Title of Invention | A BIOFUEL ADDITIVE FOR DIESEL ENGINES |
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Abstract | This invention relates to a biofuel additive and a process for the preparation thereof. The biofuel is prepared by modification of a crude oil in a number of steps. The crude oil is a vegetable oil obtained from a weed Argemone maxicana which grows on marginal soils under varied agro-climatic conditions. The weed is drought tolerant and non-browsed. The crude oil is obtained from the weed by standard methods. The virgin oil is then modified. A series of steps is used for the modification of the crude oil. The extracted crude vegetable oil is first degummed using orthophosphoric acid. The crude oil is heated to a high temperature of more than 80°C and then treated with the orthophosphoric acid at a concentration of 0.01 to 5% (w/w) of the oil to remove phospholipids by filtration. The degummed oil is then washed and neutralized with water or lime water. The neutralized oil is then treated with a mineral acid such as hydrochloric acid in a proportion of 1 to 1.5 ml HCI per 25 ml of oil and allowed to settle overnight, for clarification. The clarified oil is then heated and treated with activated charcoal in a proportion of 1 to 2 gms per 25 ml of oil and filtered. The filtered oil sample on comparison with the virgin oil shows two Rf values of 3.5 and 4.3, whereas the degummed alkaloid free oil shows no bands on the silica gel plates. The degummed alkaloid free oil is then subjected to transesterification in the presence of catalyst selected from an alkali (chemical method) and a biocatalyst (enzymatic method). In the chemical method, the degummed oil sample is treated with an alkali and an alcohol and stirred on a shaker at a speed of 50 to 250 rpm for 10 to 20 minutes. Two layers are separated by using separating means such as a high speed centrifuge or a separatory funnel. The supernatant or upper layer is collected and subjected to GC analysis. |
Full Text | - 2- FIELD OF THE INVENTION: This invention relates to a biofuel additive for diesel engines. The invention further relates to a biofuel additive which reduces fuel consumption, improves diesel engine efficiency and reduces pollution levels compared to heat petroleum diesel BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION: Pollution is a major problem in this age of growing industrialization. The pollution is mainly due to small, dust particles, unburnt fuel, aerosols and other suspended material in the air. This renders the city air unfit for breathing. Therefore, it is important to identify methods to reduce the pollution levels. One important step in this direction would be to reduce the fuel related pollution, i.e. the unburnt and partially burnt, fuel emanating from vehicles. It is known that diesel forms a major part of the fuel used in automobiles and it is therefore important to reduce the pollution arising from diesel engines, OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION: It is therefore an object of this invention to propose a biofuel additive which will reduce fuel consumption and improve the efficiency of diesel engines. It is a further object of this invention to propose a biofuel additive which will reduce pollution levels compared to neat petroleum diesel. -3- Another object of this invention is to propose a biofuel additive which converts waste into a valuable resource. These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to a person on reading the ensuing description. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTI: This invention relates to a biofuel additive for diesel, The biofuel is prepared by modification of a crude oil in a number of steps. The crude oil is a vegetable oil obtained from a weed Argemone maxicana which grows on marginal soils under varied agro-climatic conditions. The weed is drought tolerant and non-browsed. The crude oil is obtained from the weed by standard methods. The virgin oil is then modified. A series of steps is used for the modification of the crude oil. The extracted crude vegetable oil is first degummed using orthophosphoric acid at a concentration of 0.01 to 5% (w/w) of the oil. The crude oil is heated to a high temperature and then treated with the acid to remove phospholipids by filtration. The degummed oil is then washed and neutralized with water or lime water. The neutralized oil is tiien treatj(c)d with a mineral acid such as hydrochloric acid and allowed to settie overnight, for clarification. The clarified oil is then heated and treated with activated charcoal and filtered. The filtered oil sample on comparison with the virgin oil shows two Rf values of 3.5 and 4.3, whereas the degummed alkaloid free oil shows no bands on the silica gel plates. The degummed alkaloid free oil is then subjected to transesterification by any of two methods i.e. a chemical method and enzymatic method. -4- In the chemical method, the degummed oil sample is treated with an alkali and an alcohol and stirred on a shaker at a speed of 50 to 250 rpm for 10 to 20 minutes. Two layers are separated by using separating means such as a high speed centrifuge or a separatory funnel. The supernatant or upper layer is collected and subjected to GC analysis. In the enzymatic method, the modified degummed oil is reacted with alcohol in the presence of a lipolytic enzyme with stirring for 10 to 20 minutes at a speed of 50 to 250 rpm at about room temperature. Two layers separate and the upper layer is collected for GC analysis. The alcohol used for the transesterification reaction is by way of example methanol and the alkali is selected from sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. Although the steps of the process are as outlined hereinbefore, any modification or alteration of the sequence of step is also to be considered as being within the spirit and scope of the invention. Analysis the fatty acid methyl esters of the virgin oil and the modified trans esterified oil are done by gas chromatography. The concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids (oleate and linoleate) are higher than saturated fatty acids (palmitate and stearate) in the modified biofuel. This is perhaps the reason for its viscosity, flow properties, and calorific value to be comparable with those of neat diesel, BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS: The invention will now be explained in greater detail with the help of the accompanying drawings where 5 Figure 1 shows the GC profiles of the biofuel. Figure 2 shows the GC profiles of fatty acids in intrented oil. Analysis of the fatty acid of the virgin oil and the modified (transesterified) oil is done using a gas chromatography system. The data indicates [Fig 1 & Fig 2] that the concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids (oleate and linoleate) are much higher than saturated fatty acids (palmitate and stearate) in the modified biofuel. This could be the reason for its viscosity flow properties and calorific value to be comparable with those of neat diesel Table 1: Physical properties and calorific value of diesel and biofuel Fuel Gas Temperature (at 13 Km load) Specific gravity Viscosity (cp) Calorific value (kJ/kg) Diesel 303°C 0.9 4.34 43115 Biofuel (10% 237°C 0.91 4.28 42580 Biofuel (20%) 224°C 0.913 4.23 42044 In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the biofuel additive is added to neat diesel in a proportion of 10 to 30% biofuel additive, A Ricardo variable compression Engine run with diesel alone and with modified oil as an additive shows a significant increase in the run time of the engine at 7.13 and 18 Nm loads in comparison to diesel alone, thereby reducing its fuel consumption per unit time. 6 The CO emission level was reduced drastically by 95.3% and 86.67% with 10% and 20% biofuels respectively at the maximum load of 18 Nm (2,92 KW BHP) in comparison with neat diesel. The NOX level also showed a sharp decline by 39.13% for 10% biofuel and 32.61% for 20% biofuel at the maximum load of 18 Nm (2.92 KW BHP) in comparison with neat diesel. The percentage of smoke, a major polluting agent, also reduced drastically with 10% and 20% biofuels, The maximum decline in smoke emission observed was 65% and 50% for 10% and 20% biofuels respectively at a load of 13 Nm (2.11 KW BHP) as compared to the neat diesel. The gas temperature also reduced appreciably when the machine as run with the biofuels additive (Table 1). The enhanced performance and hence engine efficiency at different given loads significant and a favorable trend in the fuel consumption pattern of the biofuels along with a drastic reduction in smoke, particulate matters and obnoxious polluting and carcinogenic gas emissions highlights the salient features of this invention. The new biofuel additive reduced fuel consumption, improves diesel engine efficiency and reduces pollution levels as compare to neat petroleum diesel. |
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01373-kol-2006 correspondence-1.1.pdf
01373-kol-2006-correspondence others.pdf
01373-kol-2006-description(provisional).pdf
1373-KOL-2006-(02-01-2013)-FORM-8.pdf
1373-KOL-2006-(28-12-2012)-CLAIMS.pdf
1373-KOL-2006-(28-12-2012)-CORRESPONDENCE.pdf
1373-KOL-2006-(28-12-2012)-DESCRIPTION (COMPLETE).pdf
1373-KOL-2006-(28-12-2012)-DRAWINGS.pdf
1373-KOL-2006-(28-12-2012)-FORM 1.pdf
1373-KOL-2006-(28-12-2012)-FORM 2.pdf
1373-KOL-2006-(28-12-2012)-FORM-13.pdf
1373-KOL-2006-(28-12-2012)-OTHERS.pdf
1373-KOL-2006-(28-12-2012)-PETITION UNDER RULE 137.pdf
1373-KOL-2006-CORRESPONDENCE 1.1.pdf
1373-KOL-2006-CORRESPONDENCE 1.2.pdf
1373-kol-2006-description (complete).pdf
Patent Number | 257942 | |||||||||
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Indian Patent Application Number | 1373/KOL/2006 | |||||||||
PG Journal Number | 47/2013 | |||||||||
Publication Date | 22-Nov-2013 | |||||||||
Grant Date | 20-Nov-2013 | |||||||||
Date of Filing | 18-Dec-2006 | |||||||||
Name of Patentee | INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | |||||||||
Applicant Address | Indian Institute of Kharagpur 721 302 | |||||||||
Inventors:
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PCT International Classification Number | C10L 1/18 | |||||||||
PCT International Application Number | N/A | |||||||||
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