Import of petroleum products is a major drain on our foreign exchange sources and with growing demand in future years the situation is likely become even worse. Hence it has become imperative to find suitable fuels, which can be produced in our country. In this work, Mahua oil, a non-edible type is used in this investigation for studying its suitability for use in diesel engine. This work deals with the results of investigations carried out in studying the fuel properties of methyl ester of mahua oil blends with diesel fuel from 10 to 30% by volume and in running a single cylinder four-stroke diesel engine with this fuels at different injection pressures (200bar, 210bar & 220bar). Tests were performed on the engine for different pressure and the results were displayed.

1. Proceedings of the 2nd
International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Management ICCTEM -2014
17 – 19, July 2014, Mysore, Karnataka, India
174
PERFORMANCE AND EMISSION STUDY OF MAHUA METHYL ESTER
AT DIFFERENT INJECTION PRESSURE
Hemanth Kumar K J1
, Dr. Sharanappa Godiganur2
, Manjunath H N3
, Amruth.E4
1, 4
(Asst. Prof., VVCE, Mysore, India)
2
(Professor & HOD Dept of ME, REVA ITM, B’lore, India)
3
(Asst.Prof., NMIT,Bangalore, India)
ABSTRACT
Import of petroleum products is a major drain on our foreign exchange sources and with growing demand in
future years the situation is likely become even worse. Hence it has become imperative to find suitable fuels, which can
be produced in our country. In this work, Mahua oil, a non-edible type is used in this investigation for studying its
suitability for use in diesel engine. This work deals with the results of investigations carried out in studying the fuel
properties of methyl ester of mahua oil blends with diesel fuel from 10 to 30% by volume and in running a single
cylinder four-stroke diesel engine with this fuels at different injection pressures(200bar, 210bar & 220bar). Tests were
performed on the engine for different pressure and the results were displayed. Various properties of these fuels are
evaluated and compared in relation to that of conventional diesel fuel. Engine tests have been carried out with the aim of
obtaining comparative measures of specific fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency, emissions such as CO, CO2,
NOx, and un-burnt hydrocarbons. At this optimized pressure the thermal efficiency is similar to diesel and reduction in
carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbon with an increase in the oxides of nitrogen was noticed.
Keywords: Injection Pressure, Methyl Ester, Emissions.
1. INTRODUCTION
Rising fuel costs and impending emissions regulations have sharpened the automotive industry’s focus on
efficiency. Thermodynamic tests based on engine performance evaluations have established the feasibility of using a
variety of alternative fuels such as CNG, Biogas, Alcohols, and Vegetable oils etc. To cut foreign exchequer and
contribute towards protection of earth from the threat of environmental degradation, bio-fuels can be a good alternative
for diesel for most of the developing countries. High viscosity and low volatility are the two inherent properties, which
cause undeserving problems to the engine[1]
. Viscosity of vegetable oils exerts a strong influence on the shape of the fuel
spray. High viscosity causes poor atomization large droplets and high spray jet penetration. As a result, the fuel is not
distributed in or mixed with the air required for burning [2,7,8]
. This results in poor combustion, accompanied by loss of
power and economy. Most of the vegetable oils have kinematic viscosity at 300
C in the range of 40-70 cSt whereas the
specification range for diesel is 3-5 cSt [3,6].
The use of Mahua oil (Madhucaindica) as diesel substitute in compression
ignition engine has now assumed greater importance because their large population and phenomenal growth rate. Mahua
oil can easily be substituted for hydrocarbons that are getting scarce worldwide and save the country crores of rupees in
foreign exchange. The vegetable oil has to be preheated for use since the viscosity of the oil is much higher than that of
diesel at room temperature. Mahua oil is obtained from dried seeds of the mahua plant shown in Fig.1. Mahua plant is a
large deciduous tree growing widely under dry tropical and sub tropical climatic conditions. It is an important tree for the
poor; it is greatly valued for its flowers and its seeds. The tree has religious and aesthetic value in the tribal culture. In
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
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Volume 5, Issue 9, September (2014), pp. 174-180
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2. Proceedings of the 2nd
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17 – 19, July 2014, Mysore, Karnataka, India
175
some countries, Mahua oil is considered as edible as it is used only for preparing ghee, but in our country it has been
considered as non-edible oil. Its botanical name is MaducaIndica and common English name is Maduca or Butter tree.
Fig.1: Photograph of Mahua Tree
2. MATERIAL
Mahua seeds shown in Fig.2 are collected during May to July. During a bumper season a person can collect up
to 15 kg of tori per day. Local tribal extracts 250 ml of oil from 1kg of seed. Oil is usually kept for domestic
consumption. In market they sell seeds at Rs 10/- per kg. The seeds should be de-shelled by pressing and then dried to get
the kernel. The amount of oil extracted is 20-30 % of weight of kernels when crushed in ghanis, 34-37 % in expellers and
40-43% when extracted by solvents. The catalyst KOH is used, a homogeneous reaction takes place and the biodiesel is
produced with the liberation of glycerie.
Fig.2: Mahua oil seed
3. METHODOLOGY
The products of the reaction are the biodiesel itself and glycerol. A successful transesterification reaction is
signified by the separation of the ester and glycerol. Layers after the reaction time. The heavier, co-product, glycerol
settles out and may be sold as it is or it may be purified for use in other industries, e.g. the pharmaceutical, cosmetics etc.
Straight vegetable oil can be used directly as a fossil diesel substitute however using this fuel can lead to some fairly
serious engine problems. Due to its relatively high viscosity straight vegetable oil leads to poor atomization of the fuel,
incomplete combustion, coking of the fuel injectors, ring carbonization, and accumulation of fuel in the lubricating oil.
The best method for solving these problems is the transesterification of the oil.
The engine combustion benefits of the transesterification of the oil are:
• Lowered viscosity
• Complete removal of the glycerid
• Lowered boiling point

3. Proceedings of the 2nd
International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Management ICCTEM -2014
17 – 19, July 2014, Mysore, Karnataka, India
176
• Lowered flash point
• Lowered pour point
The chemical reaction involved in the transesterification process is shown below
Fig.3: Transesterification of process setup
4. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
The Transisterification setup shown in Fig.3 consists of condenser, heater , Transisterification tank etc., In the
setup biodiesel is produced in the large scale.
Fig.4: Experimental set up.

4. Proceedings of the 2nd
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17 – 19, July 2014, Mysore, Karnataka, India
177
5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The experiment is conducted at three different pressures (200bar, 200bar, 210bar, 220bar) and the results are
observed. The Mahua oil sample is sent to Gas Chromatography test, following results are found in Table1. The
characteristics properties of Mahua oilis tabulated in the Table2. The experiment is conducted at 20N-m.
Table.1: Fatty acid composition of Mahua oil
Oil/fatty acid Mahua oil (%)
Palmitic C16:0 16.0-27.2
Stearic C17:0 20.0-25.1
Arachidic C20:0 0.0-3.3
Oleic C17: 1 41.0-51.0
Linoleic C17: 2 7.9-13.7
Table.2: Characteristics of Mahua oil
The properties like specific Gravity, Kinematic Viscocity Flash Point and Calorific Values are compared in the Table3.
Table. 3: Properties of Diesel and Biodiesel blends
The components of the experimental setup of the present work are detailed below.
Fig.5: Variation of EGT with IP at20 n-m Load for different Fuels
480
500
520
540
560
580
600
190 200 210 220 230
EGT(⁰C)
Injection Pressure(bar)
diesel
b10
b20
b30
Properties Values
Refractive index 1.452-1.462
Saponification value 170-195
Iodine value 50-70
Unsaponifiable matter, % 1-3
Fuel
Specific
gravity
Kinematic
viscosity at 40ºC
(Cst)
Flash point
(ºC)
Calorific value
(KJ/KgK)
Diesel 0.82 2.6 55 42933
B10 0.829 2.96 67 42599
B20 0.838 3.31 70 42266
B30 0.847 3.66 73 41933
B100 0.91 3.97 217 39843

5. Proceedings of the 2nd
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17 – 19, July 2014, Mysore, Karnataka, India
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Fig. 6: Variation of NOx with IP at20 n-m Load for different Fuels
Fig.7: Variation of UBHC with IP at20 n-m Load for different Fuels
Fig.8: Variation of CO with IP at20 n-m Load for different Fuels
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
190 200 210 220 230
NOx(ppm)
Injection Pressure(bar)
diesel
b10
b20
b30
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
190 200 210 220 230
UBHC(ppm)
Injection Pressure(bar)
diesel
b10
b20
b30
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
195 200 205 210 215 220 225
CO(%)
Injection Pressure(bar)
diesel
b10
b20
b30

6. Proceedings of the 2nd
International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Management ICCTEM -2014
17 – 19, July 2014, Mysore, Karnataka, India
179
Fig.9: Variation of CO2 with IP at20 n-m Load for different Fuels
Fig.10: Variation of BTE with IP at 20 n-m Load for different Fuels
Fig.11: Variation of BSFC with IP at20 n-m Load for different Fuels
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
195 200 205 210 215 220 225
BTE(%)
Injection Pressure(bar)
diesel
b10
b20
b30
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
6.7
6.8
6.9
7
7.1
7.2
195 200 205 210 215 220 225
CO2(%)
Injection Pressure(bar)
diesel
b10
b20
b30
0.25
0.26
0.27
0.28
0.29
0.3
0.31
0.32
195 200 205 210 215 220 225
BSFC(kg/kw-hr)
Injection Pressure(bar)
diesel
b10
b20
b30

7. Proceedings of the 2nd
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17 – 19, July 2014, Mysore, Karnataka, India
180
6. CONCLUSIONS
After esterification of vegetable oils, the kinematic viscosity and specific gravity is reduced and calorific value
is increased.
1. The diesel engine performed satisfactorily on biodiesel blends, so MME blends can be used as an alternative
fuel in existing diesel engine without any hardware modification in the system
2. The BTE of the engine with 20 and 30% methyl esters of vegetable oils does not differ greatly from that of
diesel fuel.
3. B20 fuels the BTE is improved compared to diesel fuel.
4. With increase in concentration of biodiesel in blended fuels, the increase of EGT was very less.
5. The injection pressure 220 bar was found to be the optimum IP and better results obtained for biodiesel blends at
220 bar IP.
6. Lower EGT was observed at higher injection pressures.
7. The emission such as CO and UBHC were lower for biodiesel and increase of NOx emission in the case of
biodiesel. This may be due to higher temperature of combustion chamber.
8. The CO2 emission is slightly higher for biodiesel blended fuels.
9. The 20% biodiesel blend vegetable oils was found to be the optimum concentration for biodiesel blends, which
improved the thermal efficiency of the engine and reduced the BSFC compared to diesel fuel
10. The emissions such as NOx, CO, UBHC were reduced in B20 fuel vegetable oils and only CO2 is higher when
compared to diesel fuel.
11. The 20% biodiesel blend represented a good compromise between increased CO2 and reduction of NOx, CO.
Based on the exhaustive engine tests, it could be concluded that the blends of MME with diesel fuel up to 30%
by volume could replace the diesel for running the existing diesel engine without any hardware modifications and 20%
blend of both vegetable oil esters with diesel fuel was found to be the best blend in regard to performance and emission
characteristics compared all blends. Also it could be concluded that the biodiesel reduces the environmental impacts of
transportation, reduce the dependence on crude oil imports and offer business possibilities to agricultural enterprises for
periods of excess agricultural production. Finally it could be concluded that the biodiesel was found to be a potential
alternative fuel to diesel fuel. Since it’s physical properties are close to those of diesel fuel and hence a renewable source
of energy and it can be right solution for India.
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