Current Progress of Jatropha Curcas Commoditisation as Biodiesel Feedstock: A Comprehensive Review

This article looks at the national and global actors, social networks, and narratives that have influenced Jatropha’s worldwide acceptability as a biofuel crop. Jatropha Curcas is a genus of around 175 succulent shrubs and trees in the Euphorbiaceae family (some of which are deciduous, such as Jatropha Curcas L.). It’s a drought-tolerant perennial that thrives in poor or marginal soil and produces a large amount of oil per hectare. It is easy to grow, has a fast growth rate, and can generate seeds for up to 50 years. Jatropha Curcas has been developed as a unique and promising tropical plant for augmenting renewable energy sources due to its various benefits. It is deserving of being recognised as the only competitor in terms of concrete and intangible environmental advantages. Jatropha Curcas is a low-cost biodiesel feedstock with good fuel properties and more oil than other species. It is a non-edible oilseed feedstock. Thus it will have no impact on food prices or the food vs fuel debate. Jatropha Curcas emits fewer pollutants than diesel and may be used in diesel engines with equivalent performance. Jatropha Curcas also makes a substantial contribution to the betterment of rural life. The plant may also provide up to 40% oil yield per seed based on weight. This study looks at the features characteristics of Jatropha Curcas as biodiesel feedstock and performance, and emissions of internal combustion engine that operates on this biodiesel fuel.

Recent Progress on the Implementation of Renewable Biodiesel Fuel for Automotive and Power Plants: Raw Materials Perspective

The issue of energy availability and the impact of global warming has become a specific concern for researchers in various countries in the world. This condition opens up space for potential alternative energy sources that are newer and more sustainable. Biodiesel as a sustainable alternative energy can be applied directly to industrial and automotive fields and even as a fuel source for power plants. This study provides a specific overview of the use and development of biodiesel as a fuel source for renewable power generation based on material sources. An essential part of this study discusses the development of various combinations of biodiesel mixtures and their applications in various types of industries. The physical and chemical characteristics of various types of biodiesel have been studied for their use in various parts of the world. The use of biodiesel has a positive effect on reducing emissions and pollutants, but a particular method is needed to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness, both technically and nontechnically. However, the utilization accompanied by optimizing the characteristics and parameters of biodiesel shows that this alternative energy is feasible and can be applied as a renewable fuel source for automotive industry and power generation in the future.

Performance and emission characteristics of diesel engine using ether additives: A review

Pressure on alternative fuels and strict environmental regulations are driving a strategic shift in the efficient use of renewable biofuels. One of the promising biofuel candidates recently interested by scholars is a biological or organic additive that is added into diesel or biodiesel fuel to improve engine performance and reduce pollutant emissions. With efforts to improve efficiency and combustion quality in cylinders, combustion characteristics, flame structure and emission formation mechanism in compression ignition (CI) engines using blended fuel with organic additives have been studied on the effect of additive properties on the combustion behaviour. In this review, the physicochemical properties of typical organic additives such as ethers compounds and their effects on engine performance and emission characteristics have been discussed and evaluated based on conclusions of recent relevant literature. The results of the analysis revealed the prospect of using ether additives to improve combustion in cylinders and reduce pollutant emissions from CI engines. Obviously, the presence of higher oxygen content, lower viscosity and density, and higher cetane number resulted in a positive change in the combustion dynamics as well as a chain of mechanisms for the formation of pollutant precursors in the cylinder. Therefore, ether additives have a significant contribution to the sustainable energy strategy of the transportation sector in the next period when internal combustion engines still dominate in the competition for energy system choices equipped on vehicles.

Combustion Characteristics and NO Formation Characteristics Modeling in a Compression Ignition Engine Fuelled with Diesel Fuel and Biofuel

Compression ignition engine modeling draws great attention due to its high efficiency. However, it is still very difficult to model compression ignition engine due to its complex combustion phenomena. In this work, we perform a theoretical study of steam injection being applied into a single-cylinder four-strokes direct-injection and naturally aspirated compression ignition engine running with diesel and biodiesel fuels in order to improve the performance and reduce NO emissions by using a two-zone thermodynamic combustion model. The results obtained from biodiesel fuel are compared with the ones of diesel fuel in terms of performance, adiabatic flame temperatures, and NO emissions. The steam injection method could decrease NO emissions and improve the engine performances. The results showed that the NO formation characteristics considerably decreased and the performance significantly increased with the steam injection method. The relative errors for computed nitric oxide concentration values of biodiesel fuel and diesel fuel in comparison to the measured ones are 2.8% and 1.6%, respectively. The experimental and theoretical results observed show the highly satisfactory coincidences.

Experimental Study of the Corrosiveness of Ternary Blends of Biodiesel Fuel

Biodiesel is an alternative renewable resource to petroleum-based diesel. The aim of using biodiesel is to reduce environmental pollution and combat global warming. Biodiesel application in compression ignition engines has shown its compatibility with better combustion characteristics and high engine performance. Many advantages can be obtained by using biodiesel, including reducing exhaust gases, reducing air toxicity, providing energy security, and being biodegradable. However, biodiesel’s disadvantage involves oxidation stability, corrosion, degradation, and compatibility with other metallic materials. The present study investigates the corrosive behavior of the ternary blend (waste cooking-Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel-diesel) fuel that occurs in contact with mild steel and stainless steel 316. The observation study for mild steel and stainless steel 316 material under the static immersion method was performed for 7,200 h and 14,400 h, respectively, at room temperature (25°C–30°C). In every 720 and 1,440 h of immersion time, the coupon’s profile was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/electron-dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and the mass loss was observed, for corrosivity investigation. Based on the obtained results, the average corrosion rate of mild steel and stainless steel 316 is 0.6257 and 0.0472 nm/year at 7,200 h, respectively; the difference in corrosion rate for these metallic materials is approximately 92.46%. The degradation of the fuel properties such as kinematic viscosity, density, refractive index, and acid value was monitored. In this study, stainless steel 316 was more resistant to corrosion attack with some micro pitting and showed better compatibility with the ternary blend than mild steel. The regression analysis and the correlation of corrosion rate were studied.

Effects of Different Biodiesel-Diesel Blend Fuel on Combustion and Emission Characteristics of a Diesel Engine

In this paper, biodiesel was used as an alternative fuel to investigate the combustion and emission characteristics of a four-stroke diesel engine, in terms of cylinder pressure, heat release rate, cylinder temperature, brake thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption, nitrogen oxide, soot, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbon. Firstly, a diesel engine cylinder model was developed by AVL-Fire software coupled with CHEMKIN code to simulate the injection and combustion of biodiesel with a kinetic mechanism with 106 species and 263 reactions. Then, the simulation model was validated by experimental results under 100% and 50% load conditions and used to simulate the combustion process of a diesel engine fueled with pure diesel, biodiesel, and biodiesel–diesel blends with 10%, 20%, 30% biodiesel by volume, respectively. The results showed that the brake specific fuel consumption increased with the increase of mixed biodiesel ratio. The brake specific fuel consumptions of B10, B20 and B30 increased by 1.1%, 2.3% and 3.3%, respectively, compared with that of D100. The combustion and emission characteristics of the diesel engine are improved. Therefore, biodiesel can be used as an alternative fuel for the diesel engine. The diesel–biodiesel fuel can improve the combustion and emission characteristics of the diesel engine.

Corrosion of brass subjected to cast-off cooking oil blended with diesel

With the aim of leaving a smaller ecological footprint and to develop fuels which will change the energy needs of the future in a sustainable manner, the present study aims at investigating the corrosion phenomenon of brass using biodiesel fuel from cast-off cooking oil (CCO) in various blending ratios with commercial diesel (5 %, 10 % and 20 %) on brass. The mechanism of corrosion of brass in biodiesel has not been adequately investigated, and in the literature there is still a drop in the knowledge of the corrosion of brass from which many diesel engine parts are made. The corrosion rate of brass has been evaluated by mass loss and electrochemical methods. As a complementary technique, conductivity was monitored before and after each test. Surface morphology was examined by optical microscope. The surface morphology of brass samples in NaCl was coated in dark deposits that indicated corrosion. Some pitting was found in O99, and no significant change was found in oil-diesel blends. There is a positive correlation between the corrosivity and conductivity of the test media. The wettability studies also assisted in determining the non-corrosive nature of biodiesel.