S. Murugan

Bio: S. Murugan is an academic researcher from National Institute of Technology, Rourkela. The author has contributed to research in topics: Diesel engine & Diesel fuel. The author has an hindex of 31, co-authored 106 publications receiving 3177 citations. Previous affiliations of S. Murugan include Rajalakshmi Engineering College & Technical University of Ostrava.

The use of tyre pyrolysis oil in diesel engines

Abstract: Tests have been carried out to evaluate the performance, emission, and combustion characteristics of a single cylinder direct injection diesel engine fueled with 10%, 30%, and 50% of tyre pyrolysis oil (TPO) blended with diesel fuel (DF). The TPO was derived from waste automobile tyres through vacuum pyrolysis. The combustion parameters such as heat release rate, cylinder peak pressure, and maximum rate of pressure rise also analysed. Results showed that the brake thermal efficiency of the engine fueled with TPO-DF blends increased with an increase in blend concentration and reduction of DF concentration. NO(x), HC, CO, and smoke emissions were found to be higher at higher loads due to the high aromatic content and longer ignition delay. The cylinder peak pressure increased from 71 bars to 74 bars. The ignition delays were longer than with DF. It is concluded that it is possible to use tyre pyrolysis oil in diesel engines as an alternate fuel in the future.

Performance and emission analysis of blends of waste plastic oil obtained by catalytic pyrolysis of waste HDPE with diesel in a CI engine

Abstract: Compression ignition engines have proved to be the best option in heavy duty applications like transportation and power generation, but rapid depleting sources of conventional fossil fuels, their rising prices and ever increasing environmental issues are the major concerns. The present study deals with performance and emission analysis of blends of waste plastic oil obtained by catalytic pyrolysis of waste high-density polyethylene with diesel in a CI engine with varying loads. The experimental results show that the brake thermal efficiencies at all load conditions are lower as compared to that of diesel fuel, exhaust gas temperature increases with increase in engine load. The BSFC increases with increase in WPO blend ratio and decreases with increase in engine load. Mechanical efficiency increases with increasing brake power for all fuel blends. The NOx emission and CO emission increase with increase in percentage of waste plastic oil in blends, NOx emission decreases while CO emission increases with increase in engine load. The unburnt hydrocarbon emission decreases with increase in the engine load and increases with increase in percentage of waste plastic oil in blends. The carbon dioxide emission for the blends is lower than diesel for almost all loads and all blends.

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion: Mixture preparation and control strategies in diesel engines

Abstract: At present achieving fuel economy and reducing emissions are the two main targets set by the automotive industries. Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) technology is believed to be a promising one to be applied in both spark ignition (SI) and compression ignition (CI) engines in the near future. However, some challenges such as compromise combustion phase control, controlled auto-ignition, operating range, homogeneous charge preparation, cold start and emissions of unburned hydro carbon (UHC), and carbon monoxide (CO) need to be overcome for successful operation of HCCI engine. Extensive research on HCCI combustion with a homogeneous fuel–air mixture preparation is going on throughout the world. This paper reviews the strategies of different external and in-cylinder mixture preparation methods which were adopted and proposed in the recent years. The different strategies of controlled auto-ignition by HCCI combustion are also discussed in this paper.

Investigation on combustion performance and emission characteristics of a DI (direct injection) diesel engine fueled with biogas–diesel in dual fuel mode

Abstract: In this research work, biogas was produced by the anaerobic digestion of non-edible de-oiled cakes obtained from oil crushing units. Further, the biogas was used as an alternative gaseous fuel in a DI (direct injection) diesel engine, in the dual fuel mode. Diesel was used as an injected fuel and biogas was inducted through the intake manifold, at four different flow rates, viz., 0.3 kg/h, 0.6 kg/h, 0.9 kg/h and 1.2 kg/h, along with the air. The combustion, performance and emission characteristics of the engine in the dual fuel operation were experimentally analyzed, and compared with those of diesel operation. The results indicated that, the biogas inducted at a flow rate of 0.9 kg/h was found to give a better performance and lower emission, than that of the other flow rates. The ignition delay in the dual fuel operation is found to be longer than that of diesel throughout the load spectrum. The cylinder peak pressure in the dual fuel operation is found to be overall higher by about 11 bar than that of diesel operation. The NO (nitric oxide) and smoke emissions in the dual fuel operation are found to be lower overall by about 39% and 49%, compared to that of diesel operation.

Assessment of pyrolysis oil as an energy source for diesel engines

Abstract: This paper describes an experimental study of using tyre pyrolysis oil (TPO) obtained from waste automobile tyres by vacuum pyrolysis method, as a fuel in diesel engine. In this work, performance and emission parameters of a single cylinder water cooled diesel engine running on TPO diesel reference fuel (RF) blends in steps of 20% on volume basis of TPO, viz. TPO20 up to TPO70 were used as fuels and the results compared with diesel operation. Results indicated that reliable operation can be achieved up to 70% of TPO diesel blends. Thermal efficiencies were lower compared to diesel operation. Higher smoke, HC and CO emissions were recorded in the experimentation. Oil sticking was occasionally found on the nozzle stem and sac. There was no corrosion in the injection system after running the engine with TPO–RF blends.

A review on pyrolysis of plastic wastes

Abstract: The global plastic production increased over years due to the vast applications of plastics in many sectors. The continuous demand of plastics caused the plastic wastes accumulation in the landfill consumed a lot of spaces that contributed to the environmental problem. The rising in plastics demand led to the depletion of petroleum as part of non-renewable fossil fuel since plastics were the petroleum-based material. Some alternatives that have been developed to manage plastic wastes were recycling and energy recovery method. However, there were some drawbacks of the recycling method as it required high labor cost for the separation process and caused water contamination that reduced the process sustainability. Due to these drawbacks, the researchers have diverted their attentions to the energy recovery method to compensate the high energy demand. Through extensive research and technology development, the plastic waste conversion to energy was developed. As petroleum was the main source of plastic manufacturing, the recovery of plastic to liquid oil through pyrolysis process had a great potential since the oil produced had high calorific value comparable with the commercial fuel. This paper reviewed the pyrolysis process for each type of plastics and the main process parameters that influenced the final end product such as oil, gaseous and char. The key parameters that were reviewed in this paper included temperatures, type of reactors, residence time, pressure, catalysts, type of fluidizing gas and its flow rate. In addition, several viewpoints to optimize the liquid oil production for each plastic were also discussed in this paper.

A review on thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of plastic solid waste (PSW)

Abstract: Plastic plays an important role in our daily lives due to its versatility, light weight and low production cost. Plastics became essential in many sectors such as construction, medical, engineering applications, automotive, aerospace, etc. In addition, economic growth and development also increased our demand and dependency on plastics which leads to its accumulation in landfills imposing risk on human health, animals and cause environmental pollution problems such as ground water contamination, sanitary related issues, etc. Hence, a sustainable and an efficient plastic waste treatment is essential to avoid such issues. Pyrolysis is a thermo-chemical plastic waste treatment technique which can solve such pollution problems, as well as, recover valuable energy and products such as oil and gas. Pyrolysis of plastic solid waste (PSW) has gained importance due to having better advantages towards environmental pollution and reduction of carbon footprint of plastic products by minimizing the emissions of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide compared to combustion and gasification. This paper presents the existing techniques of pyrolysis, the parameters which affect the products yield and selectivity and identify major research gaps in this technology. The influence of different catalysts on the process as well as review and comparative assessment of pyrolysis with other thermal and catalytic plastic treatment methods, is also presented.

Waste tyre pyrolysis – A review

Abstract: This review deals with the state-of-the-art of waste tyre pyrolysis for the first time in literature. Pyrolysis has been addressed as an attractive thermochemical process to tackle the waste tyre disposal problem while allowing energy recovery. Pyrolysis enables the separation of carbon black from tyres and the volatile matter released (condensable and non-condensable compounds) has the potential of renewable energy recovery given the significant proportion of natural rubber present in the tyre. Given this waste-to-energy pathway, a comprehensive review has been carried out in order to show the effects of the main process conditions (heating rate, temperature, pressure, carrier gas flow rate and type, volatiles residence time and pyrolysis time) on the physicochemical properties and distributions of the resulting products (gas, liquid and solid fractions). It has also been reviewed the influence of the size and composition of the feedstock. All reported results have been framed regarding the type of reactor as well as the experimental conditions used to avoid contradictions among the large number of publications on the subject. It is shown that the occurrence of secondary reactions is very sensitive to the interaction of the aforementioned variables. Also, the main properties of the pyrolytic products are pointed out. The liquid and gaseous fractions obtained are a valuable fuel source; while the solid fraction (char) has the recovery potential of low- grade carbon black or as carbon adsorbent after applying an activation step. Special attention has been given to the liquid fraction, highlighting its properties as alternative fuel in compression ignition engines.

Pyrolysis of waste tyres: a review.

Abstract: Approximately 1.5 billion tyres are produced each year which will eventually enter the waste stream representing a major potential waste and environmental problem. However, there is growing interest in pyrolysis as a technology to treat tyres to produce valuable oil, char and gas products. The most common reactors used are fixed-bed (batch), screw kiln, rotary kiln, vacuum and fluidised-bed. The key influence on the product yield, and gas and oil composition, is the type of reactor used which in turn determines the temperature and heating rate. Tyre pyrolysis oil is chemically very complex containing aliphatic, aromatic, hetero-atom and polar fractions. The fuel characteristics of the tyre oil shows that it is similar to a gas oil or light fuel oil and has been successfully combusted in test furnaces and engines. The main gases produced from the pyrolysis of waste tyres are H(2), C(1)-C(4) hydrocarbons, CO(2), CO and H(2)S. Upgrading tyre pyrolysis products to high value products has concentrated on char upgrading to higher quality carbon black and to activated carbon. The use of catalysts to upgrade the oil to a aromatic-rich chemical feedstock or the production of hydrogen from waste tyres has also been reported. Examples of commercial and semi-commercial scale tyre pyrolysis systems show that small scale batch reactors and continuous rotary kiln reactors have been developed to commercial scale.

Production, characterization and performance of biodiesel as an alternative fuel in diesel engines – A review

Abstract: Due to the finite stock of fossil fuels and its negative impact on the environment, many countries across the world are now leaning toward renewable sources energies like solar energy, wind energy, biofuel, hydropower, geothermal and ocean energy to ensure energy for the countries development security. Biodiesel is one kind of biofuel that is renewable, biodegradable and has similar properties of fossil diesel fuel. The aim of this paper is to provide the substantial information on biodiesel to the researchers, engineers and policy makers. To achieve the goal, this paper summarizes the information on biofuel development, feedstocks around the world, oil extraction technic, biodiesel production processes. Furthermore, this paper will also discuss the advantages of biodiesel compared to fossil fuel. Finally, the combustion behavior of biodiesel in an internal combustion engine is discussed and it will help the researchers and policy maker and manufacturer. To determine the future and goal of automotive technology the study found that, feedstock selection for biodiesel production is very important as it associates 75% production cost. Moreover, the test of fuel properties is very important before using in the engine which depends on the type of feedstocks, origin country, and production process. Most of the researchers reported that the use of biodiesel in diesel engine reduces engine power slightly but reduces the harmful emission significantly. Finally, the study concludes that biodiesel has the potential to be used as a diesel fuel substitute in diesel engines to solve the energy and environment crisis.