Engine emissions and combustion analysis of biodiesel from East African countries

Environmental, availability and financial problems associated with fossil fuels encourage the manufacture and use of biodiesel. In this study, vegetable oil was extracted from Jatropha curcas seeds sourced from Kenya and Tanzania. A two-step acid-base catalytic transesterification process was used to produce biodiesel because of the amount of free fatty acids present in the oil. The test rig used in the experiments was an Audi, 1.9-litre, turbocharged direct injection, compression ignition engine. Emissions were measured using an Horiba emission analyser system while combustion data was collected by a data acquisition system, from which cylinder pressure and rate of heat release of the test engine in every crank angle were calculated. The two biodiesels showed better emission characteristics than the fossil diesel included in the tests for comparison purposes. Cylinder pressure and heat release of the biodiesel were also within acceptable ranges. However, the emission and combustion characteristics differed between the two biodiesels - a result likely related to their different origins. These findings prove that the source of biodiesel is an important factor to consider.

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Main Author: Maina,Paul
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Academy of Science of South Africa 2014
Online Access:http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0038-23532014000200012
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spelling oai:scielo:S0038-235320140002000122014-05-21Engine emissions and combustion analysis of biodiesel from East African countriesMaina,Paul biodiesel combustion characteristics emissions fuel Jatropha Environmental, availability and financial problems associated with fossil fuels encourage the manufacture and use of biodiesel. In this study, vegetable oil was extracted from Jatropha curcas seeds sourced from Kenya and Tanzania. A two-step acid-base catalytic transesterification process was used to produce biodiesel because of the amount of free fatty acids present in the oil. The test rig used in the experiments was an Audi, 1.9-litre, turbocharged direct injection, compression ignition engine. Emissions were measured using an Horiba emission analyser system while combustion data was collected by a data acquisition system, from which cylinder pressure and rate of heat release of the test engine in every crank angle were calculated. The two biodiesels showed better emission characteristics than the fossil diesel included in the tests for comparison purposes. Cylinder pressure and heat release of the biodiesel were also within acceptable ranges. However, the emission and combustion characteristics differed between the two biodiesels - a result likely related to their different origins. These findings prove that the source of biodiesel is an important factor to consider.Academy of Science of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Science v.110 n.3-4 20142014-02-01journal articletext/htmlhttp://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0038-23532014000200012en
institution SCIELO
collection OJS
country Sudáfrica
countrycode ZA
component Revista
access En linea
databasecode rev-scielo-za
tag revista
region África del Sur
libraryname SciELO
language English
format Digital
author Maina,Paul
spellingShingle Maina,Paul
Engine emissions and combustion analysis of biodiesel from East African countries
author_facet Maina,Paul
author_sort Maina,Paul
title Engine emissions and combustion analysis of biodiesel from East African countries
title_short Engine emissions and combustion analysis of biodiesel from East African countries
title_full Engine emissions and combustion analysis of biodiesel from East African countries
title_fullStr Engine emissions and combustion analysis of biodiesel from East African countries
title_full_unstemmed Engine emissions and combustion analysis of biodiesel from East African countries
title_sort engine emissions and combustion analysis of biodiesel from east african countries
description Environmental, availability and financial problems associated with fossil fuels encourage the manufacture and use of biodiesel. In this study, vegetable oil was extracted from Jatropha curcas seeds sourced from Kenya and Tanzania. A two-step acid-base catalytic transesterification process was used to produce biodiesel because of the amount of free fatty acids present in the oil. The test rig used in the experiments was an Audi, 1.9-litre, turbocharged direct injection, compression ignition engine. Emissions were measured using an Horiba emission analyser system while combustion data was collected by a data acquisition system, from which cylinder pressure and rate of heat release of the test engine in every crank angle were calculated. The two biodiesels showed better emission characteristics than the fossil diesel included in the tests for comparison purposes. Cylinder pressure and heat release of the biodiesel were also within acceptable ranges. However, the emission and combustion characteristics differed between the two biodiesels - a result likely related to their different origins. These findings prove that the source of biodiesel is an important factor to consider.
publisher Academy of Science of South Africa
publishDate 2014
url http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0038-23532014000200012
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