Various strategies for reducing Nox emissions of biodiesel fuel used in conventional diesel engines: A review

Energy demand, decreasing fossil fuel reserves, and health-related issues about pollutants have led researchers to search for renewable alternative fuels to either partially or fully replace fossil fuels. Among many alternative fuels, biodiesel became one of the most popular choices due to similar properties to that of conventional diesel. Biodiesel produces slightly lower brake thermal efficiency compared to that of conventional biodiesel, but has an advantage of reduced emissions of CO₂, CO, HC, and smoke. However, biodiesel shows higher NOx emission which, when used in increased biodiesel market, may become a serious problem. Various strategies were attempted by different researcher to reduce NOx emissions. In this paper, various strategies, adapted for reducing NOx emissions of biodiesel fuel used in diesel engines for automobile applications, are reviewed and discussed. The strategies are grouped into three major groups, namely combustion treatments, exhaust after-treatments, and fuel treatments. Among various strategies discussed, fuel treatments, such as low temperature combustion, mixing fuel additives and reformulating fuel composition, reduce NOx emission without compromising other emission and performance characteristics and they seem to be promising for future biodiesel fuel.     

Studies on the effect of temperature and time on the SS 304 surface for the properties degradation of the solar collector

The properties of emissivity (?) and absorptivity (α) of the surface of the material is an essential output for the solar collector. This paper highlights the work based on the RSM design expert, to study the effect of parameters’ temperature and time when the surface is exposed to sunlight and absorbing the properties of emissivity and absorptivity of the material SS 304. The temperature range of the SS 304 varied from 20°C to 356°C for various time intervals from 90 to 1100?h. From this experimental work, it is clearly seen that the emissivity rate increased when the surface is focused onto sunlight beyond the saturated level. The absorptivity of the surface of SS 304 increases till the optimum level and reaches the saturated level. As a result, after the optimum level, emissivity rate of the surface increases, and absorptivity of the surface decreases when it is focused onto sunlight.     

Optimisation of process parameters for electroless nickel plating on SS316L for refrigeration systems

Nowadays, refrigeration systems are important for industrial and domestic applications. The coefficient of performance of a vapour compression refrigeration system can be improved if a reduction in the work of compression can be achieved by a suitable technique for a specified heat removal rate. The present study investigates the effect of material coating of electroless nickel (EN) plating. The friction and wear experiments were performed using a four-ball machine tribo tester. Controlling the EN plating parameters plays an important role in the quality of coating. It depends on the wear scar rate of the coated material. So it is necessary to optimise the process parameters of EN plating. The experimental studies have been conducted under varying pressure, load and time on quality characteristics. In this paper, optimisation of process parameters using response surface methodology technique for EN plating was discussed.     

Structural modification of aminoclay for catalytic applications

Abstract

An eco-friendly catalyst system was synthesized using three step reaction. The Cu nanoparticles bridged aminoclay catalyst was analyzed using various analytical techniques. The structure of the catalyst was confirmed by FTIR and XRD. The synthesized catalyst system was used for the reduction of p-nitrophenol (NP), Cr(VI), and fluorescein (Flur) dye individually, as well as in their mixture forms. The k_app value was computed to access the efficiency of the catalyst. The results indicated that the k_app value of the individual system is higher than that of the mixture systems due to the absence of the complex formation reaction. The catalytic performance of the catalyst was also tested for the Schiff base (SB) formation between poly(ethyleneglycol) (PEG) and aniline (ANI) in an oxygen atmosphere. The ¹H-NMR spectroscopy result indicates that the present catalyst system produced 86% yield.     

An interactive simulator for statistical process control

An interactive program has been developed which simulates several representative industrial processes. Specifically, the program generates product quality characteristic values which are concurrently monitored by standard control charting methods. The program requires the user to specify initial process parameter values and subsequent process adjustments; the latter is necessary in the event the process is deemed to be “out-of-control”. The effectiveness of these decisions are measured by economic criteria. The use of the software promotes a “hands-on” approach, which will better prepare the students to achieve quality improvements in an industrial environment through systematic and scientific evaluation.     

Evaluation of alternative tool combinations in a flexible manufacturing system

Flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) are often viewed as systems capable of processing a wide variety of parts in random order. The extent to which this is achieved is determined by the number of tools of each type that are active in the system at the same time. Too few tools can result in low system utilization and throughput. Too many tools in the system, however, can increase system cost. A continuous-time Markov chain model and an accompanying cost model are presented in this paper as an analytical means of examining the interrelationships between the number of tools and system performance and evaluating alternative tool combinations. A numerical example is given to illustrate the interrelationships and test the sensitivity of the model. Because of the large number of equations required to be solved, a computer program was written to obtain the results.     

The impact of visual layout factors on performance in Web pages: a cross-language study

Visual layout has a strong impact on performance and is a critical factor in the design of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and Web pages. Many design guidelines employed in Web page design were inherited from human performance literature and GUI design studies and practices. However, few studies have investigated the more specific patterns of performance with Web pages that may reflect some differences between Web page and GUI design. We investigated interactions among four visual layout factors in Web page design (quantity of links, alignment, grouping indications, and density) in two experiments: one with pages in Hebrew, entailing right-to-left reading, and the other with English pages, entailing left-to-right reading. Some performance patterns (measured by search times and eye movements) were similar between languages. Performance was particularly poor in pages with many links and variable densities, but it improved with the presence of uniform density. Alignment was not shown to be a performance-enhancing factor. The findings are discussed in terms of the similarities and differences in the impact of layout factors between GUIs and Web pages. Actual or potential applications of this research include specific guidelines for Web page design.     

Effect of intake air oxygen enrichment for improving engine performance and emissions control in diesel engine

Stringent emission regulations and health awareness about air pollution have led researchers to find alternative means of minimising emissions in diesel engines. In this article, the influence of oxygen enrichment is discussed to determine the effect on diesel engine performance, emission characteristics and combustion characteristics. Normal diesel and oxygen-enriched diesel are used in this experiment. The increase in oxygen concentration led to complete combustion, producing higher thermal efficiency and low harmful emissions. From the results, it is noted that oxygen-enriched diesel fuel showed reduction of CO, HC and smoke emissions, while NOx emission increased.

Abbreviations/Nomenclature DI: direct injection; NOx: oxides of nitrogen; O₂: oxygen; HC: hydrocarbon; PM: particulate matters; CO: carbon monoxide; CO₂: carbon dioxide     

Enhancement of uniform temperature distribution during casting solidification by methoding process

The main purpose of this study was to adapt proper methoding models to improve the cast ability and reduce the defects in casting. According to many researchers, 90% of the defects in casting are due to the wrong design of gating and riser systems and 10% due to casting defects. Here we are improving the runner and riser placement through methoding process. In the present work, to validate the advantages of methoding, we have selected casting model with and without methoding, temperature distribution over various positions have been analysed and it is found that casting model with methoding provides uniform temperature distribution.     

Inhibitory effect of spices on in vitro histamine production and histidine decarboxylase activity ofMorganella morganii and on the biogenic amine formation in mackerel stored at 30°C

The inhibitory effects of clove, cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric and pepper on the histamine production and histidine decarboxylase activity ofMorganella morganii (a potent histamine-producing bacteria in fish) was examined at 30°C using HPLC. Cinnamon and clove exhibited a significant (P<0.01) inhibitory effect, whereas turmeric and cardamom had a moderate effect. These spices were applied to whole mackerel at a level of 3% and their inhibitory effect on biogenic amine formation at 30°C was also examined. As in the in vitro study, clove and cinnamon showed a significant (P< 0.05) inhibitory effect on histamine, putrescine and tyramine formation but not on that of cadaverine. Cardamom and turmeric exhibited a moderate effect and pepper was ineffective. Therefore, clove and cinnamon are more helpful than cardamom and turmeric in the minimization of the formation of toxic histamine in mackerel.