Non-food source for manufacturing of biodiesel and its impact on diesel engine performance

Non-food source for manufacturing of biodiesel and its impact on diesel engine performance

Supervision team: Assoc Prof Ibrahim Sultan, Dr Apurv Kumar, and Dr Truong Phung

Project outline:

Biodiesel has been looked at as a greener and safer alternative to conventional “fossil” fuels. The main feedstock from which the green alternative is sourced is based on vegetable oil, animal/oil fats, waste cooking oils etc. As a result of the edible nature of the source of biodiesel, the greener and safer alternative has met opposition in its application to mitigate dependence on fossil fuels. In order to enable widespread acceptance of biodiesel it is imperative to search for alternative sources for sustainable manufacturing of biodiesel on a commercial scale. The present project, therefore, aims to investigate the suitability of wastage obtained from food scraps, plastic garbage and biomass collected in a wastewater treatment plant as possible sources to manufacture biodiesel. The scope of the project involves process identification and synthesis of biodiesel from the above-mentioned sources and examining the effect of non-traditional sourced biodiesel on diesel engine performance. The project will be interdisciplinary in nature due to the involvement of chemists and mechanical engineers. The project outcomes include selection of a suitable non-traditional biodiesel source and recommendation on synthesis process for the manufacture of the biodiesel on a commercial scale.