612 J SCI IND RES VOL 71 SEPTEMBER 2012

Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research

Vol. 71, September 2012, pp. 612-615
*Author for correspondence
E-mail:ruggers955@yahoo.co.in
Experimental study of using hybrid vegetable oil blends in diesel engine
S Prabhakar
1
*, K Annamalai
2
and Isaac JoshuaRamesh Lalvani
3
Department of Automobile Engineering, MIT Campus, Anna University, Chennai
Received 11 October 2011; revised 02 August 2012; accepted 03 August 2012
This study presents utilizing hybrid vegetable oil from Pongamia pinnata and Madhuca indica as an alternative diesel fuel.
Raw pongamia oil and mahua oil were mixed (50:50) for preparing hybrid vegetable oil (HVO). A 20% blend of methyl ester of
pongamia oil (MEOP), 20% blend of methyl ester of mahua oil (MEOM) and 20% blend of methyl ester of hybrid vegetable oil
(MEHVO) with 80% of neat diesel were used as a fuel in diesel engine. A 20% blend of MEHVO with 80% of diesel gave
competitive performance nearing diesel. In MEHVO blend, HC, CO is reduced, however CO
2
and NOx emission is slightly
increased when compared to pure diesel.
Keywords: Esterification, Hybrid vegetable oil, Madhuca indica, Pongamia pinnata, Transesterification
Introduction
Rudolf Diesel
1
tested peanut oil as fuel for engine
for the first time in August 10, 1893. Biodiesel is
renewable, biodegradable, non toxic and has very close
property to that of diesel fuel
2-6
. It is an oxygenated fuel
made from various feedstock by conversion of
triglyceride fats to methyl, ethyl, butyl and propyl esters
via transesterification
7,8
. India is rich in forest resources
having a wide range of trees, which yield a significant
quantity of oil yielding seeds
9
. Different types of edible
vegetable oils and biodiesels as substitutes for diesel fuels
are considered in different countries depending on
climate and soil conditions
10
. Production of non-edible
oils in India is as follows: mahua, 180; sal, 100; karanja,
55; kusum, 25; and ratanjyot, 15 kt/y. Mahua (Madhuca
indica) oil is a nonedible oil available in plenty in India.
M. latifolia is a medium sized to large deciduous tree,
distributed in South India, and evergreen forests. It is
propagating either by itself or its own seeds
11,12
. Oils
and fats can be converted into biodiesel by
transesterification, blending, micro-emulsions and
pyrolysis; transesterification being the most commonly
used method
13,14
. Some studies are available on biodiesel
from some of the non-edible oils
15-18
. Mahua kernels are
70% of seed by weight. Poorly stored mahua kernels
yield oils with only up to 30% free fatty acid (FFA)
19
.
Pongamia oil is a non edible oil extracted from seeds of
Pongamia pinnata (L) Pierre, commonly known as
Karanja in Assam. Commercial productions of seeds start
from 10 years onwards of plantation and a full-grown
tree may yield up to100 kg or even more fresh seeds per
annum up to 60-70 years
20
. Various possibilities of using
pongamia oil as a fuel have been investigated
21-23
.
Transterfication of vegetable oil gives better fuel
properties
24
. Biodiesel from mahua oil shows no corrosion
on piston metal and piston liner whereas biodiesel from
Jatropha curcas has slight corrosive effect on piston
liner
25
. Although heat of combustion of methyl esters is
slightly lower than that of petro-diesel, there is no engine
adjustment and no loss in efficiency
26
. Methyl esters are
clean burning fuel with no sulfur emission, non-corrosive
and produced at low pressure and low temperature
conditions
27
.
This study presents preparation of methyl esters of
pongamia oil (MEPO), mahua oil (MEMO) and hybrid
vegetable oil (MEHVO) using esterification followed by
transesterification, and evaluated fuel quality as well as
engine operation using MEPO, MEMO, MEHVO.
Experimental Section
Transesterification Process
To crude vegetable oil (1 l), a known amount of
catalyst [NAOH 8-10 g (1 wt%)], dissolved in required
amount of methanol, was added. During experiments,
temperature (45 or 60C as desired) was maintained,
and pressure and impeller speed were kept constant.
Samples were taken into reactor flask and allowed
613 PRABHAKAR et al: STUDY OF HYBRID VEGETABLE OIL BLENDS IN DIESEL ENGINE
glycerin to settle down at the bottom. After removal of
glycerine, oil (700-950 ml) from reactor was collected
and washed with water (500-2000 ml) to remove
unreactive base, glycerin, and trace amount of soap.
Sample is collected into a glass cup, wherein 500 ml of
water was added. An ortho-phosphoric acid (5-10 drops)
was added into it to avoid soap formation. Using air
bubbles, above mixture was washed. This process was
repeated till clear water is seen in the mixture. amount
of glycerin collected (200-350 ml) is based on methanol
ratio with respect to oil. In present study, 20% of MEPO,
20% of MEMO, and 20% of MEHVO with 80% of neat
diesel blends were used.
Experimental Setup
Engine used was kirloskar SV1, single cylinder, four
stroke, constant speed, vertical, water cooled, high speed
compression ignition diesel engine (Fig. 1). Kirloskar
engine was mounted on the ground. Test engine was
directly coupled to an eddy current dynamometer with
suitable switching and control facility. Liquid fuel flow
rate was measured on volumetric basis using a burette
and a stopwatch. Engine specifications were as follows:
bore & stroke, 87.5 x 110 mm; compression ratio,
17.5: 1; speed, 1800 rpm; capacity, 0.661 l; fuel timing,
27 by spill (btdc); clearance vol, 37.8 cc; and rated
power, 8 hp.
Testing Procedure
Engine performance and emission characteristics
were taken with neat diesel and used as base reading.
Then engine performance and emission characteristics
were taken for 20% blend of MEOP, 20% blend of
MEMO and 20% blend of MEHVO with 80% of diesel
is used as a fuel. Experiments were conducted for all
above methyl esters of biodiesel with diesel.
Results and Discussion
Engine Performance: Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), Specific
Fuel Consumption (SFC) and Total Fuel Consumption (TFC)
Thermal efficiency of methyl esters is found lesser
than diesel (Fig. 2a), due to lower heating value and higher
Fig. 1Experimental setup
Fig. 2For methyl esters of mahua (MEOM), pongamia (MEOP)
and hybrid vegetable oil (MEHVO), variation of brake power
(BP) with respect to: a) brake thermal efficiency (BTE); b) special
fuel consumption (SFC); and c) total fuel consumption (TFC)
a)
b)
c)
BP, kW
BP, kW
BP, kW
B
T
E
,

%
S
F
C
,

k
g
/
K
w
-
h
T
F
C
,

k
g
/
h
614 J SCI IND RES VOL 71 SEPTEMBER 2012
oxygen content of vegetable oil. However, BTE of
MEHVO is closer to diesel, due to lowered viscosity. As
SFC was calculated on weight basis, higher densities
resulted in higher values for BSFC. As density of
MEHVO is lower than other esters and close to diesel,
trend is very close to diesel (Fig. 2b). TFC of MEPO,
MEMO and MEHVO are higher than diesel due to higher
specific gravity (Fig. 2c). As specific gravity of MEHVO
is lesser than other methyl esters, TFC is less and close
to diesel.
Emissions of Unburnt Hydrocarbon (UBHC), Carbon Monoxide
(CO), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) and Carbon di-Oxide (CO
2
)
A reduction of 31% in HC emission was observed in
methyl esters due to presence of oxygen compared to
diesel (Fig. 3a). Oxygen promotes combustion processes,
in turn reduces UBHC emissions compared to diesel.
Also, reduction of CO emission was observed in case of
methyl esters compared to diesel (Fig. 3b). However,
NOx and CO
2
emission were higher in case of methyl
esters than diesel. Improved combustion leads to
increased peak cycle temperature, which in turn
increases NOx. Presence of oxygen in molecular chain
of esters may also be the reason for increase in NOx
and CO
2
.
Conclusions
After transesterification of hybrid vegetable oil,
kinematic viscosity and specific gravity is reduced while
calorific value is increased. For all methyl esters of
vegetable oils, CO
2
and NOx emission were increased
with slight power loss and emissions of HC and CO
reduced. Thus 20% MEHVO with 80% diesel blend can
be used in existing diesel engines without engine
modification.
Acknowledgement
Authors thank DST, Govt of India, New Delhi for
financial support for this research work.
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