International Journal of Research ISSN NO: 2236-6124

PERFORMACE AND SYNTHESIS PRODUCTION OF BIODIESEL FROM

JATROPHA OIL
S.Selvarju1,G.Sai Krishnan2,S.Dinesh Kumar3,G.Suresh4
1,2,3,4
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rajalakshmi Institute of Technology,
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
*Corresponding Author Email:g.saikrishnan@gmail.com

Abstract: The world faces the crises of energy demand, rising petroleum prices and depletion of
fossil fuel resources. Biodiesel is obtained from vegetable oils and is considered as a promising
alternate fuel. This project presents an investigation into the effect of biodiesel blending on
emissions and efficiency in a non-road diesel engine. Rapeseed based biodiesel is blended in
increments of 25% with fossil diesel. The emissions of CO2 show a decrease in emission
(g/kWh) with increased engine load. Within the range of tests carried out, the NOx emissions
from biodiesel and its blends proved to be higher than those of petro-diesel fuel. Furthermore, in
this study a correlation is found relating the NOx emissions and the flame temperature. The
efficiency of the system is improved with increased biodiesel content in the fuel. The influences
of blends on CO, CO2, HC, NOx and smoke opacity are investigated by emission tests. The
brake thermal efficiency of biodiesel is found higher than diesel. The emissions of smoke, hydro
carbon and nitrogen oxides of biodiesel blends are higher than that of diesel. But the exhaust gas
temperature for biodiesel blends is lower than diesel.

Key Words: Energy Demand,Emission,Exhaust Gas,CO

1. INTRODUCTION

Transport sector remains the most problem sector as no alternative to petroleum based
fuel has been successful so far. Therefore, petroleum based fuels particularly HSD will dominate
the transport sector in the foreseeable future but its consumption can be minimized if the
biodiesel usage is enforced in the transportation sector. This background gives the important to
undertake research study to identify the thrust area that could solve the fuel crisis when the fossil
fuels completely deplete in nature. This work thrashes out a new process for producing biodiesel
from jatropha oil to tackle the atmospheric pollution problem. Biodiesel from jatropha oil is

Volume 7, Issue IV, APRIL/2018 Page No:296

International Journal of Research ISSN NO: 2236-6124

produced by the process of transesterification using methyl alcohol with sodium hydroxide as
catalyst. The study is carried out with one litre of jatropha oil at laboratory scale. Biodiesel
operates in compression ignition (diesel) engines, which essentially require very little or no
engine modifications. Various conversion routes are available that include direct conversion
processes such as extraction of vegetable oils followed by esterification (biodiesel), fermentation
of sugar-rich crops (ethanol), pyrolysis of wood (pyrolysis oil derived diesel equivalent) and
Hydro Thermal Upgrading (HTU) of wet biofuels (methanol, Dimethyl Ether) from gas synthesis
that results from gasification of biomass (Humkeai 1981). Most of these biofuels will not be
commercially available on short term. Although technological developments and commercial
availability of these fuels are changing continuously, it can be stated that these 3 biofuels will
probably not be produced and applied on a commercial scale before 2010. Currently, only
ethanol and its derivative produced from food crops and biodiesel from rapeseed methyl ester are
applied on a commercial basis in the European market. They will remain the dominant biofuels
in the coming decade as alternative biofuel technologies are still in the development stage. 1.2
BIODIESEL AS FUEL ADDITIVE Biodiesel is registered as a fuel and fuel additive with the
US Environmental Protection Agency and meets clean diesel standards established by the
California Air Resources Board. Neat (100%) biodiesel has been designated as an alternative fuel
by the Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation of US. India with just 2.4%
of global area, supports more than 16% of the human population and 17% of the cattle
population. India is one of the largest importers of edible oil. According to the Indian Economic
Survey (1995-96) out of the cultivable land area, about 100-150 million hectares are classified as
waste or degraded land. Jatropha (Jatropha curcas, Ratanjyot, wild castor) thrives on any type of
soil and needs minimal inputs or management. In Tamilnadu, the District Rural Development
Agency (DRDA) of Coimbatore plans to promote biodiesel production with the help of the tribal
of the Anaikatti region who have started jatropha cultivation in a big way. The district
administration intends to plant about seventy-five lakh jatropha saplings to produce biodiesel.
The tribal have already taken up planting of about seven lakh saplings. Each plant would yield
nearly 3 kg of seeds. There are four species of jatropha in India: 1) Jatropha curcas is a native of
tropical America, occurs in various parts of India, particularly in the Coromandel, Konkan and
Malabar coastal areas. PNJ 233 Curcas clone is the one that is used as a substitute to diesel as its
properties match with that of diesel. 2) Jatropha glandulifera is a native of tropical America

Volume 7, Issue IV, APRIL/2018 Page No:297

International Journal of Research ISSN NO: 2236-6124

naturalized in Bengal, Northern circars, Deccan, Carnatic and rarely found in Punjab3) Jatropha
gossypifolia is a native of Brazil, naturalized in many parts of India. 4) Jatropha mulfifida is the
coral plant from tropical America.There is need for 200 new oil extraction units of 250 tons per
day capacity to crush the jatropha seeds. The by- products are 11 million tons of excellent
organic manure and 0.4 million tons of technical grade glycerol used to produce detergents. Its
effect on rural economy will be tremendous. On an average of 5-hectare plantation per family, it
can give a seed yield of 3000 kg per hectare. At the rate of waste lands will be converted to
productive national assets creating jobs in downstream processing with gainful employment in
rural sector. Most important of all, it will contribute to national energy pool. The rate of seed is
Rs. 4 per kg and it will fetch an income of Rs. 60,000 per annum. Additionally, the waste lands
will be converted to productive national assets creating jobs in downstream processing with
gainful employment in rural sector. Most important of all, it will contribute to national energy
pool

Figure 1:Jatropha Seeds

1.2 PRIOR ART SEARCH

Ramadhas et al. reported the use of acid catalyst followed by alkali catalyst in a single
process using rubber seed oil with high free fatty acid content. The objective of this study was to
develop a process for producing biodiesel from a low-cost feedstock like crude rubber seed oil.
Varaprasad et al. investigated the effect of using jatropha oil and esterified jatropha oil on a
single cylinder diesel engine. They found that the brake thermal efficiency was higher with
esterified jatropha oil as compared to raw jatropha oil but inferior to diesel. They also reported
low NOX emission and high smoke levels with neat jatropha oil as compared to esterified

Volume 7, Issue IV, APRIL/2018 Page No:298

International Journal of Research ISSN NO: 2236-6124

jatropha oil and diesel. Zullaikah et al. had successfully obtained biodiesel from rice bran oil
with high free fatty acids content. A two-step acid-catalyzed methanolysis process was employed
for the efficient conversion of rice bran oil into fatty acid methyl esters. Parmanik studied the
properties and use of jatropha curcas oil and diesel fuel blends in compression ignition engine.
The exhaust gas temperature was observed to be reduced due to reduced viscosity of the
vegetable oil diesel blends. It was found that the fuel consumption was increased with a higher
proportion of the jatropha curcas oil in the blends. Acceptable thermal efficiencies of the engine
were obtained with blends containing up to 50% (by volume) of jatropha oil

1.3 BIODIESEL PRODUCTION FROM JATROPHA OIL

The esterification experimental procedure is schematically presented in Fig. 4.2. The

jatropha oil is initially filtered to remove impurities and any foreign materials. One litre of
jatropha oil is measured and taken in the two-litre flask with round bottom. Then it is kept on the
heating mantle and heated up to 100 ºC to remove water particles present in it. It is done for two
and half hours. Then the oil is cooled to 35 ºC. 80 ml of Methanol is added to the oil at 35 ºC and
stirred for 5 minutes. One ml of H2SO4 is added to oil at 35 ºC and stirred for one hour. Then it
is allowed to settle for eight hours. Prepared Methoxide solution by adding 3.5 grams of NaOH
(Sodium hydroxide) pellets to 120 ml of Methanol in a small beaker. Entire NaOH pellets are
completely dissolved in methanol. 50% of the above Methoxide solution is measured and added
to the oil in the flask and stirred for 5 minutes. Now the entire contents are heated to 55 ºC.
Remaining 50% of the methoxide solution is added to the oil at 55 ºC and stirred for 1.5 to 2.5
hours maintaining the temperature at 55 ºC. Switch off the heater and cool down the oil to room
temperature. The oil is allowed to settle for one hour to separate glycerol from the oil
(Biodiesel). The sample is taken for analysis of glycerol presence. The properties determined
were viscosity, density and calorific value (Sinha and Misra 1997). The parameters studied were
reaction temperature, quantity of alcohol and mixing duration. The chemicals were added at the
set temperature which was maintained with continuous stirring. The triglyceride is converted into
esters and glycerol within 15 minutes itself, but the yield is very low. To achieve higher product
yield, the reaction is allowed to proceed for a longer time. It is seen from the graph that the yield
steadily increases with reaction time till 1.5 hrs, after which there is 15 no any appreciable
increase in the yield of methyl ester (Harrington 1986) with increase in reaction time. The

Volume 7, Issue IV, APRIL/2018 Page No:299

International Journal of Research ISSN NO: 2236-6124

sample is tested in M/s. Italab private limited, parry’s, Chennai. The properties viscosity, density,
calorific value and carbon residue are determined

1.3 Schematic layout of biodiesel production from jatropha

Volume 7, Issue IV, APRIL/2018 Page No:300

International Journal of Research ISSN NO: 2236-6124

1.4 Photographic view of jatropha oil

2. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP AND EXPERIMENTS

A single cylinder water-cooled, four-stroke direct injection compression ignition engine with a
compression ratio of 17.5:1, developing 3.7 kW at 1500 rpm was used for this study. The
schematic of the experimental setup is shown in fig. 5.1. The engine is always run at its rated
speed. The operating pressure of the nozzle is set at the rated value of 200 kg/cm2 . The cooling
of the engine was accomplished by supplying water through the jackets on the engine block and
cylinder head. The engine is coupled with electrical swing field dynamometer. The specification
of the engine is shown.

Type : Vertical, Water cooled, Four stroke Number of c

ylinder : One Bore : 87.5 mm Stroke : 110 mm

Compression ratio : 17.5:1

Maximum power : 3.7 Kw

Speed : 1500 rpm

Dynamometer : Eddy current dynamometer

2.1 Measurement of Emission

Volume 7, Issue IV, APRIL/2018 Page No:301

International Journal of Research ISSN NO: 2236-6124

Exhaust emissions of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)
were measured by HORIBA – di gas analyzer. The exhaust sample to be evaluated was passed
through a cold trap (moisture separator) and filter element to prevent water vapour and
periodically calibrated with standard gas, according to the instruction of the manufacturer.
Hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen were measured in parts per million (ppm) and carbon
monoxide emissions were measured in terms of percentage volume.

2.2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

The engine was allowed to run with various loads for nearly 5 minutes to attain the steady state
at constant speed conditions. Then the following observations is made. i. The water flow is
started and maintained constant throughout the experiment. ii. The engine is started by cranking
after ensuring that there is no load. iii. Experiments are conducted for the various blends of (B60,
B70 and B80) jatropha methyl ester. iv. The viscosity, density, flashpoint, firepoint and emission
result of blends of biodiesel is compared with neat diesel.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The tests are conducted with blends of biodiesel (B60, B70, B80) from jatropha oil and the
results are compared with diesel.

B60 – Biodiesel 60% + Diesel 40%,

B70 – Biodiesel 70% + Diesel 30% and B80 – Biodiesel 80% + Diesel 20%.

Volume 7, Issue IV, APRIL/2018 Page No:302

International Journal of Research ISSN NO: 2236-6124

3.1 Properties of blends of biodiesel

3.1 EMISSION TEST

3.1.1 Carbon dioxide emission

The emission of Carbon dioxide for jatropha oil blends is noticed to be generally lesser than
diesel oil. This is due to the heavier molecular structure, poor atomization, presence of high
carbon residue. The viscosity of blends is comparatively lower than neat jatropha oil tested and

Volume 7, Issue IV, APRIL/2018 Page No:303

International Journal of Research ISSN NO: 2236-6124

hence the spray pattern and fuel penetration are improved. The Carbon dioxide of B60, B70 and
B80 blend is almost same compared to neat jatropha oil. This is because of less viscosity and
improved atomization of fuel.

3.1.2 Oxygen emission

The emission of oxygen for jatropha oil blends is noticed to be generally higher than that of the
diesel oil. This is due to the heavier molecular structure, poor atomization, presence of high
carbon residue. The viscosity of blends is comparatively lower than neat jatropha oil tested and
hence the spray pattern and fuel penetration are improved. The Oxygen of B60, B70 and B80
blend is almost same compared to neat jatropha oil. This is because of less viscosity and
improved atomization of fuel.

3.2.3 Hydrocarbon emission

The unburned hydrocarbon emission of blends of jatropha oil is more compared to that for neat
diesel for all loads. This is because of poor mixture formation tendency of blends of jatropha oil.
In addition to the other factors, the lower thermal efficiency with these blends also is responsible
for this trend. It may be noted that a lower thermal efficiency with these blends will lead to
injection of higher quantities for the same load condition.

4.CONCLUSIONS

The Jatropha oil is chosen as potential non-edible oil for the production of biodiesel. Based on
the experimental investigations carried out on diesel engine with neat diesel and blends of
jatropha oil the following conclusion is drawn. i. The unburned hydrocarbon and carbon
monoxide emissions are slightly decreased with blends of jatropha oil as compared to neat diesel.
ii. The carbon dioxide also increases for the blends of jatropha oil compared to neat diesel
operation. iii. The Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) emission level is decreased with the blends of
jatropha oil compared to neat diesel. iv. The exhaust temperature decrease with the blends of
jatropha oil compared to neat diesel. Based on the test is concluded that the jatropha oil blends
can be used as alternative fuels in diesel engine. But the emission level is slightly reduced in
jatropha oil operation but it can be reduced by using suitable additives.

Volume 7, Issue IV, APRIL/2018 Page No:304