International Journal of Mechanical, Civil, Automobile and Structural Engineering (IJMCAS)

Vol. 1, Issue. 1, April 2015

ISSN (Online): 2395-6755

Performance and emission analysis of an

alternative fuel
S.ALPHONE INFANT LEO #1, K.SIBI KUMAR#2 , S.GOWTHAM#3 , E.MARIA DERRIK
JERRY#4 , S.SATHYANARAYANAN#5 , Dr.L.MURUGANANDAM#6
#1, 2, 3, 4 Student,
#5 Assistant

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Saranathan College of Engineering, Trichy

Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Saranathan College of Engineering, Trichy
#6 HOD, Department of Chemistry, Saranathan College of Engineering, Trichy.

ABSTRACT
This experimental work exhibits the exhaust gas
emission levels and performance test on a four stroke petrol
engine by using petrol and n- butanol blends. A gasoline
powered engine without any modifications was used in this
experiment. The fuel for the engine is supplied using the
conventional carburetor system. The emission levels are
measured for gasoline-butanol blends at different
proportion. Emissions are recorded for butanol from 10%
to 25% in steps of 5. Increasing load conditions was
applied and their results were tabulated. Emission of
various pollutants (HC, CO) where reduced and the overall
efficiency is increased compared to petrol.

from agricultural feedstock. However, butanol is

proving to be much more advantageous than ethanol.
In the search for liquids that mix well with petrol
with good combustion characteristics and have less
corrosive nature, butanol proved to be one of the
potential alternative fuels that can be burned in IC
engines in the same way as petrol. This paper
investigates the application of butanol as a blending
component for liquid fuel in two wheeler and its
effects on emission control & performance
characteristics.
II.

PROPERTIES OF BUTANOL
Regarding the automotive use of butanol, a
nonfood-based biofuel is cost-competitive. With
respect to gasoline, n-butanol (or biobutanol) has a
number of advantages over other common alcohol
fuels such as ethanol and methanol. Butanol is far
less hygroscopic than other alternative fuels. Lower
alcohols (Ethanol, Methanol, and Propanol) are fully
miscible with water, whereas butanol has only
modest water solubility. Butanol is less corrosive
than ethanol, can be transported in existing pipelines
and is much safer to work with than lower alcohols
based on its relatively high boiling point and
flashpoint. In comparison with ethanol, the adding of
butanol to conventional hydrocarbon fuels for use in
a spark-ignition engine can increase fuel octane
rating and power for a given engine displacement and
compression ratio, thereby reducing fossil fuel
consumption and emissions. This research activity
demonstrated that the concentrations of 10% to 25%
butanol in gasoline to run the engine at a leaner
mixture than gasoline for a fixed performance. The
blends increased the NOx emissions to a level higher

KEYWORDS: Alternative fuel, Performance, Emission.

I.

INTRODUCTION
Road transport accounts worldwide, motor
vehicles currently emit well over 900 million metric
tons of CO each year. These emissions account for
more than 15% of global fossil fuel CO releases
emissions of carbon dioxide which is the major
contributor to global warming. Rising fuel prices and
increased oil consumption along with the lack of
sustainability of oil-based fuels have generated an
interest in alternative, a renewable source of fuel. In
the current scenario of growing demand for
petroleum fuels and highly volatile crude prices it is
imperative to find an alternative renewable fuel
particularly for transportation purpose. A deep survey
is done to produce more environmentally friendly
fuels to combat greenhouse gas emissions produced
from petroleum. Scientists have turned to biofuels as
an effective alternative to fossil fuels. Until now,
ethanol has been the primary biofuel, because it is
economically favorable to produce and easy to
manufacture. It is also a renewable fuel that is made

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International Journal of Mechanical, Civil, Automobile and Structural Engineering (IJMCAS)

Vol. 1, Issue. 1, April 2015

ISSN (Online): 2395-6755

than pure gasoline at its leanest mixture with

decreased CO and HC emissions. Slight decrease in
Specific fuel consumption with the butanol blending
shows effective combustion characteristics. Its
almost constant and increasing values prove that
butanol blend can be used directly without any
modification in engine with increasing efficiencies
leading to much advantageous. The below table1.0
explains what makes butanol so close to gasoline that
it can allow a straight-across replacement in terms of
energy.

Table.2, Engine Details

BHP
2 HP
No. of cylinders
1
Compression Ratio
4.67 : 1
Bore
70 mm
Stroke
66.7 mm
Speed
3000 rpm
Orifice
20 mm
Make
GREAVES LTD.
IV.
EXPERIMENT
Initially the carburetor was cleaned to
remove the residues and dust. Besides, the engine
was tested for its normal working under no load
condition for about 3min (petrol -250ml). There was
no modification carried over the engine. The air
would be naturally aspirated through the air filter and
then it would mix with the fuel vapor in the
carburetor and passed to the engine for combustion.
The exhaust gas would leave the engine and it
escapes to the environment through the muffler
(silencer). An AVL DIGAS gas analyzing equipment
(emission testing device) along its probe setup was
used to analyses the exhaust gas of the engine at
varying proportion of the fuel mixtures. An
experimental study was carried over a two wheeler
four stroke SI engine using AVL DIGAS, electrical
loading setup. Also the study was carried out very
similar to real world experimenting. Cold start
emission readings were noted in a no-load condition,
followed by the performance test. Both the
performance and emission test were conducted under
load and no-load condition on it using gasolinenbutanol blend at varying proportion. The following
conclusions were observed.

Table.1, Basic chemical properties

PARAMETER n-BUTANOL ETHANOL

GASOLINE

Chemical
C4H9OH
formula
Density
810
( kg/m3 )
Calorific
33.07
value
( KJ/Kg )
Mixed Octane number
RON
94
MON
80-81
Boiling
118
temperature
( )
Specific
0.43
Energy
(MJ/Kg air )

C2H5OH

C4-C12

800

736

29.70

44.42

106-130
89-103
78

95
85
25-215

0.92

0.36

Heat of
0.43
vaporization
( MJ/kg )

0.92

0.36

Self-Ignition 343
Temperature
( )

420

V.
300

III.

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
As per the objective of this project regarding
reduced emission and performance modification in an
conventional four stroke spark ignition engine the
specification and standards the engine tabulated in
table.2.

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EXPERIMENTAL ARRANGEMENT

International Journal of Mechanical, Civil, Automobile and Structural Engineering (IJMCAS)

Vol. 1, Issue. 1, April 2015

VI.

ISSN (Online): 2395-6755

Fig.1, Experimental arrangement

EMISSION CHARACTERISTICS

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International Journal of Mechanical, Civil, Automobile and Structural Engineering (IJMCAS)

Vol. 1, Issue. 1, April 2015

VII.

ISSN (Online): 2395-6755

PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS

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International Journal of Mechanical, Civil, Automobile and Structural Engineering (IJMCAS)

Vol. 1, Issue. 1, April 2015

ISSN (Online): 2395-6755

varying proportion .It was observed during the
experimental investigation that butanol can be
blended with gasoline up to 25% without any
operational problem. The above results indicate that
butanol-gasoline blended fuel can be a promising
alternative fuel for automotive application. Thus to
conclude emission of various pollutants was
drastically reduced and performance characteristics
were increasing.
X.

VIII.

REFERENCES

1) F. N. Alasfour, Butanol--A Single-Cylinder

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RESULT AND DISCUSSION

From graph we have come to conclusion

that emission levels of CO, HC gases are much
reduced. From performance graphs, it makes way to
use n-butanol blend with gasoline directly in present
engine without any modification. Both -nbutanol and
gasoline start combustion at same rate and thus
making almost complete combustion leading to
increasing mechanical efficiency, high power output.

IX.

CONCLUSION
An experimental study was carried over a
four stroke SI engine using AVL DIGAS (gas
analyzer), along with a Data acquisition system
through electrical loading setup. Cold start emission
readings were noted in a no-load condition, followed
by the performance test. Both the performance and
emission test were conducted under load and no load
condition on it using gasoline-butanol blend at

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International Journal of Mechanical, Civil, Automobile and Structural Engineering (IJMCAS)

Vol. 1, Issue. 1, April 2015

ISSN (Online): 2395-6755

9) Durre P. Biobutanol: an attractive biofuel.

Biotechnology Journal 2007; 2:1525e34.
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blends. Analele Universitii Eftimie Murgu,
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characteristics of higher-alcohol/gasoline blends.
Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng.. 214A, 497511 (2000)

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