Browsing by Author "Kapile, Fredrick"

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Comprehensive Analysis of Fuel Properties of Adansonia digitata Methyl Ester with the Influence of Nanoparticle Additives Extracted from an Agricultural Waste
(SpringerLink, 2022-02-06) Kapile, Fredrick; Bereczky, Akos; Ntalikwa, Justin; Kivevele, Thomas
Purpose This paper reports the results of experimental investigations on the influence of the addition of silica nanoparticles extracted from rice husk (an agricultural waste) on the major physicochemical properties of biodiesel derived from Adansonia digitata. Methods The physicochemical properties of the base fuel and the modified fuel formed by dispersing the nanoparticles by ultrasonic agitation were measured using ASTM and EN standard testing methods. The effects of manufactured silica nanoparticles on the fuel properties of Adansonia digitata methyl esters (ADME) that were produced by the transesterification process were investigated. Silica nanoparticles which were produced by the extraction process from rice husk were doped at the dosing levels of 400–1000 ppm. The produced silica was characterized by Thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), Barrett Emmett Teller (BET), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and Xray diffractometer (XRD) methods. Results The silica was found to have BET specific surface area, Barret-Joyner Halenda (BJH) pore diameter, and pore volume of 502.24 m2 /g, 19.3 nm, and 0.761 cm3 /g respectively. At 400 ppm and 800 ppm silica dosages, the oxidation induction period increased significantly from 5.2 h to a high of 10.3 h. These findings showed that ADME's oxidation stability had improved significantly to satisfy the ASTM D6751 and EN 14,214 standard limits of > 3 h and > 8 h, respectively. The kinematic viscosity of ADME dropped as the additive content increased, from 4.62 mm2 /s for pure biodiesel to 2.21 mm2 /s for 400 ppm. Furthermore, it was discovered that the largest increase in viscosity occurs at high doses of 600–1000 ppm. The flash point increased linearly as the amount of nanoparticle addition was increased. Higher flash point temperatures are desirable for improving engine performance and for safety issues. Also, results showed that cetane number (CN) increases from 60 to 64 simultaneously at the dosing level between 400 and 800 ppm and dropped to 63 at dosing levels beyond 800 ppm. The blending of Silica/Alumina showed the best improvement of CN of ADME about 33.6%. Commercial additive (Al2O3) showed an improvement of oxidation stability up to a dosing level of 800 ppm. Fuel blending of (B100 + SiO2), (B20 + SiO2), and (B20 + Al2O3) was also performed and the results showed that the oxidation induction period (OIP) increases from 3.8 to 10.3 h for (B100 + SiO2) blending up to dosing level of 800 ppm but decreases at 1000 ppm. However, blending (B20 + SiO2) showed significant improvement on OIP from 47.2% to 64.16% at 0 to 1000 ppm respectively but blending of B20 and Al2O3 showed the best improvement about 71.7% at 1000 ppm but slightly decreased at 600 ppm (15.7 h). Kinematic viscosity showed slight improvement (decrease by 32.6%) at 400 ppm, but increases at 600 ppm (4.16 mm2 /s) for B20 + SiO2 fuel blending. However, at higher dosing level decreases by 3.85% up to 1000 ppm. Dosing of Al2O3 additive on B20 fuel blend displayed the improvement decreasing by 36.9% at 600 ppm but at higher dosage (1000 ppm) increases to 5.2 mm2 /s for Al2O3. Conclusion Generally, from this study it has been observed that rice husk nano-particle is considered as a potential fuel-borne catalyst than the commercial one to improve the fuel properties, owing to their enhanced surface area to volume ratio probably due to its 3-dimensional tetrahedral coordination and covalent nature of silicon atom.
Comprehensive Analysis of Fuel Properties of Adansonia digitata Methyl Ester with the Influence of Nanoparticle Additives Extracted from an Agricultural Waste
(Springer Nature Link, 2022-02-06) Kapile, Fredrick; Bereczky, Akos; Ntalikwa, Justin; Kivevele, Thomas
Purpose This paper reports the results of experimental investigations on the influence of the addition of silica nanoparticles extracted from rice husk (an agricultural waste) on the major physicochemical properties of biodiesel derived from Adansonia digitata. Methods The physicochemical properties of the base fuel and the modified fuel formed by dispersing the nanoparticles by ultrasonic agitation were measured using ASTM and EN standard testing methods. The effects of manufactured silica nanoparticles on the fuel properties of Adansonia digitata methyl esters (ADME) that were produced by the transesterification process were investigated. Silica nanoparticles which were produced by the extraction process from rice husk were doped at the dosing levels of 400–1000 ppm. The produced silica was characterized by Thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), Barrett Emmett Teller (BET), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) methods. Results The silica was found to have BET specific surface area, Barret-Joyner Halenda (BJH) pore diameter, and pore volume of 502.24 m2/g, 19.3 nm, and 0.761 cm3/g respectively. At 400 ppm and 800 ppm silica dosages, the oxidation induction period increased significantly from 5.2 h to a high of 10.3 h. These findings showed that ADME's oxidation stability had improved significantly to satisfy the ASTM D6751 and EN 14,214 standard limits of > 3 h and > 8 h, respectively. The kinematic viscosity of ADME dropped as the additive content increased, from 4.62 mm2/s for pure biodiesel to 2.21 mm2/s for 400 ppm. Furthermore, it was discovered that the largest increase in viscosity occurs at high doses of 600–1000 ppm. The flash point increased linearly as the amount of nanoparticle addition was increased. Higher flash point temperatures are desirable for improving engine performance and for safety issues. Also, results showed that cetane number (CN) increases from 60 to 64 simultaneously at the dosing level between 400 and 800 ppm and dropped to 63 at dosing levels beyond 800 ppm. The blending of Silica/Alumina showed the best improvement of CN of ADME about 33.6%. Commercial additive (Al2O3) showed an improvement of oxidation stability up to a dosing level of 800 ppm. Fuel blending of (B100 + SiO2), (B20 + SiO2), and (B20 + Al2O3) was also performed and the results showed that the oxidation induction period (OIP) increases from 3.8 to 10.3 h for (B100 + SiO2) blending up to dosing level of 800 ppm but decreases at 1000 ppm. However, blending (B20 + SiO2) showed significant improvement on OIP from 47.2% to 64.16% at 0 to 1000 ppm respectively but blending of B20 and Al2O3 showed the best improvement about 71.7% at 1000 ppm but slightly decreased at 600 ppm (15.7 h). Kinematic viscosity showed slight improvement (decrease by 32.6%) at 400 ppm, but increases at 600 ppm (4.16 mm2/s) for B20 + SiO2 fuel blending. However, at higher dosing level decreases by 3.85% up to 1000 ppm. Dosing of Al2O3 additive on B20 fuel blend displayed the improvement decreasing by 36.9% at 600 ppm but at higher dosage (1000 ppm) increases to 5.2 mm2/s for Al2O3. Conclusion Generally, from this study it has been observed that rice husk nano-particle is considered as a potential fuel-borne catalyst than the commercial one to improve the fuel properties, owing to their enhanced surface area to volume ratio probably due to its 3-dimensional tetrahedral coordination and covalent nature of silicon atom
Influence of rice husk derived nano-silica on performance, emissions, and combustion characteristics of diesel engine fueled with baobab biodiesel
(NM-AIST, 2024-08) Kapile, Fredrick
The increasing number of on-road automobiles as a result of an exponential increase in population and lifestyle places enormous strain on depleted fossil petroleum fuel, energy security, and environmental stability. This situation drives researchers to find an alternative source to replace petroleum diesel. Biodiesel is one of the promising viable substitutes. However, biodiesels may not always fulfill the EN 14214 standard due to differences in fuel properties. This could cause issues with engine operation and emissions. This study therefore aims to use novel nano-silica (SiO2) additives extracted from rice husk to improve its fuel properties. Also focuses on the influence of additives on the operation of the compression ignition (CI) engine. The Adansonia digitata methyl esters (ADME) were made by transesterification process, The physicochemical properties of the fuels with and without additives were measured as per ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 standards methods, and nano silica was analyzed by Thermogravimetry (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET), X-ray diffractometer (XRD. Barret-Joyner Halenda (BJH) pore diameter, specific surface area, and pore volume of SiO2 were observed to be 19.3 nm, 502.24 m2 /g, and 0.761 cm3 /g, respectively. At 400 and 800 ppm dose levels, the oxidation induction period (OIP) increased dramatically, peaking at 10.03 h. The stability of ADME has significantly improved, as evidenced by these results, meeting the >3 h and >8 h standard limits set by ASTM D6751 and EN 14214, respectively. The viscosity of B100 decreased with increasing additive content, from 4.62 mm2 /s for neat B100 to 2.21 mm2 /s for 400 ppm. Cetane number (CN) (60 to 64). All nano-fuel blends used in engine tests were prepared by an ultrasonication process. The results revealed that the brake thermal efficiency (BTE) at maximum brake powers (BP) for B20, B20+SiO2, B100, and B100+SiO2 fuels were 29.9, 28.2, 28.44, and 27.1%, respectively, and brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) was reduced as the load increased. The peak heat release rate (HRR) of the B100+SiO2 and B20+SiO2 are slightly higher by 2.9 and 2.6%, respectively, than the neat B100 at medium BP. However, in-cylinder gas pressure (CGP) increased following the order of B20+SiO2
Investigation of engine performance, exhaust emissions, and combustion characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with Adansonia digitata methyl ester doped with nanosilica additive extracted from agricultural waste
(SCI, 2024-05-25) Kapile, Fredrick; Bereczky, Akos; Lukács, Kristóf; Ntalikwa, Justin; Kivevele, Thomas
Recent studies have used nanoparticle additions to enhance the fuel properties of biodiesel. However, it is unclear how these additives would affect engine operation. The effects of commercial nanoadditives on engines have been the subject of several studies. The current study focuses on nanoparticles derived from agricultural waste – specifically rice husk (RH) – to enhance their value. This study therefore examined silica (SiO2) doped with Adansonia digitata methyl ester (ADME) and tested it in a diesel engine. All nanofuel blends were prepared using an ultrasonication process, incorporating 400 ppm of SiO2 nanoparticles, fuels, and 1% surfactants. The results revealed that the brake thermal efficiencies (BTE) at maximum brake power (BP), for B20, B20 + SiO2, B100, and B100 + SiO2 fuels, were 29.9%, 28.2%, 28.44%, and 27.1%, respectively. Brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) was also reduced when the engine ran from 4 to 16 kW BP. The exhaust gas temperature (EGT) of B100 and B100 + SiO2 increased more than that of B20. The peak heat release rates (HRR) of the B100 + SiO2 and B20 + SiO2 were slightly higher by 2.9% and 2.6%, respectively than the neat B100 at medium BP. However, in-cylinder gas pressure (CGP) increased in the following order: B20 + SiO2 < B20 < B100 < B100 + SiO2 < B0. Moreover, the exhaust emissions of nanofuel blends showed a greater reduction in CO, total hydrocarbon (THC), CO2, NOX, and particulate matter (PM) in comparison with B20 and B100. Overall, this study recommends that SiO2 nanoadditive is a beneficial substitute fuel additive to use with biodiesel and its blends due to enhanced engine performance efficiency and reduced emissions.