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Bio-Gas as Alternate Fuel in IC Engine

INTRODUCTION
A. Relevance :-
The economic of India depends to a large extent on the
wheels of transport. The specter of economy ruin due to depleted oil reserves has
changed the interest of scientist and research work towards alternative fuels for
motor vehicle. Viable substitute for motor spirit are gaseous hydrocarbons,
hydrogen gas, alcohol & electricity that run on hydrocarbon gas & electricity are
still in the experimental stage. While alcohol is used as a fuel chiefly in Brazil,
its feasibility as motor fuel depends on the successful cultivation & processing
of sugarcane. Gaseous hydrocarbons seem to be the best immediate option
presently available. These are mainly COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS (CNG)
& LIQUIFIED PETROLIUM GAS (LPG). LPG is being imported whereas CNG
is available in abundance in India. Till recently, technology to permit conversion
of vehicles from petrol burners to gas burners had to imported, but now due to
the pioneering efforts of departments of mechanical engineering at the INDIAN
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, MUMBAI.
India is largest cattle breeding country, there is abundance of
raw material for producing biogas. Also municipal sewage can be used for this
purpose.

The use of methane separated from biogas as a fuel will


substantially reduce harmful engine emission and will help to keep the
environment clean. Biogas consists of approximately 55-60 % of methane. It is
economical and slurry can be used as organic manure.
One of the alternate technologies Sulabh propagates is the
biogas plant that utilises human excreta as its raw input. In the last 20 years, it
has setup a hundred such plants throughout India. The plants twin outputs,
similar to those of cattle biogas plants, are nutrient-rich sludge and methane-rich
biogas. The sludge is used primarily as manure, and the biogas either as cooking
fuel or as street-lighting gas.

B. The Technology :-
Biogas dates as far back as the 16th century, when it was used
for heating bath-water in Persia. It has been used in India for almost a hundred
years (Sampat, 1995). The Indian government introduced large-scale biogas
production in 1981 through the National Project on Biogas Development.
Biogas is produced by extracting chemical energy from organic materials in a
sealed container called a digester. 2 million biogas plants were in operation in
1995, and about 10 million rural Indians were benefiting from the electric power
and cooking

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Bio-Gas as Alternate Fuel in IC Engine

fuel the gas provided, and also from the rich agricultural fertilizer the plant
produces as a byproduct.
Central to the generation of biogas is the concept of anaerobic
digestion, also called biological gasification. It is a naturally occurring,
microbial process that converts organic matter to methane and carbon dioxide.
The chemical reaction takes place in the presence of methanogenic bacteria with
water an essential medium. The anaerobic digestion process, as the name states,
is one that functions without molecular oxygen. Ideally, in a biogas plant there
should be no oxygen within the digester. However, efforts to completely remove
it will be prohibitively expensive. Oxygen therefore exists in the digester,
dissolved mainly in water. Fortuitously, some microbes within the digester are
facultative anaerobes, i.e. they utilize oxygen and lower the dissolved oxygen
concentration to levels suitable for other anaerobic microbes to perform their
chemical reactions. Oxygen removal from the digester is important for two main
reasons. First, the presence of oxygen leads to the creation of water, not
methane. Second, oxygen is a contaminant in biogas and also a potential safety
hazard. Due to presence of oxygen, calorific value of biogas becomes low.
First, cow dung, the primary raw input for almost all
operating biogas plants is widespread and easily available. India has more cattle
than any other country (450 million head, 19% of the world population).i

Second, the cow is held in religious veneration and its products are considered
purifying agents. Hence, there is a universal acceptance of even its dung, which
otherwise would instinctively be thought of as repulsive. Dung (or gobar in
Hindi) is widely used in India for house construction (as an infill material and
external plaster), in religious rituals, as composted fertilizer and as a cooking
fuel (dung cakes). Dung accounts for over 21 percent of total rural energy use in
India, and as much as 40 percent in certain states of the country. ii Third, only
27% of rural India has access to electricity supplied by the national grid
(ostensibly, 84% of all villages are connected). Localized biogas plants obviate
the dependency on the grid by producing energy from a locally controlled and
easily accessible raw material.

C. Present Theory and Practices

i. Biogas cars: -
Koges, Switzerland is developing a new fuel based on biogas
which would be eco friendly and cheaper than petrol. Wastage from kitchens and
gardens are collected, non-biodegradable matter removed and again put into
fermentation reactor. Here, in the anaerobic environment microorganisms
transforms the garbage into compost and biogas called

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Bio-Gas as Alternate Fuel in IC Engine

kompogas. Gas obtained from 100kg. Of waste can fuel a medium sized car up
to 100km. The engine runs more quietly on kompogas, vibrates less and the
exhaust is almost odourless. At the present 150 vehicles are running on
kompogas.
ii. In India, some projects are undertaken in which diesel and biogas
as dual fuel for diesel pump.
iii. In Israel, biogas is used as a fuel for loaded vehicles.

D. Need
Till date, LPG, CNG has been used as fuel. But they have
their own limitations. LPG is explosive, CNG is expensive. Methane separated
from biogas is equivalent to CNG but economical than CNG. Now-a-days the
whole world is facing energy crisis. Available sources of liquid fuel will be
depleted after few years. In this situation biogas can serve as best alternative
fuel.
E. Applications :-
1. Fuels for internal combustion engine.
2. Pump.
3. Electricity generation.
4. Domestic fuel for burners in kitchen.

PRESENT FUELS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE :-


1. Gasoline.
2. Diesel.
3. Alcohol
4. LPG.
5. CNG.
6. Electricity.
7. Solar.
8. Producer gas.
9. Hydrogen.

Present Fuels and Limitations:-


There are so many fuels used in I.C. Engines, but they have
certain physical and chemical properties. In other words, fuels used in I.C.
Engine re designed tom satisfy performance requirements of engine system, in
which they are used. The limitations of fuels that are used presently are as
follows

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Bio-Gas as Alternate Fuel in IC Engine
1. Gasoline contains many impurities. It has low octane number. All
petroleum fuels oxidize slowly in presence of air. The oxidation of
unsaturated hydrocarbons result in formation of resinous materials called

gum and reduces its lubricating quality and tends to form sludge and warmish
on piston and rings. It has less knock resistance as well as energy per unit
mass. It has less efficiency compared to other fuels. It has high cost.
2. In alcohol, higher latent heat of vaporization reduced charge temperatures
before combustion. Alcohols suffer disadvantages of water absorption,
corrosive and lubricant incompatibility.
3. In LPG, it reduces volumetric efficiency due to its high heat of
vaporization. The road sensitivity is very high. It is very corrosive.
Response to blending is very poor. It has higher cost of transportation. It
has higher cost for conversion kit, installation of extensive.
4. In electricity, they use in initially generated power stations that use fossil
fuel of nuclear power. There are other problems too. The problem is with
batteries in these vehicles. These batteries are quite heavy and life of
these is also low. Cost of replacing these batteries is high.

PREPARATION OF BIO-GAS

I. Micro Organisms And Mechanism Of Bio-Gas Production


a. Micro Organisms-
An organic waste consist of many organisms but the organisms useful for
biogas production are
i. Aerobic
ii. Anaerobic

b. Constituents of Organic Waste


The organic waste contains many constituents such as
cellulose, Hemicelluloses, lignin, proteins, and starch, water-soluble, fats
Soluble etc.
c. Mechanism of biogas production: -
Stage 1 It involves the decomposition of cellulose, hemicellulos
Lignin, starch, protein, fats etc. Into simpler organic compounds

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Bio-Gas as Alternate Fuel in IC Engine
like acids, alcohols and gases like CO 2, H2, and NH3, H2S etc. by
aerobic and anaerobic Micro-organisms.
Stage 2: - The anaerobic organism or methane bacteria utilizes
Simple carbon compounds available from first stage and produce
methane.
This is biogas production.

II. Bio-gas plants: -


There are two types of plants-
i. Daily fed or continuous type.
ii. Batch fed or periodic type.

1). Daily fed or continuous type biogas plants: -


It consists of 5 m. deep underground tank of
masonry construction. It is known as digester or fermentation well.
The inlet tank is connected to digester by an inlet pipe and the
outlet
tank is connected to digester by the outlet pipe as shown in figure.
The gas holder collects biogas produced in digester. It can be
taken for use through gas outlet pipe.
The organic waste such as cattle dung is mixed with water in 1: 1
Proportion and poured in inlet tank everyday. This material is
usually known as substrate. Substrate gets collected in the
fermentation well through the inlet pipe. The trapped air is removed
from the digester through the gas outlet and the gas holder is placed
in the position.
When the plant is commissioned, an inoculation of the bacteria is
brought from existing biogas plant and is injected in the digester to
accelerate the purpose of decomposition to produce biogas at faster
rate.
Size of plant depends upon
1. The required amount of gas daily and
2 Available quantity of cattle dung daily.
After the digester is full of substrate within a weeks time, the
digester start coming out through the gas outlet pipe. It is displaced
out. This gas can not burn. Initially high CO2 contained in the gas
makes it unsuitable for use.
Within 4-8 weeks, the microorganism develops sufficiently and
biogas is generated. This stabilized gas burns continuously in the
burner. The gas outlet is covered with wire mesh to prevent a flame
rushing into the digester.

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Bio-Gas as Alternate Fuel in IC Engine
The plant should be exposed to the sunlight and shielded from the
wind to accelerate the growth of bacteria. The substrate should not
be added till the steady flame of gas is obtained at the burner. The
plant is operated at low pressure for proper burning of gas and
proper fermentation.
The used out substrate passing to outlet tank through the outlet pipe.
The residual slurry gets stored in this tank. The solid residue can be
used for diluting the dung. Sometimes mixture is used in the
digester to help digestion. The digester may be surrounded by water
and heating coil to maintain temperature.

Advantages: -
1. Continuous gas output.
2. Minimum space requirement
3. Suitable for individual family
Disadvantages: -
1. Substrate of uniform quality is desirable
2. Daily attention is required
3. Daily feeding is necessary

III. Purification of Biogas:-


Biogas coming from tank contains

Composition:
Methane(CH4) 50-68%
Carbon monoxide (CO2) 25-35%
Hydrogen(H2) 1-5%
Nitrogen (N2) 2-7%
Oxygen (O2) 0-.1%
Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) Rare

Out of these CO2 does not help in combustion process but


reduce the calorific value of biogas. H2S is in minor quantity but it has
corrosive action on combustion chamber and also reduces calorific value of
biogas. Also traces of moisture are to be remove for better thermal efficiency.
So harmful gradients are removed and use only methane as a fuel.

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Bio-Gas as Alternate Fuel in IC Engine

Different Purification Processes:-


1) Removal of H2S -
The gas coming out of system is heated to 1500 C
and over ZnO bed, maintained at 1800 C leaving process gas free of H2S.
ZnO + H2S = ZnS + H2O.
ZnSO4 + 2NaOH = Zn (OH) 2 + Na2SO4
2) Removal of CO2
CO2 is high corrosive when wet and it has no combustion
value so its removal is must to improve the biogas quality.
The processes to remove CO2 are as follows
a) Caustic solution, NAOH 40%
NAOH + CO2 = NAHCO3

b) Renfield process K2CO3 - 30 %


K2CO3 + CO2 = 2KCO3

3) Removal of NH3:-
The chemical reaction is as:
NH3 + HCL =NH4Cl

4) Removal of H2O:-
For the removal of moisture, we passed the gas from above
reaction, through the crystals of white silica gel.

PROPERTIES OF BIO-GAS
In its pure state, it is color less, odorless, tasteless. For safety
reason, an odorant is added so that any leak can be easily detected because of
typical smell.
The composition of bio gas is never constant. Methane is by
far the largest component, its presence accounting for about 95% of the total
volume. Methane is a simple hydrocarbon, a substance consisting of carbon &
hydrogen. There are many of these compounds each has its own carbon &
hydrogen atoms joined together to for a particular hydrocarbon gas as fuel gas.
Methane is very light fuel gas. If we increase the number of hydrogen & carbon
atoms, we have got progressively heavier gases, releasing more heat, therefore
more energy, when ignited.
Specific gravity of methane is .55 which is less than petrol &
LPG. This means that biogas will rise if escaping, thus dissipating from the site
of a leak. This important characteristic makes biogas safer than other fuels. It

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Bio-Gas as Alternate Fuel in IC Engine
does not contain any toxic component; therefore there is no health hazard in
handling of fuel.
The air to biogas (stoichiometric) ratio by volume for
complete combustion is 9.5:1 to 10:1.
Biogas has a very slow flame velocity, only .290 m/s. at its
highest. The range of flammability is 4 to 14% which can give good combustion
efficiency.
Biogas has very high octane number approximately 130. By
comparison, gasoline is 90 to 94 & alcohol 105 at best. This means that a higher
compression ratio engine can be used with biogas than petrol. Hence, cylinder
head of the engine is faced so that clearance volume will be reduced &
compression ratio can sufficiently increase. Thus volumetric efficiency & power
output are increased. Because of its high octane value the detonation occur
however high the compression may be. The Boiling point of biogas is above 300
degree Celsius while the calorific value is 35.390 MJ/m3
One of the promising renewable energy sources is biogas,
which is compound gas consisting mainly of methane (CH 4) and carbon dioxide
(CO2). It is normally formed with the decomposition of organic substances.
Because of its low energy density, the gas is generally stored in high-pressure gas
bomb. To store it in a condition of high density, it is also attempted to store
methane in the form of clathrate. The clathration of methane requires normally
high pressure and low temperature. If the clathration of biogas and methane
could be achieved under the normal pressure and temperature, this would make
the gases a very useful energy source. In this study, the clathration of methane
under the normal pressure and temperature was first attempted by using
Tetrahydrofuran (THF) as additive. Further, to realize the higher storage density
of methane, CO2 must be removed beforehand because not only methane but
also CO2 form clathrate. To achieve CO2 removal, the possibility of absorption
method using Monoethanolamine (MEA) is experimentally investigated, aiming
efficient biogas utilization in final.

Advantages of Biogas : -
1) It is light fuel gas.
2) It mixes easily with the air.
3) It is highly knocked resistant.
4) Due to uniform distribution thermal efficiency is
higher.
5) Biogas has a high octane number.
6) It reduces pollution.
7) Higher compression ratio can be used with biogas.
8) Plants capital cost is low.
9) Domestic fuels for burners used in kitchen.

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Bio-Gas as Alternate Fuel in IC Engine
10) No toxic to skin.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF BIOGAS

A study released at the NGV Conference highlights the


benefits of using biogas as a source of fuel for NGVs. Biogas consists primarily
of methane and is given off in places where decaying organic material is found.
According to the report, one of the primary benefits of capturing biogas
generated at landfill sites, sewage waste treatment plants, and animal feedlots
would be a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The report also
finds that capturing and burning biogas would provide significant reductions in
toxic emissions and ozone forming pollutants, and lower particulate emissions in
the case of heavy-duty vehicles. In addition, the report finds that water quality
could be improved as a result of reduced waste runoff near sites where biogas is
captured and used in NGVs.

The potential reductions of greenhouse gas emissions


presented in this paper are staggering. Much of this benefit is derived from
capturing and burning methane emissions that currently are released into the
atmosphere. The report indicates that an NGV using fuel derived from biogas
that otherwise would have been vented provides as much benefit as removing six
petroleum-fueled vehicles from the nation's highways. Stated differently, use of
biogas in NGVs would produce 600 percent less greenhouse gas emissions when
compared with using petroleum as a motor fuel.

Using biogas that currently is flared instead of vented would


provide about a 100 percent net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when
compared with burning petroleum motor fuel in a similar vehicle. The study also
finds that utilization of available supplies of biogas could potentially reduce the
motor vehicle-related greenhouse gas emission by more than 340 million tons --
a 23 percent reduction in overall emissions of motor vehicle greenhouse gas
emissions.

The amount of natural gas that potentially could be produced


from decaying material around the country is substantial. The report indicates
that biogas could displace about 6 billion gallons of motor fuel a year,
accounting for nearly four percent of all the gasoline and diesel currently used by
motor vehicles. The report indicates that some of this biogas can be produced at
prices competitive with conventional petroleum fuels. Much of the fuel,
however, is not economic at today's fuel prices, but could easily be made
economic if the right types of incentives or credits were provided.

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Bio-Gas as Alternate Fuel in IC Engine
BIOGAS in INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

1. S. I. Engines

The only adoption for a spark ignition engine is a gas (not gasoline!)
carburetor to work at the supply pressure (just like an LPG conversion, but an
evaporator would not be needed as the storage pressure is low). It is also a good
idea to scrub the H2S (as it causes corrosion) and to
derate the engine (unless you want to replace it each year if operating
continuously).

Modification of S.I. Engine -

S.I. engines can run completely on biogas, however, the


engines are required to be started on petrol at the beginning, conversion of S.I.
engine for the entry of biogas, throttling of intake air & advancing the ignition
timing. Biogas can be admitted to S.I. engine through the intake manifold & air
flow control valve can be provided on the air cleaner pipe connecting air cleaner
& carburetor for throttling the intake air as shown in fig.

2. C.I. Engine :

Diesel engines also need a gas carburetor and scrubbing, but require at least 10%
diesel via the injectors for ignition (and cooling). The initial starting of diesel
engine is done on pure diesel

Modification of C.I. Engine:

C.I. engine can operate on dual fuel & the necessary engine
modification include provision for the entry of biogas with intake air, provision
of carburetor & system to reduce diesel supply, advanced injection timing. The
entry of biogas and mixing of gas with intake air can be achieved by providing
the mixing chamber below the air cleaner which facilitate through mixing of
biogas with air before entering into the cylinder. The arrangement is shown in
fig. is largely used in stationary engine commercially available in India. The
capacity of mixing chamber may be kept equal to the engine displacement
volume. The pilot injection of cycle is required to be advanced for smooth and
efficient running of engine on dual fuel. The admittance of biogas into the engine
at the initial stage increases engine speed and therefore a suitable system reduces
the diesel supply by actuating the control rack needs to be incorporated.

There is a wide range of thoughts on what treatments should


these biogases be subjected to before being used as fuel. Most operators simply

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Bio-Gas as Alternate Fuel in IC Engine
remove the water present in the biogas, leaving it to the engine manufacturers to
design engines which will cope with the impurities inevitably included in the
biogas (significant maintenance costs); other Operators are seriously evaluating
maintenance costs against initial investments in biogas clean up technologies
such as has been developed by Acrion Technologies (although Acrion's
technologies are mainly aimed at biogas contaminant removal and separation
into methane and carbon dioxide as feed stocks for a variety of commercial
applications).

PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES
To use the biogas as a fuel in SI engine there are some
practical difficulties. It is not possible to compress the methane, separated from
biogas by available method, because the gas could be liquefied through chilling
below -161 0C.
This process is adapted by installing the units required when
there use of methane separated from biogas as a fuel. Since gas can not be
compressed it requires large space for storage.

PERFORMANCE
In purification method, by reducing CO2 and moisture along
H2S impurities in biogas, the engine performance is improved.
Effect of spark timing :-Biogas is slow burning fuel. Hence in
order to get optimum engine performance, spark timing does not advance, and
then combustion continues in major part of the expansion stroke. This reduces
effective work done. By advancing, spark timing power is improved on low
speed at partial throttle condition as well as high speed at full throttle condition.

EXHAUST EMMISSIONS
The exhaust emission contains three specific substances
which contribute the air pollution, hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide &oxides of
nitrogen. Hydrocarbons are the unburned fuel vapour coming out with the
exhaust due to incomplete combustion. Hydrocarbon also occurring in crankcase
by fuel evaporation. The emission of hydrocarbon is closely related to many
design &operating factors like induction system, combustion chamber design, air
fuel ratio, speed, load. Lean mixture lower hydrocarbon emission.
Carbon monoxide occurs only in engine exhaust. It is the
product of incomplete combustion due to insufficient amount of air in air- fuel
mixture. Some amount of CO is always present in the exhaust even at lean
mixture. When the throttle is closed to reduce air supply at the time of starting
the vehicle, maximum amount of CO is produced.

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Bio-Gas as Alternate Fuel in IC Engine
Oxides of nitrogen are the combination of nitric oxide &
nitrogen oxide &availability of oxygen are the two main reasons for the
formation of oxides of nitrogen. The spark advance means lower peak
combustion temperature. It causes high NO concentration in the exhaust. With
biogas, co emission levels are low than that of gasoline.

Comparison of Exhaust Emission :-


METHANE Vs GASOLINE
Power Reduction 11%
CO Reduction 99%
HC Reduction 99%
NO Reduction 59%
ISFC Increase 19%

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