alternatives to diesel fuel. In rural India, of the petroleum diesel requirement is for agricultural equipment such as tractors and threshers. Marginal farmers and large landholders can meet their diesel requirement by sowing oil yielding crops on their own lands. This paper evaluates the feasibility of the local production of vegetable oil for a small representative village in central India. Fatty acid methyl esters of cottonseed oil, soybean oil, balanites oil and jatropha oil were analyzed for their properties and performance in diesel engines. The land required to grow these oil crops in order to meet rural agricultural diesel requirements was estimated. The results indicate that the calorific value of these methyl esters is that of diesel and the other properties are quite comparable with diesel. Engine performance analysis of these methyl esters indicates that there is a slight decrease in thermal efficiency of approximately , while emissions are reduced by to as compared to diesel. Economic analysis was also performed and it was found that vegetable oil derivatives as diesel fuel substitutes are costlier than mineral diesel