1. Effects of Alumina Nanoparticles in
Waste Chicken Fat Biodiesel on the
Operating Characteristics of a CI Engine
Nareshkumar Gurusala, Arul Mozhi Selvan V
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National Institute of Technology:Tiruchirpalli, INDIA

2. Introduction
 The use of bio-fuels is an alternate to fossil fuels because; it is
renewable, non-toxic, biological origin and its green properties. It
contains no aromatics, no-sulphur content and oxygen content of 1012% by weight.
 The biodiesel is produced mainly from vegetable oils such as castor
oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, pomace oil, soybean oil, cotton oil,
hazelnut oil, rubber seed oil, mahua oil, jojoba oil, tobacco seed oil,
rapeseed oil, palm oil, tall oil and waste cooking oil etc.
Major Cost of the
Cost of the Biodiesel Depends on the
Biodiesel Depends on
Feedstock
the Feedstock Cost
http://www.everythingbiodiesel.blogspot.in/

3. Introduction
Low Cost Feed Stocks
Waste Oils
 Used Oils
 Refined Animal Fat
Algae Oil
Sugar Cane Oil
Crude oil prices have a strong
relationship with global economic
activity since 2000
http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/crude-oil-prices-to-continue-governing-indian-economy-growth/1/189387.html

4. Waste Chicken
 As per the Government of India statistics,
approximately 700,000 ton of chicken meat is
consumed every year.
 The feather meat contains fat which varies from 2% to
12%
 Hence, about 77,000 ton of chicken fat is available
The poultry industry in India

5. Poultry Meat Turns into Valuable Bio-Diesel Source
Dr. John Abraham, a research scholar in the Veterinary College and Research Institute (VC&RI), here has
developed processes that can extract bio-diesel from poultry carcases in a cost-effective manner. The project
for his Ph.D. Won four gold medals. According to statistics available with the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and
Animal Sciences University, the daily average mortality rate of egg laying chicken is 0.03 per cent. “On an
average about 4,000 birds die everyday. About 90 per cent of them are disposed of under
unhygienic conditions (thrown in the open),” Dr. Abraham noted. Unscientific methods of disposal
of carcases leads to pollution of ground and surface water, obnoxious odour and health
hazards through indiscriminate breeding of micro organisms and house flies. There are many
incidents of conflicts between the poultry farmers and residents over open disposal of dead birds.
Calculating the annual mortality rate at 12 lakh birds in this district, he realised the opportunity in
the form of extracting fat of dead birds and producing bio-diesel from two different methods. While each
bird weighs about 1.5 kg, fat constitutes 14.5 per cent of the bird’s weight. “Of the two methods,
solvent extraction method makes it possible to extract 97 per cent of the bird’s fat and needs six birds for
extracting a litre of diesel. Sixty-three per cent fat extraction is possible through centrifugal method and
requires 16 birds for producing the same quantity of diesel,” he noted. “The cost of producing a litre of
diesel using centrifugal method is Rs. 35.68 per litre, against the solvent extraction method where it is only
Rs. 22 per litre. Every year, two lakh litres of bio-diesel could be produced with layer birds that die in
poultry farms in Namakkal through solvent extraction. Establishing a solvent extraction plant costs Rs. 2.5
crore, which is more than establishing a centrifugal plant,” he said. Dr. Abraham added that the bio-diesel
could be used as a low-cost blend with diesel at 20 per cent with 80 per cent of diesel, which has been
successfully tested and put to use. The quality assessment of bio-diesel from poultry carcass was done at the
Center of Excellence in Bio-Fuel at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. TANUVAS has applied for a
patent for the processes. Head of the Department of Livestock Production and Management, VC&RI,
Ramesh Saravanakumar, who was the guide for the project, said that waste such as fat collected from
chicken stalls could also be used for producing bio-diesel. “These wastes have a better conversion rate as fat
is directly available and could be of use for large-scale chicken meat processing units by making disposal of
wastes easier,” he added.

6. Biodiesel Production
 The selection of catalyst depends on FFA content of oil.
 The FFA (free fatty acid) content can be determined by using titration
method.
 FFA < 1% Base catalyst is preferred(One Stage Process)
 FFA > 1% Acid catalyst is preferred (Two Stage process)
 FFA content of WCF was found to be 13.8%.
O
O
O
+
C
R
NaOH
NaO
0H
(Free Fatty Acid)
(Sodium
Hydroxide)
+
C
(Soap)
H
H
R
(Water)
 Methanol and ethanol are the alcohols most frequently used in
transesterification process. Methanol was preferred for the study for its
low cost and higher reactivity compared to ethanol.

7. Pre-Treatment Process
 The level of FFA is reduced to desirable (less than 1 percent) in the
presents of catalyst, which is called as pre-treatment process
O
O
+
C
R
R'
OH
OH
(Free Fatty Acid)
R'
C
O
(Alcohol)
O
+
R
H
(Monoester)
Homogeneous Catalyst
• Ferric sulphate
• Sulfonic
• Sulfated zirconia
• Hydrochloric acids
(Water)
Heterogeneous Catalyst
• Sulfuric
H
• Ferric silica etc.
• Problem of waste disposal
• High activity
• Loss of catalyst
• Corrosive nature
• Low cost
• Environment Friendly

8. Photographic View of Steps Involved in Biodiesel Production Process

9. Properties of Fuel
S.No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Properties
Standard
ASTM
Density(kg/m3)
D1298
Kinematic Viscosity ASTM
@ 40°C, cSt
D445
ASTM
Cloud Point, °C
D2500
ASTM
Flash Point, °C
D93
ASTM
Fire Point, °C
D93
ASTM
Pour point, °C
D97
Net calorific value,
ASTM
MJ/kg
D240
Limits
Diesel
WCF
WCFME
860-900
828.1
932
849
1.90-6.00
2.41
5.9820
2.6623
-15 to 5C
0
>130
50
315
170
-
56
320
192
-15 to 10
-6
-
40.456
-5
-6
37.91124
37.642

10. Properties of Fuel
S.No
Properties
Standard
Limits
Diesel
WCF
WCFME
Acid value, mg
KOH/g
9 Saponification
value, mg KOH/g
10 Copper Strip
Corrosion 100°C,
3hr
11
Cetane Index
ASTM
D664
ASTM
D5558
≤0.80
0.07
0.8976
0.25
55.8756
251.23
1(b)
1(b)
12 Conradson carbon
residue (% wt)
8
13 Ash contents
w/w%
-
ASTM
D130
Class 3
1(a)
ASTM
D976
≥47
56#
ASTM
D189
0.2
0.002
ISO 6884
<0.02
61#
0.015
0.002
0.028
0.022

11. Cost Analysis
Production of Waste
Chicken Fat
Pre-Treatment
Transesterification
Purification & Man
Power Charge
Process
Waste Chicken (2kg)
Electrical Charge
Methanol
Catalyst
Electric Charge
Methanol
Catalyst
Electric Charge
Distillation, Washing, etc.
Total
Diesel (approx)
Amount Rs.
5
3
16
1.5
1.5
9
2
1.5
5
45
58

12. Nanoparticle Additives
 It is commonly proposed to reduce the emissions from the
diesel engines by adopting various methods such as
exhaust gas recirculation, alternation of fuel injection
systems (injection pressure, split injection, injection
timing etc.), after exhaust gas treatment etc.
 Among the various techniques the use of fuel-borne
catalyst is currently focused due to the advantage of
increase in the fuel efficiency while reducing harmful
greenhouse gas emissions.
 The addition of nanoparticles in the fuel increases the
surface-area-to-volume ratio which enables rapid
oxidation process

13. Engine Setup and Measurements
1. Fuel Tank
2. Fuel Flow Sensors
3.Control Panel
4. Computer
5.Data Capture Card
6. CR Lever
7. Pressure Sensor
8. Crank Angle Encoder
9.Speed Sensor
10.Eddy Current Dynamometer
11. Loading Cell
12. Turbine Flow Sensor
13. Exhaust Gas Tank
14. Air Flow Sensor
15.Air Tank
16. Gas Analyzer
17. Smoke Meter

14. Uncertainty Analysis
Quantity
Measuring Range
Accuracy
NOx
± 10% of ind. val.
HC
0-20000 ppm
± 10 ppm vol.
CO
0-10 vol. %
± 0.03% vol.
CO2
AVL Gas Analyzer
0-5000 ppm
0-20 vol. %
± 0.5% vol.
0-100%
± 0.1%
−200 °C to 1350 °C
± 1°C
AVL Smoke Meter
Thermocouple
Crank Angle Encoder
-
± 0.5CA
In Cylinder Pressure
0-110bar
± 0.5 bar
Calculated Uncertainty
Fuel Flow rate
BSFC
BTE
Overall Uncertainty
=0.59%
=1.25%
=1.2%
= 1.91

15. Brake Specific Fuel Consumption
Diesel
B20+25 Al
B20+50 Al
B40+25 Al
B40+50 Al
Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (kg/kWh)
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
Brake Mean Effective Pressure (MPa)
0.5
0.6

16. Brake Thermal Efficiency
Brake Thermal Efficiency (%)
30
20
10
0.0
Diesel
B20+25 Al
B20+50 Al
B40+25 Al
B40+50 Al
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
Brake Mean Effective Pressure (MPa)
0.5
0.6

17. Cylinder Gas Pressure
60
Diesel
B20+25 Al
B20+50 Al
B40+25 Al
B40+50 Al
Cylinder Gas Pressure (Mpa)
50
40
30
20
10
-60
-40
-20
0
Crank Angle (Deg)
20
40
60

18. Heat Release Rate
Diesel
B20+25 Al
B20+50 Al
B40+25 Al
B40+50 Al
Heat Release (J/Deg)
40
30
20
10
0
-10
-100
-50
0
Crank Angle (Deg)
50
100

19. Carbon Monoxide Emissions
Diesel
B20+25 Al
B20+50 Al
B40+25 Al
B40+50 Al
0.18
Carbon Monoxide (% Vol.)
0.16
0.14
0.12
0.10
0.08
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
Brake Mean Effective Pressure (MPa)
0.5
0.6

20. Hydrocarbon Emissions
Hydrocarbon Emissions (ppm)
60
Diesel
B20+25 Al
B20+50 Al
B40+25 Al
B40+50 Al
50
40
30
20
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
Brake Mean Effective Pressure (MPa)
0.5
0.6

21. Nitrogen Oxide Emissions
Nitrogen Oxide (ppm)
600
Diesel
B20+25 Al
B20+50 Al
B40+25 Al
B40+50 Al
400
200
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
Brake Mean Effective Pressure (MPa)
0.5
0.6

22. Smoke Emissions
100
Smoke Opacity (%)
80
Diesel
B20+25 Al
B20+50 Al
B40+25 Al
B40+50 Al
60
40
20
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
Brake Mean Effective Pressure (MPa)
0.5
0.6

23. Conclusions
•The bsfc for all the WCFME-diesel fuel blends are higher
compared to the neat diesel because of its lower calorific value. The
bsfc decreases and also the brake thermal efficiency increases when
the increase in alumina nanoparticles concentration in the fuel blend.
•The peak cylinder pressure is increasing with alumina
concentration, but a shift in the peak cylinder pressure after TDC is
observed. The heat release rate decreased with the alumina
concentration.
•The carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emission for the diesel is
more compared to the all nanoparticle blended WCFME-diesel fuel.
•The NO emissions are slightly increased with increasing the
alumina concentration and the smoke emissions decreased about the
65% using the nanoparticles.

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