I. INTRODUCCIÓN
1.3.1. Plan de negocio
2.2.1 Biodiesel Production, Policies and Standardisation
Biodiesels are available alternative fuels which have a promising future as a substitute for conventional diesel. In general, the production of biodiesel is normally based upon locally available sources. Suitable feedstocks include soybean, sunflower, cottonseed, rapeseed, palm oil, jatropha seed, tallow (animal fat) or even waste
48 cooking oil. In the US, most biodiesel is derived from soy bean while in Europe, rapeseed is the largest source for biodiesel production.
Figure 2.7 Chemical reaction of triglyceride and methanol to produce biodiesel (Goswani et al. 2007)
Biodiesel is a methyl or ethyl ester of fatty acids made by a transesterification process of vegetable oils or animal fats. The transesterification process is the chemical reaction of a triglyceride with an alcohol such as methanol or ethanol to form methyl esters and glycerol. A triglyceride has a glycerine molecule as its base with three long chain fatty acids attached. During the process, the triglyceride is reacted with alcohol in the presence of a catalyst, usually an alkaline like sodium hydroxide. The alcohol reacts with the fatty acids to form the methyl ester (biodiesel) and glycerol (Goswani et al. 2007). Figure 2.7 shows the chemical process for methyl ester biodiesel.
In 2006, the world total biodiesel production was around 6.47 million tons (Balat et al. 2008). According to the European Biodiesel Board (Board 2006), the EU
49 countries contributed 4.89 million tons in the same year, where Germany leads the production followed by France and Italy. Germany produced 2.662 million tons of biodiesel which contributed about 42% of world total biodiesel production in 2006 (Board 2006). Currently, biodiesel is the main biofuel produced and consumed in the EU (EBB 2008). Biodiesel accounted for nearly 80% of EU biofuel production (Balat et al. 2008). There are 185 fully operational biodiesel plants currently available through out Europe, while many others are under constructions (Board 2006). In EU countries, taxes normally make up 50% or more to the retail price of diesel. However, the European Parliament has adopted a 90% tax exemption for biodiesel in 1994 to promote the public used of biodiesel (Balat et al. 2008).
The biofuel directive set an indicative target of 5.75 % replacement of conventional transport fossil fuels with biofuels by December 2010 (Transport 2004).
In 2006 The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union encouraged the public to use biodiesel as an alternative especially for the transport sector. This is due to the fact that the transportation sector accounted for 21% of all CO2 emissions worldwide in 2002. Currently, 95% of all energy for the transportation sector comes from fossil fuel (Kreith et al. 2007). The use of biodiesel in the transport sector may not be just to reduce the emissions but also to shrink the dependence upon imported energy and influence the fuel market for transport and hence to secure the energy supply for Europe.
Biodiesel is normally characterized by its properties of density, viscosity, low heating value, cetane number, cloud and pour points, characteristics of distillation, and
50 flash and combustion points. Pure RME or blends with ULSD may reduce the calorific value of the fuel thus may lead to reduced engine power and increased fuel consumption (Rakopoulos et al. 2006). The cetane numbers of RME and ULSD are about the same but the volatility of RME is slightly higher for RME which may affect the ignition delay and increase the amount of fuel for rapid combustion and boost the combustion temperature, thus producing higher NOx levels (Labeckas et al. 2006).
2.2.2 Performance and Emissions of Biodiesel as Fuel in ICE
The future generation of diesel engines must also be able to work with alternative fuels such as biodiesel and alcohol blends due to shortage of fossil diesel and environmental concerns. The performance of biodiesel is slightly lower than that of diesel fuel, when the similar quantity of air and fuel is introduced into the cylinder (Senatore et al. 2000). There is almost no difference between the performance of RME and ULSD when the comparison is made on a similar relative equivalence ratio (Senatore et al. 2000). Much research has been conducted on a diesel engine operating with biodiesel as an alternative to the diesel fuel (Kawano et al. 2006;
Chuepeng et al. 2007; Szybist et al. 2007; Tsolakis et al. 2007; Zheng et al. 2008;
Tompkins et al. 2009; Yoon et al. 2009). Most of the researchers have agreed that biodiesel fuel could be used on its own or blended with conventional fossil fuel without having to make any modification to the standard diesel engine because biodiesel has properties similar to mineral diesel (Agarwal 2007; Tsolakis et al. 2007).
Although the energy density of biodiesel is lower than that of diesel fuel, there is almost no difference between the performance of RME and ULSD fuelled engines if
51 the comparison is made for similar relative air/fuel ratios (lambda) used in the engines (Senatore et al. 2000).
A research conducted by Labeckas and Slavinskas on a four cylinder diesel engine operated with RME and fuel blend with mineral diesel. The engine was natural aspirated, water cooled with toroidal type compression-ignition combustion chamber in the piston heads. The test was conducted at five different engine speeds which were 1400rpm, 1600rpm, 1800rpm, 2000rpm and 2200rpm. They conclude that the diesel engine operating with RME consumed more fuel and low thermal efficiency relative to the diesel fuel (Labeckas et al. 2006). The diesel engine is normally equipped with turbocharger to enhance it capability to allow more air entrain the engine cylinder. The turbocharger in general is a pump driven by the energy of the exhaust gas flow. The exhaust gas flow through the turbine rotates the turbine, which is in turn used to drive the compressor. The pressure in a compressor is controlled by the waste gate to ensure that the pressure in the cylinder is not too high.
Alton et al. (Altõn et al. 2001) have conducted a study on a single cylinder diesel engine operating with various types of vegetable oil and their methyl esters.
They worked with biodiesel fuels from different sources such as raw sunflower oil, raw cottonseed oil, raw soybean oil and their methyl esters, refined corn oil, distilled opium poppy oil and refined rapeseed oil. The results demonstrated that all fuels performed well on a single cylinder diesel engine with just 18% variations on maximum engine power and 10% variations of maximum engine torque.
52 The experimental work conducted on a diesel engine have proved that the combustion of biodiesel affect the volumetric efficiency of the AIS. This is due to the exhaust temperature of a diesel engine is highly related to the combustion event in engine cylinder and the type of fuel used in the engines. On the other hand, the volumetric efficiency is affected by the exhaust temperature (Balusamy et al. 2007).
Hasimoglu has conducted experimental work on a four cylinder turbo charged diesel engine operating with biodiesel and mineral diesel. He concluded that the volumetric efficiency of the engine was improved when the engine operated with biodiesel. The combustions of biodiesel emitted less heat due to lower of LCV and therefore lower exhaust gas temperature as compared to mineral diesel. Hence less heat transferred into the engine parts like intake manifold (Hasimoglu et al. 2008). This resulted to increase the volumetric efficiency of the air intake system. Kandasamy et. al have conducted a research on a single cylinder diesel engine operating with biodiesel and mineral diesel (Kandasamy et al. 2008). They concluded that the variation of volumetric efficiency is highly related to the exhaust temperature. The volumetric efficiency of the engine operating with biodiesel is lower due to the lower of exhaust gas temperature. The low-retained exhaust gas resulted to decrease the temperature of the air intake and vice versa.