alternate fuel report

Alternate Fuels 2016
Page 1
ALTERNATE FUELS
ABSTRACT
 “Necessity is the mother of invention. Energy crisis is the cry of
future.”
 The historical and the present-day civilization are closely
interwoven with energy and in future, our existence will be
more dependent upon energy. The conventional sources of
energy, the single most important pre-requisite for power
generation, are depleting fast. The world is heading towards a
global energy crisis mostly due to running out of these energy
sources; decreasing the dependency on fossil fuels is
recommended.
 The reason motivating the development of alternate fuels for
the ic engine is the concern over the emission problem of
gasoline and diesel engines.
 Another reason for alternate fuels development is the fact that
a large percentage of crude oil must be imported from other
countries which control the larger oil field
 Now most of the alternate fuels are very costly (ex; methanol
&natural gases) since the quantity used is very less but many
of these fuels will cost much less if the amount of their usage
get to the same order of magnitude as gasoline
 Problem with alternate fuels is the lack of distribution points
where the fuel is distribution for public.

Page 2
INTRODUCTION
In this century, it is believed that crude oil and petroleum products will become Very
scarce and costly. Day-to-day, fuel economy of engines is getting improved and will
continue to improve. However, enormous increase in number of vehicle has started
dictating the demand of fuel. Gasoline and diesel will become scarce and most costly in
the near future. With increased use and depletion of fossil fuels, Alternate fuel
technology will become more common in the coming decades.
Another reason motivating the development of alternate fuel for engines is the concern
over emission problem of gasoline and diesel engines. Combined with other air-polluting
systems, the large number of automobiles is a major contributor to the air quality
problem of the world. Quite a lot of improvements have been made in reducing
emissions from automobile engines. If a 30% improvement made over a period of years,
it is to be noted that during the same time the number of automobiles in the world
increased by 40%, thereby nullifying the improvement. Lot of efforts has gone into for
achieving the net improvement in cleaning up automobile exhaust. However, more
improvements are needs to bring down the ever-increasing air pollution due to
automobile population.
A third reason for alternate fuel development is the fact that larger percentage of crude
oil must be imported from other countries which control the larger oil field. As of now
many alternate fuels have been used in limited quantities in automobiles. Quite often,
fleet vehicles have been used for testing (e.g. taxies, delivery vans, and utility company
trucks).
The engines used for alternate fuel are modified engines which wear originally designed
for gasoline fuelling. Some diesel engines have started appearing on the market. They
use Methanol or natural gas and a small amount of diesel fuel that is injected at proper
time to ignite both fuels.
Mostly alternate fuels are very costly at present since the quantity used is very less.
Many of these fuels will cost much less if the amount of their usage gets to the same
order of magnitude as gasoline. The cost of manufacturing, distribution, and marketing
would be less.

Page 3
Why to choose alternate fuel?
1. Conventional fuels are going to run out
One day, our sources for traditional fuels including petroleum would be depleted. Owing to the
fact that these fuels are typically not renewable, a lot of people are worried that a day would
come when the demand for these fuels would be more than the supply, triggering a
considerable world crisis. Non-environmentalists also concur with the opinion that the majority of
oil fields (situated in the Middle East) in the world are associated with problems – both political
and economic. Determining a new method or solution with respect to finding different countries
to create new fuels would reduce the unrest and conflict resulting from the world’s dependence
on fuel supply from the Middle East.
2. To reduce pollution
The use of alternative fuels considerably decreases harmful exhaust emissions (such as
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and sulfur dioxide) as well as
ozone-producing emissions.
3. To protect against global warming
According to a commonly accepted scientific theory, burning fossil fuels was causing
temperatures to rise in the earth’s atmosphere (global warming). Though global
warming continues to be just a theory, a lot of people across the globe are of the belief
that discovering sources of cleaner burning fuel is an essential step towards enhancing
the quality of our environment.
4. To save money
Alternative fuels can be less expensive to use not just in terms of the fuel itself but also
in terms of a longer service life. This in turn means savings for the long term.
5. Can reuse waste
Biofuels bioproducts, and biopower provide modern and fresh relevance to the old
belief that trash for one person is a treasure for another. That’s good news considering
that Americans produce in excess of236 million tons of waste each year.

Page 4
DIFFERENT CONVENTIONAL FUELS-
1. FOSSIL FUEL (PETROLIUM)
2. COAL
3. NUCLEAR MATERIALS
4. WOOD
DIFFERENT ALTERNATE FUELS-
1. ALCOHOL (ethanol & methanol)
2. WATER-GASOLINE MIXTURE
3. VEGETABLE OIL
4. BIODIESEL
5. HYDROGEN
6. LPG gaseous Fuel.
7. CNG
8. BIOGAS
9. BENZOL
10.ACETONE
11. DIETHYL ETHER

Page 5
ETHANOL-
Among the various options, Ethanol, an alcohol seems to be a most promising
option for countries like India because of its availability from agriculture
products. Alcohol can be used in diesel engines in following ways.
One method is injection of ethanol with inlet air using carburetion or electronic
injection system and other is emulsion of diesel and ethanol. And also enable
a reduction in exhaust NOX, smoke and particulate matter.
WHY TO ADOPT ETHANOL AS ALTERNATE FUEL-
Many alternate fuels are being considered for automotive vehicles and
ETHANOL of the best alternate fuels. Ethanol has been used as
automobile fuel for many years in various countries of the world. Brazil is
probably the leading user that is about 5 million vehicles’ operated on fuel
that were 93% ethanol .Ethanol is produced from molasses, which is a by-
product of sugarcane.
Ethanol can be produced in large quantities at low cost from these
molasses
Its high oxygen content improves the combustion characteristics
It also reduces the harmful emissions from IC engines such as sulphur-di-
oxide, oxides of nitrogen, particulate emissions.
USE OF ETHANOL IN I.C ENGINES
The various techniques by which the ethanol can be used as a fuel for
compression ignition engines are_
1. Blend formation
2. Fumigation
3. Dual injection
4. Spark ignition
5. Ignition improvers
6. Surface ignition

Page 6
BLEND FORMATION:
The easiest method by which ethanol could be used is in the form of diesel
ethanol blend. But ethanol has limited solubility in diesel; hence
ethanol/dieselsolutions are restricted to small percentages (typically 20%).
This problem of limited solubility has been overcome by emulsions, which
have the capability of accommodation larger displacement of diesel up to
40% by volume. But the major drawbacks of emulsions are the cost of
emulsifiers and poor low temperatures physical properties.
DUAL INJECTION:
Dual injection is a method by which nearly 90%Displacement of diesel by
ethanol is possible. The drawback of this method includes the complexity
and expense of a second injection system and a second fuel tank and
system.
SPARK IGNITION:
Spark ignition of neat ethanol in diesel engines provides a way of
displacing 100% of diesel. A spark plug and the associated ignition system
components must be added to the engine. Space must be available for
spark plugs in the cylinder head and its also important for sparkplugs in the
cylinder head and itÆs also important for proper plug cooling.
IGNITION IMPROVERS:
Another method of using neat ethanol is to increase their cetane numbers
sufficiently with ignition improving additives to ensure that compression
ignition will occur. This method saves the expense and complexity of
engine components changes, but adds fuel costs.
SURFACE IGNITION:
This is another method of using ethanol 100% ethanol in diesel engines.
Surface ignition occurs when the temperature of the air-fuel mixture
adjacent to a hot surface exceeds its self-ignition limit.

Page 7
FUMIGATION:
Fumigation is a method by which ethanol is introduced in to engine by
carbureting or vaporizing the ethanol into the intake stream. This method
requires addition of a carburetor or vaporizer along with a separate fuel
tank, lines and controls. But with the emergence of electronic injection
techniques the fumigation technique has been made possible by using an
injector in the intake manifold.
METHANOL-
Also known as wood alcohol, methanol is a convenient liquid fuel that is
made from a number of differentfeedstockresources - natural gas and coal
as well as renewable resources like forest thinning or agricultural waste
and even directly from CO2 captured from power plant and factory
emissions. Methanol is a basic building block for hundreds of essential
chemical commodities that touch our daily lives including building materials,
plastic packaging, paints and coatings, even windshield washing fluid.
Methanol is also a transportation fuel, a hydrogen carrier for fuel cell
technologies, and an efficient fuel for electric power generation. With the
chemical structure CH3OH, methanol is the simplest alcohol, with the
lowest carbon content and highest hydrogen content of any liquid fuel.
METHANOL FUEL AND THE ENVIRONMENT:-
i. Ten or more years ago, a typical methanol manufacturing plant would
emit about 0.9 - 1.0 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide for every tone of
methanol produced. In addition to the environmental concerns, large
CO2 emissions represent operational inefficiencies in a methanol
plant, since the carbon emitted as CO2 is not available for making
methanol molecules. In fact, excess CO2 from other industrial
facilities can also be captured and consumed to increase methanol
production. Through the implementation of efficiency improvements
and through replacing of older facilities with newer plants that use
more efficient technologies, over the last decade methanol plants
have been able to significantly reduce CO2 emissions by up to 40%.

Page 8
When burned as fuel, methanol cuts emissions of nitrogen oxides and
volatile organic compounds that form ground-level ozone or “smog.”
Methanol is much less reactive than gasoline in the atmosphere, with
the only toxic component of the emissions being formaldehyde, as
compared to dozens of carcinogenic components of gasoline
emissions, which also contains formaldehyde. The use of heated
catalytic converters has shown that methanol-fueled auto emissions
meet and exceed California’s stringent Ultra Low Emission Vehicle
(ULEV) emission targets for formaldehyde. Methanol fuel also does
not contain the toxic BTEX additives found in gasoline – benzene,
toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylems. These compounds are highly
carcinogenic, do not readily biodegrade in the environment, and are
capable of contaminating groundwater supplies.
ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE OF ALCHOL FUELS:-
Advantages
a. It can be obtained from a number of source, both natural and
manufactured.
b. It is a high octane fuel with anti-knock index number (octane number)
of over 100. Engines using high-octane fuel run more efficiently by
using higher compression ratios. Alcohols have higher flame speed.
c. It produces less overall emissions compared to gasoline.
d. When alcohols are burned, it forms more moles of exhaust gases,
which give higher pressure and more power in the expansion stroke.
e. Alcohol have low sulphur content in the fuel.
Disadvantages
a. Alcohol have low energy content or in other words the calorific value
of the fuel is almost half of the gasoline fuel
b. Alcohol have poor ignition characteristics in general
c. Alcohols have almost invisible flames, which is considered dangerous
when handling fuel.
d. Many people find strong order of alcohol very offensive.

Page 9
e. There is a possibility of vapor lock in fuel delivery system.
VEGETABLE OIL AS ALTERNATE FUEL:-
Vegetable oil is considered as one of the alternative fuel for diesel engines
However, the viscosity of vegetable oil is higher compared to diesel.
Therefore it must be lowered to allow for proper atomization in engines
designed to burn dieselfuel. Otherwise, incomplete combustionand carbon
build up will ultimately damage the engine.
Some literatures classify vegetable oil as Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) and
straight vegetable oil (SVO) or Pure Plant Oil (PPO) to distinguish it from
biodiesel. Free Fatty Acid (FFA) in WVO have a detrimental effect on
metals. Copper and its alloy, such as brass, are affected by WVO. Tin,
lead, iron, and steel are affected too.
The main form of SVO/PPO used in various countries is rapeseed oil which
has a freezing point of -10°C. Use of Sunflower oil, which gels at around
-12°C, is currently being investigated as a means of improving cold weather
starting.
BIODIESEL:-
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil or animal fat based diesel engine fuel
consisting of long chain alkali ester. Biodiesel is typically produced by
chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol.
More efficiently we can say that biodiesel is an alternate fuel which is eco-
friendly, highly oxidized, sulpher-free, nontoxic.
FEED STOCK FOR BIODIESEL:-
 Rapeseed (Germany)
 Sunflower oil
 Soybean Oil (USA & brazil)
 Palm oil(Malaysia)

Page
10
 Linseed, olive oil (spain)
 Used oil
 Cottonseed oil
WHY BIODIESEL?
 SUSTAINABILITY
 POLLUTION THREAT
 REDUCTION OF GREEN HOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
 REGIONAL DEVLOPMENT
 SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND AGRICULTURE.
IMPORTANCE OF BIODIESEL:-
 Environment friendly
 Clean burning
 Renewable fuel
 NO engine modification
 Biodegradable and non-toxic
 Easy to Handle and store.
Production:-
Biodieselis commonly produced by the transesterification of the vegetable
oil or animal fat feedstock.

Page
11
Fatty acid alkyl ester prepared from any oil or fat..
BIODIESEL-WHY LOWER EMISSIONS?
 Biodiesel has high cetane
 In built Oxygen Content
 Burns fully
 Has no-sulphur
 No aromatic
 Complete CO2 cycle
Road Block for Biodiesel Industry….
 Feedstock Scarcity
 Food vs. Fuel controversy
 Pricing of biodiesel is not attractive to anybody

Page
12
BIODIESEL-INDIAN SCENARIO:-
 Presently importing about tones of edible oil to take care the
edible oil application- ͂͂͂͂͂͂͂͂͂ 65% of our consumption is being
imported.
 Clean oil are not available for biodiesel production in india
 It is very difficult for India to get the required feedstock for
biodiesel production in the present scenario.
Gaseous Fuel:-
Gaseous fuels are best suited for Ic engines since physical delay is
almost zero. However, as fuel displaced equal amount of air the engines
may have poor volumetric efficiency. There are quite few gaseous fuels
that can be used as alternate fuels.
Hydrogen:-
A number of automobile manufacturer have built with prototype or
modified engines which operates on hydrogen fuel..
Advantages of using Hydrogen:-
 Low emission. Essentially no CO or HC in the exhaust and there is
no carbon in the fuel
 Fuel availability. There are a number of ways of making hydrogen,
including electrolysis of water
 Fuel leakage to environment is not a pollutant.
 High energy content per volume when stored as liquid.
Disadvantages of using hydrogen fuel:-
 Difficult to refuel and the possibility of detonation.
 Fuel cost would be very high at present day technology and
availability

Page
13
 High NOx emission because of high flame temperature.
 Requirement of heavy, bulky fuel storage both in vehicle and at the
service station.
Hydrogen can be used in SI engines by three Methods:
i. By manifold induction
ii. By direct introduction of hydrogen into the cylinder
iii. By supplementing gasoline.
Since, hydrogen is highly reactive fuel it requires great care in handling.
Flash black arresters have to be provided between the engine and the
storage Tank to prevent flash back from going to the tank
NATURAL GAS:-
Natural gas is found in various localities in oil and gas bearing sand strata
located at various depth below the earth surface. The gas usually
considerable pressure and flows out naturally from the oil well. Natural gas
obtained from oil wells is called casing head gas. It is usually treated for the
recovery of gasoline. Natural gas is mixture of components, consisting
mainly of methane (60% to 90%) with the small amount of other
hydrocarbon fuel components. The composition varies considerably from
place to place and time to time.
ADVANTAGES OF NATURAL GAS:--
1) Octane number is around 110, which makes it a very good SI engine
fuel.
2) Low engine emission.
3) Fuel is fairly abundant.
DISADVANTAGES OF NATURAL GAS:-
1. Low energy density resulting in low engine performance.
2. Low engine volumetric efficiency because it is a gaseous fuel.
3. Inconsistent fuel properties

Page
14
4. Refueling is a slow process.
Compressed natural gas:-
Petroleum and natural gas obtained by process of drilling wells. As already
known crude oil petroleum is composed of hydrocarbons. It contains small
amount of water, sulphur and other impurities. Petroleum when mixed with
natural gas produces a highly volatile liquid. This liquid is known as natural
gasoline.
The natural gas can be compressed and then it is called compressed
natural gas (CNG). CNG is used in automobile vehicle just like LPG. The
CNG fuel feed system is just like the CNG fuel feed system.
Emission levels and comparison between CNG-driven vehicle and petrol
driven vehicle
pollutants Emissionnorms Petrol with catalytic
converter
CNG with
catalytic
converter
CO(g/Km) 5.60 0.92 0.05
HC(g/km) - 0.36 0.24
NOx(g/Km) 1.92 0.25 0.93
LIQUEFIED PETROLIUM GAS (LPG):-
Propane and butane are obtained from oil and gas wells. They are also the
product of the petroleum refining process. For automobile engines, two
types of LPG are used. One is propane and other is butane. Sometimes, a
mixture of propane and butane is used as liquid petroleum gas in
automobile engines.LPG gases are compressed and cooled to form liquid.
This liquid is kept in pressure tank which are sealed.
Now they are used widely in buses, car and trucks.

Page
15
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF LPG:-
ADVANTAGES:-
1) LPG contains less carbon than petrol. LPG powered vehicle produces
50% less carbon monoxide per kilometer, so the emission is much
reduced by the use of LPG.
2) LPG mix with air at all temperature
3) Since the fuel is in the form of vapour, there is no crankcase dilution.
4) LPG has high antiknock characteristics.
5) Running on LPG translates into a cost saving of about 50%.
6) The engine may have 50% more longer life.
DISADVANTAGES:-
1) A special fuel feed system is required for liquid petroleum gas
2) The vehicle weight is increased due to the heavy pressure cylinder
for storing of LPG
3) A good cooling system is quite necessary.
4) Running on LPG could lead to five percent reduction in valve life.
OTHER POSSIBLE FUELS:-
BIOGAS:-
Biogas is another alternate fuel tried in diesels.Biogas can be produced by
anaerobic digestion of organic matter. Potential raw materials available on
a large scale are cow dung, municipal wastes, etc…
The main advantages of biogas are that it can be produce in rural areas
from readily available material. Biogas consists mainly methane and carbon
dioxide. Its calorific value is low but its knock resistance is more and
ignition quality (cetane number) is low

Page
16
BENZOL:-
Benzol is a coal tar distillate that consist of about 70% benzene (𝐶6 𝐻6),
20% Toluene and 10%xylene and trace amounts of sulphur burning
compounds. It has high antiknock characteristic. It has a freezing point of
6ºC. This eliminates it as a fuel in cold climates. Its specific gravity is 0.88.,
specific heat 0.4
DIETHYL ETHER:-
It is a very volatile fuel. It is use with other fuels to increase the volatility of
the blend.
ACETONE:-
Acetone is more volatile than methanol. This may be used as fuel without
blending with other volatile fuels. Its antiknock quality is higher than that of
butanol. Hence, it is a desirable fuel to blend with butanol.

alternate fuel report

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to alternate fuel report

Recently uploaded

alternate fuel report