Evaluation of Dimethyl Carbonate as Alternative Biofuel. Performance and Smoke Emissions of a Diesel Engine Fueled with Diesel/Dimethyl Carbonate/Straight Vegetable Oil Triple Blends

Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is an interesting blending component for diesel fuel (D) owing to the high oxygen content (53 wt.%) and the absence of C–C bonds in its structure. Moreover, DMC can be produced from CO2 and methanol, which provides a renewable way to reduce anthropogenic CO2. This research has been addressed to assess the use of DMC as a solvent of sunflower oil (SO) and castor oil (CO), with the purpose of obtaining biofuels that can replace fossil diesel as much as possible. The blending of DMC with straight vegetable oils (SVOs) reduces their high viscosity, allowing their usage as drop-in biofuels without chemical treatments. Based on viscosity requirements of European Standard EN 590, the optimal DMC/SVO double blends have been tested as direct biofuels by themselves or mixed with fossil diesel in D/DMC/SVO triple blends. Relevant physico-chemical properties of fuels have been analyzed. Engine parameters such as power output, brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and soot emissions have been studied to determine the effect of new biofuels on efficiency of a diesel engine. An outstanding engine efficiency is shown by the studied D/DMC/SVO triple blends, either with SO or CO as an SVO. The low calorific value of DMC is the main reason for reduction in power and BSFC, as the amount of diesel in the triple blends is reduced. Experimental results demonstrate that the use of these biofuels allows the replacement of up to 40% of fossil diesel, without compromising the power and BSFC of the engine, and accomplishing optimal cold flow properties and a marked drop in exhaust emissions.

Performance Study of 4-Stroke Diesel Engine Using Soybean Oil Blend

The rate of fossil fuel consumption is soaring with population growth but the fossil fuel reserves are finite in nature. It is only a matter of when they run out - not if. Every year, billions of tons of fossil fuel oil is consumed globally. So it is high time we contemplated over other alternative fuels. One such alternative is the use of Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) or its blend in diesel engine if performance, emission and maintenance of an engine are comparable to diesel fuel. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of commercially available Soybean oil and diesel blends on the performance characteristics of Kirloskar single cylinder diesel engine. This study also sheds light on comparison and measurement of physical properties of diesel and test fuels i.e., the blends, and correlates them with the performance test result. It is concluded that the tested blends can be used safely and effectively in the diesel engine, at least in small blending ratios with normal Diesel fuel.

Optimalisasi Sistem Mikrogrid Hibrida Berbasis Jarak Pagar menggunakan HOMER

ABSTRAKPenggunaan genset diesel minyak solar untuk kelistrikan di pulau Medang terkendala dengan mahal dan tingginya biaya pengadaan minyak solar. Biomassa jarak pagar yang ada di pulau Medang potensial untuk dimanfaatkan sebagai sumber daya alam (SDA) lokal, untuk menggantikan minyak solar sebagai bahan bakar genset. Bahan bakar yang dapat dihasilkan dari buah jarak pagar terdiri dari straight vegetable oil (SVO), biogas dan synthetic gas (syngas). Berdasarkan data sekunder, 1 ha kebun jarak pagar dapat menghasilkan listrik 19.425 kWh/tahun menggunakan genset diesel berbahan bakar SVO ditambah 6.475 kWh/tahun menggunakan genset biogas. Dalam penelitian ini, optimalisasi sistem mikrogrid hibrida berbasis jarak pagar sudah dilakukan. Kondisi optimal untuk beban rata-rata 4.000 kWh/hari terdiri dari 1X360 kW genset SVO + 1X360 kW genset Biogas + Baterai 300 kWh + inverter-rectifier 300 kW. Hasil evaluasi memperlihatkan untuk operasi 25 tahun, sistem mikrogrid hibrida berbasis biomassa jarak pagar membutuhkan net present cost (NPC) sebesar $7.750.000 dan memberikan cost of energy (COE) $0,368/kWh.Kata kunci: genset, bioenergi, SVO, biogas, listrik ABSTRACTUtilization of diesel oil for diesel generators in the Medang island is constrained by high costs of diesel oil. The jatropha (type of biomass) in the Medang island can be used as a local natural resource (SDA), in substituting of diesel oil as a generator fuel. The type of fuel whics is produced by jatropha consist of straight vegatable oil (SVO), biogas and synthetic gas (syngas). Based on secondary data, it is found that 1 ha of Jatropha equal by produces electricity 19.425 kWh/year using an SVO diesel generator set and 6.475 kWh/year using biogas generator set. In this study, optimization of the hybrid microgrid system was carried out. The optimal conditions for an average 4,000 kWh/day of load is consisting of 1X360 kW SVO generator + 1X360 kW Biogas generator + 300 kWh + 300 kW rectifier inverter. Evaluation results showed that for 25-year operation, the hybrid microgrid jatophra bases system requires of NPC of $ 7,750,000 and yield the COE of $ 0.368/kWh.Keywords: genset, bioenergy, SVO, biogas, electricity

A Study on Reasonable Ratios of Vegetable Oils and Diesel Oil in Mixed Fuel Used as an Alternative Fuel for Marine Diesel Engines in Vietnam

Vegetable oil is used directly as a fuel, in either modified or unmodified equipment, it is referred to as straight vegetable oil (SVO). SVOs have some advantages in comparison with fossil fuel oils such as: renewability, local availability, lower sulfur content, etc. avoiding the environmental effects caused by sulfuric acid, lower aromatic content and high biodegradability. However, SVOs are also attached to several disadvantages such as: high viscosity, low heating value, high fatty contents, influencing on injection process and causing engine coking if misused. In order to prevent such negative effects of diesel engine fuelled by SVO, one of potential solutions is using blends of SVO with diesel oil (DO). In such case, the reasonable ratio of SVO and diesel oil plays a very important role for normal running condition, but also seems to be challenge to identify. The article shows results of a study on defining the ratio for marine diesel application. It is firstly based on the assessment on the heat release processes inside the diesel engine cylinder upon a specific simulation with different blends of SVO and diesel oil. In comparison with the particular requirements for fuel of marine engines, the preferable percentage of vegetable oil in the fuel mixture is pointed out. And finally, the experiments with fuel system of a typical marine diesel engine, HANSHIN 6LU32, installed at the lab of Vietnam Maritime University in terms of checking real engine’s operation and reducing harmful emissions.