Comparative Analysis Of Carbon Emissions From Biofuel And Liquefied Petroleum Fuel

Description

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to identify differences in the composition of combustion emissions between liquefied petroleum fuel and biofuel and to determine if use of an emissions meter would be a suitable addition to a future laboratory experiment. The aim of this work was achieved through experimental testing of combustion emissions of the two fuels as well as mixtures using a flue gas analyzer and an existing biodiesel compatible combustion system. From the study clear trends was identified between bioful proportions and exhaust concentrations of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, as well as validated the temperature dependence   of emission compositions.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWELDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

• INTRODUCTION
• BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
• PROBLEM STATEMENT
• AIM AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
• SCOPE OF THE STUDY
• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
• APPLICATION OF THE STUDY
• LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
• PROJECT ORGANISATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

• OVERVIEW OF BIOFUEL
• THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF FINGERPRINTS
• BIOFUELS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
• CHEMISTRY OF BIODIESEL
• BIODIESEL PRODUCTION & PURIFICATION
• BIODIESEL PETROLEUM DIESEL
• ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

• INTRODUCTION
• TESTO-340 METER AND OPERATION
• TAKINGMEASUREMENTS
• MODIFICATION OF EXHAUST VENTILATION SYSTEM
• PROCESS OF PRODUCING BIODIESEL AT WPI
• EXPERIMENTALPROCEDURE

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0      RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

CHAPTER FIVE

• CONCLUSIONS
• RECOMMENDATION
• REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                                INTRODUCTION

1.1                                  BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

It is well known that liquefied petroleum fuel or diesels are the major source of air pollutions that create an adverse impact on human health and overall greenhouse gases. Biofuel (which can also be called biodiesel)has some great benefits over liquefied petroleum diesel, such as it produces 4.5 units of energy against every unit of fossil energy [Pradhan, 2019] and also it has some environment-friendly properties such as it is non-toxic, biodegradable and safer to breathe [Lin YC, 2006]. Biofuel is also a clean-burning and stable fuel [National Biodiesel Board, 2018]. Properties of biofuel such as oxygen content, cetane number, viscosity, density and heat value are greatly dependent on the sources (soybean, rapeseed or animal fats) of biofuel [EPA, 2012]. Engine performance and emissions depend on the properties of biodiesels. Biofuel is a highly oxygenated fuel that can improve combustion efficiency and can reduce unburnt hydrocarbons (HCs), carbon dioxide (CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxides (SO₂), nitric oxide (NO_x) and polycyclic aromatic HC emissions. However, brake-specific fuel consumption slightly increases [Saka S, 2019].

Popularity of biofuel as renewable sources of alternative fuel of petroleum diesel is growing quickly due to increased environmental awareness and the rising price of diesel. It is an earth-friendly choice of consumers that already occupies a great volume of the world’s fuel sector due to its clean emission characteristics.

Developments of biodiesel fuels in many countries are driven by the necessity to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions which is the major issue for today’s world, and the scarcity of the source of petroleum diesel also enhances the development and production of biodiesel fuel around the world. Biodiesel is generally produced from vegetable oils or animal fats through a chemical process known as transesterification process.

Vegetable oil was first used to run an engine by Rudolf Diesel (1858 – 1913) who developed the first engine. But some- times, vegetable oils create adverse effects on engine components which may be due to their different volatility and molecular structure from diesel fuel as well as high viscosity compared with diesel fuel [Eastop, 2013]. Currently, this problem is being eliminated by applying different chemical processes such as transesterification, supercritical, catalyst-free process etc., on vegetable oils to convert into biodiesel.

This main aim of this study is to investigate the of combustion emissions (unburnt HCs, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitric oxide) between biodiesel and petroleum-based diesel

1.2                                         PROBLEM STATEMENT

Society is continuously developing and evolving to enhance daily life. Energy has been, and always will be, required to achieve desired technological advances. As different methods of harnessing energy are discovered, they will possess the ability to transform society’s surroundings. Petroleum based fuels have been used as one of the main sources of energy, however fossil fuel sources are projected to diminish as population increases in the next century. The combustion of these fossil fuels potentially releases hazardous chemicals and pollutants. In the past 30 years there has been a shift in awareness as to the negative impacts of fossil fuels on ecosystems and climates. As a result fuels derived from plants, geothermal energy, solar energy and more have been targeted as promising alternatives. An ideal fuel for the future should be both energetically competitive with current fuels but also have a better environmental contribution. This study was carried out to investigate the carbon from biofuel and liquefied petroleum fuel

1.3                            AIM AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main aim of this project is to identify differences in the composition of combustion emissions between biofuel and liquefied petroleum fuel. The objectives are:

• Developing a method of adding a testing apparatus into the existing combustion engine
• Showing that a difference exists in exhaust emission contents of the two
• Identifying trends in exhaust emissions’ contents for pure diesel, pure biodiesel and
• Determining a suitable way to quantify combustion efficiency and calculating these efficiencies for pure diesel, pure biodiesel and mixtures of the

1.4                                          SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The amount of CO2 produced when a fuel is burned is a function of the carbon content of the fuel. The heat content, or the amount of energy produced when a fuel is burned, is mainly determined by the carbon © and hydrogen (H) content of the fuel. Heat is produced when C and H combine with oxygen (O) during combustion. Natural gas is primarily methane (CH4), which has a higher energy content relative to other fuels, and thus, it has a relatively lower CO2-to-energy content. Water and various elements, such as sulfur and noncombustible elements in some fuels, reduce their heating values and increase their CO2-to-heat contents. In this work, the composition of combustion emissions between liquidified petroleum fuel and biodfuel was investigated.

1.5                                   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research work will throw more light on the carbon emission on human. This study will also be designed to be of immense benefit to all the users biofuel and liquidified petroleum fuel.

Finally, it will also serve as a useful piece of information on how to use emissions meter to measure emission rate.

1.6                                   LIMITATION OF STUDY

As we all know that no human effort to achieve a set of goals goes without difficulties, certain constraints were encountered in the course of carrying out this project and they are as follows:-

1. Difficulty in information collection: I found it too difficult in laying hands of useful information regarding this work and this course me to visit different libraries and internet for solution.
2. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).

• Time Constraint: The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.6                                     PROJECT ORGANISATION

The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory part of the work,   chapter two presents the literature review of the study,  chapter three describes the methods applied, chapter four discusses the results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and the recommendations.