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Diesel fuel is produced from various sources, the most common being
petroleum. Others include biomass, animal fats, biogas, natural gas and coal.
Diesel fuel in general is any liquid fuel used in diesel engines, whose fuel
ignition takes place, without spark, as a result of compression of the inlet air
mixture and then injection of fuel. Glow plugs help achieve high temperatures for
combustion during engine startup in cold weather. Diesel engines have found broad
use as a result of higher thermodynamic and thus fuel efficiencies.
a. Origins
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5.2 RAW XXXXXX OIL
Vegetable oils have good ignition quality since they are not branched and
have very long molecular chains. Certain functional groups and the poor volatility
could be responsible for their low cetane numbers. The heating value of vegetable
oils is somewhat lower due to oxygen content, and viscosity and carbon residue are
higher than diesel due to their larger molecular mass and chemical structure. The
flash point of these oils is much higher than that of diesel, indicating that they are
much safer to store than diesel oil. They are about than diesel. Their cold point is
higher, indicating problems of thickening or even freezing at low ambient
temperatures. It is evident that vegetable oils are much less volatile than diesel.
This makes their slow evaporation when injected into the engine.
5.3 METHANOL
Methanol fuel has been proposed as future biofuel, often as an alternative to
the hydrogen fuel economy. Methanol has a long history as a racing fuel. Early
grand Prix racing used blended xxxxxx pure methanol. The use of the fuel was
primarily used in North America after the war. However, methanol for racing
purposes has largely been based on methanol produced from syngas derived from
natural gas and therefore this methanol would not be considered as a bio-fuel.
Methanol is a possible bio-fuel, however when the syngas is derived from biomass.
Methanol can also be produced from the carbon dioxide and hydrogen using any
renewable energy sources, although this is not likely to be economically viable on
an industrial scale.
Methanol combustion:
2CH3OH+3O2→2CO2+4H2O+Heat
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5.4 CATALYST
a. Sodium hydroxide:
b. Physical properties:
Pure sodium hydroxide is a whitish solid, sold in pellets, flakes, and granular
form, as well as in solution. It is highly soluble in water, with a lower solubility in
ethanol and methanol, but is insoluble in ether and other non-polar solvents.
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resulting solution is usually colorless and odorless with slippery feeling upon
contact in common with other alkalis.
d.Uses:
Sodium hydroxide is a popular strong base used in the industry. Around 56%
of sodium hydroxide produced is used by the industry, 25% of which is used in
paper industry. Sodium hydroxide is also used in manufacturing of sodium salts
and detergents, pH regulation, and organic synthesis.
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5.5 ETHANOL
Ethanol is already being used extensively as a fuel additive and the use of
ethanol fuel alone or as a part of a mix with petroleum products is increasing.
Compared to methanol its primary advantage is that it is less corrosive and
additionally the fuel is non-toxic, although the fuel will produce some toxic exhaust
emissions.
Ethanol combustion:
C2H5OH+3O2→2CO2+3H2O+Heat
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