The performance of a four-stroke Honda GC160E spark ignition (SI) internal combustion (IC) engine operating on landfill gas (LFG) was investigated, as well as the impact of H2 and CO (syngas) addition on emissions and engine efficiency. Tests were performed for engine loads from 0.2 to 0.8 kW over a range of CO2 to CH4 ratios (0−0.50). In addition, variation across both the syngas content (up to 15%) and the ratio of H2 to CO in the syngas (H2/CO = 0.5, 1, and 2) were tested. Catalytic testing provided reactor data on the amount of syngas and H2/CO ratios that can be obtained by autothermally reforming LFG. The emissions obtained from the test engine fueled with the simulated LFG were found to be comparable to emissions from commercial LFG to energy (LFGTE) systems currently deployed. Syngas addition was found to not only significantly reduce CO, unburned hydrocarbon (UHC), and NO
x
emissions but also improve brake efficiency of the engine. CO emissions were reduced from 802 to 214 ppm for a 5% syngas addition and to 230 and 247 ppm for 10 and 15% syngas addition, respectively. UHC emissions were reduced from 113 ppm to approximately 12 ppm for all amounts of syngas addition. Syngas addition decreased NO
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from 100 to 62 ppm for 5% syngas and 71 and 76 ppm for 10 and 15% syngas, respectively. Finally, the brake efficiency increased by approximately 10% with the addition of 5% syngas.
An accurate understanding of the factors that influence farmers' adoption of a crop is critical for effective policy promotion and technical support. Agroforestry crop adoption is a complex topic involving many factors not often addressed by tradition crop adoption models. This complexity, when applied to Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.), an often widely promoted yet poorly understood biofuel feedstock crop, requires a detailed analysis across diverse topics. Such an analysis was carried out through applying rigorous statistical tools to the data acquired from an interview-based household survey among Malian farmers and was combined with relevant geospatial datasets. The results showed that though farmers' adoption is based on a wide variety of factors from household preferences, resource endowments, bio-physical factors, and market incentives, factors related to risk and uncertainty appear to provide the strongest correlation. Specifically, the number of visits that an agriculture extension agent makes with a farmer was found to be the most significant factor influencing adoption.
This study presents the experimentally determined effects of filtered, heated, waste vegetable oil (WVO) and water emulsions on gaseous emissions, opacity, and fuel efficiency of a Listeroid diesel engine. Emissions studied are NOx, CO, CO2, SO2, O2, unburned hydrocarbons (UHCs), and opacity. WVO emulsions with water additions of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% by weight, heated to 95°C at injection are studied, and results are compared to diesel. The water addition limit was found to be between 41–49%, inclusive, at 50% load. Emulsions are maintained with a magnetic stirrer prior to entry into the fuel line. The WVO is preheated using heat from the exhaust gases. This reduces its viscosity prior to entering the fuel pump, reducing engine wear, pumping losses, and fuel starvation. The WVO is heated again to 95°C immediately before injection, using an externally powered heater to standardize test conditions. A new metric is introduced, namely, brake specific global warming potential (BSGWP). There is a significant reduction in BSGWP at 50% engine load and 30% water addition. Emissions from 40% water addition most closely resemble diesel engine emissions at all engine loads and are consistently lower than with pure WVO.
This study reports an ongoing effort to investigate the degradation rate of a low-speed Listeroid diesel engine running on filtered waste vegetable oil (WVO). It aims to measure the performance, wear rate, and emissions of the engine over the course of a 1,000 hour longevity test. In a consecutive arrangement, exhaust gas is used to heat the oil, reducing its viscosity close to that of diesel for the duration of the residence time in the fuel line. This reduces engine power loss, pumping losses, head losses, carbonization and coking, which ultimately increases longevity. When completed, the technical methods developed, data collected, lessons learned, and hardware used will all be incorporated into a manufacturable, stand-alone, cost-efficient, field conversion kit for the Listeroid engine. The results of this study will be beneficial in actualizing the widespread and practical use of WVO and straight vegetable oil (SVO) fuels in developing countries.
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