Study of Emission Characteristics and Noise of Dual Fuel Engine Run on Blends of Diesel and Producer Gas from Biomass Materials

Abstract

In India, the total installed capacity of power generation as on 31st December 2015 is 284303.39MW. The power generated from renewable energy contributes 13.17% of the total power output of which 12.14% power is generated from biomass. India is an agro based country due to which there are large resources of biomass. Biomass is generated in various forms such as agricultural residue, forest waste, sewage sludge, herb residue, etc. The traditional method of direct combustion of biomass is now replaced by the modern methods of processing of the biomass to more compatible and efficient forms followed by their combustion in various combustion chambers. Modern techniques such as pyrolysis, gasification, fermentation, anaerobic digestion and esterification are much more efficient as compared to the direct combustion process. The emission of GHGs (Green House Gases) is the major area of concern. These days due to various problems related to the GHG emissions, these modern concepts are getting more and more attention. The processed/compatible products such as wood oil from pyrolysis, synthesis gas from gasification, bio-ethanol from fermentation, biogas from anaerobic digestion, biodiesel from esterification are able to replace the conventional fuels, i.e. coal, petroleum and natural gas to a large extent. These biofuels are helpful in the reduction of the use of conventional fuels and also reduction in GHG emissions. Due to increasing use of conventional fuels and an improper utilization of biomass, air pollution and GHG (Green House Gas) emissions are the major areas of concern. Due to this, the world is now interested in shifting towards the synthesis and use of alternate fuels, that can replace the conventional fuels. This report is based on literature review/survey of “Production of producer gas from various available biomass materials”. A brief introduction to the basic gasifier system and characteristics of producer gas being produced is presented in this report. This report lays xi emphasis on the proper and efficient use of producer gas in a dual fuel engine along with blends of diesel. Such an experimental investigation was carried out in which, biomass materials like, sugarcane bagasse along with carpentry waste in 1:1 ratio were used to sythesize producer gas in a downdraft gasifier with a gas flow rate of 5.07Nm3 /hr. By blending this gas with diesel it was fired in a dual fuel CI engine, which showed a smooth working and was tested for 6 load variations for noise characteristics and various performance and emission parameters. A maximum of 45.7% and 69.5% reduction in fuel consumption and NOx emissions respectively was reported with a slight increase (~3.4dB) in the noise. Some research papers related to the study of production of producer gas are also presented in this report. Problems and limitations related to the available literature are listed in this report. Some solutions are also suggested at the end of this report.