Abstract

Due to rapid price increase in petroleum fuels, there is a growing demand for the search for sustainable,
environment friendly and cost effective alternative substitute renewable fuel. Out of various available
sources straight vegetable oils (SVOs) from edible oil and non-edible oil resources abundantly
available are selected

Major form of bio-fuel remains biodiesel and bioethanol which are produced from vegetable
oiland starchy contents respectively all these are only possible if the right physical and chemical
processes are being put intoconsideration with possibility of blending with fossil fuels because
there are Limitations in usingvegetable oil and ethanol directly as transportation fuel.
In the review paper, such limitationswill be described in detail with necessary engine modification

Table of contents
Abstract .. 1

Table of contents 2

1: introduction .3

2: Using vegetable oil as a diesel fuel 4

3 : what is vegetable oil ..5

4: Limitation of using vegetable oil ...6

4.1 limitations based on physical properties
4.2 limitations based on structural and chemical properties
4.3 other limitations

5: problems with using ethanol as a transportation oil .......9

6 : limitation of using ethanol ....10

6.1 limitations based on physical and combustion properties
6.2 other limitations

7 : Possibilities of Engine Modification ....12

7.1 Modification of Gasoline engine
7.2 Modification of Diesel engine
8 : conclusions .16

9 : References ..17

1: Introduction
Biofuels are referred to liquid, gas and solid fuels predominantly produced from biomass. A variety of fuels can
be produced from biomass such as ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, hydrogen and methane.
Biofuels can be solid, such as fuelwood, charcoal, and wood pellets; or liquid, such as ethanol, biodiesel and
pyrolysis oils; or gaseous, such as biogas (methane).

Biofuels are important because they replace petroleum fuels. Between 1980 and 2005, worldwide production
of biofuels increased by an order of magnitude from 4.4 to 50.1 billion litres , with further dramatic increases in future.
Classification of Biofuels
Biofuels are broadly classified as primary and secondary biofuels.

The primary biofuels are used in an unprocessed form, primarily for heating, cooking or electricity production such
as fuelwood, wood chips and pellets, etc.

The secondary biofuels are produced by processing of biomass e.g. ethanol, biodiesel, DME, etc. that can be used in
vehicles and various industrial processes.

The secondary biofuels are further devided in to first, second and third generation biofuels on the basis of raw
material and technology used for their production

Let us first speak about using of vegetable oil as a diesel fuel .

2: Using Vegetable oil as a diesel fuel

How it all started

A very clever man called Rudolf Diesel invented a new type of engine that operated at a higher compression ratio and
didn't have spark plugs. The first thing that he noticed was that it was about 30% more efficient than a petrol engine and, also,
he could run it on vegetable oil! Very quickly, the engine became adapted for use with fossil fuels since they were,
and still are, very much cheaper than vegetable oil and Rudolf's second idea became forgotten.
Then along came Tony Blair and his chancellor of the exchequer, Gordon Brown, and they changed the fuel duties on
fuels so that vegetable oil became a viable fuel source in the UK. Other countries, such as Germany, have been using
vegetable oil as a fuel for many years and have developed sophisticated methods of adapting engines and processing fuels.
Traditionally, biodiesel is the label attached to 'methyl esters of fatty acids', which is basically vegetable oil reacted with
methanol, but the British government has broadened the scope of the definition of biodiesel to include straight vegetable
oil or SVO so opening the field to use relatively unprocessed oils with much less processing waste and energy consumption.
Environmental campaigners are pushing for the greater use of sustainable fuels which have less harmful effect on the planet biodiesel, in it's most unprocessed state, is one of the best options that we have.

3: What is vegetable oil?

Vegetable oil comes in very many shapes and sizes, with varying properties. The most important consideration is melting
point. The actual vegetable oil molecule is composed of three long carbon chains on a glycerol 'backbone' and it's properties
are determined by the individual 'fatty acid' chains. Rapeseed oil, for example, may be composed of different combinations
of about 6 different fatty acids and each one of these creates a unique molecule, with unique properties. Some waste oil
contains 'free fatty acid', which is a result of water in fried food reacting with the triglyceride to split it up into it's four
components. Waste oil also contains varying amounts of animal and fish oils which may be solid at room temperature in their
natural state. As a breast of chicken, for example, is fried, oil diffuses out of the chicken and is replaced by oil from the fryer
and as more and more chicken is fried, the concentration of chicken oil increases, thickening the oil until it may become solid.
There are many different types of vegetable oil and each one has unique properties. The best one for use as a fuel is
undoubtedly rapeseed oil as it is relatively thin, cheap to produce and easy to get hold of. A second best would be sunflower
oil. If you go into a supermarket in the UK, rapeseed oil is the stuff in the cheap plastic bottles which sometimes has little
yellow flowers on it.

Can Vegetable Oils be used as diesel?

Oils and fats are composed of molecules called triglycerides.

Each triglyceride is composed of fatty acid three long-chains fatty acids of 8-22 carbons attached to a glyceride backbone.
Compared to No. 2 diesel fuel, all of the vegetable oils are much more viscous, are much more reactive to oxygen, and have
higher cloud point and pour point temperatures.
Diesel engines with vegetable oils offer acceptable engine performance and emissions for short-term operation. Long-term
operation results in operational and durability problems.

4: Limitations of Vegetable Oil Compared to Biodiesel.

4.1 : Limitation Based on Physical and Combustional Properties
Viscosity :The viscosity of diesel fuel is an important property which impactsthe performance of fuel injection systems.
ASTM D 975 requires a kinematicviscosity range of 1.9 minimum to 4.1 maximum mm2/S at 40C, for No. 2diesel fuels
(note that the term mm2/S replaces the former term of centistokes [cst]).The viscosity of vegetable oil is around 35 cst
which is too high for the engine. It causes too much pump resistance filter damageandadversely affect fuel spray patterns.

Volatility:This is the property of changing readily from liquid to vapour According to ASTM D 975,
the volatility of normal diesel the range for No. 2grades of diesel fuel is 282C to 338C. This limits the level of high
boilingpoint components that could lead to increased engine depositsVegetable oil has a relatively low volatility
which leads to more enginedeposit
Flash point :The flashpoint is the lowest fuel temperature at which the vapour above a fuel sample will momentarily ignite
under the prescribed too
Testconditions. For No. 2 diesel grades, the flashpoint is a minimum of 52C. For vegetable oil,
the flash point is 220C which is too high.

Low temperature operability :the cloud point and pour point of a vegetable oil is high compare to diesel. Therefore, vegetable oil cannot work
at low temperature weather condition.
4.2 : Limitations based on chemical and structural properties

Sulfur content :

It should be Low
not enough to control emission equipment
Water and Sediment Content:-

Filter plugging
injector wear
increased corrosion
Ash Content

Injector and fuel pump wear

piston and ring wear Engine deposit
Carbon Residue

Fuel system deposit

Combustion Chamber deposit

4.3 : Other limitations

Following are some other limitations of straight vegetable oil.

Carbon Deposits:
Excessive carbon deposits and contamination of enginelubricant both result from SVO's higher boiling point
relative to diesel orblended biodiesel fuels. U.S. Department of Energy studies show prolongeduse dramatically
reduces engine life because of this property. The over-wetting caused by high viscosity exacerbates carbon
buildup and lubricationcontamination
Catalytic Converter Damage:Modern clean diesel engines use catalyticconverters and fuel traps. SVO's higher boiling point causes saturation
of these components and can poison the catalytic converter with long-term use.

Clogged Fuel Pumps:Both the increased viscosity and higher boiling points of SVO lead to fuel pump clogging. While short-term use
was deemed effectivein terms of engine performance and emissions, long-term use was deemed ahazard to the
durability of the fuel pump and other fuel system components

Before we know the limitations of using ethanol as transportation fuel

let us first know the problems with ethanol,
5: problems with using ethanol as a transportation oil
there are several problems with the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel. First, it is costly to produce and use.
At 1987 prices, it cost 2.5-3.75 times as much as gasoline. The United States Department of the Environment (DOE)
is funding a research program aimed at decreasing the cost to $0.60/gallon by the year 2000; in the last decade or so,
the cost has dropped from $3.60/gallon to $1.27/gallon. There are also costs associated with modifying vehicles to use
methanol or gasohol, but these costs vary, depending on the number of vehicles produced.

Another problem is that ethanol has a smaller energy density than gasoline. It takes about 1.5 times more ethanol than
gasoline to travel the same distance. However, with new technologies and dedicated ethanol-engines, this is expected to
drop to 1.25 times.

An important consideration with ethanol is that it requires vast amounts of land to grow the crops needed to generate fuel.
The process for conversion of crops to ethanol is relatively inefficient because of the large water content of the plant
material. There is legitimate concern, especially in developing countries, that using land for ethanol production will
compete directly with food production.

Another problem is that ethanol burning may increase emission of certain types of pollutants. Like any
combustion process, some of the ethanol fuel would come out the tailpipe unburned. This is not a major
problem since ethanol emissions are relatively non-toxic. However, some of the ethanol will be only partially
oxidized and emitted as acetylaldehyde, which reacts in air to eventually contribute to the formation of ozone.
Current research is investigating means to reduce acetylaldehyde emissions by decreasing the engine warm-up period.

Finally, ethanol production, like all processes, generates waste products that must be disposed. The waste product from ethanol
production, called swill, can be used as soilconditioner on land, but is extremely toxic to aquatic life.

6 : Limitation of Ethanol as transportation fuel

Ethanol is an alcohol-based fuel made by fermenting and distilling starch crops, such ascorn. It can also be made
from "cellulosic biomass" such as trees and grasses. The use of ethanol can reduce our dependence upon foreign oil
and reduce greenhouse gasemissions. A pure ethanol is the one with 95% ethanol It must be noted that the 95% cannot
be use directly in gasoline engine without beenblended with gasoline (between 10-85 percent value, E10-E85) or necessary
engine modification
6.1 : Limitations Based on Physical and Combustion Properties.

The following table shows the physical and combustion properties of ethanol :
Based on the above properties the following limitations can be deducted

Driving ability of ethanol is lower.

Lower per liter energy value (EV)

Takes more to drive the same distance
Consumers have to fill their cars more often and pay more for ethanol fuel
Ethanol can absorb water & if water enters the fuel tank
It dilutes ethanol, reducing its value as a fuel;It causes problems with corrosion and phase separation in
the gasoline mixture

Ethanol dissolves almost everything:-

It absorbs and carries dirt inside the fuel lines and fuel tank, thus contaminatingthe car engine system
Low flash point 13 14c

6.2 : Other Limitations

Other limitation includes:
Instability of the micro-emulsion (separation of ethanol phase

Another problem is that ethanol has a smaller energy density than gasoline. Ittakes about 1.5 times more ethanol than
gasoline to travel the same distance However, with new technologies and dedicated ethanol-engines, this is expectedto
drop to 1.25 times.

Another problem is that ethanol burning may increase emission of certain typesof pollutants. Like any combustion
process, some of the ethanol fuel would comeout the tailpipe unburned. This is not a major problem since ethanol
emissionsare relatively non-toxic. However, some of the ethanol will be only partiallyoxidized and emitted as
acetylaldehyde, which reacts in air to eventuallycontribute to the formation of ozone. Current research is
investigating means toreduce acetylaldehyde emissions by decreasing the engine warm-up period

7 : Possibilities of Engine Modification

After we know the limitation of using straight vegetable oil and ethanol as Transportation fuel there is one question
Can vegetable oil harm the engine?
Yes it can. It must be used within sensible limits and pushing these limits for convenience or cost will cause long term,
or even immediate problems. Some of the conclusions that people have made regarding the use of vegetable oil as a
diesel fuel have been contradictory and so there are no guarantees to be given. Some of the motor industry test labs
found that vegetable oil accelerates coking of the engine, others found it had no detrimental effect in long term trials.
One of the problems with this research is that none of the engines were used with 2 tank systems and so they were started
from cold on vegetable 100% vegetable oil, which is a definite disadvantage. A recent report from Ricardo has shown that
older, indirect engines give good performance statistics when running with a two tank system, with increased fuel efficiency
and similar emissions when compared with diesel.
In addition to the resources mentioned above, goat industries has a discussion boardthat has highlighted some other
problems that may be encountered. One of the problems that has been discovered through discussion is the effect that hot
vegetable oil can have on the filter cartridge in the fuel system. Some cartridges seem to suffer from deterioration of the glue
that binds the filter cloth to the metal retaining plate, which may be due to the high temperature of the fuel or the high acid
content if waste oil is used. High acid content may also affect some of the engine parts and there has been some mention of
injector needles becoming corroded from people running static electricity generators.
Goat industries has endeavoured to produce high quality information based on extensive research into using vegetable oil
as a fuel for diesel engines. The information published on this web site will enable people to use this fuel safely and protect the
environment. One of our major concerns is that the engine must be protected and that the fuel should not be promoted at the
expense of people's vehicles. Information on some other websites does try to push the limits of sensible use in an effort to
save the planet, but we think that this will only back fire and give vegetable oil a bad name when the news of engines
blowing up filters through.
After we know these things there is another questions
what is the necessary engine modifications we need?
In case of using straight vegetable oil or ethanol, necessary engine modifications mustbe considered. The following explains the
possibilities of modifying an engine for theirusage
7.1 : Gasoline Engine Modification

MAINJET CHANGES
The first thing to alter is the main metering jet in your carburetor. In mostcarburetors, this is a threaded brass plug with
a specific-sized hole drilled through the center of it. This hole is called the main jet orifice, and its diameter dictates
howrich or lean the air/fuel mixture will be when the car is traveling at cruising speedsNaturally, the smaller the hole is,
the less fuel will blend with the air and the leanerthe mixture will be. As the orifice is enlarged, the mixture gets
richerSince alcohol requires a richer air/fuel ratio, it's necessary to bore out the main jetorifice when using ethanol fuel.
The standard jet size in MOTHER's alcohol-powered truck was .056" ... in other words, this was the diameter of the jet
orifice. In order tooperate the engine successfully on alcohol fuel, it's necessary to enlarge this openingby anywhere
from 20 to 40%

IDLE ORIFICE CHANGES

Most carburetors will require additional idle circuit enlargement in order for theengine to run at slowest, or idle, speeds.
This is because the circuit that's fed by themain jet operates fully only when the throttle plate within the throat of
thecarburetor is opened past the idle position. When the plate is in the idle position the air/fuel mixture is allowed to
enter the manifold only through the idle orificeitself ... which, if it isn't large enough, will not provide the needed
amount of air/fuel blend to keep the engine running On some engines, it may only be necessary to loosen the idle mixture
screw at thebase of the carburetor in order to provide the correct amount of fuel, since this threaded shaft has a tapered tip
which allows more mixture to pass as the tip isbacked off. On other engines, it's possible that the seat itself, into which the
taperedscrew extends, must be enlarged in order to accomplish the same thing In most cases, if the seat has to be bored out,
it can be enlarged by 50%, using thesame method of measurement as was detailed in the main jet section. This will allowa
full range of adjustment with the idle mixture screw, even if you should want to goback to gasoline fuel. (When drilling,
be careful not to damage the threads in the carburetor body As a precaution against the idle screw's vibrating loose from its
threaded opening you can shim the idle mixture screw spring with a couple of small lock washers ...this will prevent the screw
from turning even if it's drawn out farther from the seatthan it normally would be .

POWER VALVE CHANGES

Most modern auto carburetors have what is known as a power valve that allows extra fuel to blend with the air/fuel mixture
when the accelerator is depressed, in order to enrich the mixture under load conditions. This vacuum-controlled valve is
spring loaded, and shuts off when it isn't needed in order to conserve fuel The power valve used in the carburetor illustrated is
somewhat difficult to alter and besides, is sufficient for alcohol use in its normal configuration if it's working properly.
However, there are other carburetors - specifically the Holley and Ford (Auto lite or Motor craft) brands - that have easily
replaceable power valves which are available from auto parts stores in various sizes. If you use a power valve with a25%
or so greater flow capacity than the one that originally came with the carburetor, your air/alcohol mixture will be sufficiently
enriched when your engine needs more power.

ACCELERATOR PUMP CHANGES

In addition to a power valve, almost all automotive carburetors utilize an acceleratorpump. This is a mechanically
activated plunger or diaphragm that injects a stream of raw fuel directly down the throat of the carburetor when the
accelerator is suddenly depressed. The fuel is injected through a small orifice located in the throat wall at some point
above the carburetor venturi (the point at which the throat narrows).The reason the accelerator pump is incorporated into
modern carburetors is that as the accelerator is pressed and more air/fuel mixture is drawn into the cylinders some of the
liquid particles in the blend tend to stick to the walls of the intake manifold, effectively leaning out the mixture by the
time it reaches the combustion chambers. The extra squirt of fuel that's added by the accelerator pump makes up for this
initial lean condition In order to adapt your accelerator pump to use alcohol effectively, you'll probably have to enlarge
the size of the injection orifice slightly (anywhere from 10 to 25% is fine ... if you go larger than that, you'll risk the
possibility of altering the pump pressure enough either to turn the fuel stream into a dribble or to empty the pump
reservoir before the pump has made a full stroke).As an alternative to enlarging the hole, you may be able to simply
adjust the stroke length of the pump arm in order to feed more fuel. Most carburetors installed on Ford products already
have a provision for seasonal adjustment, so it's just a matter of putting the pump on its richest setting. Other carburetors, too,
have threadedrods that can be adjusted to accomplish the same thing.

CHOKEALTERATION

Although it's not absolutely necessary to adapt your car's choke system to burn alcohol fuel, it has been our
experience that a manually operated choke is more desirable on an alcohol-powered car. If your vehicle's
engine is already so equipped fine. If not, you can purchase - for about $7.00 from any auto parts store a manual choke conversion kit that will allow virtually any automatic choke to be adapted for manual control
IGNITION TIMING

In order to take advantage of the great antiknock qualities that alcohol fuel provides you'll have to advance the engine's
ignition timing by turning the distributor housingopposite to the direction in which the rotor spins (the housing is held in
place by abolted clamp).Normally, an engine using gasoline has its timing set so the spark occurs at anywherefrom 8 deg
BTDC (Before Top Dead Center) to TDC (Top Dead Cente ). Since alcoholhas a higher "octane" rating, you can advance
the timing considerably more thanthis. (In the case of MOTHER's truck, we adjusted it to operate at approximately 22deg
BTDC without any sign of pre-ignition, even under load.) Of course, care shouldbe taken when you adjust the timing on
your vehicle, since a 22 deg advance mightbe excessive for your car. Remember, it's not safe to be just short of detonation ,
since inaudible knocking can also damage the engine ... the best procedure is to setthe distributor timing at least two degrees
retarded from the point of detonation.

COMPRESSION RATIO CHANGES

Increasing the compression ratio of the engine will be impractical for most people because of the expense and work
involved ... however, this modification will do a great deal to improve engine performance and economy. Just like a
timing advance a compression ratio hike will take advantage of the potential that alcohol has to offer as a fuel. Optimally,
the ratio can be increased to 14- or 15-to-1 ... but even anominal increase - to perhaps 12-to-1, a figure that some
manufacturers have already offered in the past for premium gasoline use - will result in a vast improvement over the
standard 8- or 8.5-to-1 that most manufacturers incorporate into their engines today.

FUEL PREHEATING

In extremely cold climates, it may be necessary to preheat your alcohol fuel before it enters the carburetor float bowl.
This can be accomplished easily by splicing into the fuel feed line - near the point where it passes the upper radiator
hose - and in stallinga fuel heater at this location .

AIR PREHEATING

Most trucks and autos have air filter housings which are designed to allow heated air from around the exhaust manifold
to channel through a duct and enter the carburettor when the engine first starts from a cold state. As the engine warms up,
a flap within the air cleaner "snorkel" shuts off this supply of warm air and allows ambient air from the engine
compartment to enter in its stead This flap is usually either thermostatically or vacuum controlled ... but either way you
may find it helpful during the winter months to leave this valve closed to the cold outside air. This can be done either by
disconnecting the bimetallic there most atspring that controls the flap and installing a small spring of your own that will
holdthe valve in the required position, or - if the flap is vacuum activated - by connecting an existing permanent vacuum
line to its control fitting. (You can, of course, remove the control line entirely, plug it up, and hold the flap closed with a
spring if you wish.

FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS

Since some vehicles are equipped with fuel injection rather than carburetors, we will briefly touch on the use of alcohol with that
system. There are two important factors in a fuel injection setup: injection timing and control jet diameter. Fortunately since
many systems now use an electronically controlled timing sequence injection timing is not critical in a fuel injected engine.
Neither performance nor economy improve substantially by either advancing or retarding the injection timing process Control jet
diameter, on the other hand, is an important factor. If you increase the size of the control jets (which are the equivalent of the
metering jets in acarburetor), the engine will operate well on alcohol fuel. An increase of 15-20% is allthat's necessary to
accomplish the conversion. (Ignition timing should, of course, be advanced as explained previously.)An interesting feature of the
fuel injection system is that it doesn't require any gasoline during the cold weather starting process to fire the engine up. Since the
fuel is injected at a pressure of about 250 PSI, the alcohol fuel is sufficiently vaporized to ignite easily within the combustion
chamber

7.2 : Diesel Engine Modification

To run a diesel engine on straight vegetable oil (SOV) the following modificationsmust be considered.

Preheating the oil, to make it less viscous

Avoiding injector coking by replacing it often

Adding extra engine coolant

Vegetable oil filter

Fuel filter preheater

Thermoswitch
Necessary parts includes3-port solenoid valvesThe fuel return loopCustom-made heated tank
The hose within hose

8 : Conclusions

using vegetable oil and ethanol have advantage like that ( Environmentally friendly , Waste oil is cheaper ,
Smoother engine running - no 'knock , Better lubrication, Less reliance on petro-chemicals,
Enhanced street credibility )
And disadvantage like that (May cause engine coking if misused ,May invalidate vehicle warrantee,
Exhaust smells of chips , Have to pay tax to customs and excise , Harder to start the engine in the morning ,
Will destroy some injector pumps , Only useful in older vehicles)

It is clear that using straight vegetable oil and ethanol as a transportation fuel cannot be directly without an
engine modification which is very important

9 : References
[1]: ME481-Biofuel- Lecture notes
[2]:http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/introduction.html
[3]:http://www.ecomii.com/cars/pros-of-vegetable-oil-fuel
[4]:http://www.greenworld365.com/pros-cons-vegetable-oil-fuel/
[5]:http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_svo.html
[6]:http://science.jrank.org/pages/2576/Ethanol-Disadvantages-ethanol-an-alternative-fuel.html
[7]:https://www.scribd.com/doc/100851765/Biofuel-Limitation-of-Using-Straight-Vegetable-Oil-and-Ethanol-as-Transportation-Fuel
[8]:http://science.jrank.org/pages/2576/Ethanol-Disadvantages-ethanol-an-alternative-fuel.html
[9]:Biofuels - Opportunities and Challenges
[10]:http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ethanol.shtml