Study of Properties and Performance of Biodiesel in C I Engine Produced from Waste Cooking Oil using Heterogeneous Catalyst

Abstract

The world is dependent on fossil fuels for more than a century. In recent years exponential growth in industrialization and world population has increased the demand for the energy. Approximately 80% energy need is fulfilled by the fossil fuels. A major part, nearly 57% from it is utilized by the transport sector. From present scenario there is a huge gap between world energy requirement and energy demand. Therefore, world is facing twin crises of depleting fossil fuel reserves and environmental degradation. This fast diminishing of fossil fuel reserves has adversely affected the world oil supply which increased the oil price. This fluctuation in increasing petroleum prices, limited fossil fuel reserves and environmental degradation escalated the search for substitute for fossil fuels especially in transport sectors. Due to these reasons liquid fuels such as biodiesel is in lime light and become more attractive because of environmental benefits. Chemically biodiesel is defined as the mixture of long chain fatty acids and is typically produced from non-toxic biological resources such as vegetable oils, animal fats or waste cooking oils. Compared to traditional diesel fuel, biodiesel is technically and economically more competitive due to its renewability, biodegradability, liquid nature-portability, low emission profiles, high flash point and lower sulfur and aromatic content. Biodiesel has properties very similar to conventional diesel and can be run on diesel engine without any major modification in it. Generally the biodiesel production comprises of transesterification of vegetable oil (edible or non-edible oils) in presence of homogeneous base or acid catalysts. Sodium hydroxides (NaOH), potassium hydroxide (KOH) are homogeneous base catalysts and are widely used for biodiesel production. The merits of homogeneous catalyst are that it possesses high conversion rate under mild reaction conditions and the reaction completes in one hour.