Evaluating the Fuel Potential of Castor Biodiesel and Its Blends for Land-Based Gas Turbine Engine

Linus Adache; Taye Stephen Mogaji; Olayinka Mohammed Olabanji; Olagoke Zephaniah Ayodeji

doi:10.38032/jea.2024.04.002

Authors

Adache Adache Linus Department of Mechanical Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Nigerian Air Force Base, Kawo, Kaduna State, Nigeria
Taye Stephen Mogaji Department of Mechanical Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), School of Engineering and Engineering Technology, PMB 704, Ondo State, Nigeria.
Olayinka Mohammed Olabanji Department of Mechanical Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), School of Engineering and Engineering Technology, PMB 704, Ondo State, Nigeria.
Olagoke Zephaniah Ayodeji Department of Mechanical Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), School of Engineering and Engineering Technology, PMB 704, Ondo State, Nigeria.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.38032/jea.2024.04.002

Keywords:

Transesterification, Fuel, Physio-Chemical Properties, Gas Turbine Engine

Abstract

The significant contributions of land-based gas turbines to the power generation sector cannot be over emphasized. However, fueling gas turbines with fossil fuels is linked to atmospheric emissions, contributing to global warming and climate change. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the potential of locally sourced castor oil as a credible biodiesel feedstock for powering land-based gas turbines. Castor seeds were locally sourced, and crude oil was produced via mechanical extraction. The physio-chemical properties of the fuels were evaluated, and both the oils and the resulting biodiesels were characterized for specific gravity, viscosity, sulfur content, and lower heating value, using ASTM standards. The sulfur content for castor oil was 0 mg/L compared to diesel’s 0.73 mg/L. Castor biodiesel (COB) had a specific gravity of 0.9594, while diesel's specific gravity was 0.8536, with specific gravity increasing from B10 to B30. Thermodynamic performance of the castor biodiesel and its blends was analyzed using GASTURB software, examining specific fuel consumption (SFC), power output, fuel flow rate, thermal efficiency, and emissions. Results showed that COB and B30 had the highest power outputs of 33,839.5 kW and 33,801.9 kW, respectively. However, COB had higher SFC (0.4567 kg/kWh) and fuel flow (2.66366 kg/s) compared to diesel (0.2934 kg/kWh and 1.98875 kg/s). The findings suggest that COB fuel and its blends have potential for powering land-based gas turbines.

References

Nguyen, T.H., Kim, S., Park, J., Jung, S. and Kim, S., 2017. CFD-CRN validation study for NO x emission prediction in lean premixed gas turbine combustor. Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, 31(10), pp.4933-4942. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-0942-2

Madiwale, S., Karthikeyan, A. and Bhojwani, V., 2018. Properties investigation and performance analysis of a diesel engine fuelled with Jatropha, Soybean, Palm and Cottonseed biodiesel using Ethanol as an additive. Materials Today: Proceedings, 5(1), pp.657-664. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2017.11.130

Saifuddin, N., Refal, H. and Kumaran, P., 2017. Performance and emission characteristics of micro gas turbine engine fuelled with bioethanol-diesel-biodiesel blends. International Journal of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering, 14(1), pp.4030-4049. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15282/ijame.14.1.2017.16.0326

Statista research department. https://www.statista.com (visited October 12th, 2024)

Elango, R.K., Sathiasivan, K., Muthukumaran, C., Thangavelu, V., Rajesh, M. and Tamilarasan, K., 2019. Transesterification of castor oil for biodiesel production: process optimization and characterization. Microchemical Journal, 145, pp.1162-1168. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2018.12.039

Energypedia biofuels. https://energypedia.info/wiki/Biofuels. (visited June 5th, 2024).

Altaher, M.A., Andrews, G.E. and Li, H., 2014. Study of biodiesel emissions and carbon mitigation in gas turbine combustor. American Journal of Engineering Research, 3(11), pp.290-298.

Kaisan, M.U., Abubakar, S., Ashok, B., Balasubramanian, D., Narayan, S., Grujic, I. and Stojanovic, N., 2021. Comparative analyses of biodiesel produced from jatropha and neem seed oil using a gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy technique. Biofuels.

Rezania, S., Oryani, B., Park, J., Hashemi, B., Yadav, K.K., Kwon, E.E., Hur, J. and Cho, J., 2019. Review on transesterification of non-edible sources for biodiesel production with a focus on economic aspects, fuel properties and by-product applications. Energy Conversion and Management, 201, p.112155.

Fadara, O.A., Falowo, O.A., Ojumu, T.V. and Betiku, E., 2021. Process optimization of microwave irradiation‐aided transesterification of kariya seed oil by Taguchi orthogonal array: pawpaw trunk as a novel biocatalyst. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 15(4), pp.1006-1020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.2193

Mishra, V.K. and Goswami, R., 2018. A review of production, properties and advantages of biodiesel. Biofuels, 9(2), pp.273-289. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17597269.2017.1336350

Gupta, J., Agarwal, M. and Dalai, A.K., 2019. Intensified transesterification of mixture of edible and nonedible oils in reverse flow helical coil reactor for biodiesel production. Renewable Energy, 134, pp.509-525. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.11.057

Ahmad, F.B., Zhang, Z., Doherty, W.O. and O’Hara, I.M., 2019. The prospect of microbial oil production and applications from oil palm biomass. Biochemical Engineering Journal, 143, pp.9-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2018.12.003

Sánchez, N., Sánchez, R., Encinar, J.M., González, J.F. and Martínez, G., 2015. Complete analysis of castor oil methanolysis to obtain biodiesel. Fuel, 147, pp.95-99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2015.01.062

Sanjay Basumatary, S.B., 2015. Yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana) seed oil biodiesel as an alternative and renewable fuel for diesel engines: a review.International Journal of ChemTech Research, 7(6), pp.2823-2840.

Tang, D.Y.Y., Yew, G.Y., Koyande, A.K., Chew, K.W., Vo, D.V.N. and Show, P.L., 2020. Green technology for the industrial production of biofuels and bioproducts from microalgae: a review. Environmental Chemistry Letters, 18, pp.1967-1985. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-020-01052-3

Barajas, C.L., 2005, March. Biodiesel from castor oil: a promising fuel for cold weather. In International Conference on Renewable Energies and Power Quality (ICREPQ’05) (pp. 16-18).

Brahma, S., Nath, B., Basumatary, B., Das, B., Saikia, P., Patir, K. and Basumatary, S., 2022. Biodiesel production from mixed oils: A sustainable approach towards industrial biofuel production. Chemical Engineering Journal Advances, 10, p.100284. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceja.2022.100284

Kini, K., Dsouza, H.S. and Kumar, N.S., 2016. Investigation of properties of different blends of castor and pongamia biodiesels and their performance in a compression ignition engine, 16(1A), 8-14.

Solomon, W.C., Enaburekhan, J. S. and Bonet, M.U., 2018. Assessing the Fuel Potential of Jatropha and Neem oils for Power Generation Gas Turbines Engines in Nigeria. Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE),15(1),pp.08-17.

Sekhar, M.C., Mamilla, V.R., Mallikarjun, M.V. and Reddy, K.V.K., 2009. Production of biodiesel from neem oil. International journal of engineering studies, 1(4), pp.295-302.

Savel’ev, А.M., Skibin, V.A. and Starik, A.M., 2014. Evaluation of emission characteristics of gas turbine engines using alternative fuels. In 29th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia.

General Electric (GE) LM2500 aero-derivative Gas Turbine 2013. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric_LM2500, (visited June 19th, 2019).

Bragadeshwaran, A., Kasianantham, N., Ballusamy, S., Tarun, K.R., Dharmaraj, A.P. and Kaisan, M.U., 2018. Experimental study of methyl tert-butyl ether as an oxygenated additive in diesel and Calophyllum inophyllum methyl ester blended fuel in CI engine. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25, pp.33573-33590. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3318-y

Bragadeshwaran, A., Kasianantham, N., Kaisan, M.U., Reddy, D.M.S., Aravind, K.M., Paul, N., Ali, I.M., Jose, A. and Chungath, T., 2019. Influence of injection timing and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rate on lemon peel oil–fuelled CI engine. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26, pp.21890-21904. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05369-7

Ashok, B., Jeevanantham, A.K., Nanthagopal, K., Saravanan, B., Kumar, M.S., Johny, A., Mohan, A., Kaisan, M.U. and Abubakar, S., 2019. An experimental analysis on the effect of n-pentanol-Calophyllum Inophyllum Biodiesel binary blends in CI engine characteristcis. Energy, 173, pp.290-305. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.02.092

Imdat T. and Mehmet C., 2013. Performance and emissions of an engine fuelled with a biodiesel fuel produced from animal fats, Thermal Science, 17(1), pp. 233-240. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI120602157T

Oomah, B.D. and Sitter, L., 2009. Characteristics of flaxseed hull oil. Food Chemistry, 114(2), pp.623-628. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.09.096

Atabani, A.E., Silitonga, A.S., Badruddin, I.A., Mahlia, T.M.I., Masjuki, H. and Mekhilef, S., 2012. A comprehensive review on biodiesel as an alternative energy resource and its characteristics. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(4), pp.2070-2093. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.01.003

Ramachandran, S., Singh, S.K., Larroche, C., Soccol, C.R. and Pandey, A., 2007. Oil cakes and their biotechnological applications–A review. Bioresource technology, 98(10), pp.2000-2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2006.08.002

Rezania, S., Oryani, B., Park, J., Hashemi, B., Yadav, K.K., Kwon, E.E., Hur, J., Cho, J. (2019). Review on transesterification of non-edible sources for biodiesel production with a focus, Energy Conversion and Management, 201, p.112155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2019.112155

Hannu, J. (2024). Biodiesel standards and properties. DieselNet Technology Guide.

Issariyakul, T., Kulkarni, M.G., Dalai, A.K. and Bakhshi, N.N., 2007. Production of biodiesel from waste fryer grease using mixed methanol/ethanol system. Fuel Processing Technology, 88(5), pp.429-436. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2006.04.007

Krishna, C.R., 2007. Performance of the capstone C30 microturbine on biodiesel blends. Brookhaven National Laboratory. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2172/909958

Tan, E.S., Anwar, M., Adnan, R. and Idris, M.A., 2013. Biodiesel for gas turbine application-an atomization characteristics study. Advances in Internal Combustion Engines and Fuel Technologies, pp.213-242.

Linus, A.A., Bonnet, M.U., Solomon, W.C., Kaisan, M.U., Ibrahim, B.G. and Ismail, N.A., Performance Analysis of a Yellow Oleander Seed Oil Biodiesel Powered Aero Derivative Gas Turbine Engine. In First International Seminar on Aeronautics & Energy (ISAE2021).

Dwivedi, G., Jain, S. and Sharma, M.P., 2013. Diesel engine performance and emission analysis using biodiesel from various oil sources–Review. J. Mater. Environ. Sci, 4(4), pp.434-447.