Fifth National Conference on Optimization Techniques in engineering Sciences and Technologies,

Banari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam, !"!#

CHARACTERISATION OF USED GROUNDNUT OILS AS BIODIESEL FEED STOCK
Authors : Subash
1
, Senth! "u#ar
$
, an% &a'a"rshna
(
1
Final year student-NEC, Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu State, India.
3
Lecturer, NEC, Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu State, India
1
email sent!ilmec!"#$%mail.com
Abstra)t
&ver t!e last 'e( years )iodiesel !as %ained importance as an alternative 'uel 'or diesel en%ines.
*anu'acturin% )iodiesel 'rom plant oil is relatively easy and possesses many environment )ene'its.
+esides, (!at ma,es )iodiesel all t!e more attractive is t!at it can )e derived 'rom used %roundnut oil
produced in lar%e -uantities in pu)lic eateries. T!e purpose o' t!is paper is to c!aracteri.e o' used
%roundnut oil /01&2 'or t!eir suita)ility as 'eed stoc, 'or )iodiesel preparation and to compare t!e
'uel properties o' t!e derived esters o' 01& /01&-)iodiesel2 (it! t!ose esters o' 'res! oil and
)aseline diesel 'uel. T!e %roundnut oil )ased 01&-)iodiesel and esters o' 'res! %roundnut oil are
trans'ormed into respective )iodiesel, )y transesteri'ication process. Tests are conducted to compare
t!ese )iodiesels (it! t!e )aseline local diesel 'uel in terms o' en%ine per'ormance and e3!aust
emissions. T!e results indicate t!at t!e t!ermal per'ormance o' esters o' 01& closely resem)le t!e
per'ormance o' esters o' 'res! oil. 4t !i%!er load operation o' esters o' 01& 'ueled en%ine su''ers
nearly 5 6 )ra,e t!ermal e''iciency loss. Interestin%ly !ydrocar)on emissions o' 01&-)iodiesel 'uel
(ere o)served to )e appro3imately 376 lo(er t!an )aseline diesel operation.
$ey%ords& 0sed %roundnut oil8 9olar compounds8 En%ine per'ormance8 Emissions
1* INTRODUCTION
+iodiesel is t!e name %iven to clean )urnin%
alternative 'uel produced 'rom domestic
rene(a)le resources. T!e main commodity
sources 'or )iodiesel in India is non-edi)le oils
o)tained 'rom plant species suc! as :atrop!a
Curcas /;atan<yot2, 9on%amia 9innata /Karan<2,
Calop!yllum inop!yllum /Na%c!ampa2, =evca
)rasiliensis /;u))er2 etc. 4ccordin% to 4ST*
standards +iodiesel is tec!nically de'ined as ,>t!e
mono al,yl esters o' lon% c!ain 'atty acids
derived 'rom rene(a)le li-uid 'eedstoc,, suc! as
ve%eta)le 'ats and animal oils ,'or use in
compression i%nition /CI2 en%ines>
?1@
.
0nited State produces )iodiesel 'rom edi)le
oil /mainly soya oil2, t!e pure )iodiesel costs
around A 1." to A5." per %allon dependin% upon
purc!ase volume and t!e delivery costs and
competes (it! lo( sul'ur diesel oil. =o(ever, it
is costlier to normal diesel (!ic! is A1.5 to A1.7
per %allon
?5,3@
. In India t!e production o' )iodiesel
'rom edi)le oils is currently muc! more
e3pensive t!an petroleum diesel 'uels due to t!e
relatively !i%! costs o' ve%eta)le oils. T!e cost o'
)iodiesel can )e reduced i' non-edi)le oils, and
used 'ryin% oils are considered instead o' edi)le
oils. Non-edi)le oils suc! as *ellia a.adirac!ta
/Neem2, +ussia Lati'olia /*a!ua2, 9on%amai
9innata /Karan<a2, &r)i%naya maritiana
/+a)assu2, ;atan<yot /:atrop!a2, etc. are easily
e3tracted in many parts o' t!e (orld includin%
India, and are relatively c!eap
Ta)le 1. 9roduction o' oil seeds /million tons2 in 5BB5-5BB3 in India
87