*.
Handbook of
Agricultural Engineering
•mgiiiHti ICAR
DIRECTORATE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN AGRICULTURE INDIAN COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH KRISHI ANUSANDHAN BHAVAN I NEW DELHI 110 012 www.icar.org.in
Printed
Technical Co-ordinators
July 2013
Dr M M Pandey Deputy Director General (Engineering) Dr N P S Sirohi Assistant Director General (Process Engineering) Dr K K Singh Assistant Director General (Process Engineering) Dr Subramanyam Ganesan Principal Scientist (FM & P) Dr Devinder Dhingra Principal Scientist (AS & PE) Agricultural Engineering Division, ICAR Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan II, Pusa New Delhi 110 012
Project Director (DKMA )
Incharge, EEU Editors
Chief Production Officer Officer (Production )
Technical
Cover Design
Dr Rameshwar Singh Dr R P Sharma Dr Som Dutt Reena Kandwal Ravindra Verma Dr V K Bharti K B Gupta Dr V K Bharti
All Rights Reserved Š 2013, Indian Council of Agricultural Research New Delhi
ISBN : 978-81-7164-134-5 Price: t 1000
Published by Dr Rameshwar Singh, Project Director, Directorate of Knowledge Management in Agriculture, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan I, Pusa, New Delhi 110 012; laser typeset by Xpedite Computer Systems, 201, Patel House, B-ll, Ranjit Nagar Commercial Complex, New Delhi 110 008; and printed at M/s Chandu Press, D-97, Shakarpur, Delhi 110 092.
Contents Preface Section 1: Farm Machinery and Power 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19
Farm Mechanization in India Farm Power Sources Mechanical Power Transmission Fluid Power and Control Tillage and Traction Tillage Machinery Sowing, Planting and Fertilizer Application Weeding and Interculture Crop Protection Harvesting Threshing Transport of Agricultural Produce Precision Agriculture Conservation Agriculture Ergonomics and Safety in Agriculture Measurement, Instrumentation and Control Farm Machinery Management Technopreneurship, Business Planning and Development Applications of Information and Communication Technology in Agriculture
1 6 31 49 59 77 91 113 117 129 148 156 159 167 174 193 201 211 221
Section 2: Soil and Water Engineering
20 21 22 23 24 25
Water and Land Resource Utilization and Planning Land Reclamation and Conservation Hydrology for Watershed Management Irrigation Principles and Practices Agricultural Land Drainage Integrated Watershed Management
26 27 28 29
Energy Resources Energy Conversion from Biomass Biodiesel Technology Solar Energy Wind Energy Energy Management in Agriculture
243 251 271 287 320 346
Section 3: Energy in Agriculture
BO
373 378 389 393 400 409
Section 4: Agro-Process Engineering
32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Engineering Properties Unit Operations Cereals and Millets Pulses Oilseeds Fruits and Vegetables Spices and Condiments Plantation Crops Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Handling of Cut Flowers Jaggery Dairy Livestock and Aquacultural Produce Natural Resins and Gums Fodder and Feed Fibre Crops Novel Technologies in Agricultural Processing Food Safety and Quality
Aquacultural Engineering Appendix Subject Index Contributors
421 434 474 494 511 529 559 582 594 606 620 626 649 661 677 691 710 723 738 771
778 793
Section 1
Farm Machinery and Power
• Farm Mechanization in India • Farm Power Sources • Mechanical Power Transmission • Fluid Power and Control
• Tillage and
Traction
• Tillage Machinery • Sowing, Planting and Fertilizer Application • Weeding and Interculture • Crop Protection • Harvesting • Threshing • Transport of Agricultural Produce
• Precision Agriculture • Conservation Agriculture • Ergonomics and Safety
in Agriculture
• Measurement, Instrumentation and Control • Farm Machinery Management • Technopreneurship, Business Planning and Development • Applications of Information and Communication Technology in Agriculture
1 Farm Mechanization in India Mechanization has been identified as one of the critical inputs for production agriculture. It may be described as an appropriate package of technology to: (i) ensure timely field operations to increase productivity, reduce crop losses and improveproduce quality, (ii) increase land utilization and input-use efficiency and (Hi) increase labour productivity through labour-saving and drudgery-reducing mechanical devices. Mechanization of Indian agriculture has proceeded along two-pronged approach based on improved equipment and enhanced power supply. However, compared to the mechanization of western agriculture which was motivated by the need to substitute human labour and draught animals with mechanical prime movers, the guiding principle in mechanizing Indian agriculture has been to maintain a socially desirable mix of human labour, draught animal power andmechanical power. Though there has been considerable progress of agricultural mechanization in our country, its spread has been uneven across different regions. However, its growth has been closely linked with the overall agricultural development of different agroclimatic regions.
Status of farm mechanization Tractorization has been recognized as the main driver of farm mechanization for mitigating drudgery and increasing the level of farming, so as to improve the life and work environment of farmers. At present in India, tractors are being used for tillage in 22.78% of the total area and for sowing in 21.30% of the total area. In addition to irrigation pumps and tractors, threshers have been adopted on large scale across the country. Combine harvester, reapers, potato and groundnut mechanization machinery have also shown commercial success. Now combine harvesters are commonly used in different parts of the country, on custom-hire basis, for wheat, soybean and rice harvesting. Although utility of manually and bullock-operated equipment has been established, their acceptance has been rather limited. Due to limited annual use and economic advantage, some improved implements could not replace the local alternatives. Farm power availability in India i Power is needed for operating different equipment and machines used for both mobile and stationary operations. Availability of adequate power is, therefore, an important determinant for mechanization.Mobile farm power is obtained from humans, draught animals, power tillers, tractors and self-propelled machines, whereas stationary power is derived from engines and electric motors. Over the years the contribution of animate source of power, especially that of draught animals, has been steeply going down (Table 1.1). This shows that additional need of farm power is being met through rhanical and electrical sources of power. This trend is expected to continue in future also to meet the increasing mechanization needs.
HANDBOOK OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
2
Table 1.1 Status of farm power sources in India (Number in million and power in million kW)
Year
Agricultural workers
No. 1960-61 1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 1999-00 2005-06 2009-10
Draught animals
Tractors
Power tillers
Power
No.
Power
No.
Power
131.10 5.80 125.70 6.21 148.00 7.46 185.30 9.17 206.19 10.60 238.81 11.47 243.42 12.17
80.4 82.6 73.4 70.9 60.0 55.8 52.7
30.60 31.39
0.037 0.168 0.531 1.192 2.371 3.132 3.781
1.00 4.38 13.86 31.11 61.89 81.76 98.68
27.89 26.94 22.80 21.20 20.01
No. Power 0 0.0096 0.0162 0.0323 0.1046 0.1659 0.2571
0 0.054 0.091 0.181 0.586 0.929 1.439
Diesel
Electric motors
engines
No. Power 0.230 1.700 2.880 4.800 5.900 7.627 8.456
No.
Power
1.30 0.20 9.52 1.60 16.13 3.35 26.88 8.07 33.04 12.85 42.71 14.75 47.35 16.62
0.74 5.92 12.39 29.86 47.55 54.57 61.48
Note: 1 Human = 0.05 kW, draught animal = 0.38 kW, tractor = 26.1 kW, power tiller = 5.6 kW, electric motor = 3.7 kW, diesel engine = 5.6 kW
Cropping intensity and power availability scenario on Indian farms Cropping intensity increases with an increase in per unit power availability (Table 1.2). It was 120% with power availability of 0.48 kW/ha during 1975-76 and increased to about 139% with increase in power availability to 1.71 kW/ha in 200910. Net sown area per tractor shows the reverse trend during the same period, which was 487 ha/tractor in 1975-76 and reduced to 37 ha/tractor in 2009-10. The power availability per unit production increased from 0.51 kW/tonne to about 1.03 kW/tonne during this period. The usage of tractors needs to be increased in various farm operations from seedbed preparation to harvesting and threshing. Table 1.2 Cropping intensity and power availability on Indian farms Year
1975-76 1985-86 1995-96 2004-05 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10
Cropping intensity (%)
Foodgrain productivity (tonnes/ha)
available (kW/ha)
Power per unit production (kW/tonne)
120.00 127.00 131.00 135.00 137.20 138.01 139.22
0.944 1.184 1.500 1.650 1.860 1.909 1.798
0.48 0.73 1.05 1.46 1.60 1.66 1.71
0.51 0.62 0.70 0.87 0.86 0.98 1.03
Power
Net sown area/ tractor
(ha) 487
174 84 50 41 40 37
Mechanization index Planning for mechanization requires the quantification of level of mechanization for each operation in crop production. Appropriate indicators must be selected to determine the level of mechanization. An indicator of mechanization is a variable that allows describing and monitoring the process, state and tendency of systems at the farm, regional, national or worldwide levels. Different methods were developed to quantify the level of mechanization based on power or energy availability, and its impact in agricultural and labour productivity. Mechanization index was expressed as the percentage of work of tractors in the total of human work and that of machinery (Source: Nowacki T. 1974. Example of technical economic analysis of mechanized process in various agro-technical conditions, Economic Commission for Europe, AGRI/MECH/32). It was calculated
FARM MECHANIZATION IN INDIA
3
using the following expression: WME=
LM
xlOO
LT
... (1)
where WME, mechanization index (%); LM, average sum of all mechanical work done by tractor-powered machines (kWh/ha); LH, sum of all average work by human sources (kWh/ha); LT, sum of all average work outlays by human and tractor-powered machines (kWh/ha), and LT is equal to LM + LH. Mechanization index (IE) was further modified as the percentage of machine work (Em) to the sum of manual (EH), animal (EA) and machine work (EM) expressed in energy units as follows (Source:Nowacki T. 1978. Methodology used by ECE countries in forecasting mechanisation developments, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, AGRI/MECH Report No. 74):
IE - EM/(EH+EA+EM)
... (2)
For macro-level planning, a mechanization indicator (IM) based on the ratio of electrical and mechanical power over total farm power was introduced by Singh and De (Source: Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 1999, 15(3): 197-204) as a measure of qualitative assessment of modernization of agriculture:
1M = PMĂżPH+PA+PM)
... (3)
where IM is the mechanization indicator; PM is the total of electrical and mechanical power; PH is the human power; and PA is the draught animal power. A higher mechanization indicator based on electrical power and stationary engines might only reveal mechanization of stationary operations. From a qualitative drudgery reduction point of view, a mechanization index (ITP) based on mechanical tractive power (PMt) could be a better measure:
% - PM/(PH+PA+PM)
... (4)
A major defect in quantifying a mechanization indicator based on the ratio of mechanical tractive farm power to total farm power is that it does not bring to light the actual use scenario. Whileunit farm power couldbe considered as indicative of potential power availability, it may not necessarily be fully utilized on the farms. This may depend upon availability of diesel and electricity, and adequate workload. Majority of farmers in developing countries use tractors for transport of agricultural and nonagricultural commodities.
Mechanization policy Mechanization is capital intensive and substantial investments were made in our country in this sector. In the absence of good planning and direction, investment on mechanization may not yield the expected results. Thebroad objectives and requirement of agricultural mechanization in the country may be described as: • Agricultural mechanization should contribute to sustainable increase in yields, productivity and cropping intensity, so that the planned growth rates in agricultural production are achieved.
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HANDBOOK OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
• The benefits of agricultural mechanization should be extended to all categories of fanners with due consideration to small and marginal farmers and to all regions of the country especially the rainfed areas. • Agricultural mechanization should contribute to conservation of land and water resources and to more efficient use of inputs such as seeds, chemicals, fertilizers and energy. • Loss of agricultural production, both in quality and quantity, should be reduced through timely operations and improvement in equipment and techniques. • Agricultural mechanization should lead to a reduction in costs of production of different commodities, an increase in income of farmers and an increase in the competitiveness of Indian agricultural produce and products in the world market. • Appropriate capacity and time-saving equipment are needed to reduce turn around time and increase cropping intensity in irrigated agriculture. • The average supply of power to agriculture should be increased from about 1.7 kW/ha in 2010 to 2.5 kW/ha by the year 2025 to achieve the planned production level. • The widely fragmented and scattered land holdings in many parts of the country need to be consolidated to give access for their owners to the benefits of agricultural mechanization. • India has limited water resources, which are being over- stretched to expand coverage. Efficient equipment and latest techniques are needed to make the best use of water. • Appropriate equipment is required to improve moisture conservation and timeliness of operations in rainfed agriculture. • To achieve higher production levels, the quality of operations like seedbed preparation, sowing, application of fertilizer, chemicals and irrigation water, weeding, harvesting and threshing will have to be improved by using precision and efficient equipment. • The benefits of mechanization have been so far confined mostly to rice and wheat-based cropping system. These benefits have to be extended to all cropping systems including horticultural crops. •Hill agriculture, which covers about 20% of cultivated land, has little access to mechanization. This situation has to be improved by developing and promoting package of technology for mechanization of hill agriculture to achieve higher productivity. • The quality of life and work environment of farm workers need to be improved. Their work involves considerable drudgery and discomfort. They face serious risk of accidents and long-term health hazards. •Proper ergonomic designs of agricultural equipment, incorporating latest safety measures and ‘comfort features’ should be made available. • Matching equipment for tractors, power tillers and other prime movers are either not available or farmers make inappropriate selections in the absence of proper guidance, resulting in fuel wastage and high cost of production. •Presently the agriculture produce gets damaged due to weeds, insects, pests and diseases during pre-harvest and due to mechanical damage during harvesting,
FARM MECHANIZATION IN INDIA
5
threshing and handling. These losses need to be minimized to improve the quality of produce through use of better machinery and techniques. • Machinery and technology for reducing post-harvest losses and promoting onfarm value-addition to agricultural produce should be made within the reach of farmers. Large-scale rural entrepreneurship for custom-hiring operation of agricultural • machinery needs to be developed at a faster pace. • The quality of farm implements and machinery manufactured in the country is generally not of desired standard resulting in poor-quality work, longer down time, low output and high operational cost. The quality of equipment has to be improved. • There is a need for strengthening training programmes at various levels and for different categories of people on operation, repair and maintenance of agricultural machinery and for transfer of technology.
2 Farm Power Sources Power is an essential input in agriculture for timely field operations of farm equipment and for stationary activities such as operating irrigation equipment, threshers/shellers/ cleaners/graders and other post-harvest equipment. Different sources of power available on the farm for carrying out various mobile and stationary operations are as under: Human power is the main source for operating small tools and implements. They are also employed for doing stationary work like threshing, winnowing, chaff cutting and lifting irrigation water. On an average, a man develops nearly 75 W. Draught animal power has traditionally been the main source of power in Indian agriculture. Draught animals are used for cultivation operations, as well as transportÂŹ ation through animal cart and pack load. It is estimated that nearly 60% of the total draft power used in agriculture is still provided by animals (Table 2.1). A total of 18 of the 28 states in the country stillhave predominance of animal power. Small and marginal farmers, who have 80% operational holdings, are the major users of animal power. Table 2.1 Draughtability of animals Animal
Breed
Bullock
Malvi, Hariana, Local bullocks of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Asom
10-12
Nagori Khillari Mottu Local bullocks of Odisha He-buffaloes of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh Swamp buffalo of Asom Kathiawadi Allahabadi Bikaneri
14 16 8-11 9-12 12-14 12-14 32 29 18
Buffalo
Donkey Mule Camel
Sustained draft load capacity (% body weight)
Source: AICRP on UAE, CIAE, Bhopal
Mechanical power (diesel and petrol engine) is the third important source of farm power that is available through tractors and oil engines. Oil engine is a highly efficient device for converting fuel into useful work. The efficiency of diesel engine varies between 32 and 38%, whereas for petrol engine it is between 25 and 32%. Electrical power has become a very important source of power on farms. The largest use of electric power in rural areas is for irrigation and domestic water supply. Use of electricity in dairy industry, cold storage, fruit processing and cattle feed grinding has increased considerably. Among many forms of renewable source of power like wind, solar power, bioÂŹ energy etc., one of the most promising renewable energy resources in the country is bio-energy. Use of biogas, biofuels, solar cooking, solar water heating, solar crop
FARM POWER SOURCES
7
drying, photovoltaic gadgets, wind, hydro electric power, etc. can help in meeting energy needs partly.
Human work output Human work rate efficiency varies from 50% in temperate climate to 10% in humid tropical condition. On an average, only about 25% of the energy consumed when handling relatively easy tasks such as pedaling, pushing or pulling, is converted to actual human work output. Thus, physical power output of a male agricultural worker is approximately 75 W sustained for an 8-10 hours work per day. Similarly, a woman agricultural worker develops 60 W power. But, higher rates can be maintained for short periods. Manually operated agricultural tools/machines 1 In most part of India, human powered agricultural tools predominate,
especially for intercultural operation, harvesting, spraying, weeding etc. The size of farm holdings of majority of Indian farmers is quite small. Under these conditions, most mechanized equipment do not increase the amount of food produced, but only decrease the amount of labour required. Productivity per hectare may in fact decline if these large tools require extra space to maneuover and wider lanes to drive or roll over.
Draught animal power second most important source of power in the farm all over India is draught accounts for about 20% of power utilized in agricultural mechanization in are mostly used for tractive and transport work. Bullocks and buffaloes sources of animal power on Indian farms. Donkeys, mules, camels are also used as draught animals in many parts of the country. The average can exert is nearly equal to one-tenth of its body weight. But for a very it can exert many more times the average force. Generally, a mediumcan develop power between 360 and 550 W. The utilization of animals purposes as well as power developed by them depends mainly on of animals (breed, species, sex, age, training and temperament). Also, on how they are tamed, trained and harnessed. Farmers have the choice species locally available or affordable. Draught animals are used for operations like tillage, seedbed preparation, sowing, weeding, harvesting H每flnng. and post-harvest operations. PUB are various types of harnesses that can be classified according to the place are applied, e.g. before the shoulders (collar), on the withers (withers behind the horns on the neck (neck yoke) or on the breast (breast band or RiMnpi With current yokes and harnessing, pooling two animals or more in a in a reduced efficiency than at an individual level. If the available power ~~ one animal, it is only 1.85 with two animals, 3.10 with four, and 3.80 MtflBjf India, the use of improved yokes has made it possible to achieve 16-30% M禄fei Ran draught capacity under sustained loading and 20-30% increase in field Rtf implements, resulting in increase in command area of draught animals, Alto traditional yokes.
BfottalLxk
_
8
HANDBOOK OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
Efficient utilization of animal energy potential The force exerted by animals is partially released in a mechanical form when pulling equipment or carrying a load. The sustained effort corresponding to a working time of about 5-6 h/d, at a normal speed (0.6-0.8 m/s), determines the animal team’s capability. According to animals and working conditions, next-to-optimum effort is between 9 and 12% of the live weight for oxen and buffaloes, between 16 and 18% for camels and about 25-30% for donkeys. Any obstructions during the operations results in a maximum instantaneous effort. This determines strength constraints for the materials to be used in farm implements. Available power and energy vary with the mean pull required per day. Capability depends on the direction of the line of draft and ground surface conditions. Efficiency decreases from 1 in straight-line work to 0.8 in circular work (Capstan). Tillage in dry soils causes high frequencies and a wide range of variations in forces. This results in pronounced vibrations and greatly affects the animal. Comfort of working in loose soils limits the draught capability of animal because of sinking.
Engines A heat engine is a device which converts heat energy into mechanical energy. Heat generated by the combustion of a fuel creates pressure, resulting in movement of piston in the cylinder which in turn rotates the crank shaft. The crank shaft delivers power to the desired load. Types of engines used in agriculture Various types of spark (SI) and compression (Cl) ignition engines are used in agriculture. In SI engine liquid or gaseous fuel is atomized, vapourized and mixed with air in correct proportion before being taken to the engine cylinder through the intake manifold. The ignition of mixture is caused by an electric spark. In Cl engine, combustion takes place by slow burning when the fuel is injected into highly compressed heated air contained in the cylinder. Because of its higher compression ratios and leaner air-fuel mixture, a Cl engine can deliver up to 40% better fuel economy than a similarly loaded SI engine. Small, single-cylinder SI engines are air cooled. With only a few exceptions, large, multiÂŹ cylinder engines are, in general, water cooled. Typical two-cycle SI engines use the crankcase as an air pump to compress the air/ fuel mixture as the piston moves toward crank dead centre (CDC), also called bottom dead centre (BDC), and then deliver it to combustion chamber via ports in cylinder wall as piston moves towards head dead centre (HDC), also called top dead centre (TDC). Since exhaust gases exit the combustion chamber via other ports in cylinder wall, these engines have no valves. Use of crankcase as an air pump interferes with its use as an oil sump, so the engine lubricating oil is typically mixed with the fuel. Because they have a high power-to-mass ratio, two-cycle SI engines are used for special applications, such as powering chain saws, sprayers, small lawn mowers or boats. Their more difficult starting, erratic idling and poorer fuel economy (compared to four-cycle SI engines) limit their more widespread use. For both SI and Cl engines, four strokes include intake, compression, power and exhaust. Valves are provided for admitting air to Cl engines, or air/fuel mixture to SI
FARM POWER SOURCES
9
engines, and for expelling exhaust gases. Two revolutions of crankshaft are required for each engine cycle and timing gears are arranged to allow two revolutions of crankshaft for each revolution of the camshaft. [ The Cl combustion chamber designs fall into two categories: direct injection (DI) and indirect injection (IDI). The IDI design is more fuel-tolerant, i.e. it accommodates fuels with a wider range of viscosities and cetane ratings than the DI design, but the latter has about 8-10% better fuel economy. Thus, the trend is towards the use of DI design in newer Cl engines.
Fuel system B All diesel engines require a method to store and deliver fuel to engine. Because diesel engines rely on injectors which are precision components with extremely tight L tolerances and very small injection hole(s), the fuel delivered to engine must be extremely clean and free of contaminants. r The fuel system must not only deliver the fuel but also ensure its cleanliness. This is Mnnally accomplished through a series of in-line filters. Commonly, fuel is filtered once . iimlsidethe engine and thenit passes through at least onemore filter internal to the engine, Banally located in the fuel line at each fuel injector. In a diesel engine, the fuel system is Much more complex than the fuel system on a simple gasoline engine fuel serves to supply the fuel and act as a coolant to the injectors. To meet second purpose, diesel fuel is kept continuously flowing through the fuel t spstem of engine at a flow rate much higher than required to simply run the engine. The IrtOBess fuelisroutedback to fuelpump or fuel storage tank depending on the application.
Attentate fuels interest in alternative energy sources for vehicles, is the result of Bpatinuous concern for environment (in particular, greenhouse gas and toxic Hnnponents emission) and for consumption of primary energy sources, which are Rlnifted. The term ‘alternative fuels’ is commonly used to identify energy sources that fflRenot of petroleum origin, have high heating value and their combustion results in emissions in comparison with petroleum fuels. Another advantage of these fuels of sources.
Hhtera/ gas
HOB account of physicochemical properties, in particular octane and cetane numbers, gas (NG) is a very good fuel for SI engines, but its application for Cl engines assistedignition (dual fuelling),in whichthe pilot diesel fuel doesis the ignition.
petroleum gas a mixture of propane and butane as the main constituents and is a byproduct of MWial gas purification and crude oil refining. Liquefied petroleum gas is often called On account of high octane number, propane and butane (and their mixture) suitable for SI engines.
is is a commonly used name for fuels produced from biomass (material of
10
HANDBOOK OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
biological origin), including plants associated with agriculture, forestry and aquaculture, as well as plant material that had been processed, such as paper and food-processing wastes. The renewable aspect of most biofuels is essentially the use of solar energy to grow crops that can be convertedinto energy. The most popular biofuels are methanol, ethanol, vegetable oils and their derivatives. Methanol: This is the simplest alcohol containing one carbon atom per molecule. It is a colourless, tasteless liquid with a very faint odour. It is toxic and corrosive. In case of spills, methanol is biodegradable and dilutes quickly in water. Most methanol is currently made from coal and natural gas, but it can also be made from renewable sources such as wood or waste paper. Methanol is commonly known as wood alcohol. As an engine fuel, it can be used as M100 (neat methanol), but actually it is used as M85, a blend of 85% methanol and 15% gasoline. It has an octane number of 102. Ethanol: This can be produced from biomass—potatoes, cereals, beets, sugarcane, wood, brewery wastes, food wastes and many other agricultural products. It is produced by the process of fermentation and is called bioethanol; it can also be produced from natural gas and crude oil. Ethanol is not considered toxic; it is soluble in water and biodegradable. It is more flammable than gasoline. Neat ethanol is rarely used as a fuel. Usually, it is mixed with gasoline as an oxygenate to meet clean fuel requirements. A 10% ethanol mixture with gasoline, called gasohol or E10, is recommended for engines. Bioethanol (made from sugarcane) is the primary fuel in Brazil. Because ethanol contains approximately 60% of the energy content of gasoline, it takes more ethanol to get the same output as a similar gasoline engine.
Biodiesel Biodiesel is a commonly used name for mono-alkyl esters (methyl or ethyl ester) of long-chain fatty acids derived from renewable lipids such as vegetable oils or animal fats. It is produced in the process of trans-esterification from rapeseed, soybean, sunflower, canola, palm oil, used oil such as cooking grease and many other fats etc. Soy biodiesel is predominantly used in the United States, while rape biodiesel (called RME, rapeseed methyl ester) dominates in Europe. In India, efforts are made to produce biodiesel from Jatropha. Very often biodiesel is defined as fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). The trans-esterification process is easy to implement when methanol is used as a reactant to obtain methyl ester. The transformation takes place at atmospheric pressure and at a temperature of about 50°C. Glycerine is a byproduct of biodiesel production. In place of diesel fuel, 100% biodiesel can be used except during cold weather. During cold weather, biodiesel thickens more than diesel fuel causing flowability problems. Biodieselmixes well with diesel fuel and stays blended even in the presence of water. Diesel fuel blended with biodiesel has superior lubricities, which reduces wear and tear on engine and makes the engine components last longer. Biodiesel blends also clean the fuel system. The harmful emission from exhaust is significantly less as compared to fossil fuels. Engine performance parameters Important diesel engine performance parameters are geometrical properties, efficiency and other related engine parameters. Engine efficiencies are indicated by
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