International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology (IJRET) Vol. 1 No.

Effect of Hydrogen Enrichment on the Performance and Emissions of a Diesel Engine Fueled with Bio-fuel Emulsions
R.Prakash1, Gandhi Pullagura2, R.K.Singh3and S. Murugan4
AbstractEsters of vegetable oil by esterification and bio oil produced by pyrolysis of various biomass resources have greater scope as alternative fuels for the future in power and transportation sectors. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance and emission parameters of a compression ignition engine on a dual fuel mode. Hydrogen was inducted in small quantities in a diesel engine whereas an emulsion of wood pyrolysis oil (WPO) and methyl ester of karanja (MEK) was injected into the cylinder as a main fuel. The results were compared with diesel fuel operation and presented in this paper. The percentage increase in the brake thermal efficiency was 11.8%, 27.6% and 34.4% for WPO-MEK without hydrogen operation, WPO-MEK with 2lpm of hydrogen and WPO-MEK with 4lpm of hydrogen respectively at full load. The BSEC is 2.5% higher for WPO-MEK operation when compared to diesel. In case of WPOMEK with hydrogen 2lpm and 4lpm, the BSEC values reduced by 18.7% and 29.3% respectively. There is about51.2%, 64.4% and 72% increase in NO emissions for WPO-MEK, WPO-MEK with 2lpm, 4lpm of hydrogen induction respectively than diesel operation at full load. Smoke density decreases by 14.6%, 26.2% and 31% respectively for WPO-MEK, WPO-MEK with 2lpm, 4lpm of hydrogen induction compared to diesel at full load. Keywordsbiomass, bio-oil, bio-diesel, emissions, emulsion, hydrogen enrichment. I. INTRODUCTION HE world is presently confronted with two major issues; fossil fuel depletion and environmental degradation. Indiscriminate extraction and high consumption of fossil fuels have led to reduction in crude oil resources. The search for an alternative fuel, which promises a harmonious correlation with sustainable development, energy conservation, management, efficiency, and environmental preservation, has become highly pronounced in the present context. Biomass is organic matter produced by plant, both terrestrial (those grown on land) and aquatic (those grown in water) and their derivatives.
R.Prakash is with the Mechanical Engineering Department,National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Orissa, 769 008 India. (email:prakasu2000@yahoo.com). Gandhi Pullagura was with the Mechanical Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Orissa, 769 008 India. (e-mail: gandhipullagura@gmail.com) Prof. R.K.Singh is with the Chemical Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Orissa, 769 008 India. (email: rksingh@nitrkl.ac.in) Prof. S.Murugan is with the Mechanical Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Orissa, 769 008 India. (e-mail: recmurugan@yahoo.co.com) . .

It includes forest crops and residues, crops grown especially for their energy content on energy farms and animal manure. Unlike coal oil, and natural gas, which takes millions of years to form, biomass can be considered a renewable energy source because plant life renews and adds to itself every year. By pyrolysis process also the biomass can be converted into useful energy [1]. Pyrolysis of biomass yields solid, liquid and gaseous products like char, pyrolytic oil and pyrogas[2].Experiments have been carried out to determine the feasibility of flash pyrolysis oil in diesel engines [3]-[5]. Injection system failure and faster erosion on steel components in the engine were noticed from the results. Major problem with the wood pyrolysis oil is its miscibility with diesel fuel. The problem of immiscibility can be rectified by up gradation of pyrolysis oil by emulsification process [6]. Emulsion is one of the techniques used while a fuel has to be mixed with another fuel of hydroscopic nature. Stable WPO emulsions were prepared using two surfactants namely hypermer and CANMET [7]. It was observed that the viscosity was found to reduce when the emulsion was prepared with a maximum of 20% WPO. Emulsion prepared with an addition of Tween 20 surfactant 2% by volume with six different percentages of water as fuels were tested in a diesel engine [8]. It was observed from the results that the 5% by volume of water diesel emulsion gave an optimum brake power and a brake thermal efficiency compared with the other water diesel emulsions. Since vegetable oils usually produce high smoke emissions from diesel engines, dual fuel operation can be adopted as a method for improving their performance. Some researchers have reported that dual fuel operation is useful to reduce smoke and increase the thermal efficiency of the diesel engines [10]-[11]. Dual fuel operation of a diesel engine was studied by many researchers using different pilot fuels such as jatropha, rubber seed, mahua oil and their methyl esters and inducted fuels such as hydrogen, biogas[10]-[13]. Therefore an attempt was made to investigate the performance and emissions of a single cylinder four stroke air cooled direct injection diesel engine running on dual fuel mode. An emulsion of WPO and MEK was used as primary fuel in the engine, whereas, hydrogen was admitted into the diesel engine at 2lpm and 4lpm in the suction along with intake air.

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TABLE I PROPERTIES OF FUELS COMPARED

Properties Specific gravity at 15 C Net calorific value[MJ/kg] Flash point[C] Fire point[o C] Pour point[C] Carbon residue[%] Kinematic viscosity at 40 C[cSt] Cetane number Moisture content (wt %) Ash (wt%)

Diesel Fuel 0.83 43.8 50 56 30 0.1 2.58 50 0.025 0.13

MEK 0.88 38,416 230 258 -3 0.71 27.84 57.6 0.034 0.04

WPO 1.1560 20.584 98 108 2 12.85 52.3 15-30 0.01

Fig.1 Steps involved in production of karanja methyl ester

It is observed that 90% of ester is obtained from karanja oil. Glycerol, the bi-product of transesterification reaction can be used in the manufacture of soaps among other cosmetics. C. Properties of WPO and MEK The properties of WPO are compared with diesel fuel and MEKand given in Table 1.

II. METHODS AND MATERIALS A. Production of WPO In the present investigation, pyrolysis oil from waste wood was obtained by vacuum pyrolysis process. Bio-oil used in this investigation was obtained from pine wood feed stock available in the packing container boxes. The feed stock was cut into small pieces and fed in the stainless steel pyrolysis reactor. The pyrolysis reactions were carriedout at different temperature range to find the optimum yield temperature. Optimum yield of the pyrolysis oil was obtained at the temperature ranges between 450 oC and 500 oC. The pyrolysis oil obtained is characterized to find the physical properties and elemental composition. The production process and the characteristics of WPO were explained by Prakash et al [14]. B. Production of MEK MEK used in this investigation was obtained from the transesterification process of karanja oil. The sequence of processes in production of MEK is presented in Figure 1.Karanja oil is mixed with methanol, and catalyst sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The mixture is heated and maintained at 65oC for one hour, while heating, the solution is stirred continuously with stirrer. Two distinct layers are formed, the lower layer is glycerin and the upper layer is ester. The upper layer is separated with moisture and the ester is removed by using calcium chloride. Moisture content in the methyl ester is removed by adding silica gel crystals.

D. Emulsification of WPO In this investigation, the water in oil emulsion was prepared by adding the surfactant Span-20 having HLB number 8.6 to emulsify the WPO with MEK. The emulsion was prepared from WPO 10% and MEK 90% with the addition of surfactant Span-20 1% by volume. The resultant mixture was shaken vigorously for about 30 minutes. The emulsion produced was observed visually by about eight hours and found that the emulsion made with 10% WPO was stable. III. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The engine used for the present investigation is a single cylinder, four strokes, air cooled, direct injection, diesel engine. The photographic view of the experimental setup is shown in Fig.2 and the engine specification is given inTable 3.Initially the engine was operated with neat diesel and the performance, emission parameters were evaluated. Then the engine was allowed to run with the WPO-MEK emulsion. For dual fuel operation, hydrogen fuel, at a constant flow rate of 2lpm and 4lpm were supplied through a flame arrester and flame trap and finally it was admitted into the intake pipe (at a distance of 40 cms from the intake manifold) where it mixed with air and this hydrogen-air mixture was inducted into the engine cylinder.

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45
Brake thermal efficiency(%)

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 0 1 2 3 4 5
DIESEL WPO-MEK WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (2LPM) WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (4LPM)

Brake Power(kW)
Fig. 3 Variation of brake thermal efficiency with brake power

Fig.2 Photographic representation of the engine experimental set up

maximum thermal efficiency was recorded with 4lpm hydrogen enrichment. ii) Brake specific energy consumption (BSEC) Variation of brake specific energy consumption with brake power is shown in the Fig.4.
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The emulsion on volume basis was allowed from the fuel tank and then injected into the cylinder. The performance and emission parameters were measured and compared with that of diesel baseline readings. AVL444 exhaust gas analyzer was used to measure nitric oxide emission (NO) whereas AVL437C smoke meter was used to measure the smoke values of the exhaust.
TABLE II TEST ENGINE SPECIFICATION Make/Model Brake power, kW Rated speed, rpm Bore [mm] Stroke [mm] Compression Ratio Cooling System Kirloskar TAF 1 4.4 1500 80 110 17.5:1 Air cooling

20

BSEC (MJ/kWh)

15

10
DIESEL WPO-MEK

WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (2LPM) WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (4LPM)

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. Performance parameters i) Brake Thermal Efficiency The variation of brake thermal efficiency with brake power is shown in Fig.3. The brake thermal efficiency is 28.64% and 32.02%` with diesel and WPO-MEK emulsion respectively at full load. This may be due to the micro explosion phenomenon, due to volatility difference between two layers of the emulsion, enhances air fuel mixing and hence the improvement in combustion efficiency which results in a increasing in brake thermal efficiency [9]. The brake thermal efficiency was 36.7%, 38.5% with 2lpm and 4lpm hydrogen enrichment at full load. The high flame velocity of hydrogen contributed to better mixing of methyl ester with air which leads to improvements in thermal efficiency [10]. The

Brake Power(kW)

Fig. 4 Variation of BSEC with brake power

It was found that BSEC fuel decreased as hydrogen enrichment increased. The BSEC decreased at high load is due to the premixing of hydrogen fuel with air.The BSEC values are 13.23MJ/kWh and 13.57MJ/kWh with diesel and WPOMEK operation respectively at full load. Higher BSEC at WPO-MEK operation may be due to lower calorific value of the fuel emulsion.The BSEC was 10.75MJ/kWh and 9.35MJ/kWh with 2lpm and 4lpm hydrogen enrichment at full load. The diffusivity and uniform mixing of hydrogen with air leading to near complete combustion of the fuel and its high flame speed will enhance the thermal efficiency [11].

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iii) Exhaust gas temperature The variation of exhaust gas temperature (EGT) with brake power is shown in Fig.5. The trend shows that the EGT increases with increase in brake power.
400
Exhaust gas temperature (oC)

temperature, the carbon particle present in lubricating oil and main fuel gets oxidised and converted into CO 2 . ii) CO emissions The variation of the carbon monoxide with hydrogen enrichment at all loads is shown in Fig.7.

350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 0 1 2 3 4 5

DIESEL WPO-MEK WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (2LPM) WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (4LPM)

0.06
DIESEL
CO emissions (% by Vol)

0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0

WPO-MEK WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (2LPM) WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (4LPM)

Brake power(kW)
Fig. 5 Variation of exhaust gas temperature with brake power

The EGT of WPO-MEK operation is higher at initial loads and it is lower at full load compared to diesel fuel operation. This may be due to higher hydrogen energy share at low load and lower energy share at full load.

2 3 Brake Power(kW)

Fig. 7 Variation of CO emission with brake power

B. Emission parameters

i)HC emissions
The variation of HC emissions with the brake power is shown in Fig.6.

It is found that the carbon monoxide emissions of WPO-MEK are lower than diesel operation and it is increased with increase in hydrogen concentration. The induction of hydrogen reduces the mass of air inducted and leads to higher CO emissions due to oxygen deficiency [16]. iii) NO emissions The variation of oxides of nitrogen with respect to the brake power is shown in Fig.8. 600 NO emissions (ppm) 500 400 300 200 100 0 0 1 2 3 Brake Power (kW) 4 5
DIESEL WPO-MEK WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (2LPM) WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (4LPM)

25

Hydrocarbon emissions (ppm)

DIESEL 20 WPO-MEK WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (2 LPM) 15 WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (4 LPM)

10

0 0 1 2 3 4 5

Brake Power(kW) Fig. 6 Variation of HC emission with brake power

The HC emissions of WPOMEK are lower compared to diesel and it is further lowered for hydrogen inducted at 2lpm and 4lpm [15]. Since hydrogen has no carbon, burning of hydrogen along with WPO-MEK emulsion leads to reducedhydrocarbon level. And also because of high cylinder
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Fig.8 Variation of oxides of nitrogen with the brake power

The formation of oxides of nitrogen is due to the peak combustion temperature, oxygen concentration in the combustion chamber and the residence time of

International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology (IJRET) Vol. 1 No. 1

hightemperature gas in the cylinder [17]. The NO values were 318 ppm and 481 ppm with diesel and WPO-MEK operation respectively at full load. The NO values were 523 ppm and 550 ppm with 2lpm and 4lpm hydrogen enrichment at full load. Hence there is 51.2%, 64.4% and 72% increase in NO emissions for WPO-MEK, WPO-MEK with 2lpm, 4lpm of hydrogen induction respectively. Oxygen concentration in WPO-MEK may be reason for increased NO emissions. The enhanced combustion rate increases the cycle temperature leads to higher NO emissions when hydrogen is inducted in small quantities [11].

iv) Smoke density

With WPO-MEK operation smoke emission is higher at all the loads due to poor atomization of the fuel. Variation of smoke density with brake power is shown in Fig. 9. 35 30 Smoke density (%) 25 20 15 10 5 0 0 1 2 3 Brake Power (kW) 4 5
DIESEL WPO-MEK WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (2LPM) WPO-MEK+Hydrogen (4LPM)

The BSEC is 2.5% higher for WPO-MEK operation when compared to diesel. For WPO-MEK with hydrogen 2lpm and 4lpm the BSEC values reduced by 18.7% and 29.3% respectively. The EGT of WPO-MEK operation is higher at initial loads and it is lower at full load compared to diesel fuel operation. There is 51.2%, 64.4% and 72% increase in NO emissions for WPO-MEK, WPO-MEK with 2lpm, 4lpm of hydrogen induction respectively. The HC emissions of WPOMEK are lower compared to diesel and it is further lowered for hydrogen inducted at 2lpm and 4lpm. CO emissions of WPO-MEK are lower than diesel operation and it is increased with increase in hydrogen concentration. Smoke density decreases by 14.6%, 26.2% and 31% respectively for WPO-MEK, WPO-MEK with 2lpm, 4lpm of hydrogen induction. VI. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors sincerely thank the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology,Government of India, New Delhi for their financial grant (No. SR/S3/MERC/061/2009, Dt.02.09.2009) to carry out this research work. REFERENCES
[1]G.D. Roy, Non-Renewable energy sources, Khanna Publications. [2] David Chiaramonti, AnjaOasmaa andYrjoSolantausta, Power generation using fast pyrolysis liquids from biomass, Renewable and SustainableEnergy Reviews, Vol.11 pp 1056-1086, 2007. [3]. YrjoSolantausta, Nils OlofNylund, Marten Westerholm, TiinaKoljonen and AnjaOasmaa,Wood-Pyrolysis oil as fuel in a diesel-power plant,Bioresource Technology 46[1993] 177-188. [4]. S.Frigo,R.Gentilli.L.Tognotti and S. Zanforlin, G. Benelli, Feasibility of Using Wood Flash-Pyrolysis Oil in Diesel Engines, SAE 982529. [5].C. Bertoli,J.D.Alessio, N. Del Giacomo, M. Lazzaro, P. Massoli and V.Moccia,Running Light-Duty DI Diesel Engines with Wood Pyrolysis Oil, SAE 2000-01-2975. [6]. Zhang Qi, Chang Jie, Wang Tiejun and Xu Ying, Review of biomass pyrolysis oil properties and upgrading research, Energy Conversion and Management 48 (2007) pp 87-92. [7]. MichioIkura,mariaStanciulescu and Ed Hogan, Emulsification of biomass derived bio-oil in diesel fuel, Biomass and bioenergy Vol 24, pp.221-232, 2003. [8]. A. Alahmer, J. Yamin, A. Sakhrieh and M.A. Hamdan, Engine Performanceusing emulsified diesel fuel, GCREEDER 2009, AmmanJordan, March 31st April 2nd 2009. [9]. J. S Basha, and R. B.Anand, Role of nanoadditive blended biodiesel emulsion fuel on the working characteristics of a diesel engine, Journal of Renewable and Sustainable energy, 1-17, 2011. [10] M. Senthil Kumar, A. Rameshand B. Nagalingam,Use of hydrogen to enhance the performance of a vegetable oil fuelled compression ignition engine, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 28, pp 1143-1154, 2003. [11]. V. Edwin Geo, G. Nagarajan and B. Nagalingam, Studies on dual fuel operation of rubber seed oil and its bio-diesel with hydrogen as the inducted fuel, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 28, pp 1143-1154, 2003. [12]. N. SukumarPuhan,G.Vedaraman. R.Sankaranarayanan, V. Boppana. andBharat Ram, Performance and emission study of Mahua oil (madhucaindica oil) ethyl ester in a 4-stroke natural aspirated direct injection diesel engine, Renewable Energy 30, 12691278, 2005.

Fig. 9 Variation of smoke density with the brake power

The smoke density is 32.8% with WPO-MEK at peak power output. However, there is a significant reduction of smoke emission in dual fuel operation. It is reduced by 26.2% and 31% when operated along with hydrogen quantities 2lpm and 4lpm respectively. The introduction of hydrogen reduces the quantity of injected fuel and lowers the smoke level at all power outputs. Further, it can be observed that the inducted hydrogen forms a homogeneous mixture that burns more rapidly and the overall mixture contains less carbon from which smoke can form [10]. V.CONCLUSIONS The following conclusions are drawn from the results of the investigation on the performance and emissions of a single cylinder four stroke air cooled direct injection diesel engine fueled with WPO-MEK emulsion on dual fuel mode; The percentage increase in the brake thermal efficiency was 11.8%, 27.6% and 34.4% for WPO-MEK, WPOMEK with 2lpm of hydrogen and WPO-MEK with 4lpm of hydrogen respectively at full load.

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[13]. C.C.M. Luijten, E. Kerkhof, Jatropha oil and biogas in a dual fuel CI engine for rural electrification, Energy Conversion and Management 52, 14261438, 2011. [14]. R.Prakash, R.K.Singh, S.Murugan, Performance and Emission Studies in a Diesel Engine Using Bio oil-Diesel Blends, 2nd International conference on environment science and technology (ICEST-2011). [15]. N.Saravanan, G. Nagarajan, K.M. Kalaiselvan, and C. Dhanasekaran, An experimental investigation on hydrogen as a dual fuel for engine system with exhaust gas recirculation technique, Renewable Energy, 33, pp 422-427, 2008. [16]. P.K. Bose and D.Maji, An experimental investigation on engine performance and emissions of a single cylinder diesel engine using hydrogen as inducted fuel and diesel as injected fuel with exhaust gas recirculation, Int. J.Hydrogen Energy, 34(11), pp. 4847-4854, 2009. [17]. V.Ganesan,A textbook on Internal Combustion Engines, 2nd edition, ISBN 0-07-049457-6, pp 220-223.

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