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Performance appraisal of a diesel generator powered by biodiesel

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posted on 2023-05-26, 21:42 authored by Crosthwait, Rebecca
This project conducts a performance appraisal of a new Tasmanian grown biodiesel as compared with a commercially available Australian biodiesel. The innovation patent recipe for the Tasmanian blend is a fuel that is derived from canola oil and poppy seed oil, both of which grow plentifully in Tasmania; the oils are transformed into a fuel through a transesterification reaction. The second biodiesel, commercially produced by South Australian Farmers Fuel, will be tested in conjunction with the Tasmanian biodiesel. The tests planned are to assess the commercial competitiveness of the Tasmanian fuel against a leading Australian biodiesel. As part of this work, both biodiesels will be analysed against a baseline of petroleum diesel to compare the relative advantages and disadvantages of implementing biodiesel as a diesel substitute. The performance appraisal involves the study of emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, as well as the opacity and fuel consumption of a generator. To conduct the tests a generator unit is proposed that will be fitted with instrumentation including: emissions analyser, smokemeter, temperatures probes, load bank, power meter, rpm sensor and flow board. The load applied to the generator is varied at levels of 10%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the rated power. The results will be benchmarked against published literature. The observations of this study have highlighted that the emissions of carbon monoxide decrease with the use of biodiesel due to the higher oxygen content. The hydrocarbon emissions were reduced for nearly all biodiesels and blends because of the biodiesels superior combustion characteristics. The tailpipe exhaust emissions for biodiesel of carbon dioxide were relatively consistent with those of diesel fuel; however, biodiesel decreases carbon dioxide emissions over its life cycle when the plants absorb carbon dioxide during their growth period. The nitrous oxide emissions were increased, as expected, due to the nature of the oils from which the biodiesel had been derived. The opacity showed only minor increases for most biodiesels, which is consistent with other recent work. The fuel consumption increased as well with the use of neat biodiesel, again this is consistent with current literature. The results indicate that biodiesel may be used in an unmodified diesel generator and provide some improvement in the exhaust emissions.

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Copyright 2007 the Author - The University is continuing to endeavour to trace the copyright owner(s) and in the meantime this item has been reproduced here in good faith. We would be pleased to hear from the copyright owner(s). No access or viewing without the express written permission of the University of Tasmania (Research and Development Office). Thesis (MA)--University of Tasmania, 2007. Includes bibliographical references

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