1

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Energy is essential for economic and social development and is

also linked to the improvement in the quality of life. Higher the energy
consumed per individual, higher the standard of living is, as evidenced by the
developed nations (Gary Braasch 2009). Most of the energy produced in the
world emanates from fossil fuels formed by the vegetation and animals buried
under the earth hundreds of million years before.

Human beings convert energy forms from less desirable to more

desirable ones, i.e. from wood to heat and from fossil fuels to electricity - the
highest form of energy. Throughout history, man has developed ways to
expand his ability to harvest energy. At present, well developed coal mining
technologies and high efficiency oil rigs for oil and gas production, lead to
faster exploitation of fossil resources.

Contextually, a simple representation of the energy system is

shown in the Figure 1.1.

Primary
Crude Oil, Biomass

Energy Carrier

End Use

Petrol, Diesel, Biofuel

Engine, Fuel

Figure 1.1 Energy flow

1.1

NEED FOR BIOFUELS

The need for biofuels can be explicated in terms of Economic and

Environmental aspects. The use of biofuel started way back from early man
and the primitive mans daily energy usage was estimated at 8,372 kJ (2,000
kcal) or 2,000 dietary calories. After the acquaintance of fire about 100,000
years ago, the energy consumption of the hunting and farming man increased
by 4 times to that of the primitive man because he burned wood for both
heating and cooking. The key factor for the rise in fuel demand is
industrialization. The dawn of this age, ushered in by the invention of the
steam engine, caused a 3-fold increase in energy consumption by the year
1875 (Bruce 2002). The technological man of 1975 in the US, consumed
approximately 963,000 kJ of energy per day (115 times that of primitive man).

Another key factor is the rise in world population which was

estimated to be 1.05 million in 10,000 B.C. and recently it crossed 7000
million mark. Accordingly, energy consumption also surges drastically as
shown in Figure 1.2 in petroleum oil equivalent (BP 2010).
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
YEAR 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Figure 1.2 Energy consumption by India and World

INDIA
WORLD

To put it in a nutshell, in the last two decades, more than half of the
energy produced in the last 300 years has been consumed despite advances in
efficiency and sustainability.

1.1.1

Energy and Oil Utilization Indian Scenario

India, being the developing nation, continues to have growing

energy demand as its consumption has crossed 486 million tonnes of oil
equivalent (4.12% of world usage) in the year 2010 while it was only 295
million tonnes in the year 2000 and a mere 64.8 million in 1970. The crude oil
consumption and supply pattern is shown in the Figure 1.3 (Indiastat 2011).

Figure 1.3 Petroleum oil consumption pattern

From the above graph, it can be easily seen that Indias oil production is one-fourth of its consumption and the remaining is imported.

1.1.2

Unfavourable Trade Balance

Importing oil has a very drastic effect on Indian economy, mainly

due to two factors. The first one is the oil price hike by OPEC nations, viz.
Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela, caused by controlling the oil
production so as to create more demand. Figure 1.4 enunciates the price
pattern of the Indian import of crude oil (WTRG 2011).

Figure 1.4 OPEC countries oil production and price over 38 years

The variation in the crude oil prices, as shown above, has many
repercussions on the industries and business as well on common people.

The second factor is the ever increasing crude oil consumption

which has gone up from about 2400 barrels/day in the year 2000, to 3300
barrels/day in 2010 as depicted in Figure 1.3. In the year 2010-11, total
Indian imports were

1.597 x 106 crores with the exports being

crores thus ensuing a trade deficit of

merely

1.1.2.1

1.12 x 106

0.478 x 106 crores (in 2005-06 it was

0.204 x 106 crores).

Oil import and trade deficit

Import of crude oil is the key player of Indias trade deficit,

because by importing crude oil to the tune of 163.6 million tonnes in the year
2010-11, India paid

0.456 x 106 crores foreign exchange which is 95.4% of

the total Indian trade deficit for the year 2010-11. This trade deficit was less
than half in the year 2005-06 because of lesser crude oil import (Ministry of
Petroleum 2011).

1.1.2.2

Indian currency value

The value of Indian Rupee keeps on dipping down with the rise in
crude oil import. If India does not import crude oil, Indian trade balance will
be surplus which means the country gains a commanding power to dictate the
stipulated value on its currency. China has already achieved this.

1.1.3

Economic Sustainability of Biofuels

Biofuels are the fuels derived from plants and animal waste
products. They can greatly help and influence the nations economy if they
are utilized in a phased manner as substitutes or supplements to petroleum
fuels, e.g. 20% biodiesel and 80% HSD blend.

1.1.3.1

Biofuel economic benefits

The major advantage of all biofuels is their renewable nature, i.e.

every year the output can be assured from the resources if properly
maintained whereas fossil fuel reserves dwindle year-by-year. Recovery from
this mishap of trade imbalance is possible by cultivation of biofuel plantation.
In the year 1846, the first oil well was drilled in Bibi-Heybat,
Azerbaijan, Russia by Semyonov for a depth of 21m for oil exploration. In
the USA, at Titusville in Pennsylvania, the first oil well was dug in 1859
(Robert 2009). However, commercial use of petroleum derivatives for IC
engine usage throughout the world, found its way only after 1904 by the
efforts of Standard Oil Company founded by the first billionaire of the United
States - John Rockefeller. Within a span of a century, more than 60% of the oil
reserves got consumed and rest will be depleted within 50 years at this rate.
1.1.3.2

Merit of the present investigation

At present, biofuels are costlier than petrofuels due to various

reasons (Purushothaman and Nagarajan 2009). However, there are exceptions

and this research work is based on one such potential exception.
The present research work leads to supplementing diesel with
economically sustainable and affordable as well as abundantly, easily and
readily available cost effective renewable fuel.

1.1.4

Environmental Issues of Fossil Fuels

The most important negative aspects of fossil fuels are the

technical issues, especially related to environment and ozone layer. Apart

from the financial and economic aspects discussed earlier, there are more
serious concerns due to increased use of petroleum products which are
discussed in the subsequent sections.

Since the world has already lagged behind 30 years in implementting the green fuel renewable energy program, it faces the problems as
enunciated in the following sections.

All the alternative fuel research should contribute in resolving the

environmental issues which is possible only by economic and practical
implementation, otherwise it is merely a matter of academic study.

1.1.4.1

Green house effect

There exists a thermal equilibrium in the earth by the way of total

radiation energy received from the sun equaling the total radiation emitted by
the earth through the atmosphere to the universe thus ensuring no net
accumulation of heat in the biosphere.

Carbon-di-oxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases, such as

methane, nitrogen oxides, and CFCs retain heat in the atmosphere by partially
re-reflecting the infra-red radiations going out of earth to the universe, which
is at a much lower temperature than the earth. The proportion of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere has crossed 365ppm by 2000 which is more than 20
percent above the highest concentration in 260,000 years proven record from
ice cores. The major cause is the burning of fossil fuels beyond the
equilibrium point. In the last two years due to burning of fossil fuels
CO2 emissions increased by 10% leading to warmer earth.

Other major causes for green house effect are the changes in the
land use due to over population and loss of green cover, especially the
destruction of forests leading to reduction in fixing CO 2.

1.1.4.2

Global warming

Global warming which is mainly due to rising levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases, is taking place on a much shorter time scale, that can be
recognised by human beings within their lifetime.

Ambient temperatures spiked in the late 1980s and 2010s,

repeatedly breaking records and thus many cold countries experience warmer
winter comparable to spring. Needless to say many places like Vellore near
Chennai, hit record high temperature in this summer which had not occurred
in the past 50 years. As a proof, the meteorological record of Puducherry is
presented in the Table 1.1 (India meteorological dept. 2012).

Table 1.1 Extreme temperature levels of Puducherry for 10 years

Year
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002

Temperature max.
(Date)
43.1 (03 June)
40.3 (22,30 June)
41.3 (05 June)
41.7 (04 June)
40.7 (06 June)
39.9 (11 June)
38.6 (09 June)
41.3 (18 June)
39.0 (26 June)
40.7 (24 June)
38.7 (11 June)

Temperature min.
(Date)
26.4 (28 June)
25.1 (15 June)
23.7 (12 June)
26.3 (29 June)
23.1 (23 June)
24.8 (22 June)
21.5 (20 June)
25.9 (29 June)
23.0 (08 June)
24.9 (29 June)
23.0 (19 June)

Realising the seriousness of the situation, the United Nations

organized in Toronto, the first international conference The Changing
atmosphere: The implications for global security in June 1988, representing
the views of more than 300 policymakers and scientists from 46 countries.
UN and other international organizations warned about the effects of global
warming then which are evidenced by the reports of the UN Climate Summit
COP15, in Copenhagen in December 2009, e.g. the year 1998 was the earths
warmest year of the last millennium.

1.1.4.3

Changing climate and El Nino

Earths climate change is emerging as one of the major scientific,

social and economic issues of the twenty-first century. Regional climate
change takes place due to warming by overloading the earths atmosphere
with carbon dioxide, methane, etc.

Evidence of how deeply fossil-fuel

consumption which is tied into worldwide economic activity, changes the

climate is dealt by Johansen (2002) considering automobile and jet aircraft as
particular sources of changing climate and its implications for the future.

The most recently observed and proven phenomenon is the

climatic oscillation called El Nino alias Al Nino. This phenomenon causes
unpredicted or unanticipated changes in the climatic conditions of a region
which means the raining season and pattern, monsoon starting and ending, its
direction and course of action, will vary from year to year. The consequences
are so many, e.g. in a particular year cultivation may be good and worse in the
subsequent years. Cyclones formed and travelling towards a zone may totally
drift and move to unexpected and unprepared regions. Appendix 1 illustrates
the evidence of North East cyclone moving towards Tamil Nadu drifted to

10

Southern India, then moved to western coast unexpectedly hitting Mumbai

very badly in November 2009 (India meteorological dept. 2009).

1.1.4.4

Loss of flora and fauna

Rising levels of greenhouse gases and changing climates, cause the

Earth to warm beyond the tolerance of many plants and animals. Tropical and
subtropical zones of planet shift so fast that the plants and animals could not
migrate or cope up with this rate of change and eventually become extinct.
There are proven evidences by UN on endangered flora and fauna which
could not adapt, e.g. salmons have been dying in record numbers of heat
stress in cold Canadian province British Columbia, and in tropical oceans
many varieties of corals have been diminishing because of warming water.

1.1.4.5

Desertification

50 years of recorded data indicate spreading deserts throughout the

world and there are five major reasons leading to desertification.

a. Shifting of tropic and subtropic zones affecting ecosystem.

b. Over exploitation of greenery deforestation leading to lesser
rain fall and overheating of the soil depriving its moisture.
c. El Nino which changes the rainfall and monsoon pattern over
years, leading to continued drought or excess rainfall to which
the species could not readily adapt (Gale 1999).
d. Increase in average temperature of earth soil and atmosphere.
e. Loss of glaciers on mountains which melt during summer and
flow through rivers like the Ganges helping livelihood.

11

1.1.4.6

Receding glaciers

There is mounting evidence that climate change is triggering

shrinkage of many glaciers world-wide as shown in the Figure 1.6. This may
eventually put water supplies at risk for hundreds of million people and for
cultivation. If the current fossil effluvia continues and the world fails to
implement renewable energy programs to control emission, it is possible that
glaciers may completely disappear from many mountain ranges in the 21 st
century as already happened in Kilimanjaro African peaks.
Retreating Pedersen Alaska glacier and Himalayan Gangotri are
shown in the photographs taken in the same season, same location but with a
time gap of 85 years and 8 years respectively as shown in the Figure 1.5. The
author himself observed reduced snow fall in Rocky mountains, Boise, USA
over 5 years due to global warming. According to the World Glacier
Monitoring Service, 77% of the monitored glaciers were retreating in 2002.
This was followed by 94% of the monitored glaciers retreating in 2003.
Receding Gangotri marks are shown in the Figure 1.7.

If the world is getting warmer at the current rate, drying up of

glaciers might happen before the end of this century (Hasnain 2007). These
glaciers are already out of equilibrium with existing climate due to late 20 th
century emissions. Further emissions will worsen this situation.

1.1.4.7

Warming and sea level rise

Most of the renowned climate models indicate that temperatures

may rise 1.9 to 5.2C by 2100 (UNs target is to keep it below 2C). Due to
increase in ocean water temperature, sea level also rises.

12

Figure 1.5 Receding Pedersen and Gangotri glaciers

The National Academy of Sciences (Albert 2011) reiterated the

significant risks that climate change poses to us, leading to consequences
similar to atomic war of the world, not instantly but spread over 100 years.

Figure 1.6 Thinning glaciers

Figure 1.7 Gangotri receding marks

13

Warmed up water may cause extinction of many plant and animal

species as discussed earlier, posing a great threat to wipe out the islands in the
oceans and flooding of cities located on the sea shore. This effect is
augmented by the melting ice from the Arctic, Antarctic, and mountain
glaciers which feed the fresh and clean water into the oceans irreversibly.

1.1.4.8

Acid rain

Oxides of sulphur (SOx) and oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) content in

the emissions of the fossil fuel are carried away along with the water vapour
into the clouds. When it rains, it forms acids and severely corrodes structures,
marble and metals, etc. Acid rain also poses potential threat to human health
when this water is consumed.

1.1.4.9

Human health

Global warming already created ecological unbalance in arctic

region leading to extinction of certain races of Arctic natives in the last
century. Higher ambient temperature causes uncomfortable working and
living environment. El Nino climatic oscillation swings the climate pattern,
thus stressing the human biological system unevenly.

The most detrimental effects on human health are caused by SOx,

NOx, carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC) and smoke emissions by
engines, power plants and industries. There are clinical evidences comparing
the health of a remote villager with a typical urban employee which clearly
highlight the threat posed by the fossil fuels. Carcinogenic and pulmonary
diseases are inflicted by the fossil emissions as per Appendix 8. Depletion of
ozone layer may cause ultraviolet rays affecting humans to a great extent.

14

1.1.5

Environmental Benefits of Biofuels

Apart from the economic benefits discussed earlier, there are

remarkable environmental advantages of biofuel cultivation, viz. CO2 fixing,
cooling the atmosphere, increased rainfall, employment generation, food
security and poverty alleviation. They are briefly discussed here.

1.1.5.1

CO2 recycling

Figure 1.8 CO2 fixing cycle

Figure 1.8 depicts the CO2 fixing cycle. Plants absorb more CO2 as
they grow. If the world uses only biofuels or renewable energy, then the
entire status quo discussed earlier can be reversed by the end of 21st century.

1.1.5.2

Mitigating global warming

Vegetation cover on earth absorbs huge heat energy from the sun
rays and converts them into biomass and also the heat energy released by

15

human beings and industries are mitigated by the greenery. The resulting
atmosphere is cooler eventually reducing the overall temperature of biosphere
i.e. global warming. This further augments rainfall throughout the world.

1.1.5.3

Energy efficiency

The biofuels are energy efficient in the sense that for every kWh
unit of fossil energy used to produce biofuel, 3.37 kWh equivalent biofuel
energy is created. So, they are energy creating resources without much effort
from the mankind.

1.1.5.4

Positive net life cycle

Every litre of plant derived biofuel, displaces 0.95 litre of diesel/

0.97 litre of gasoline in its life cycle. Life cycle analysis of jatropha biodiesel
in Indian railways by Michael (2009) concluded that emissions get reduced by
1.5g CO2 per Giga Ton-Kilometer transport (GTK) (-12%) and displace 0.69
g crude oil per GTK (17%) while increasing the net energy ratio by 0.10 as
shown in the Table 1.2.

Table 1.2 Net jatropha life cycle on CO2 emission

Details
GHG emission
intensity
Change from diesel
Net energy ratio
Change from diesel
Net petroleum
displacement
Change from diesel

Unit
g CO2/GTK
%
Energy out/
Energy in
%
g crude oil
/GTK
%

Diesel

B10

B20

B100

13

12

12

5.1

-6%

-12%

-62%

0.79

0.84

0.89

1.9

6%

13%

140%

0.34

0.69

3.6

-8

-17%

-86%

16

1.1.5.5

Employment and wealth creation

Cultivation of biofuel crops directly creates opportunities in

agriculture for farmers and labours, and indirectly to transporters, biofuel
processing industries, etc.

Ultimately the wealth is circulated within the

country instead of outflow to OPEC, thus contributing to overall higher

standard of living.

1.1.5.6

Biomass utilisation

Major economic benefits from the biofuel crops are the edible
products and non-edible outputs which are useful for manufacturing
cosmetics, medicines, bio-fertilizers, paints, varnishes, lubricants,

paper,

furniture, etc.

1.1.5.7

Geographical benefits

Plants reduce soil erosion, help afforestation, make the lands to

absorb fresh water instead of going into sea, provide shelter and food for
living creatures, etc. Mostly, biofuels are non-toxic and bio-degradable.

1.1.5.8

Reduced emission and others

Biodiesel produces less toxic emissions by reduced CO, HC and

smoke from CI engines mainly because they contain about 11% oxygen. The
presence of oxygen allows it to burn more completely, so lesser unburnt fuel
emissions occur, thereby reducing air toxins associated with partially burned
HC and particulate matter (PM). A few percentage of biodiesel can make an
old engine to satisfy the new emission standards.

17

1.2

CASHEW AND CASHEW NUT SHELL LIQUID

Cashew is an immigrant tree which yields cashew nut shell liquid

(CNSL). CNSL is a naturally occurring phenolic compound which makes it
unique among the known vegetable oils. It is a reddish brown viscous liquid
contained in the honeycomb structure of the cashew nut shells which protrude
outside the fruit distinct from other fruits.

CNSL is a byproduct obtained from the shell while processing the

cashew kernels (nuts). There are many commercial ways of extraction of
CNSL from the shell. About half of the mass of the shell is CNSL. Cashew
growing zone is shown in the Figure 1.9. The sustainability of CNSL, its
processing, variants and viability are discussed the proceeding sections.

1.2.1

Cashew Tree

The cashew tree (Anacardium Occidentale L.) was brought to

India by Portuguese in 1653 A.D. from eastern Brazil (Sebastine 1955). Then
it spread across almost all parts of the country and now is among the top
commercial crops as per Cashew Handbook (2011). Though it was introduced
in India in the same way as pineapple (Bromelia ananas L.) and custard apple
(Annona reticulate L.) by Portuguese, only cashew tree has moved to the top
position due to its inherent abilities to cope up with wide range of conditions.

1.2.1.1

Cashew cultivation

Cashew tree is evergreen and relatively easy to cultivate. It grows

upto 12 metres height and has a spread of 25 metres, most frequently found in
coastal areas. It grows in warm, moist, tropical region over a variety of soils

18

Figure 1.9 Cashew cultivation zones in the world

in the world ranging from volcanic, laterite as well as alluvial soils where
annual rain fall is 100 to 800cm. In semi-desert areas, it can grow with
reduced yield. Further, it can be cultivated on soils which are not suitable for
other crops, e.g. stony, salty, infertile, friable soils. It thrives between 27N to
28S and grows usually unirrigated as shown in the figure 1.9 (Agtrans 1996).
Important cashew economical regions lie between 15 N and 15 S latitude having long sunshine hours. Figure 1.10 shows cashew trees and fruits with nuts.

Figure 1.10 Cashew tree and fruits

19

1.2.1.2

Cashew production in India

India has the most favourable land mass as shown in the Figure 1.9
with 64% of the land falling under cashew growing region. India has the
largest area in the world favourable for this tree (Jason 2004). Cashew
cultivation is possible on hot dry tropics including Rajasthan, on marginal
(shallow) soil, friable soil as well on waste land unsuitable for other crops
due to high PH value. That is why cashew is called poor mans crop.

Table 1.3 Cashew nut production, worldwide year 2000

Major Countries
India
Brazil
Nigeria
Indonesia
Guinea-bissau
Benin
Vietnam
Cote dlvore
World

Cultivated Area
hectares
837,000
598,490
291,000
260,000
210,000
175,000
151,000
125,000
2,742,167

Cashew nut
103 tonnes/year
537
114
184
90
73
26
27
78
1,600

Table 1.3 summarises the cashew nut production in the world. In

spite of the availability of enormous land resources for cashew cultivation in
India, less than 10% of the potential areas are adopted for cashew though it
grows easily in places with 100cm rainfall and above, irrespective of the soil.

1.2.1.3

Relevance to this research

This research

work leads to

supplementing diesel

with

economically sustainable, renewable fuel - Cashew Nut Shell Liquid to shift

20

the trade imbalance and dependence on fossil fuels. Hence, it is very essential
to analyse CNSL source and scope for increasing the resources in India.
Though CNSL is easily and readily available in the market now, if demand
increases price will rise. Thus it is imperative to study the resources for
future explosive growth. From the detailed techno-economic analysis, India
has 15 times more capacity to cultivate cashew if it follows steps taken by
Vietnam and Benin. Table 1.4 highlights the 3 years cashew nut export data
(DCCD 2011) which had increased from 2289 crores in 2007-08 to 2906
crores in 2009-10. This value has the potential to rise by ten times in 2025.

Table 1.4 Export of cashew nut from India during 2007-10

2007-2008
Qty
Value
Countries
Tonnes
crores
U.S.A
42,694
838.35
U.A.E
12,692
275.68
Netherlands
13,627
256.27
Japan
5,114
106.52
U.K
3,758
78.39
Saudi Arabia
3,422
70.02
France
4,033
75.51
Others
29,005
588.28
Total
114,345 2,289.1

2008-2009
Qty
Value
Tonnes
crores
36,565
975.69
14,100
388.86
13,608
371.48
4,908
145.16
3,495
91.21
3,278
88.42
3,843
104.10
29,725
823.48
109,522 2,988.4

2009-2010
Qty
Value
Tonnes
crores
30,804 806.63
18,161 501.65
10,314 273.99
5,633 156.21
4,477 114.18
3,827 101.26
3,814
99.70
31,090 852.20
108,120 2,905.8

Cashew trees are boon to a country, in the sense that they not only
yield cashew, but also produce gasoline supplement ethanol from the fruit and
cheap byproduct, CNSL, from the shell. So the potential for cashew derived
fuels to supplant the increasing energy gap is promising. Table 1.5 shows that
over the past 8 years, the area under the cashew crop has increased by 200%
and the average productivity has been 635 kg per hectare. The productivity in
Maharashtra state is the highest with 1300 kg/ha followed Kerala 1178 kg/ha.

21

In 2008-09,

893,000 hectares yielded a record production of

695,000 tonnes of raw cashew nut, in India. Further there are many research
laboratories and development agencies setup by the Central and the State
Governments to encourage cashew cultivation. Latest data are given in Table
1.5 (Directorate of Cashew nut & Cocoa Development 2011).

Table 1.5 All-India area, production and nut yield

Year
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09

1.2.1.4

Cashew
Cultivated Area
1000 hectares
750
770
780
820
837
854
868
893

Productive
Area, 1000
hectares
666
675
684
700
760
765
770
835

Cashew
Production
1000 tonnes
470
500
535
544
573
620
665
695

Cashew
Yield
kg /ha
710
760
800
810
815
820
860
773

Methods to boost cashew production

Intercropping: Cashew can be intercropped between coconut and

other annual crops. This does not affect the yield of other trees. Cashew tree
starts yielding fruits after 3 years and has a long yielding life span like
coconut trees. The fruits naturally fall after ripening, so no labour is involved
unlike Pongamia which needs climbing up the tree branches for collecting
seeds. Pongamia has become unsustainable alternative fuel only because of
this seed collection problems.

Forestation: Cashew tree can be very successfully adopted for

reforestation programme in which seedlings are planted on forestry areas

22

having less green cover. Also it can be intertwined with other forest trees
where suitable sunshine and landscape are available. Because the tree grows
unattended, monthly collection of fruits during the yield season is good
enough for reaping the benefit from the forest.

Chinese method: The year 2006 was the International Year of

Deserts and Desertification. In the last decade, by massive economic drives,
Chinas deserts had been shrunk by 7,585 sq km annually by plantation.
Such a drive was absent in African countries resulting in expansion of deserts
(Jintao et al 2010). Cashew tree could be suitably planted in the desert in India.

Government effort: The Government machinery has to gear up

to boost Cashew production by encouraging and disseminating information to
farmers in cultivating cashew. It can help in choosing the best variety
depending upon the soil, climatic condition, rainfall,

quality seeds and

rendering guidance to control pests / insects.

Genetic research: The right genotype required for varying

conditions can be arrived through research. With the modern technology in
botany, it is quite possible to boost the cashew yield to a few times.
Australian studies, though they were in the beginning of cultivating cashews,
revealed that the yield per hectare can be increased from current level of 650
kg/ha to 2360 kg/ha (Noel 2000) by advanced and controlled methods in
special research farms.

1.2.2

Cashew Sustainability

For any successful renewable fuel implementation, economic

compatibility is very important. This is the main reason for jatropha biodiesel

23

projects yet to become economical. A proper balance, both commodity-wise

and energy-wise, needs to be developed for identifying the utilization of
various bio-energy resources vis--vis the availability. In this regard, a review
paper has been published by the author. The last sub-division deals with the
firmly established proof of sustainability of cashew in India.

1.2.2.1

Merits of cashew over jatropha

Cashew tree intercrop does not absorb soil nutrients while jatropha
as intercrop resulted in poor yield of the major crops.
Australia has banned jatropha cultivation as it is an invasive plant
in the forest zones. Cashew is not invasive.
Cost of jatropha biodiesel is more than

90 (Indian Railways

2011) compared to 17 to 28 of CNSL per litre in 2011.

CNSL is anti oxidant in nature so it does not corrode steel part
whereas jatropha biodiesel is found to be corrosive on metals.
Leaves and fruits are human and cattle friendly jatropha leaves
are very poisonous and fatal to cattle (Janick and Robert 2008).
Few jatropha nuts are fatal to humans whereas cashew nuts are the
best nuts with no cholesterol or sugar content in it.
Jatropha contains Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN), a very fatal and
dangerous poison, whereas cashew shell oil contains anacardic acid
which makes it non-edible because of its skin irritant nature. But it
can be converted into many useful products of medicinal value.
Cashew tree yields a wide variety of byproducts which are much
more useful than jatropha byproducts.
Seed collection is very easy without climbing the tree since they
fall to ground after ripening. The major cost of jatropha lies in seed
collection, separation, transportation and transesterification.

24

1.2.2.2

Case studies of jatropha failure

Energy crisis exists in all the developing countries especially those

which are based on agriculture. Many African and Asian countries are in the
same scenario. Jatropha curcas was in the limelight for almost two decades,
yet the jatropha biodiesel is twice the cost of petro diesel.

Though there are many talks and research going on for the past two
decades about alternative green fuels especially from many non-edible vegetable sources, the world is yet to see practical and commercial implementation
on a massive scale (Christine 2010, Juliane and Bismarck 2011).

Status Quo of Jatropha in Europe and India are analysed here. D1

Oils of United Kingdom and Flora EcoPower of Germany have had disastrous
record of dropping share prices. British Petroleum, having lost their
investment, pulled out of their joint venture with D1 Oils because of
disappointing results of jatropha plantation (Helen and Adrian 2010).

Another Swedish private company, BioMassive, leased land in

Tanzania for jatropha plantations, but incurred losses until 2009 and has not
been heard of since. Dutch company BioShape went bankrupt in 2010.
(Stefano 2011).

In India, Pugazh group of companies, Tiruchirappalli had to divert

from biodiesel production to real estate contracts for survival. Even large
corporations like Reliance Industries Ltd which signed up lease for cultivation
of jatropha in hundreds of acres of land in Andhra Pradesh five years back
(Unnikrishnan 2007), is yet to turn the corner and the project is in jeopardy.

25

1.2.3

Impact of Cashew Tree

Cashew tree is an extremely useful tree like coconut and banana,

yielding variety of useful products, with the major advantage that it can grow
even in salty, stony soil due to its featured roots, with much lesser rain fall
than needed for coconut and banana where yield is linked to rainfall. That is
why, this immigrant plant rose to the topmost position in many countries.

This research work has got significant contribution to national

economy since cashew is a commercial crop unlike pongamia (karanja) or
jatropha whose byproducts other than oil are not of much value.

A Brazil study elucidates that there are some 300,000 jobs created
directly and indirectly by cashew production and processing of nuts and juice
(Barros et al 2002). India has also got such a great opportunity to create
employment in large number if cashew production is encouraged.

Various useful products and extracts from cashew trees and their
appropriate uses are mentioned briefly in the proceeding section which will
also lead to effective use of cashew.

1.2.3.1

Products from cashew tree

The most important product from the cashew tree is the cashew
nut and the main countries consuming it are the United States, the European
Union, Japan and the countries of former USSR. They are the major importers
of cashew nuts, combinedly accounting for some 85 percent of global
imports. India also purchases significant amount of cashew nuts.

26

Table 1.6 Chemical composition of cashew nuts

CONSTITUENTS
Proteins
Fat
Moisture
Carbohydrates
Phosphorus
Iron

PERCENTAGE
21.0
47.0
5.9
22.0
0.45
5.0mg/100g

Cashew is called the king of all nuts for the reason that it is one of
the most delicious and highly sought-after nuts. People seem to enjoy 100s of
recipes that uses cashew nuts. Cashew nut is a very nutritious food, as shown
in Table 1.6.

It contains no harmful cholesterol but is rich in minerals and

vitamins. It has as little as 1% soluble sugar. Thus it can be safely consumed
by those suffering from diabetes. When ground, the cashew is the easily
digested form of protein and are recommended for people on chemotherapy or
with HIV/AIDS. They are very useful for those with anemia since they are
rich in iron as well in vitamins and amino acids.

The next valuable product from the tree is CNSL which is dealt
with separately. Other important products from cashew trees are given below:

Gums from cashew fruit stem is used as a varnish to protect from insects.
Anacardic acid from shell has antibiotic properties against grain-negative
bacteria and is also used to treat leprosy and ring worm.
The leaves have medicinal use to cure sore throat. New medicines are
being developed from various parts of the tree.

27

Black juice of the nut and the milky juice from the tree after incision are
utilized in indelible marking ink while the stem of the tree gives a milky
juice, which is used as varnish.
Timber from the tree can be used for furniture making, boat building,
packing cases, etc.
The waste shell (after extraction of the CNSL - the cheapest oil) can be
used to produce charcoal / form fuel briquette.
In many parts of the world the cashew apple is used to make wine and
ethanol spirit. In India, Femi drink is made from cashew apples, in Goa.
Cashew apple is also used in the manufacture of jams, curry and pickles.
Cashew fruit juice, due to high vitamin C, is capable of capturing free
radicals and hence used in cosmetics like shampoos, lotion, scalp cream.
The juice from the cashew apples, when the tannin has not been removed is
a remedy for sore throat and chronic dysentery in Cuba and Brazil. Fresh or
distilled, it is a potent diuretic property and can be applied as a liniment to
relieve the pain of rheumatism and neuralgia.
Cashew fruits are de facto organic, it could be certified and used as a
backup juice (replacing white grape) in the organic juice industry.
Even when discarded, the cashew apple serves as food for livestock or wild
animals. At present, tremendous volumes of cashew fruit in India are
thrown away by the nut industry which can be easily used to make alcohol.
Cashew shell, oil cake and also CNSL are often used as conventional boiler
fuel to reduce overall energy costs. The liquid and shell can also be sold to
other industries. Nut shell can produce valuable char by pyrolysis.
The oil cake is also a suitable fuel for generating gas for boilers and gas
inducted internal combustion engines.
Cashew nut wastes-shells, cakes and residues are used as organic fertilizers
and also can be used for laying roads blended with asphalt / pitch.

28

1.2.4

Cashew Nut Shell

The protective case of the cashew nut is the outer shell with
honeycomb structure. Figure 1.11 shows the SEM image of the shell. The
cashew has several components including an outer shell (exocarp), inner shell
and the seed as shown in the Figure 1.12. The thickness of cashew nut shell is
about 3.4 mm. The brown cashew nut shell liquid is extracted from this shell.

Figure 1.11 Cashew nut shell

SEM image

1.2.5

Figure 1.12 Cashew nut

inner parts

Cashew Nut Shell Liquid Composition

Cashew Nut Shell Liquid is peri-cap fluid of the nut. It is

considered to be better as well as cheaper material for unsaturated phenols.
The cashew nut shell liquid is a very viscous fluid with pungent smell. It
contains approximately 70% anacardic acid, 18% cardol and 5% cardanol
with the remainder being made up of other phenols and less polar substances.

The composition of CNSL obtained from various sources is

different. Moreover, CNSL from the same location, same tree and the same
extraction method may yield different composition from year to year due to
factors like rainfall, fertilizer, crop management and the ripeness of the fruit.

29

1.2.5.1

Sources of CNSL for ICE testing

Cashew nut shell liquid and shells used for the present study were
obtained from two specific sources supplied through Satya Cashews, Chennai.
1. Western parts of India - Kumar Cashews, Cochin Kerala
2. Eastern parts of India - Pratiba Cashews, Panruti Tamil Nadu

The same resources were used for the entire experimental work
since 2009 to 2011. Kumar Cashews CNSL was made from the trees of
Cultivars Priyanka variety with progeny BLA-139-1 x K 30-1. Panruti supplier
has provided with more information during the survey visit for this research
work. The sample belongs to the variety Vengurla M44/3, which is the most
commonly grown varieties in eastern India. This variety has 26 to 35% CNSL
content in the shell which is about 10% higher than African variants. The
cashew nuts are dried in the sun for few days to reduce moisture content to
8% - 10%. Then they are shelled.

During the performance and emission testing of CNSL blends from

both the sources, it was observed that the power developed and emission
levels are almost the same for both varieties for the specified load and
operating conditions as explained in Chapter 4.

1.2.5.2

Precautions in CNSL testing

Due to phenolic nature, CNSL has to be handled using gloves since

it reacts with skin and causes exacerbation similar to synthetic phenol. It also
may contain very small percentage of Urushiol poison, an isomer of
Cardol, found in plants of the family Anacardiaceae. CNSL has been filtered
using hospital cotton to remove debris and solid impurities for ICE tests.

30

1.2.5.3

Constituents of CNSL

The CNSL composition varies depending upon many factors as

discussed earlier, similar to any vegetable oil. But it is very much influenced
by the method of extraction and process parameters unlike other vegetable oil.
The expeller extracted CNSL, which is used for this research work, consists
of the components shown in Figure 1.13 (Matos et al 2008).

Figure 1.13 Molecular structures of CNSL constituents

31

Molecular formulae of Anacardic acid (70% content) as shown in

the figures have the molecular weights (i) 348, (ii) 346, (iii) 344 and (iv) 342
respectively with carbon atoms 7 plus 15. Similarly from the molecular
structure of cardanol and cardol, the molecular weight can be derived as
follows:
Cardanol (5 %)

molecular weight (i) 304, (ii) 302, (iii) 300 and (iv) 298;

Cardol

molecular weight (i) 320, (ii) 318, (iii) 316 and (iv) 314;

(18%)

2-methyl cardol (3%) molecular weight (i) 334, (ii) 332, (iii) 330 and (iv) 328.

1.2.6

Details and Merits of CNSL

Though, cashew nut is one of the key elements in the international

trading markets, unfortunately, little attention has been paid to the utilization
of abundantly available by-product of the industry. Raising public awareness
is necessary for locals to take advantage of this natural resource, which can
significantly support the local economy.

More than 3.35 mega tonnes world production of cashew was

recorded in 2009 (Faostat 2009). Cashew nut comprises the shell and the
kernel, but the shell which is around 50% of weight of the cashew kernel has
been considered as residue of cashew nut production, which may be an
environmental problem if not handled properly.

The cashew nut shell liquid is recognized as a very valuable

commodity because of its high concentration of unsaturated long chains such
as anacardic acid, cardanol, cardol and their isomers (Rodrigues et al 2006).
Cashew thus yields both valuable food product output as well as cheap fuel
byproducts, with the feasibility to make the economic sustainability of

32

renewable fuel a success. CNSL constituents are used in many ways for
benefits as given below:
Both anacardic acid and cardol were reported to have antitumor (Kozubek
and Dey 2005, kubo et al 1993), antimicrobial, urea inhibitory (kubo et al
1999) and lipoxygenase activities (Ha and Kubo 2005). However,
anacardic acid which is stable at room temperature can easily be degraded
into cardanol by decarboxylation at high temperature (Philip et al 2008).
The various components of cardanol can be suitably modified to obtain
emulsifiers, surface active agents, dyes, antioxidants, plasticizers, stabilizers, accelerators, curatives, reclaiming agents and ion-exchange resins.
CNSL modified by heating at 160-300C in the presence of certain
accelerators gives special enamels resistant to alkali and acid solutions,
mineral and fatty oils and various organic solvents.
Coating compositions possessing insecticidal properties are obtained by
adding DDT, gammexane, etc. to CNSL or chlorinated CNSL, after
treatment with formaldehyde, gums and resins and drying or semi-drying.
It is reported that technical CNSL may also contain phytosterol, such as
stigmasterol and -sitosterol, which have cholesterol-lowering properties.
The farming of cashew in a hectare fixes 14 tonnes of CO 2 in a year which
is 35% higher than jatropha.
Production of 10.6 tonnes CNSL /ha/year of cashew nut can be achieved
and it thrives in 27 N and 28 S latitude.
Easily and abundantly available in large quantity.
Mode of transport of CNSL fuel is easy.
Localised production and availability for use as quality fuel.
Restoration of degraded land over a period of time.
Rural employment generation.
Comparatively equitable benefit distribution.

33

Termite-proof and insect proof uses.

Less sophisticated shelling operation.
The CNSL is now distilled to make a number of substances but the primary
ones are cardanol and cardol. Their major use is to make cashew friction
particles for the brake lining industry.

The merits of CNSL for usage as engine fuel and other applications
are discussed further and certain predominant merits are also highlighted here
as observed during this research work. The next generation of products from
cashew nutshell liquid has lower viscosity and lighter colors. Their benefits
and use will continue to improve due to the reasons discussed below:

Fully sustainable energy source.

Very good and stable mixing ability with diesel due to its structure.
Higher energy content than other vegetable oils.
Less gum formation tendency in IC engine use.
Does not produce huge carbon deposit contrary to straight vegetable oils.
No formaldehyde emission like biodiesel due to absence of esters in CNSL.
Can be used with fumigation technique using Di-Ethyl Ether (DEE) or
Glycol Ether.
Less smoke formation in engine exhaust.
Higher flash point makes CNSL safer to store (210C).
CNSL molecules are simple hydrocarbon chains containing no sulphur or
harmful substances associated with fossil fuels, so there is no sulphur oxide
emission from the engine.
CNSL has an oxygen content of 14% which is higher than jatropha that has
about 10% O2. This ensures more complete combustion of hydrocarbons.
CNSL like any biodiesel almost eliminates life-cycle carbon dioxide
emissions.

34

Compared to petro diesel it reduces particulate matter and unburned HC by

a few percentages.
CNSL is miscible with water; micro-emulsion is possible for future study.
HHV of CNSL is higher than jatropha ester (6 to 10% more).
Seeping CNSL through piston rings does only improve lubrication as
proven by studies by mixing few percentage of CNSL as lubricating oil
additive which acts as antioxidant improving lubricity.
No trumpet formation on the injector making fuel atomization easier.
Gelling and oil ring sticking are less which are its unique characteristics.
CNSL has excellent solubility in lubricants as well light lubricating oils.
The strongly polar phenol group induces the antioxidant characteristics.
The corrosivity of the pyrolysis CNSL oils is very mild towards copper and
Stainless steel. The aqueous fraction of the pyrolysis process can also be a
good source of different ketones.
The long linear chain indicates the higher cetane number unlike other
pyrolysis oils from different agro-wastes.
Lesser residues and carbon deposit make CNSL as a good compression
ignition fuel without any further treatment.
No modification in the injection system and injection timing is required in
conventional diesel engine for using CNSL blends.

1.2.7

Methods of Extracting CNSL and Process Chosen for ICEs

There are many small scale and commercial methods readily

available to extract CNSL from the shell. Each method has its own merits
and limitations. In general, it was found during the literature survey that
higher the processing methods and refinement, higher the cost of the CNSL.
This is further augmented due to increased handling, transportation, chemicals
and energy input for processing. Figure 1.14 is a typical illustration.

35

Figure 1.14 Major methods of CNSL extraction

Supercritical CO2 method, Vacuum pyrolysis, Ether solvent heat

extraction, soxhlet extraction, etc. will subsequently and substantially increase
the product price even though output of each process has specific application.

As far as IC engine application is concerned, availability,

combustion characteristics, price, HHV, ease of fuel preparation, corrosion
effect, gumming and carbon deposit formation are the main considerations.
Based on these criteria, expeller cold extracted CNSL is chosen, due to bulk
availability, low price and ease of fuel preparation by blending (unlike
jatropha trans-esterification needing electricity for stirring and long time for
reaction with costly chemical and labour inputs).

36

If the performance of the cheaper CNSL is proven as ICE fuel, this

potential renewable fuel will benefit the cashew processing countries.

1.2.7.1

Thermal extraction roasting method

In East Africa, the traditional method of removing CNSL involves

roasting the nut in drums or baths. The roasting process not only removes the
majority CNSL but also makes the shell brittle, thereby aiding the cracking
process. This method releases most of CNSL from the shell. In order to
extract the retained CNSL, the nuts are roasted in baths at a temperature of
180185C. Vents in the equipment dispel the unpleasant fumes. This method
recovers 8590% of the liquid (Acland 1977).

In India, method of extracting CNSL involves roasting the nuts in a

shallow pan over open charcoal fires and using constant agitation to prevent
the nuts from becoming scorched. This method is extremely unpleasant as the
shells burst releasing CNSL fumes resulting losses (Woodroof 1967).
According to an Italian patent, the shells are scraped in a rotary apparatus
with sand and steel wool, heated at 100300C for 1 h and then roasted at
400700C in inert atmosphere, when oil again oozes out (Gedam et al 1986).

1.2.7.2

Hot oil bath method

By and large, this is the most common method of commercial

extraction of CNSL in practice nowadays. The technique can be different
depending upon the raw material, which is either raw cashew nut or cashew
nut shell. At first, cashew nut shells are collected in a cylinder, where steam
heating is applied at temperatures around 200-250C for 2-3 minutes. During
the process, CNSL is released from the shells and the process is repeated.

37

This method yields CNSL of around 7-12% of the weight. For the latter, the
raw nuts are passed through a bath of hot CNSL itself, when the outer part of
the shell bursts open and releases CNSL. This method produces CNSL around
6-12 % of the weight of nut.

1.2.7.3

Screw pressing method

The raw cashew nut shells are put in the hydraulic press or screw
pressing and then high pressure is exerted in order to release CNSL from the
shells. This method is rather straight forward and quick among others.
However, the residue from this method still retains significant proportion of
CNSL, i.e. around 10-15%.

1.2.7.4

Solvent extraction method

This method gives off most of CNSL compared to other methods.

The oil remains in the residue is less than 1% of the weight. In the preparation
step, the contamination is removed by the use of magnetic device. Cashew nut
shell is then reduced to small sizes to facilitate drying and extraction. The
organic solvent is added to the cashew nut shell. CNSL is then extracted in
the solution. The solution is separated from the solid particles and brought to
boil off the solvent, which is subsequently condensed for reuse in the process.
The boiling solution is distilled further until the solvent is separated.

The percentage yield of CNSL varies with the extraction process.

Indian native method of roasting nuts and collecting the expelled liquid is
reported to yield about 50% of total oil content. Extraction with hot oil bath
method gives about 8590% of total CNSL produced in India. Superheated

38

steam treatment and collection of condensate method improves the yield

further by 2% (Hartley 1998).

1.2.7.5

Advances in extraction of CNSL

The actual composition of CNSL may vary with the origin of the
shells, their climatic conditions and mostly with the process of extraction.
Many researchers tried with various techniques of extraction such as
pyrolysis, solvent extraction and heat extraction. The cashew nut was first
examined by Cadet, who found in it gallic acid and an acrid resin.

De Mattos (1831), by a more careful investigation, found in

addition, tannin (an extractive substance), a gum-resin and some green
coloring matter. But the most interesting investigation was made by Staedeler
(1847), who examined the viscid liquid contained between the two shells of
the nut and extracted it by means of ether. This liquid is fluid at 15.5C,
congeals at 10C, is soluble in alcohol and ether, but insoluble in water, and is
bitter and caustic; when placed upon the skin, it promptly produces
vesication. Staedeler separated this liquid into two constituents, one of which
was an oily substance constituting about 10 percent of the liquid fluid at even
low temperatures, and forming the vesicating part of the liquid, which he
named cardot (C H O ). This was associated with an acid substance, white
21

30

and crystalline, when pure, capable of forming salts with bases, some being
crystalline, and others amorphous, and to which Staedeler gave the name
anacardic acid. Cardol was subsequently investigated by Spiegel and Dobrin
(1895), who established the formula C H O .H O. Recent advances of
32

50

analytical instrumentation in past decades have allowed scientists to further

39

their investigation and to gain more insight into the chemical composition of
various constituents in CNSL obtained through different methods.

Tyman et al (1989) investigated liquid extraction of the shell

material with carbon tetrachloride, light petroleum, or diethyl ether and found
that these solvents could give 1530% of the total nut-in-shell (NIS) weight.
When this is combined with catalytic decarboxylation to prevent
polymerization, near theoretical yields of technical grade CNSL can be
obtained. However, long extraction times (2236 h), large amounts of solvent,
harsh mechanical pretreatment, and low yield of whole kernels make this
process unattractive. Furthermore, solvent extraction of CNSL tends to extract
undesirable colored compounds from the shell material (Tyman 1996).

Shobha and Ravindranath (1991) investigated the extraction of

cashew nut shell liquid by using supercritical carbon dioxide. By flowing
carbon dioxide 4-5 kg/h and maintaining at 40C and 250 bars for the
extraction. The yield was 18.7% in 17.5 h. For pyrolysis extraction, CNSL
from cashew nut shell is obtained by using vacuum pyrolysis. It was found
that the composition of CNSL obtained in this study mainly contained
cardanol, cardol, substituted phenols, di-n-octyl phthalate, bi (2-ethyl hexyl)
phthalate.

Ganesh et al (2006) employed supercritical carbon dioxide for the

extraction of cashew nut shell liquid under the pressure ranging from 200-300
bars, at 60C, and mass flow rate ranging from 0.8-1.3 kg/h. It was found that
the yield of CNSL increased as pressure, temperature and mass flow rate of
supercritical carbon dioxide increased. The CNSL obtained by this method
has unique characteristics, which has excellent solubility in diesel oils and
light lubricating oils. The main product was cardanol (7090%) in this

40

process. It hardly contained any anacardic acid, while traces of cardol were
found only at high pressures.

For solvent extraction, Edoga et al (2006) extracted CNSL from

cashew nut shell by using hexane (n-hexane) in a soxhlet solvent extraction.
The extraction was carried out at 680C and atmospheric pressure. The
product mainly contained 10% cardol, 50% cardanol and 30% anacardic acid
(with the remainder being made up of other substances). For heat-extracted
CNSL, the heating process leads to decarboxylation of the anacardic acid to
form cardanol. Typically, the composition of heat-extracted CNSL is
approximately 52% cardanol, 10% cardol and 30% polymeric material. Heatextracted CNSL is often further processed by distillation at reduced pressure
to remove the polymeric material. The composition of the distilled CNSL is
about 78% cardanol, 8% cardol, and 2% polymeric material.

1.2.8

Expeller Method CNSL Extraction

Expeller method is the mostly used one for small and medium
cashew processing industries and does not require much of energy and
labour inputs. Traditionally, the extraction of the kernel (cashew) from the
shell of the cashew nut has been a manual operation. The nut is roasted
which makes the shell brittle and loosens the kernel inside the shell. By
soaking the nuts in water, the moisture content of the kernel is raised
reducing the risk of it being scorched during roasting and making it more
flexible so that it is less likely to crack.

Figure 1.15 shows the clear overview of the CNSL extraction

processes and various steps involved in the extraction:

41

Figure 1.15 Expeller extraction of CNSL

1.2.8.1

Cleaning

All raw nuts carry foreign matter, consisting of sand, stones, dried
cashew apple etc. The presence of foreign matter in the roasting of nuts can
be avoided by cleaning the nuts. Raw nuts can be sieved by hand or machine
using a 19mm mesh sieve.

42

1.2.8.2

Soaking

The next stage is to soak the nuts in water to avoid scorching them
during the roasting operation. This can be done by placing the nuts in a drum
with water until all the nuts are covered. After being left to stand for about
ten minutes, the water should be drained off via a plug near the base of the
drum. The nuts should then be left for a period not less than four hours in
order to allow the water left on the surface of the nuts to be absorbed. The
process of covering the nuts with water, draining and standing should be
repeated for about two to three times.

1.2.8.3

Roasting

The application of heat to the nut releases the nut shell liquid and
makes the shell brittle which facilitates the extraction of the kernel when
breaking open the shell. Three methods of roasting are commonly used, viz.
open pan roasting, drum roasting and hot oil method.

An open, mild steel, circular dished pan of around 60mm in

diameter is supported on a basic earth fireplace. The nuts are placed on the
pan at one time and stirred constantly. The CNSL starts to exude and then
ignites. This produces a long flame and black smoke. After approximately
two minutes, the pan is dowsed and the charred, swollen and brittle nuts are
thrown out of the pan. The moisture evaporates quickly leaving the nuts
ready for shelling.

In drum roasting the basic idea is continually feeding the nuts into
a rotating drum over a fire developed from the pan method.

A slight

horizontal slope in the mounting ensures the movement of the nuts through

43

the drum. The drum is pierced so that the flames touch the nuts and the
smoke is controlled by a hood and chimney arrangement.

The principle of hot oil method is that oil-bearing substances, i.e.

the shells, when immersed in the same oil at high temperature, will lose their
oil, thus increasing the volume of the oil in the tank. The equipment consists
of a tank of CNSL heated to a temperature of 185-190C by a furnace
underneath and a wire basket used to hold the nuts for immersion into the
tank. The depth of the basket must be sufficient so that the rim remains well
above the oil during the roasting. Immersion time can range from 1 to 4
minutes. About 50% of the liquid is extracted from the nuts. Draining trays
are needed at the end of the tank for the roasted nuts to dry and the residue oil
can be returned to the tank. Caution must be taken not to heat the tank to over
200C because at this point polymerization of the CNSL takes place. The
temperature can be maintained by continuous firing.

1.2.8.4

Shelling and expelling

Figure 1.16 Expeller machine

44

The objective of shelling is to produce clean, whole kernels free of

cracks. In India, this operation has always been done manually which adds
the cost to the cashew nut. For large scale processing, special machines are
available from manufacturers in every state.

Expeller pressing (also called oil pressing) as shown in Figure

1.16, is a mechanical method for extracting oil from raw materials. The raw
materials are squeezed under high pressure in a single step. Typical raw
materials like nuts, seeds and algae, are supplied to the press in a continuous
feed like the extraction of food oils.

1.2.9

CNSL as Fuel and its Future

To sum up, CNSL is a unique oil unlike other vegetable oils due to
its phenolic nature and further, all of its types have been found to be fairly
stable. Effective uses of CNSL byproducts also have been analysed. Further,
the excellent qualities of cashew tree in being resistant to droughts and
possessing viable and economical characters, accrediting the culture as a
species capable to generate wealth.

The following facts about CNSL establish its merits as fuel.

Due to mild poisonous effect and reactivity with skin, CNSL is nonedible and it cannot be consumed by cattle or humans.
CNSL cannot be discharged in sewage as it contaminates ground water
and causes problems to the environment.
Storage of CNSL as a commodity is not possible (Fernando and Jos
2009). Survey of the vendors revealed that somehow they need to get rid
of the CNSL byproduct from the place of its production since no other

45

effective use at its source exists, which are the main reasons for its
export to foreign countries at a much cheaper price.
The simplest way to use CNSL is to consume it near to the place of its
production because handling and transportation of CNSL adds cost in
every step thus ramping up the fuel price.
Blends prepared in the year 2008 had been successfully tested in 2010
recording the same performance levels in the engine. The oils were
completely miscible in diesel even after 2 years without settling.
CNSL derivatives were found to have low corrosivity towards copper
and stainless steel, and thus promise to be a potential fuel. Further it is
found to be a very good antioxidant hence it prevents corrosion of steel
when applied.
In petroleum derived products additives are used in small amounts to
limit deterioration and to stabilize properties like colour and viscosity.
The use of CNSL as bio-additive in engines increases the durability of
pieces and equipments.
The antioxidant activity is derived from cardanol which is comparable to
synthetic commercial products.
CNSL is renewable, biodegradable and abundant.
The main finding of the first stage testing in Greaves engine GL400, is
that pitting and corrosion marks are absent.
The table 1.7 makes it so clear that CNSL fetches very marginal foreign
exchange for India (24 Vs 2906 crores) less than 1% of cashew nut
export which means there is no significant contribution of CNSL export.
India is the largest producer of CNSL in the world.

Based on the modus operandi listed above, it seems that one of the
best ways to use CNSL, is as a blended fuel in IC engine for agricultural
transport to take the economically sustainable merits of CNSL fuel.

46

Table 1.7 Export of CNSL from India during 2007-10

2007-2008
Countries

Qty
Tonnes

value
crores

2008-2009
Qty
Tonnes

value
crores

2009-2010
Qty
Tonnes

Value
crores

USA

5512

7.58

5932

15.71

4827

9.79

China

638

1.15

1034

3.78

2770

7.94

1010

1.96

1048

3.17

1368

3.89

206

0.36

337

1.01

322

0.99

32

0.06

213

0.47

178

0.37

412

0.86

535

1.92

173

0.72

7813

11.98

9099

26.06

9748

24.12

Korea Rep.
Japan
Indonesia
Others
Total

USA is the main country to which CNSL is exported from India.

Table 1.7 enlists the staus quo of CNSL export which is less than 1% of the
value of cashew nut export.

Removal of CNSL from the shell is inevitable to extract the kernel

out of the shell. Hence the byproduct obtained is to be used in one way or the
other. The easiest and economically beneficial is the preferred one.

Increasing evidence suggests that CNSL can be used much more

efficiently (and therefore with less environmental impact) through direct
combustion to generate power and heat. The first step towards sustainable
energy and resource management should aim for significant reductions on the
demand side, with greater conservation and improved efficiency.

Indias petroleum reserves are limited and so it has to depend upon

the OPEC Nations for its transportation sector as discussed earlier. Every year
there is an incremental growth ( x) in oil consumption in India. Any

47

contribution to supplement this x by affordable fuels like CNSL is the road

map to recovery from economic adversities.

With an agricultural land of 1.8 million square km (out of the total

3,287,263 km2 land of India), the arable land is 88%. Only 6% is permanent
crop and another 5% goes to permanent meadows and pastures. This clearly
indicates that the 6% can multiply to many times by planting suitable crops
like cashew with a vision of bright economic future for India.

In spite of the availability of enormous alternative fuel resources as

discussed above, India continues to have increased oil import without going
for renewable green fuels,

due to stumbling upon wrong genotype or

unsustainable-able crops. Further, diesel fuel consumption is four times than

that of gasoline which indicates that any diesel supplementing element, for
sure, will help the national economy to the extent they are substituted.

Chinas increasing desert @10,400 sq km / year which started in

the late 1990s, is now shrinking almost by the same rate, mainly due to
biofuel plantation (Miao et al 2004). Cashew is a drought resisting tree
which cannot grow in China but India can go for reaping the benefits of
cashew due to its tropic nature, if it follows the efforts of China. This
approach will not affect the existing production crops. At the same time
supplementing forestry resources, cashew tree yields surplus income
contributing to the national economy.

The total revenue from cashew product export was 448 crores in
1990-91, increased to 2055 crores in 2000-01 and touched 2930 crores in the
last financial year 2010-11 (CEPCI 2012).

This trend confirms the

sustainability and assured future growth of cashew crop in India.

48

1.3

SCOPE OF THE PRESENT STUDY

The overall aim of this experimental investigation is to analyze and

establish Cashew Nut Shell Liquid, as a potential alternative fuel to
supplement diesel in view of the ever growing demand for the transportation
fuels, since CNSL can be readily adopted for agricultural and transportation
sector for the reasons as discussed in previous sections. The economic
viability is the topmost priority for commercial implementation of any
renewable fuel which is proven by the jatropha failure case studies.

The use of CNSL as sustainable biofuel in ICEs, should however

ought to satisfy the current emission standards, Bharat Stage IV.

CNSL as an alternative biofuel, had neither been studied, nor been

experimented in IC Engines earlier. In order to fill this research gap as
mentioned by Fernando and Jose (2009), current research is focused on the
CNSL diesel blends as fuel in Direct Injection and Indirect Injection CI
engines with the following major objectives:

1. To evaluate the properties of unrefined Cashew Nut Shell Oil, as

necessary for the fuels used in Internal Combustion Engines.

2. To test the CNSL diesel blends of varying proportions in the most

widely used diesel engines (DI and IDI) and evaluate the performance and
emission so that it can be readily implemented for practical use, due to
abundant availability of CNSL in the market.

3. Experimentation

of CNSL diesel blends behavior by plotting the

Pressure Crank Angle diagram by using pressure and position sensors in

49

order to assess peak cylinder pressure, rates of pressure rise, ignition

delay, combustion and heat transfer phenomena. Cylinder pressure versus
crank angle data over the compression and expansion strokes of the
engine operating cycle can be used to obtain quantitative information on
the progress of combustion.

4. Investigation of CNSL blends w.r.t. Combustion, Performance and

Emission characteristics for various operating parameters, understanding
the effects of EGR and ignition improver using Data Acquisition System
and Emission measurement setup to assess the performance characteristics of CNSL and engine emissions so as to satisfy Bharat Stage IV
emission norms.

5. Establishing economic sustainability of the CNSL as alternative fuel for

compression ignition engines in order to contribute to national economy.

6. Effective utilisation of CNSL, i.e. CNSL is to be utilised for the right

purpose in the right place at right price which would be more beneficial.

1.4

OUTLINE OF METHODOLOGY

Based on the above objectives, it was decided to go step by step for

evaluation of CNSL as alternative fuel. The first step is to prepare the fuel, test
and evaluate the qualities necessary for satisfactory performance in engines.
The second step involves investigation of CNSL blends in Greaves Engine.
The third step involves investigation of CNSL blends in Kirloskar IDI Engine.
The fourth and final step involves investigation of CNSL blends in Kirloskar
DI Engine. The detailed methodology is discussed in Chapter 3.

50

1.4.1

Fuel Preparation

The important properties to be tested are flash point, fire point,

pour point, calorific value/ heat value, absolute viscosity, density, kinematic
viscosity, miscibility with diesel, thermal stability and precipitate formation.
They were tested in the ICE Fuels laboratory and further verified with the test
reports from specialized laboratories as per Appendix 2 and 3.

The experimental investigations of CNSL blends were completed

in 3 stages. Due to unknown nature of the fuel, it was decided to proceed
with abundance of caution.

1.4.2

Investigation in Greaves Engine

In the stage I, the testing was carried out in 2009, using Greaves
Cotton, DI Diesel Engine which is commonly used for Piggio Three Wheeler.
This small air-cooled, variable speed engine made by Greaves Cotton Limited
is of Lombardini, Italian design.

This engine was chosen based on the

statistics that it has got the highest sales volume in Asia. Greaves Cotton Ltd,
has crossed the record of 3 million light engine sales in early 2012.

A small portable test rig was fabricated with rope brake loading
device. Spring balances and rope arrangements were adopted for loading.
For 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% (by volume) CNSL-diesel blends, engine power
output was measured by rope brake dynamometer by increasing the tension in
the rope.

As per Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board norms, for transport

vehicles powered by diesel engines, the approved pollution control stations

51

check only smoke emissions. Hence it was decided to check the smoke
values for neat diesel and CNSL-diesel blends. Thus stage I investigations
are aimed at CNSLs usage in Transportation Sector.

1.4.3

Investigation in Kirloskar IDI Engine

In the stage II, the investigations were performed in Kirloskar

make, type TRB Mahabali engine

which is widely used for agricultural

irrigation purposes. By measuring the peak cylinder pressure, valve timing opening and closing - can be optimized; detonation and knocking can be
avoided. The pressure inside the cylinder varies from a very low suction
pressure to a very high value combustion pressure. The P- diagram shows
the pressure crank angle relationship for three different rates of combustion
namely high, normal and low rate.

The P-

diagram indicates more clearly than PV diagram, the

events occurring near TDC. In-cylinder pressure changes with crank angle as
a result of cylinder volume change by piston movement, combustion and heat
transfer and leakage. Cylinder pressure versus crank angle data over the
compression and expansion strokes of the engine operating cycle can be used
to obtain quantitative information on the progress of combustion. Most of the
cylinder pressure investigations are usually measured with piezoelectric
pressure transducers and crank angle is determined by proximity sensor.

Second testing was completed using Kirloskar Mahabali IDI

Engine and upto 30% CNSL blends were used using drum brake loading
device commonly known as belt dynamometer. This engine has adopted the
features of Lister engines, UK, where the entire combustion chamber is
located in the cylinder head. Piston with flat top, is used in this engine.

52

Blends upto 30% by volume were tested for brake thermal efficiency, fuel
consumption, specific fuel consumption and torque calculations.

Kistler 601A sensor was screwed into the combustion chamber

plug by tapped hole for measuring the pressure. Water cooling arrangement
for sensor was done. TDC signal position and proximity sensor was used for
plotting pressure Vs crank angle diagram. This mainly has helped to know
the distinct signature of the CNSL as compared to neat diesel operation in the
P- diagram. One more advantage of IDI facility is it helped to vary the
combustion chamber volume easily by the addition or removal of copper
washers which are used to act as seals in the combustion chamber end plug.

Calculated thickness of washers were adopted to vary the

compression ratio of the Engine from standard 17:1 to 18.5:1 and 15.5:1.
The smoke levels were studied by Netel SM111B smoke meter to understand
the behavior of the CNSL blends w.r.t. compression ratio and will be
discussed in Chapter 4. This experimentation is aimed at aiding Agricultural
and Industrial Segment.

1.4.4

Investigation in Kirloskar DI Engine

In the final Stage III, detailed investigations were accomplished

using DI Kirloskar TAF1 engine equipped with Data Acquisition System
(DAS) and AVL emission measurement setups with electrical loading. Blends
upto 40% were used to study the influence of injection pressure, injection
timing, heating of fuel, Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) and Di Ethyl Ether
as Ignition improver. Experimental setups were changed for every parameter
under consideration and observations were recorded and analysed.

53

1.5

INTRODUCTION TO VARIOUS CHAPTERS

Chapter 1 deals with introduction to biofuels, problems caused by

fossil fuels, environmental and economic benefits of biofuels, CNSL
potentials, sustainability, uses and as IC engine fuel and brief methodology.

Chapter 2 reviews the literature regarding similar experimental

study in alternative fuels. Since CNSL is being tested for the first time,
similar topics were reviewed selectively.

Chapter 3 explains about evaluation of

CNSL properties,

experimental setup, details of the equipment used, different techniques to be

adopted, modification details, methodology of various parameter study. The
method of conducting experimental investigation is also explained in addition
to the functioning of instruments like pressure sensor, crank angle encoder,
five gas analyser and smoke meter.

Chapter 4 presents the results and discussion of all the techniques

adopted in the present work. The parameters discussed include, brake thermal
efficiency, specific fuel consumption, unburned hydrocarbon, carbon
monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, smoke and exhaust gas temperature.

In

addition, the results of the combustion parameters including firing pressure,

heat release rate, rate of pressure rise and peak pressure are also discussed and
analysed.

Chapter 5 presents the conclusions based on the experimental

studies, namely, CNSL blends as fuel, optimum proportion of CNSL, nitrogen
oxide reduction and influence of various parameters on combustion emission
and performance.