Month: December 2022

Principle of Combustion Combustion refers to the rapid oxidation of fuel accompanied by the production of heat or heat and light. Complete combustion of a fuel is possible only in the presence of an adequate supply of oxygen. Oxygen (O2) is one of the most common elements on earth making up 20.9% of our air.… Continue reading COMBUSTION

Solid biofuels are wood, sawdust, grass trimmings, domestic refuse, charcoal, agricultural waste, non-food energy crops and dried manure. When raw biomass is already in a suitable form, it can burn directly in a stove or furnace to provide heat or raise steam. When raw biomass is in an inconvenient form, the typical process is used… Continue reading Solid Biofuels

Syngas is a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and other hydrocarbons and produced by partial combustion of biomass. Before partial combustion the biomass is dried and sometimes pyrolysed. The resulting gas mixture, syngas, is more efficient than direct combustion of the original biofuel; more of the energy contained in the fuel is extracted.

Biogas is methane produced by the process of anaerobic digestion of organic material by anaerobes. It can be produced either from biodegradable waste materials or by the use of energy crops fed into anaerobic digesters to supplement gas yields. The solid by-product, digestate, can be used as a biofuel or a fertilizer.

Bioethers (oxygenated fuels) are cost-effective compounds that act as octane rating enhancers. They also enhance engine performance, whilst significantly reducing engine wear and toxic exhaust emissions. Greatly reducing the amount of ground-level ozone, they contribute to the quality of the air we breathe.

Lower quality oil can be used as fuel. Used vegetable oil is increasingly being processed into biodiesel or (more rarely) cleaned of water and particulates and used as a fuel. Oils and fats can be hydrogenated to give a diesel substitute. The resulting product is a straight chain hydrocarbon with a high cetane number, low… Continue reading Vegetable Oil

Green diesel, also known as renewable diesel, is a form of diesel fuel which is derived from renewable feedstock rather than the fossil feedstock used in most diesel fuels. Green diesel feedstock can be sourced from a variety of oils including canola, algae, jatropha, and salicornia in addition to tallow. Green diesel uses traditional fractional… Continue reading Green Diesel

Biodiesel is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is a liquid similar in composition to fossil/mineral diesel. Chemically, it consists mostly of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). Feedstocks for biodiesel include animal fats, vegetable oils, soya, rapeseed, jatropha, mahua, mustard, flax, sunflower, palm oil, hemp, field pennycress, pongamia pinnata, and algae. Pure biodiesel… Continue reading Biodiesel

Bioalcohols are produced by the action of microorganisms and enzymes through the fermentation of sugars or starches, or cellulose. Biobutanol is also known as biogasoline as claimed to provide a direct replacement for gasoline, because it can be used directly in a gasoline engine. Ethanol can be used in petrol engines as a replacement for gasoline;… Continue reading Bioalcohols

A biofuel is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels, and various biogases. Fossil fuels having their origin in ancient carbon fixation are not considered biofuels because they contain carbon that has been out of the carbon cycle for a very long time.… Continue reading BIOFUELS