Performance of CI Engine using Soapnut biodiesel

V. H. Moon1[*] and M. S. Tandale2

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University lonere Raigad (MH) 402103

moon.vaibhav878@gmail.com

Abstract. Soapnut (Sapindus Mukorossi) is a non-edible seed available in

northeastern region of India. Biodiesel produced from Soapnut oil was blended
with petroleum diesel in various proportions to test and evaluate the perfor-
mance of single cylinder CI engine. Different fuel blends of diesel and Soapnut
biodiesel viz. BD5, BD10, BD20, BD30 were tested in engine for studying ef-
fect of load on engine performance. Tests were carried out to with calculating
the performance parameters such as brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and brake
specific fuel consumption (BSFC) for different blends. After experimentation it
has been found that BD5 gave best performance of CI engine amongst four dif-
ferent blends with BTE and BSFC as objective functions.

Keywords: Soapnut, Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), Brake Specific Fuel

Consumption (BSFC).

1 Introduction

The transport sector heavily depends on the oil derived products such as diesel and
petrol, globally occupies the third place when the total energy consumption and the
greenhouse gas emissions are considered. This consumption level is assumed to in-
crease by 60% by 2030 because of the tremendous growth in industrialization and
population. Biodiesel is one of the sustainable sources of energy for meeting the ever
increasing demand of transport sector. The use of non-edible plant oils is very signifi-
cant because it can grow in harsh and marginal lands with less maintenance. The non-
edible oil represents the potential source for future energy supply [1].
There are large number non-edible species that can produce non-edible oils. The main
sources for biodiesel production from non-edible oils are Jatropha, Karanja, Desert
date, Neem, Rubber tree etc. Mohibbe Azam et al. reported that there are 75 non-
edible plant species which contain more than 30% of oil and their properties are near-
by similar to Biodiesel standards recommended by ASTM. A further potential non-
edible oil resource is algae oil. Now-a-days it has been noticed that there is a large
amount of waste lipids generated from restaurants, food processing industries as well
2

as households. The environmental problem can be solved by proper utilization and

management of WCO as a substitute for diesel fuel [2].
Vegetable oil cannot be directly used as a fuel because of its high viscosity, low vola-
tility and cold flow properties. The researchers suggested that the best way to use
vegetable oil compatible without engine modification is to convert it into biodiesel.
There are various methods for biodiesel production and those are micro emulsions,
thermal cracking, pyrolysis, transesterification. Among all, transesterification is the
best process with overall yield of 90%. Three moles of methanol is required for one
mole of triglycerides to produce one mole of glycerol and three moles of triglycerides
[3].
The oil from the Soapnut has been considered as promising non-edible oil having
significant potential for biodiesel production. This is because it is the third most pro-
ductive vegetable oil producing crop in the world after algae and palm oil. In the pre-
sent work feasibility of blending Soapnut biodiesel in diesel and its utilization in a
single cylinder CI engine has been evaluated.

2 Soapnut oil as a biodiesel

Soapnut (Sapindus Mukorossi), a member of Sapindaceae family, is a deciduous tree

widely grown from Afghanistan in the west to china in the east, at altitudes ranging
from 200 to 1500 m. Sapindus is commonly known by several names such as soapber-
ry, washnut, ritha, aritha,dodan. The oil content in the kernel of the Soapnut is ap-
proximately 30 wt%. The integration of Soapnut tree plantations along with the com-
munity in barren lands is considered to be viable for mass production of Soapnut
seeds, which could be a potential nonedible oil feedstock for biodiesel production [4].
Although the information regarding the yield could not be confirmed from the litera-
ture, it is seen that one tree of Sapindus Mukorossi produces 123 kg of seeds [6].

Fig. 1. Soapnut seeds and kernels

2.1 Fatty acid composition of Soapnut oil

Oil of Soapnut seeds contain 92% triglycerides; the triglyceride fraction contain 30%
oleo-palmito-arachidin glyceride, 13.3% oleo diarachidin glyceride and 56.7% di-
olein type glycerides such as dioleo-palmitin, dioleo-stearin and dioleo-arachidin [4].
Sengupta A and Basu et al evaluated the fatty acid composition of S. Mukorossi seed
 3

oil by spectrophotometry, urea compleaxation, and gas liquid chromatography. They

found percentages of individual acids to be palmitic, 4.0; stearic, 0.2; arachidic, 4.4;
oleic, 62.8; linoleic, 4.6; linolenic, 1.6; and eicosonic. The special characteristics of
the Soapnut oil are its content of 26.3% and 26.7% triolien and eicosenic-di-oliens,
respectively [5].

3 Plan of experiment

Different types of blends of Soapnut biodiesel with diesel were prepared. Blends use
in the experimentation are BD5 (5 % v/v of biodiesel in diesel), BD10, BD20 and
BD30. Experiments were performed to study the performance characteristics of single
cylinder diesel engine using different Soapnut biodiesel blends and to compare their
performance with diesel fuel.

3.1 Depiction of properties of Soapnut biodiesel and its blends with diesel

Table 1. Properties of fuel blends

Sr Property Units Diesel BD5 BD10 BD20 BD30 BD100
no
1 Density at Kg/m3 830 832 833 835 840 870
15°C

2 Kinematic mm2/sec 4.7 4.82 4.9 5.25 5.30 5.71

viscosity
at 40°C
3 Calorific MJ/kg 42.5 41.32 41.10 40.68 40.10 38.50
Value
°
4 Flash C 75 90 110 119 128 177
Point
°
5 Cloud C 6 7.6 8.1 8.9 9.6 11.6
Point

3.2 Performance testing of CI Engine

The aim of the present study was to find the suitability of Soapnut blends with diesel,
as a feasible fuel in CI engine and to compare variation in performance characteristics
of all blends with change in load and compare it with diesel. To study the effect of
percentage of blends on performance characteristics of CI engine and compare it with
diesel.
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3.3 Experimental set up

Schematic of the engine set up is shown in figure and brief specifications of the en-
gine are represented in table. The engine was operated at a rated constant speed of
1500 rpm.

Table 2. Specifications of the engine

Make and Model Kirloskar, TV!

No. of Cylinders One
Orientation Vertical
Cycle 4 Stroke
Ignition system Compression Ignition
Bore X Stroke 87.5mm X 110mm
Displacement volume 660 cc
Compression ratio 17:1
Arrangement of valves Overhead
Combustion of chamber Open chamber (Direct injection)
Rated power 5.2 kw (7 HP) @ 1500 rpm
Cooling medium Water cooled

Fig. 2. Schematic and overall view of engine set up.

Where,
F1: Fuel injection pressure sensor; F2: Air flow measuring; PT: piezo sensor; N:
rpm pickup and TDC sensor; T1: cooling water inlet temperature to engine; T2: cool-
ing water outlet temperature from engine; T3: cooling water inlet temperature to calo-
rimeter; T4: cooling water outlet temperature to calorimeter; T5: exhaust gas inlet
temperature; T6: exhaust gas outlet temperature
 5

4 Results and Discussion

Test were conducted on CI engine set up to study its performance using blends of
Soapnut biodiesel with diesel and compare their performance using diesel fuel at var-
ying loads of 0 kg, 5kg, 10 kg, and 15 kg. Using fundamental definitions performance
characteristics such as brake thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption,
mean effective pressure and volumetric efficiency for diesel, BD5, BD10, BD20,
BD30 were calculated.

4.1 Brake thermal efficiency

As the load increases the brake thermal efficiency also increases. It has been observed
from the figure that as compared to diesel the brake thermal efficiency of all blends is
slightly less. This may be due to higher viscosity of blends which results in poor spray
formation and lower volatility due to which ignition delay increases. Among all the
blends, BD5 has the highest thermal efficiency of 25.7% compared to 24.7% of B10,
23.9% of B20 and 22.3% of B30.

40

30 Diesel
BTE (%)

20 B5
10 B10

0
B20
0 5 10 15 20 B30
Load (kg)

Fig. 3. Brake thermal efficiency v/s. load for different loads

4.2 Specific fuel consumption

It is observed from the fig that as the load increases specific fuel consumption de-
creases. This may be due to higher viscosity and lower calorific value of biodiesel
compared to diesel. SFC of all the blends is greater than the diesel at all loads. Among
the blends BD5 has the lowest specific fuel consumption of 0.33 kg/KWhr compared
to 0.35 kg/KWhr of B10, 0.36 kg/KWhr of B20 and 0.38 kg/KWhr of B30.
6

0.6
SFC (kg/kwh) 0.5
0.4 Diesel
0.3 B5
0.2 B10
0.1 B20
0 B30
0 5 10 15 20
Load (kg)

Fig. 4. Brake specific fuel consumption vs. load at various blends

Conclusion

From experimental results it is concluded that the engine performance run on Soapnut
biodiesel-diesel blends is comparable with that of petroleum diesel. The brake power
and specific fuel consumption are almost the same when the engine is fueled with
lower Soapnut biodiesel-diesel blends compared to those of diesel. BD5 can be found
as a complete replacement to diesel as its performance is close to diesel and is consid-
ered as an optimum blend with efficiency of 25.7% compared to 34.6% of diesel and
with specific fuel consumption of 0.33 kg/KWhr compared to 0.25 kg/KWhr of die-
sel. It is seen that brake thermal efficiency decreases and specific fuel consumption
increase with increase in volume percent of Soapnut biodiesel in diesel and this may
be higher viscosity and lower calorific value of biodiesel. From results it is clear that
lower Soapnut biodiesel-diesel blends could be a potential substitute for diesel en-
gines without engine modifications. BD 5 could be a potential substitute to diesel.

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