A review on the properties, performance and emission aspects of the third generation biodiesels

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.10.037Get rights and content

Abstract

In the effect of robust industrialization and rapid augmentation of a number of fleets, there has been a huge rise in the fossil fuel consumption. Tremendous increase in global warming threatens the ecological balance of the earth. Based on the recent sorts of hardship about the fuel, researchers are profoundly pondered over the field of renewability, environmentally friendly and economically doable. In recent decades biodiesel fuel becomes the center of attraction among researchers since it is renewable, bio degradable, non-noxious, eco-friendly and sustainable. This review paper highlights and reviews the properties of prosperous variety of the biodiesel fuels derived from non-edible feedstocks which are termed as third generation biodiesel and its effects on the performance and emissions of the diesel engines. It was observed that the physicochemical properties of the biodiesel differ based on the types of feedstocks and also have a considerable effect on the potential performance of engine and dynamic characteristics of emission level. Also, the usage of biodiesel commonly leads to a reduction in noxious pollutants like carbon monoxide, unburnt hydrocarbon and particulate matter with an obvious increase in fuel consumption and NOx emission. This review provides a prospective strategy for the researchers for enhancing the engine performance and emission characteristics by using the third generation biofuels and its blends with the productive marvelous outcomes.

Introduction

With the simultaneous expansion of population and industrialization, the diminution of fossil fuel reserves leads to increased petroleum price [1]. The various sectors like transport, industry and agriculture consume the major part of the energy produced by the different sources like coal, petroleum, wood, wind, solar, nuclear [2], [3], [4]. On analyzing sector wise fuel oil consumption, transportation sector contributes 64.5% of total world's oil consumption in 2014 and is displayed in Fig. 1. This is nearly 42% hike when compared to 1973 [5]. Since the major prime mover used for the transportation fleets are diesel engines, biofuels gain thriving attention among the researchers a potential substitute for diesel fuels [6], [7]. In the environmental aspects, diesel engine emits harmful pollutants like particulate matter, unburnt hydrocarbon, Nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and smoke. Among the diverse pollutants, the most noteworthy are oxides of nitrogen and smoke [8], [9], [10], [11], [12]. Also, the carbon dioxide accumulation and other green house gases in the atmosphere are responsible for climatic change and other global consequences for life on earth realm [13]. The atmospheric CO2 concentration has been predicted to rise by 80% in the year 2030 above the levels of the year 2007 [14]. The deterioration of fossil fuel reserves and mounting environmental concerns has moved researchers to develop alternate sources for traditional petro based fuels [15], [16], [17]. Vegetable oil becomes one of the most important sources of alternatives to fossil fuels due to its economic perspective and emission quality [18], [19], [20]. Biodiesel is the mono alkyl ester derived from the fatty acid esters of raw vegetable oil or animal tallow [21], [22]. Even though biodiesel possesses enhanced properties than crude vegetable oils, the major setbacks of biodiesel are high viscosity, low volatility, poor spray characteristics, lower energy content, augmented nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission, high cloud point and pour point, when compared to diesel fuel [23]. Many studies have been empirically carried out to resolve all sorts of hardships within the ambit of biodiesel utilization by using various strategies like using various feedstocks, engine modifications and by using fuel additives.

In a highly populated country like India, the need for petro based products is quite imperative and inevitable to a greater extent as compared to other countries. In India, diesel fuel consumption is five times higher than gasoline [24]. Due to the mass energy insecurity and a huge hike in energy prices, India will face a serious energy shortage within next couple of decade [25]. According to a report by Greenpeace on March 24, 2009, renewable energy can lucratively meet over 35% of power requirement in India by 2030 [26]. In India, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) have prepared the National Policy on biofuels which propose the 20% blending of biofuels to traditional petro based fuels by 2017 [27]. According to British Petroleum's statistical review of world energy 2016, India's oil consumption has increased from 180.8 Million tons to 195.5 Million tons which are 8.1% increase in 2015 when compared to 2014 which is 4.5% of world's total oil consumption. In biofuel production India holds 0.5% of global share and also there was 13.1% lift up in biofuel production in 2015 over 2014. In 2015 India's primary energy consumption was satisfied by coal (407.2 Mtoe) and oil (195.5 Mtoe). The primary energy consumption was increased by 5.1% in 2015. India also shows a drastic amplification in the CO2 level of 5.3% in 2015 which is 6.6% of total share of world's CO2 emission. India became third largest electricity producer in 2013 with 4.8% of global share but the rate of electricity generation in India has increased in 2015 with a global share of 5.4% [28]. Despite the energy generation, India is still facing energy deficit which forces the government to take serious steps towards promoting renewable energy sources which in turn provides energy security.

Global carbon dioxide emissions from the petroleum based fuels and mushroom growth of industries increased to a new height of 35.3 billion tons of CO2 in 2013 [29]. In 2014, the consumption of fossil fuels has been increased by 2.6% and 1.2% higher than that of 2013 for China and United states, whereas the global biofuel increased gradually by 7.4% [30]. In the 8.5% of Brazilian agricultural territory, about 0.9% of the land is entirely devoted to sugarcane cultivation (for ethanol production). In the Sao Paulo state of Brazil, bioethanol contributes 57% of fuels consumed by flex fuel vehicles during 2012 [31]. In the United States and Brazil, soybean is commonly used as feedstocks for biodiesel production whereas palm oil gets a top major source of biodiesel in Malaysia and Indonesia [32], [33]. The leading producers of biofuel in the world are the United States, Brazil and Germany whose global share of biofuel production is 41.4%, 23.6% and 4.2% respectively in 2015. While analyzing the world's biofuel production, it can be clearly seen that North America contributes a spectacularly maximum of 42.9% and total Africa contributes a minimum share of 0.1%. From Fig. 2, it can be clearly seen that the global biofuel production raised by 0.9% in 2015. In a global perspective, Ukraine and Venezuela show a radical decline in oil consumption rates of 16.1% and 12.7% in 2015 when compared to 2014. On the other side, Philippines and Slovakia shows a prominent increase of oil consumption rates of 14.3% and 11.3% in 2015. The most important context in the global view is that Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries contribute 47.5% and Non-OECD countries contribute 52.5% of global oil consumption [28].

From the literature survey conducted, there are copious feedstocks reported for the production of biodiesel. The selection of feedstocks depends upon the availability and economic aspects of the concerned country. In countries like USA and Brazil, soybean oil is broadly used for biodiesel production whereas canola oil is main raw material in Canada. Meanwhile, Finland, UK Germany and Italy depend on rapeseed oil. Similarly, Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia with coastal belts have surplus palm and coconut oils which are utilized for biodiesel production. Also, Jatropha and Karanja have been reported to be potential feedstocks in the Indian peninsula. Among them, rapeseed oil, palm oil, castor oil and sun flower oil have been considered earlier for biodiesel production but their adverse effect on food crops have stalled their usage as feedstocks for biodiesel synthesis.

Table 1 shows the wide range of vegetable oils which can be used as a potential raw material for biodiesel production. From the table, it can be clearly seen that there are two types of vegetable oils namely edible and non-edible oils. The usage of edible oils has been of great concern because they contend with food materials in a long term. It can also be seen that there are plenty of non-edible oils which poses advantages like liquid nature portability, availability, low sulphur and aromatic content, biodegradability and apparently no negative impact on food crops. As a step ahead, there are some emerging feedstocks like animal fats, micro algae, fish oil, tallow oil etc which can be used to synthesize biodiesel on large scale.

In the advent of biodiesel era, widespread usage of edible oils is highly noticeable raw materials for biodiesel production. Hence the edible oils derived from feedstocks like soybean, mustard, rice, wheat, coconut, rapeseed, olive, palm, corn etc are categorized as first generation feedstocks of biodiesel synthesis. Although the first generation feedstocks possess advantages like availability of crops and relatively simple conversion process, the major drawback of this feedstock is the threat of limitation in food supply which may lead to increase in food prices as the fuel is derived from food sources. On the whole, the controversial issue arises that is necessary to prefer one, or the other of ‘food vs fuel’ alternatives. On the other hand high cost, a restricted region of cultivation and adaptability to climatic conditions also obstruct the utilization of first generation feedstocks. These setbacks restricted the users to move on to other resources for biodiesel production.

As the results of the tremendous setbacks of first generation feedstocks, researchers started to use a meticulous variety of oils derived from non-edible crops. The fuel derived from these feedstocks are termed as second generation biofuels or advanced biofuels. These oils include Calophyllum inophyllum [132], Jatropha curcus, Mahua indica [133], Karanja, Neem, Rubber seed, Thevettia peruviana, Nagchampa etc. The major advantage of using non-edible is that there will be no necessity to saddle on food crops when compared to first generation oils. Adding to its advantage, the second generation feedstock can be grown on non-agricultural land or marginal land. Meanwhile, the problem arises when it comes to the yield of crops, where yield drops for major second generation crops like Jatropha, Cammelina, Rapeseed and oil palm when they are cultivated in marginal lands. So the farmers are forced to cultivate the second generation crops in agricultural lands which in turn affect the food production and economy of the society. To overcome the socioeconomic problems of second generation biofuels, the researchers focussed on novel feedstocks which are economically viable in a productive manner and easily available to a larger extent.

Regardless of vegetable oils, some other sources like micro algae, waste frying oil, animal fat, fish oil, pyrolysis oil etc constitute third generation source of biofuel [54]. These viable sources of biofuel overcome the difficulties faced by previous generation feedstocks such as availability, economic feasibility, affecting food chain and adaptability to climatic conditions. Microalgae can be a potential feedstock for biodiesel production. Since several algal species have the ability to live in harsh conditions, it is best suited to local environments with low culturing cost. Another major advantage of micro algae is the lipid content i.e. the average lipid content of most species varies up to 70% but under certain enhanced conditions some species can yield up to 90% of dry weight [55]. Irrespective of an algal source, waste cooking oil proves a cost effective and very heterogeneous raw material for biodiesel production [131]. The utilization of waste cooking oil also reduces the burden of sewage treatment and reduction of water contamination. In recent decades, animal fats including beef, poultry, goat, pork emerging as a potential and reliable source for biofuel synthesis. This trend is due to the fact that change in feeding habits of human and the soap factories cannot take up all the fats produced [56]. The unprocessed fish oil produced from discarded fish parts is found to be a stable and cheap source to extract biodiesel. Since the lipid content of red flesh marine fishes is more, it is mostly preferred for raw oil production. Pyrolysis is one of the most recommended processes used to convert biomass into a suitable fuel for particular use. The liquid obtained from pyrolysis process is known as bio-oil or pyrolysis oil which can be used as fuel additive after necessary upgradation. Meanwhile, several studies proved that gas obtained from pyrolysis of biomass can also be used as fuel in IC engines.

After performing a wider literature survey in the area of biofuel, it was categorically observed that no review literature discusses the various aspects of third generation biodiesel fuels which is one of the upcoming energy resources. This was the major motivating factor for the authors to come up with this review article and discuss various aspects of the third generation biodiesels. This review paper shines a light on properties, performance and emission parameters of diesel engine powered by biofuels derived from third generation feedstocks.

Section snippets

Properties and characteristics of non-edible oils

The quality of biodiesel is influenced by enormous factors like the composition of feedstock, method of oil extraction, biodiesel synthesis methodology and refining processes. In order to assess the quality of biodiesel substantial standards were formulated. All biodiesel fuels must meet the specifications of biodiesel prescribed by American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM 6751), European Standard (EN 14214) etc. These standards set guidelines for testing the biodiesel fuels and

Performance and emission characteristics

The performance and emission parameters of a diesel engine mainly depends on the physicochemical properties of the fuel used which in turn depends on the characteristics of feedstocks such as saturation, types of double bond (trans or cis), length of carbon chain action the other hand the performance characteristics also directly affected by the operating variables such as injection pressure, compression ratio, ignition delay, air-fuel ratio, turbulence of air inside combustion chamber and

Summary of the review and scope for further research

Biodiesel production from sources other than flora grabs the attention of the researchers in recent decades. Especially the fuel derived from garbage leads to the sustainable economic development of the community. Therefore research in recent days is focused on the biofuels properties, performance and emission aspects. In order to make a better clarity in the existing scenario of the so called third generation biofuels the following general summary can be drawn:

Biodiesel derived from the third

Conclusion

In general, biodiesel is an environmental friendly biodegradable alternative fuel that can be used directly in the engine without any major engine modification. By the process of depletion of the floral resources in recent decades, third generation biofuels grab the attention of the world energy community. An in-depth analysis of the fuel properties and its impact on the engine characteristics has been discussed. Biofuels derived from various feedstocks showed promising variations in its

References (140)

  • A.K. Azad et al.

    Prospect of biofuels as an alternative transport fuel in Australia

    Renew Sustain Energy Rev

    (2015)
  • S. Shuit et al.

    Oil palm biomass as a sustainable energy source: a Malaysian case study

    Energy

    (2009)
  • M.A. Kalam et al.

    Biodiesel from palmoil – an analysis of its properties and potential

    Biomass- Bioenergy

    (2002)
  • Esther Menezes et al.

    Effectiveness of low-carbon development strategies: Evaluation of policy scenarios for the urban transport sector in a Brazilian megacity

    Technol Forecast So. Change

    (2017)
  • P. Mohamed Shameer et al.

    Effects of fuel injection parameters on emission characteristics of diesel engines operating on various biodiesel: a review

    Renew Sustain Energy Rev

    (2017)
  • Sergei V. Mazanov et al.

    Continuous production of biodiesel from rapeseed oil by ultrasonic assist transesterification in supercritical ethanol

    J Supercrit Fluids

    (2016)
  • Tony Saba et al.

    Biodiesel production from refined sunflower vegetable oil over KOH/ ZSM5 catalysts

    Renew Energy

    (2016)
  • Murat Kılıç et al.

    Optimization of biodiesel production from castor oil using factorial design

    Fuel Process Technol

    (2013)
  • Bryan R. Moser

    Preparation of fatty acid methyl esters from hazelnut, high-oleic peanut and walnut oils and evaluation as biodiesel

    Fuel

    (2012)
  • M.R. Subbarayan et al.

    Experimental investigation of evaporation rate and exhaust emissions of diesel engine fuelled with cotton seed methyl ester and its blend with petro-diesel

    Transp Res Part D

    (2016)
  • Tanzer Eryilmaz et al.

    Biodiesel production potential from oil seeds in Turkey

    Renew Sustain Energy Rev

    (2016)
  • Abdelrahman B. Fadhil et al.

    Transesterification of mustard (Brassica nigra) seed oil with ethanol: purification of the crude ethyl ester with activated carbon produced from de-oiled cake

    Energy Convers Manag

    (2014)
  • Olubunmi O. Ayodele et al.

    Production of biodiesel from Calophyllum inophyllum oil using a cellulose-derived catalyst

    Biomass-Bioenergy

    (2014)
  • A.E. Atabani et al.

    Non-edible vegetable oils: a critical evaluation of oil extraction, fatty acid compositions, biodiesel production, characteristics, engine performance and emissions production

    Renew Sustain Energy Rev

    (2013)
  • Teresa M. Mata et al.

    Microalgae for biodiesel production and other applications: a review

    Renew Sustain Energy Rev

    (2010)
  • Joonsik Hwang et al.

    Application of waste cooking oil (WCO) biodiesel in a compression ignition engine

    Fuel

    (2016)
  • Cengiz Oner et al.

    Biodiesel production from inedible animal tallow and an experimental investigation of its use as alternative fuel in a direct injection diesel engine

    Appl Energy

    (2009)
  • Metin Guru et al.

    Biodiesel production from waste chicken fat based sources and evaluation with Mg based additive in a diesel engine

    Renew Energy

    (2010)
  • Le Zhang et al.

    Upgrading of bio-oil from biomass fast pyrolysis in China: a review

    Renew Sustain Energy Rev

    (2013)
  • Puneet Verma et al.

    Impact of alcohol on biodiesel production and properties

    Renew Sustain Energy Rev

    (2016)
  • Teresa M. Mata et al.

    Microalgae for biodiesel production and other applications

    Renew Sustain Energy Rev

    (2010)
  • Haq Nawaz Bhatti et al.

    Biodiesel production from waste tallow

    Fuel

    (2008)
  • S.P. Singh et al.

    Biodiesel production through the use of different sources and characterization of oils and their esters as the substitute of diesel: a review

    Renew Sustain Energy Rev

    (2010)
  • A.E. Atabani et al.

    A comprehensive review on biodiesel as an alternative energy resource and its characteristics

    Renew Sustain Energy Rev

    (2012)
  • V. Sharma et al.

    Physical properties of tung seed: an industrial oil yielding crop

    Ind Crops Prod

    (2011)
  • S.M. Palash et al.

    Impacts on NOx reducing antioxidant additive on performance and emissions of a multi- cylinder diesel fueled with Jatropha biodiesel blends

    Energy Conserv Manag

    (2014)
  • Piyushi Nautiyal et al.

    Production and characterization of biodiesel from algae

    Fuel Process Technol

    (2014)
  • Devendra Singh et al.

    Transient performance and emission characteristics of a heavy-duty diesel engine fuelled with microalga Chlorella variabilis and Jatropha curcas biodiesels

    Energy Convers Manag

    (2015)
  • Yuhao Xu et al.

    Droplet combustion characteristics of algae-derived renewable diesel, conventional #2 diesel, and their mixtures

    Fuel

    (2016)
  • Abdul Majeed Khan et al.

    Biodiesel synthesis via metal oxides and metal chlorides catalysis from marine alga Melanothamnus afaqhusainii

    Chin J Chem Eng

    (2016)
  • R. Ballesteros et al.

    Determination of aldehydes and ketones with high atmospheric reactivity on diesel exhaust using a biofuel from animal fats

    Atmos Environ

    (2011)
  • R. Ballesteros et al.

    Carbonyl emission and toxicity profile of diesel blends with an animal-fat biodiesel and a tire pyrolysis liquid fuel

    Chemosphere

    (2014)
  • Bernd Weber et al.

    Production of hydrocarbons from fatty acids and animal fat in the presence of water and sodium carbonate: reactor performance and fuel properties

    Fuel

    (2012)
  • Octavio Armas et al.

    Comparative study of pollutant emissions from engine starting with animal fat biodiesel and GTL fuels

    Fuel

    (2013)
  • Sary Awad et al.

    Experimental investigation on the combustion, performance and pollutant emissions of biodiesel from animal fat residues on a direct injection diesel engine

    Energy

    (2014)
  • Ertan Alptekin et al.

    Biodiesel production from vegetable oil and waste animal fats in a pilot plant

    Waste Manag

    (2014)
  • Ertan Alptekin et al.

    Using waste animal fat based biodiesel bioethanol–diesel fuel blends in a DI diesel engine

    Fuel

    (2015)
  • Hassen Mohamed Sbihi et al.

    Production and characterization of biodiesel from Camelus dromedaries (Hachi) fat

    Energy Convers Manag

    (2014)
  • Rajat Chakraborty et al.

    Conversion of slaughterhouse and poultry farm animal fats and wastes to biodiesel: parametric sensitivity and fuel quality assessment

    Renew Sustain Energy Rev

    (2014)
  • Ivana B. Bankovic-Ilic et al.

    Waste animal fats as feedstocks for biodiesel production

    Renew Sustain Energy Rev

    (2014)
  • Cited by (257)

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text