The document discusses the performance of internal combustion engines using vegetable oils as fuel. It provides an overview of biodiesel production from vegetable oils and animal fats through a process called transesterification. The performance and economics of biodiesel from sources like soybean oil and waste vegetable oil are compared to petroleum diesel. While biodiesel blends perform better in some ways, production costs and limited raw material availability restrict its commercial use. The document also outlines advantages and disadvantages of using straight vegetable oils in engines.

1. PERFORMANCE OF IC ENGINE USING
VEGETABLE OILS
Name:G.AKHIL
MOBILE NO:7702578446
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
CHITTOOR,
A.P.
Email :gakhilreddy007@gmail.com

2. ABSTRACT:
Bio-diesel fuel for diesel engines is produced from vegetable oil animal fat by
the chemical process of esterification. This paper presents a brief history of
diesel engine technology and an overview of biodiesel, including
performance characteristics, economics, and potential demand. The
performance and economics of biodiesel are compared with those of
petroleum diesel. The term “biodiesel” means the monoalkyl esters of long
chain fatty acids derived from plant or animal matter which meet (A) the
registration requirements for fuels and fuel additives established by the
Environmental Protection Agency under section 211 of the Clean Air Act (42
U.S.C. 7545), and (B) the requirements of the American Society of Testing
and Materials D6751.6 There is therefore little reason to see vegetable oil as
the primary fuel of the future. On the other hand PVO is a fuel, which does
have its benefits, and therefore should be given equal treatment a
compared to other CO2.
The idea of using vegetable oil for fuel has been around as
long as the diesel engine. Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of the
engine that bears his name, experimented with fuels ranging
from powdered coal to peanut oil. In the early 20th century,
however, diesel engines were adapted to burn petroleum
distillate, which was cheap and plentiful. In the late 20th
century, however, the cost of petroleum distillate rose, and
by the late 1970s there was renewed interest in biodiesel.
Commercial production of biodiesel in the United States
began in the 1990s.
The most common sources of oil for biodiesel production in
the United States are soybean oil and yellow grease
(primarily, recycled cooking oil from restaurants). Blends of
biodiesel and petroleum diesel are designated with the letter
“B,” followed by the volumetric percentage of biodiesel in the
blend: B20, the blend most often evaluated, contains 20
percent biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel; B100 is
pure biodiesel. By several important measures biodiesel
blends perform better than petroleum diesel, but its
relatively high production costs and the limited availability of
some of the raw materials used in its production continue to
limit its commercial application.
Bio-diesel has gained much attention in recent years due to
the increasing environmental awareness. It is produced from
renewable resources and, more importantly, is a clean
burning fuel that does not contribute to the net increase of
carbon dioxide.
I. EASE OF USE
1.1 Pure Vegetable oil fuel characterization
The interest in plant or vegetable oils originated in the late
70's and came from the agrarian sector, which is still one of
its main drivers. Initially, it was believed to be possible to use
these oils directly with a low processing level. Extensive
testing by the engine industry has shown that unmodified
engines, while operating satisfactorily, would quickly develop
durability problems, due to problems with fuel injectors,
piston rings and lubrication oil stability. For this reason the
engine must be modified. Such modifications can at present

3. be made by a number of facilities mainly in Germany. More
than 5000 vehicles are presently using pure vegetable oil in
Germany. [ELS] Nevertheless one can still find examples of
claims that PVO can be used in any unmodified engine. As an
example the TV program Top Gear on BBC presented the
claim in November 2002, but without showing any durability
test of the concept.
1.2 The major advantages of natural vegetable oil
 High calorific value: high energy density
 Liquid in form and thus easily to be handled
 When burned it emits less soot
 When burned it has high energy efficiency
 It is neither harmful nor toxic to humans, animals, soil or water
 It is neither flammable nor explosive, and does not release
toxic gases
 It is easy to store, transport and handle
 It does not cause damage if accidentally spilt
 Its handling does not require special care to be taken
 It is produced directly by nature: it does not have to be
transformed
 It is a recyclable form of energy
 It does not have adverse ecological effects when used
2. VEGETABLE OIL TO BIODIESEL – PROCESS
The process of converting vegetable oil to biodiesel Fuel is
called Transesterification. Chemically Transesterification
means taking a triglyceride molecule or a complex fatty acid,
neutralizing the free fatty acid, removing the glycerin and
creating an alcohol ester. This is accomplished by mixing
methanol with sodium hydroxide to make sodium methoxide.
This liquid is then mixed into the vegetable oil. After the
mixture has settled, glycerin is left on the bottom and methyl
esters or bodies is left on top and is washed and filtered. The
final product biodiesel Fuel when used directly in a diesel
engine will burn up to 75% cleaner than mineral oil Diesel
fuel.
2.1 Plant oils used for Biodiesel:
A variety of bio-liquids can be used to produce biodiesel. The
main plants whose oils have been considered as feed stocks
for bio fuel are soyabean oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil, sunflower
oil, safflower oil and jatropha oil. Others in contention are
mustard, hemp, castor oil, waste vegetable oil, and in some
cases even algae. There is going on research into finding more
suitable crops. A list of oils that appear to have the potential
for biodiesel is provided below in alphabetical order of the
plant name:
1) Algae 2) Artichoke oil 3) Canola oil
4)Castor oil 5) Coconut oil
6) Corn oil 7) Cottonseed oil 8) Flax oil
9) Hemp oil 10) Jatropha oil 11)
Jojoba oil 12) Karanj t oil 13) Kukui nut oil
14) Milk bush shrub 15) Mustard oil 16) Neem oil
17) Olive oil 18) Palm oil 19)
Peanut oil 20) Radish oil 21) Rapeseed oil 22)
Rice bran oil 23) Safflower oil 24) Tung oil
25) Sunflower oil 26) Soyabean oil 27) Waste
vegetable oil
3. PALM OIL
The oil palm, Elaeis guineensis, is native to Africa. Its
commercial value lies mainly in the oil that can be obtained

4. from the mesocarp of the fruit - palm oil - and the kernel of
the nut - palm kernel oil. Palm oil is used mainly for cooking
(cooking oil, margarine, shortening, etc.) and has non-food
applications (soap, detergent, cosmetics, etc.)
Palm Oil is the highest yielding oil crop, producing on average
about 4-5 tonnes of oil per hectare per year, about ten times
the yield of soybean oil. It is already very profitable to invest
in the industry, even using existing technology. The price of
palm oil is
consequently high - above 24,000 Rs per tonne - and the cost
of production relatively low - about 7,200-9,600 Rs per tonne
–so investors do not see the need for R&D. There may also be
reluctance to embark on R&D, since its results often filter
down to end-users eventually, inducing the latter to wait for
others to cover the costs.
Fig.No:3.1 Plantation of palm and palm seeds
4. Appreciation of the service life of the palm oil engine
Evolution of the quantity of oil necessary to provide 1
mechanical kWh:
From the mass consumption of the engine per unit of time
and the measure of the electric output by the generator, we
deduce the quantity of oil necessary for the mechanical
production of one kWh. The evolution in time of this value
compared with the engine running on diesel oil will enable us
to appreciate the service life of the engine running on palm
oil.
Wear of the injection elements:
The acidity or the lack of viscosity of the palm oil is likely to
cause a premature wear of certain parts of the injection
pump or injector. The disassembling and the comparison of
these elements on the engines A and B will allow assessing if
the use of palm oil as a fuel really is a problem at this level.
Wear of the engine:
The ovalisation of the cylinder is the most important
information. By measuring it before and after the tests and by
comparing the values measured on the engines A and B, one
can determine if the use of palm oil produces a faster wear in
the engine or not. Then, the analyzes of lubricating oil
samples taken in the two engines at the end of the tests will
allow to complete this comparison.
5. CONCLUSIONS
• The biodiesel fuels produced less smoke than diesel under
similar engine operating conditions, probably because palm
oil contains oxygen which helps the combustion in the
cylinder.
• The biodiesel and reference fuels provided similar
combustion pressure patterns at low and medium engine
loads, suggesting that the biodiesels had no adverse effect in
terms of knocking.
• The biodiesel fuels lowered the premixed combustion of
heat release because of the lower volatility.
6.
Disadvantages:
 The viscosity of vegetable oils is much higher than that of
diesel.It can cause problems in fuel
handeling,pumping,automization& fuel jet penetration.
 This would require modifications in the engine fuel system.

5.  Vegetable oils are slower burning.
 It can give rise to exhaust smoke,fuel impingement on cylinder
walls& lubricating oil contamination.
 To overcome this combustion system must be modified to
speed up air-fuel mixing.
 The indirect injection(IDI) engines are more suitable than
direct injection(DI) engines for vegetable oils because of
single relative large size nozzle hole.
 Azhar Abdul Aziz*; Mohd Farid Said* and Mohamad Afiq
Awang* “Performance of Palm Oil-Based Biodiesel Fuels in a
Single Cylinder Direct Injection Engine”
6. REFERANCES
 http://www.plantoils.in/
 EnergyPortal@Oilgae.com

 www.resourceinvestor.com/.../Energy/Monty2.png
 www.biodiesel.lorg.com
 . www.card.iastate.edu/.../images/4-1_small.gif
 www.ambientediritto.it/.../img25.jpg
 www.jatrophaworld.org/9.html

6.  Vegetable oils are slower burning.
 It can give rise to exhaust smoke,fuel impingement on cylinder
walls& lubricating oil contamination.
 To overcome this combustion system must be modified to
speed up air-fuel mixing.
 The indirect injection(IDI) engines are more suitable than
direct injection(DI) engines for vegetable oils because of
single relative large size nozzle hole.
 Azhar Abdul Aziz*; Mohd Farid Said* and Mohamad Afiq
Awang* “Performance of Palm Oil-Based Biodiesel Fuels in a
Single Cylinder Direct Injection Engine”
6. REFERANCES
 http://www.plantoils.in/
 EnergyPortal@Oilgae.com

 www.resourceinvestor.com/.../Energy/Monty2.png
 www.biodiesel.lorg.com
 . www.card.iastate.edu/.../images/4-1_small.gif
 www.ambientediritto.it/.../img25.jpg
 www.jatrophaworld.org/9.html