Experiment for producing a renewable alternative fuel for Bangladesh from mustard oil

The world is heading towards the crisis of fossil fuel. Energy crisis is more acute in Bangladesh, as there is no petrofuel source but only natural gas, the reserve has also dropped down to an alarming level. Global warming is threatening Bangladesh to be a climate change victim. It has among the lowest per capita energy (240 kg oil equivalents) consumption in the world and is severely dependent on additional environmentally friendly renewable energy resources in the future. Energy needs are being met through fossil fuels in Bangladesh. As a result, fossil fuel is diminishing in every year and fuel price is increasing because of high usage. At present power generation of Bangladesh mainly depends on imported fossil fuel. To cope up with present situation and to reduce dependency on imported fuel, Bangladesh government is encouraging the use of renewable energy sources. Since diesel engines have versatile uses like in irrigation systems and small electricity generators, use of diesel is much higher than any other gasoline fuels. Mustard is a widely growing plant in Bangladesh and every year production of mustard seed exceeds demand. So attempt was to use excess mustard oil as an alternative to diesel fuel. Fuel properties and performance test of small engine are done by different biodiesel blends in the laboratory with standard procedure. It is found that bio-diesel has slightly different properties than diesel fuel and engine is capable of running without difficulty with a deviation from optimum performance. Different bio-diesel blends have been used with modified fuel supply system to compare engine performance to determine optimum blend for different operating conditions.