Experimental Evaluation of Performance and Emission Characteristics of a Diesel Engine Fuelled with Neem Methyl Ester

The dwindling fossil fuel resources and the environmental degradation have spurred research interest to find better renewable alternative energy sources. Biodiesel is one such viable promising alternative fuel, which can be extracted from various renewable vegetable oils. In the present study, biodiesel extracted from neem oil is characterized for engine performance and emission analysis is done at various compression ratios (CR) and fuel blends. The brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of the blend B20 is considerably higher than that of diesel at CR 18, 20, and 22. The specific fuel consumption (SFC) increases with diesel blends due to a higher calorific value of diesel in comparison with biodiesel. All the biodiesel blends had lower carbon monoxide (CO) emissions compared with diesel, which indicates better combustion due to the presence of inherent oxygen. At lower CRs, the in-cylinder temperature is lower, which in turn reduces the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission. The overall engine performance is optimum at CR of 18 with the NB20 fuel blend

A multi-variant approach to optimize process parameters for biodiesel extraction from rubber seed oil

Biodiesel is biodegradable, non-toxic and has the capacity for sustainable development, energy conservation and environmental preservation. Apart from yielding high value latex, the rubber plant supply large amount of rubber seed, which are currently underutilized. Extracting biodiesel from rubber seed is a viable option which demands attention for research to consolidate and optimize the process parameters. Design of experiments (DOE) is a powerful statistical approach which is used for optimizing the process parameters through two stage esterification process, relating acid and alkaline as catalyst. Reducing the acid value is the primary objective for process optimization in acid esterification process, whereas, maximizing the monoester yield is the objective for the alkaline-esterification process. Different saturated and unsaturated monoesters present in the biodiesel were quantified using gas chromatograph in order to determine the yield percentage, which ensures the quality of the biodiesel. The fuel was tested for properties such as viscosity, calorific value and carbon residue using standard test procedures and found to be analogous with diesel, which makes it possible to use this alternate fuel in the existing engine without any modification.Rubber seed oil Biodiesel DOE Esterification Process optimization