Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 12691278 www.elsevier.

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Technical note

Performance and emission study of Mahua oil (madhuca indica oil) ethyl ester in a 4-stroke natural aspirated direct injection diesel engine
Sukumar Puhana, N. Vedaramana,*, G. Sankaranarayanana,b, Boppana V. Bharat Rama
a

Chemical Engineering Division, Central Leather Research Institute, Adyar, Chennai 600 020, India b Mechanical Engineering Division, Anna University, Chennai 600 025, India Received 22 February 2004; accepted 21 September 2004 Available online 23 November 2004

Abstract In this investigation, Mahua Oil Ethyl Ester was prepared by transesterication using sulfuric acid (H2SO4) as catalyst and tested in a 4-stroke direct injection natural aspirated diesel engine. Tests were carried out at constant speed of 1500 rev/min at different brake mean effective pressures. Results showed that brake thermal efciency of Mahua Oil Ethyl Ester (MOEE) was comparable with diesel and it was observed that 26.36% for diesel whereas 26.42% for MOEE. Emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen and Bosch smoke number were reduced around 58, 63, 12 and 70%, respectively, in case of MOEE compared to diesel. Based on this study, MOEE can be used a substitute for diesel in diesel engine. q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Transesterication; Biodiesel; Mahua oil ethyl ester; Engine performance and emissions

1. Introduction The invention of internal combustion engine and subsequent developments in engine technology led to wide spread exploitation of the petroleum reserves, which are being depleted at a rapid rate. Moreover, the combustion of these fuels has polluted
* Corresponding author. Tel.: C91 44 24916706; fax: C91 44 24911589. E-mail address: nvedaraman@yahoo.co.in (N. Vedaraman). 0960-1481/$ - see front matter q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2004.09.010

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Table 1 The specication of Mahua crude oil Refractive index Sap value Iodine value Unsap matter Colour Free fatty acids Water content 1.4521.462 189 63 1.3% Light yellow 21% 5%

the environment. Renewable fuels, such as vegetable oils and alcohols, are an alternative. From previous studies [15], it is evident that various problems are associated with vegetable oils being used as fuel in diesel engines. This problem is due to high viscosity, density, iodine value and poor non-volatility of the vegetable oil, which lead to problems in pumping, atomization and poor combustion inside the combustion chamber of a diesel engine. In the case of long-term operation of vegetable oils problems such as gumming, injector fouling, piston and ring sticking, and contamination of lubricating oils are bound to occur. All these problems are due to the high viscosity of vegetable oils. Hence, it is necessary to reduce the viscosity of vegetable oil more approximate to that of diesel. The solution to the problems has been approached in several ways, such as preheating the oils, blending them with diesel, thermal cracking and transesterication. Tranesterication, or alcoholysis, is the reaction of a fat or oil with an alcohol to form esters and glycerol. The literature clearly shows that transesterication is the best way to use vegetable oil as a fuel in existing diesel engine [610]. In this investigation, Mahua oil (crude) is studied. This oil is widely available in India and neighboring countries. Furthermore, the use of non-edible vegetable oils such as Mahua oil is of signicance because of the great need for edible oil as food. The properties of low-grade Mahua oil used in this study are given in Table 1. It is well established that for alkali hydrolysis, the raw vegetable oil has to meet certain specications. For example, the acid value should be less than one and the moisture content should be less than 0.5% [11,12]. The acid catalyst is the choice for transesterication when low-grade vegetable oil used as raw material because it contains high free fatty acid and moisture. For the present study, sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is used as an acid catalyst for transesterication process. It has been proved that H2SO4 is the best choice for acid hydrolysis [13]. In this present study, Mahua Oil Ethyl Ester (MOEE) was prepared by transesterication using H2SO4 as a catalyst and tested in a 4-stroke direct injection natural aspirated diesel engine.

2. Experimental 2.1. Mahua oil ethyl ester preparations The mixture of Mahua oil (100 g), ethanol (20:1 molar ratio with Mahua oil) and sulfuric acid (5% w/w) was boiled in a reaction chamber tted with condenser at a temperature range of 7275 8C for 5 h. Then the top layer was separated and washed with

S. Puhan et al. / Renewable Energy 30 (2005) 12691278 Table 2 Specication of diesel engine used Make and model General details Number of cylinders Bore Stroke Swept volume Clearance volume Compression ratio Rated output Rated speed Injection pressure Fuel injection timing Type of combustion chamber Fuel Lubricating oil Connecting rod length Valve diameter Maximum valve lift

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Kirloskar, Avl make 4-stroke, compression ignition, constant speed, vertical, water cooled, direct injection One 80 mm 110 mm 553 cc 36.87 cc 16.5: 1 3.7 kW at 1500 rpm 1500 rpm 240 bar 24 BTDC Hemispherical open combustion chamber High speed diesel SAE 40 235 mm 33.7 mm 10.2 mm

alkali solution (saturated calcium carbonate solution) to reduce the pH to neutral. The ester was washed with salt water (5% Nacl solution) and the product was dried at 110 8C in an oven for an hour to remove the traces of moisture. The physical and chemical properties of MOEE were measured as per the standard test procedures. 2.2. Engine test procedure The engine used for the study is Kirloskar Make, single cylinder, 4-stroke, constant speed, vertical, water cooled, direct injection, 5hp (3.68 kW) diesel engine, Table 2. The engine was coupled to a swinging eld separating exciting type DC generator and loaded by electrical resistance. Exhaust gas temperature was measured by an ironconstantan thermocouple. Carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxide (NOx) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions were measured by MRU Air fair emission monitoring systems ADELTA 1600L and MRU OPTRANS 1600@. Fuel consumption was measured by U-tube manometer. Smoke number was measured by TI diesel tune, 114-smoke density tester. The engine was started with standard diesel fuel and warmed up. The warm up period ends when the cooling water temperature is stabilized. Then the fuel consumption, exhaust gas temperature and different exhaust emission like NOx, HC, CO, CO2 and smoke were measured. A similar procedure was repeated for MOEE. 3. Results and discussions The fuel properties of MOEE and standard diesel are given in Table 3. It was observed that properties of MOEE were similar to standard diesel. The acid hydrolysis route was

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Table 3 The specication of MOEE and diesel Properties Kinematic viscosity at 40 8C Specic gravity at 35 8C Flash point (8C) Fire point (8C) Cloud point (8C) Pour point (8C) Copper strip corrosion at 100 8C, for 3 h Gross heating value (MJ/kg) Cetane number MOEE 6.2 0.865 164 173 3 1 Not worse than no. 1 41.6 47 No. 2 Diesel 2.6 0.82 65 70 K15 K17 Not worse than no. 1 45.6 51

selected because of high free fatty acid and moisture content of low-grade raw Mahua oil. After transesterication process with ethanol, the product was washed with weak alkaline solution to remove traces of acid and dried at 110 8C in oven to remove traces of moisture. Though the specication of MOEE matches that of biodiesel, the kinematic viscosity is slight higher compared with standard diesel fuel. The specic gravity is comparable with that of diesel and the gross heating value is 10% lower than that of standard diesel. Flash and re points are higher in case of MOEE than those of diesel so it has advantages for transportation. 3.1. Engine performance 3.1.1. Brake specic fuel consumption Fig. 1 shows variation of Brake Specic Fuel Consumption (BSFC) with respect to Brake Mean Effective Pressure (BMEP). BMEP of a diesel engine directly relates to the brake power. Again, brake power depends on the engine design and type of fuel used. It was observed that a larger amount of MOEE is supplied to the engine compared to that of standard diesel. Fuel pump of the engine delivers fuel in volumetric basis. As the density

Fig. 1. BSFC vs. BMEP.

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Fig. 2. SEC vs. BMEP.

of MOEE is higher than diesel, the plunger in the fuel injection pump discharges more MOEE compared to that of diesel. Therefore, BSFC for MOEE is higher than diesel. 3.1.2. Specic energy consumption Fig. 2 shows the Specic Energy Consumption (SEC) for MOEE and diesel. Specic energy consumption is an ideal variable because it is independent of the fuel. Hence, it is easy to compare energy consumption rather than fuel consumption. This energy consumption is the energy input required to develop unit power. As BMEP increases, the SEC for MOEE is closer to that of diesel. At the maximum load SEC is less in case of MOEE compared to that of diesel. This is due to the combined effect of low heating value and high density of MOEE.

Fig. 3. Brake thermal efciency vs. BMEP.

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Fig. 4. Exhaust gas temperature vs. BMEP.

3.1.3. Brake thermal efciency The variation of brake thermal efciency with BMEP is shown in Fig. 3. From the test results, it was observed that the brake thermal efciency of the MOEE increases gradually. The maximum thermal efciency of 26.36% was achieved with diesel, whereas for MOEE 26.42% at 5.481 BMEP. This small variation of thermal efciency may be due to the chemical composition of MOEE, which promotes the combustion process. 3.1.4. Exhaust gas temperature Fig. 4 shows the variation of exhaust gas temperature with BMEP in the range of 05.481 bar for diesel and MOEE. The result shows that the exhaust gas temperature increased with BMEP in both cases. The highest value of exhaust gas temperature of 439 8C was observed for MOEE, whereas for diesel it was found to be 249 8C only. The higher exhaust gas temperature may be because of better combustion of MOEE. 3.2. Emissions 3.2.1. Carbon monoxide Fig. 5 shows the carbon monoxide (CO) emission with BMEP for MOEE and diesel. Emissions of carbon monoxide from a DI diesel engine mainly depend upon the physical and chemical properties of the fuel. From Table 3 it can be observed that MOEE fuel properties are comparable with diesel fuel. The main difference in ester-based fuel and diesel is the oxygen content and cetane number. Since the ester-based fuel contains small amount of oxygen and that acts as a combustion promoter inside the cylinder. This results in better combustion for MOEE than diesel fuel. Hence CO, which is present in the exhaust gas due to incomplete combustion, is lower in comparison to diesel. The reduction of CO in case of MOEE is an average of 58% compared to diesel.

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Fig. 5. CO vs. BMEP.

3.2.2. Carbon dioxide Fig. 6 shows the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions with BMEP. The CO2 emissions from a diesel engine indicates how efciently the fuel is burnt inside the combustion chamber. As discussed earlier, the ester-based fuel burns more efciently than diesel. Therefore, in case of MOEE, the CO2 emission is greater. 3.2.3. Hydrocarbon The hydrocarbon (HC) emission trends for MOEE and diesel are shown in the Fig. 7. For efcient combustion, the fuel has to atomize, mix and ignite properly. Atomization and mixing of fuel again depends on the physical properties of the fuel. Fuel viscosity and surface tension affect the penetration rate, maximum penetration and droplet size which in turn affects the mixing of fuel and air [14]. Cetane number of the fuel plays a vital role in ignition process. As the cetane number of ester-based fuel is higher than diesel, it exhibits a shorter delay period and results in better combustion. Therefore, oxygen content

Fig. 6. CO2 vs. BMEP.

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Fig. 7. HC vs. BMEP.

and cetane number of the fuel leads to low CO and HC emission. It is very clear from the gure that MOEE emits lower HC. The reduction of HC in case of MOEE to diesel is an average of around 63%. 3.2.4. Oxides of nitrogen Fig. 8 shows oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emission for diesel and MOEE. In a DI natural aspirated 4-stroke diesel engine, NOx emissions are sensitive to oxygen content, adiabatic ame temperature and spray characteristics. It is well known that vegetable based fuel contains a small amount of nitrogen. This contributes towards NOx production. The fuel spray properties depend on droplet size, droplet momentum and degree of mixing with air and penetration rate, evaporation rate, and radiant heat transfer rate. A change in any of

Fig. 8. NOx vs. BMEP.

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Fig. 9. Bosch smoke number vs. BMEP.

those properties may change the NOx production. Furthermore, fuel chemistry effects in the ame region could account for a change in NOx production [15]. In case of MOEE NOx emission is lower than in diesel. It was observed that as load increases the NOx formation increases and attains maximum at maximum load. The trend shows that the reduction in NOx in case of MOEE gradually decreases from no load to maximum load. This may be due to higher combustion temperature inside the cylinder at higher load. The gure clearly shows that the reduction in NOx in case of MOEE gradually decreases from no load condition to maximum load. The average reduction in NOx in case of MOEE is around 12%. 3.2.5. Bosch smoke number Fig. 9 shows the variation of Bosch Smoke Number (BSN) with BMEP. The smoke is formed due to incomplete combustion. In case of MOEE, the smoke emission is low. This is because of better combustion of MOEE. The BSN for diesel is 3.2 at maximum BMEP and for MOEE is 2 at same load condition. However, at 50% of maximum load the smoke reduction is around 80%. Hence, there is an average reduction of 70% of smoke in case of MOEE when compared to diesel.

4. Conclusions A biomass-based fuel was obtained by the transesterication of Mahua oil with ethanol in presence of H2SO4 as an acid catalyst at the boiling temperature of ethanol. This esterbased fuel was tested in a 4-stroke single cylinder natural aspirated direct injection diesel engine. The comparison of MOEE with diesel in terms of engine performance and emission shows better results. The MOEE is found to burn more efciently than diesel. The emission of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, oxides of nitrogen and smoke were

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decreased by 58, 63, 12 and 70%, respectively, in comparison with diesel. This study tacitly suggests that MOEE can be used as a substitute for diesel in diesel engine.

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