Jatropha’s Rapid Developments and Future Opportunities as a Renewable Source of Biofuel—A Review

Biofuel is an attractive alternative to fossil fuels since it is renewable and biodegradable—it is mainly made from edible and non-edible sources. Globally, the usage of renewable biofuels is expected to rise quickly. The rising production and use of biofuel has prompted an examination of its environmental impact. Biodiesel is a fatty acid methyl ester generated from sustainable lipid feedstock that substitutes petroleum-based diesel fuel. Non-food oils, such as Jatropha, waste cooking oil, and by-products of vegetable oil from refineries provide inexpensive feedstock for biodiesel manufacturing. Due to its increased oil yield, adequate fatty acid content, tolerance to various agro-climatic conditions, and short gestation period, Jatropha may be one of the most promoted oilseed crops worldwide. Furthermore, Jatropha can provide several economic and agronomic advantages because it is a biodegradable, renewable plant. This study examines whether Jatropha can be considered as the most preferable biofuel in the future. The study begins with an overview of current fuels, including their classifications, dynamic changes in consumption, advantages, and cross-examining the limitations to identify the significance of bringing an alternate fuel. Then we elaborate on the outlook of the Jatropha crop, followed by evaluating its availability, opportunity, and advantages over other biofuels. Subsequently, the extraction methods, including the transesterification process and integration methods for improving the efficiency of Jatropha fuel, are also reviewed in the paper. We also assess the current stage of Jatropha cultivation in different countries with its challenges. The review concludes with future perspectives and directions for research

Design and Analysis of an Agriculture Solar Panel Support Structure with Tilting Mechanisms.

The requirements for solar water pumping system in the agriculture are increased day by day. The performance of the solar electrical power generating system entirely depends on the structural stability of the supporting system. In this paper, an eight-panel solar supporting system is designed and analyzed for its structural efficiency for the high wind loads. The finite-element-based structural analysis is performed using the software package for different tilt positions through tilting mechanism used for everyday application and for the seasonal variation of the sun rays’ direction. Quadrilateral and triangular beam elements are used for the mesh generation of the support structure, and the CBUSH and RBE2 are used to model the bolt joints. The wind load is applied as pressure, and the self-weight of the solar panel is applied as a lumped mass and transferred to the main structure through rigid element. The static analysis is performed for the wind loads for the three tilting positions. The results are conforming that the main structural stresses and deformations are within the limits

Techno-economic review on short-term anthropogenic emissions of air pollutants and particulate matter

It is well known that pandemics not only change people's social habits but have also changed most activities related to energy consumption, especially industry and transport. Over the past year, a plethora of case studies have been published mapping the environmental impacts in specific locations in terms of changes in wastewater composition, noise, solar radiation and more. However, policymakers are demanding a global perspective and are looking for a synthesis of all these reports that will indicate whether, or to what extent, these changes interact with global climate change. The most urgent question is whether artificially inducing such a pandemic could be justified, given the loss of human life and economic losses. Robust analysis on air pollutants such as PM2.5, PM10, NOx, SO2, CO, O3 and NH3 confirmed significant improvement in air quality indicators especially in India and China. The study indicates that key hypotheses can be confirmed or refuted, but further measurements are needed. © 2021 Elsevier LtdNational Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA; European Space Agency, ES

Role of chicken fat waste and hydrogen energy ratio as the potential alternate fuel with nano-additives: Insights into resources and atmospheric remediation process

The main focus of the study was to witness the effects of chicken waste-based biodiesel blends along with constant hydrogen injection in a modified diesel engine. Furthermore, the nanoparticle multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) effects on the engine efficiency were also examined. A series of tests was conducted in the single cylinder, water cooled engine fuelled with diesel, CB100N, CB10N, CB30N, and CB50N. Throughout the entire run, constant hydrogen injection of 5 LPM has been maintained. The parameters such as brake thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption, heat release rate and the emissions of different pollutants were determined for a variety of engine speeds. ASTM standards were applied to measure the viscosity, density and calorific value. From the reported findings, it was clear that the addition of the chicken waste biodiesel could be a sustainable substitute for the existing fossil fuels. Although the emission of the pollutants was dropped significantly, there was a massive drop in the BTE values. To compensate such shortage of power, the biodiesel was dispersed with MWCNT at the concentration of 80 ppm. Compared to the regular biodiesel, MWCNT inclusion increased the BTE by 14%. Further, the consumption of the fuel was also reduced marginally. Considering the pollutants, the catalytic activity of the MWCNT reduced the emissions of CO, NOx, and HC at various engine speeds. Besides, 10% reduction in NOx had been reported at lower engine speeds and was reduced to 8% at higher speed regimes. Compiling all together, increasing the concentration of the biodiesel blends obviously reduced the performance values and however, there was a great advantage in terms of the emission magnitudes irrespective of the engine operating conditions. © 2022 Elsevier Inc.King Saud University, KS

Utilization of enriched hydrogen blends in the diesel engine with MgO nanoparticles for effective engine performance and emission control

The influence of hydrogen on the diesel engine has been examined in this study. In addition, the impact of MgO nanoparticles was also analysed by conducting a series of tests on samples such as Diesel (100 % diesel), DN (Diesel-50 ppm MgO), H1N (10 % Hydrogen-50 ppm MgO) and H2N (20 % Hydrogen-50 ppm MgO). Hydrogen was injected through intake manifold at the volume of 10 % and 20 %. Nanoparticles were dispersed using the ultrasonication techniques to accrue stable suspension. The experiments were conducted between 6 N-m to 24 N-m loads on a four-stroke single cylinder engine. The parameters such as brake thermal efficiency (BTE), brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), and heat release rate (HRR) were assessed. In addition to the performance and combustion, the environmental impact of the test blends was also analysed by examining the exhaust with a gas analyser. From the series of tests, it was evident that hydrogen enrichment in the test blends reported lower levels of emissions compared to neat diesel. The formation of the hydrocarbons (HC), nitrogen of oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and carbon dioxide (CO2) was reduced due to the drop in the carbon atoms and enriched oxygen content in the combustion chamber. With regard to the performance, the hydrogen enriched nanoparticle blends reported peak BTE (37 %) and HRR (75 J/deg) than the other test blends. By assessing all the results, the addition of hydrogen is a potential option to reduce the environmental impact created by the fossil fuel without forfeiting the engine efficiency. © 2022 Elsevier LtdKing Saud University, KSU; Chiang Mai University, CMU: RSP-2022/23

Production of hydrogen as value added product from the photovoltaic thermal system operated with graphene nanoparticles: An experimental study

Hydrogen is a growing alternative for fossil fuels that may be used to combat the energy shortfall that exists in a variety of industries, most notably the transportation and power generation industries. In this research work, the utilization of solar energy for the generation of electricity and production of hydrogen are thoroughly covered. A hybrid photovoltaic thermal system (PVT) has been used to generate the hydrogen via electrolysis process. To enhance the thermal efficiency of the PVT, graphene oxide nanofluids have been utilized. Graphene oxide nanofluids dispersed at the mass flow rates, such as 0.8 g/s, 1.0 g/s, and 1.2 g/s using sonication technique. A series of tests conducted between 9.00 A.M. to 4.00 P.M. to determine the parameters such as cell temperature, electrical efficiency, thermal efficiency and hydrogen mass flow rate. The procured results of the PVT carried out with the utilization of air and water as coolants were compared with PVT with nanofluids. From the findings it is evident that the performance of the system was significantly enhanced by the utilization of nanofluids at the optimized concentration compared to conventional water and air. With regard to the nanofluids mass flow rate, concentration of 1.2 g/s reported higher electrical (8.6%) and thermal efficiency (33.3%) compared to water. Added to above, there is a profound increase in the mass flow rate of hydrogen that has been observed at 1.2 g/s.King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; [RSP-2021/228

Machine learning based predictive modelling of micro gas turbine engine fuelled with microalgae blends on using LSTM networks: An experimental approach

Air transport plays an inevitable role in the transportation sector. In the modern world, the aviation contribution is very immense to establish worldwide developments. However, the emission released by the aviation industry is massively high. Due to the sudden increase in the air traffic the contribution of global CO2 and CO have increased in recent years. Hence the aviation sector seeks the replacement for fossil fuels. In this study, the micro gas turbine engine has been experimentally studied for different engine speeds and throttle position. The gas turbine was allowed to run in the different test fuels such as, Jet-A, A20 (20% microalgae 80% Jet-A) and A30 (30% microalgae 70% Jet-A) and the predicted results were compared. In addition to the typical experimental calibrations, machine learning has been applied to examine the differences in the both performance and emission characteristics of the biofuel blends with approximately 51 different fuel combinations using LSTM networks. Based on the predicted results, introduction of the biofuel affects the production of the static thrust. On the contrary, the emissions of the CO and CO2 were very low compared to Jet-A. With regard to the nitrogen of the oxides, no massive reduction has been witnessed despite running at different fuel conditions. Besides, the marginal decrease in the NOx was observed above 75000 rpm.King Saud University, KSU; Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province: BK20200775, RSP-2021/257Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province [BK20200775, RSP-2021/257]; King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabi

Spirulina microalgae blend with biohydrogen and nanocatalyst TiO2 and Ce2O3 as step towards emission reduction: Promoter or inhibitor

Extensive use of fossil fuels is the main cause for global warming. Burning of fossil fuels increases the air pollution which leads to adverse human health effects. Biodiesel is one the promising source of the energy to replace fossil fuel. The current study focused on one of the most sustainable microalgae biodiesel blends in the diesel engine. Further, the nanoparticles such as TiO2 and Ce2O3 were sonicated with the blends at the rate of 50 ppm to increase the brake thermal efficiency with least production of the pollutants. In addition to above, the hydrogen is also used as the secondary fuel to enhance the performance and combustion characteristics of the spirulina biodiesel. The constant hydrogen flow rate of 10 L/min was maintained throughout the study. Compared to the diesel fuel, biodiesel blends reported higher BTE due to the oxygenated additives and hydrogen addition. The maximum thermal efficiency for blend B30TH was found to be 29.5 % and minimum specific fuel consumption has been obtained for B30CH at maximum brake power conditions. In all test conditions, the biodiesel blends with hydrogen reported higher in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate. With regard to the emission, adding the biodiesel blends increases the combustion rates which leads to the reduction of accumulation of pollutants such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen of oxides and smoke. Among the various blends B20CH reported a massive reduction in the emission than B20TH.Van Lang University, Vietnam; King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [RSP-2021/385

Assessing the effects of ammonia (NH3) as the secondary fuel on the combustion and emission characteristics with nano-additives

Ammonia is a promising alternative to replace the non-renewable fossil fuels. The present work offers the detailed evaluation of ammonia suitability in the diesel engine and how it is affecting the primary properties of the diesel engine. A series of tests was conducted on the test samples such as diesel, B20, B20N, B20A5 and B20A10 across various engine loading conditions. Two different ammonia energy ratios of 5 L/min and 10 L/min have been utilized. In addition to ammonia, the role of nanoparticles was analyzed and compared how far they can be competitive to the green ammonia fuel. 75 ppm of TiO2 nanoparticles was dispersed with Chlorella vulgaris microalgae biodiesel blends using ultrasonication. Ammonia was injected as the secondary fuel via air intake. Based on the results, adding ammonia in the diesel engine reduced the brake thermal efficiency of the engine. There was a drastic drop in the brake thermal efficiency that has been reported across various loads. Nevertheless, biodiesel blends with nanoparticles reported peak thermal efficiency due to the enhanced cetane number and calorific value of the fuel. On contrary, the brake specific fuel consumption of B10A and B20A was decreased compared to the other blends. As the ammonia concentration increased, both the peak cylinder pressure and heat release rates were higher. Due to the addition of ammonia, NOx emission was higher due to the higher cylinder temperature. On the other hand, the emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons were reduced for all cases compared to neat diesel. © 2022Jiangsu Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Fund, JASTIF: CX(22)2045, RSP-2022/257; King Saud University, KS