K Nantha Gopal

Abstract: Biodiesel has been identified as a potential alternative fuel for CI engines because use of biodiesel can reduce petroleum diesel consumption as well as engine out emissions Out of many biodiesel derived from various resources, biodiesel from Waste Cooking Oil (WCO) can be prepared economically using usual transesterification process In the present study, in-depth research and comparative study of blends of biodiesel made from WCO and diesel is carried out to bring out the benefits of its extensive usage in CI engines The experimental results of the study reveal that the WCO biodiesel has similar characteristics to that of diesel The brake thermal efficiency, carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbon and smoke opacity are observed to be lower in the case of WCO biodiesel blends than diesel On the other hand specific energy consumption and oxides of nitrogen of WCO biodiesel blends are found to be higher than diesel In addition combustion characteristics of all biodiesel blends showed similar trends when compared to that of conventional diesel

Abstract: Biodiesel produced from pongamia oil has been considered as promising option for diesel engines because of its environmental friendliness. In this work, bio-diesel from pongamia oil is prepared (PME 100), tested on a diesel engine for different blends such as PME 20, PME 40, PME 60 and PME 80. Comparison is made with diesel operation. Parameters such as brake thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption, carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, smoke and NOx emissions are evaluated. Even though the performance reduces slightly when the engine is fueled with biodiesel, significant changes in the combustion parameters observed in case of biodiesel blends are significant to note. On the other hand, reduction in CO, HC and smoke is observed. Study reveals the effect of bio-diesel on a DI engine when compared to diesel and evolves conclusions with respect to performance and emissions.

Abstract: A comparative study on lubricating oil degradation is carried out to assess the durability of a single cylinder diesel engine fuelled by biodiesel blend (20 per cent) and diesel, respectively. Initially, the engine is made to run with diesel for 256 h, each cycle comprising 16 h as per the IS 10000 standards. The same test cycle has been carried out on the engine which was later fuelled with biodiesel. Various tribological properties of lubricating oil such as kinematic viscosity, density, total base number, moisture content, ash content, pentane and benzene insoluble are recorded at regular intervals in order to correlate the effect of fuel chemistry on lubricating oil performance and engine life. Kinematic viscosity, flash point and total base number were observed to be lesser in biodiesel blend fuelled engine. Density, ash content, moisture content and insoluble were found to be higher in biodiesel engine. Wear debris concentrations in the lubricating oil samples drawn from both the engines were measured by Inductive Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy. Higher wear metal concentrations were observed in the lubricating oil of PME20 fuelled engine. Surface roughness parameters of cylinder liners were investigated and compared to quantify the cylinder wear of both engines. Ferrography tests of lubricating oils also indicated the significant deterioration of lubricating oil in biodiesel blend fuelled engine.

Abstract: Biodiesel is identified as a likely alternative fuel for Compression Ignition (CI) engines as it leads to an effective reduction in consumption of petroleum diesel, and of engine exhaust emissions....

Abstract: In the effect of robust industrialization and rapid augmentation of a number of fleets, there has been a huge rise in the fossil fuel consumption. Tremendous increase in global warming threatens the ecological balance of the earth. Based on the recent sorts of hardship about the fuel, researchers are profoundly pondered over the field of renewability, environmentally friendly and economically doable. In recent decades biodiesel fuel becomes the center of attraction among researchers since it is renewable, bio degradable, non-noxious, eco-friendly and sustainable. This review paper highlights and reviews the properties of prosperous variety of the biodiesel fuels derived from non-edible feedstocks which are termed as third generation biodiesel and its effects on the performance and emissions of the diesel engines. It was observed that the physicochemical properties of the biodiesel differ based on the types of feedstocks and also have a considerable effect on the potential performance of engine and dynamic characteristics of emission level. Also, the usage of biodiesel commonly leads to a reduction in noxious pollutants like carbon monoxide, unburnt hydrocarbon and particulate matter with an obvious increase in fuel consumption and NOx emission. This review provides a prospective strategy for the researchers for enhancing the engine performance and emission characteristics by using the third generation biofuels and its blends with the productive marvelous outcomes.

Abstract: Direct injection diesel engines are more popular in the automotive sector than spark ignition (SI) engines due to its fuel lean operation However, the demand of fossil fuel is rising day by day and hence the major fuel source of diesel engine, the petroleum based fuel, is depleting rapidly Many countries depend mainly on imported fossil fuels due to lack of fuel reserves and it has great impact on the economy In addition to this, the major concerns of diesel engine are its oxides of nitrogen and smoke emissions Therefore, for the past several decades extensive efforts are being made to search for alternate fuels to overcome the dependence on fossil fuel and environment pollution In this regard, several alternate fuels namely hydrogen, oxygenated fuels like alcohol fuels, dimethyl ether and biodiesel fuels etc, have been extensively analysed Recent studies show that biodiesel is one of the most promising alternate fuels for diesel engines because of its biodegradable, oxygenated, sulphur free and renewable characteristics Hence, it is getting the attention of researchers all over the world The blends of biodiesel with fossil diesel have many benefits like reduction in emissions, lower engine wear, lesser engine oil consumption and comparable thermal efficiency vis-a-vis diesel fuel Exhaustive experimental works have been carried out to analyse the suitability of biodiesel fuel as alternate fuel and to explore their advantages in diesel engines Hence, this paper is attempted to present a comprehensive review on the performance, combustion and emission characteristics of some important biodiesel fuels on diesel engines This comprehensive review on the published literature will be helpful to the researchers to understand the state-of-the-art technology of the biodiesel fuelled compression ignition engine

Abstract: Green fuels also called green hydrocarbons, biofuels, are fuel produced from biomass sources through a variety of biological and thermochemical processes These products are similar to petroleum gasoline and diesel fuels and are therefore considered fully infrastructure compatible fuels They can be utilized in engines without engine modification This paper presents a comprehensive review on the potential of biodiesel from different waste feedstock biodiesel such as waste cooking oil and waste plastic oil Furthermore, the effect on the engine performance, combustion and exhaust emissions including details of engine and operating condition also review in this paper The main goal of this paper is to provide information to the engineers, industrialists and researchers who are interested on waste biodiesel and to prominence waste biodiesel as a promising alternative replacement for fossil fuels A large number of literatures from highly rated journals in scientific indexes are reviewed including the most recent publications

Abstract: Transportation and shipping activities are major contributor to air pollution at sea where most of it occurs as a result of exhaust emissions from ships. Stringent emission limitations enforced by the International Maritime Organization have hastened the need to find a new alternative fuel for marine diesel engines. Thus, biodiesel fuel was chosen as one of the environmentally friendly alternative energy that can reduce ship toxic gas emissions and at the same time reduces dependence on petroleum-based fuels. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of biodiesel as an alternative fuel for marine diesel engine applications. This review covers the biodiesel fuel background, engine performance, history, recent progress, engine warranty, issues, challenges, and possible solutions on using biodiesel for marine applications. A significant number of literatures from indexed journals were cited accordingly. The results of previous studies had shown that the use of biodiesel would mostly increase the amount of brake specific fuel consumption and nitrogen oxide gas while conversely reducing other toxic gas emissions. Although a number of issues and challenges arise, most marine engine manufacturers give conditional warranty against the use of biodiesel in the engines. The study concluded that biodiesel and its blends have a bright future in the marine sector, provided some of the highlighted issues can be solved.

Abstract: The trend of using biodiesels in compression ignition engines have been the focus in recent decades due to the promising environmental factors and depletion of fossil fuel reserves. This work presents the effect of Calophyllum inophyllum methyl ester on diesel engine performance, emission and combustion characteristics at different injection pressures. Experimental investigations with varying injection pressures of 200 bar, 220 bar and 240 bar have been carried out to analyse the parameters like brake thermal efficiency, specific fuel consumption, heat release rate and engine emissions of direct injection diesel engine fuelled with 100% biodiesel and compared with neat diesel. The experimental results revealed that brake specific fuel consumption of C. inophyllum methyl ester fuelled engine has been reduced to a great extent with higher injection pressure. Significant reduction in emissions of unburnt hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and smoke opacity have been observed during fuel injection of biodiesel at 220 bar compared to other fuel injection pressures. However oxides of nitrogen increased with increase in injection pressures of C. inophyllum methyl ester and are always higher than that of neat diesel. In addition the combustion characteristics of biodiesel at all injection pressures followed a similar trend to that of conventional diesel.