• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2014

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is regarded as an alternative fuel for spark ignition engine due to similar or even higher octane number. In addition, LPG has better fuel characteristics including high vaporization characteristic and low carbon/hydrogen ratio leading to a reduction in carbon dioxide emission. Recently, development of LPG direct injection system started to improve performance of vehicles fuelled with LPG. However, spray characteristics of LPG were not well understood, which is should be known to develop injector for LPG direct injection engines. In this study, effects of operation condition including ambient pressure, temperature, and injection pressure on spray properties of n-butane were evaluated and compared to gasoline in a multi-hole injector. As general characteristics of both fuels, spray penetration becomes smaller with an increase of ambient pressure as well as a reduction in the injection pressure. However, it is found that evaporation of n-butane was faster compared to gasoline under all experimental condition. As a result, spray penetration of n-butane was shorter than that of gasoline. This result was due to higher vapor pressure and lower boiling point of n-butane. On the other hand, spray angle of both fuels do not vary much except under high ambient temperature conditions. Furthermore, spray shape of n-butane spray becomes completely different from that of gasoline at high ambient temperature conditions due to flash boiling of n-butane.

• Advances in Energy Research
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.147-163
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• 2013

The world faces several issues of energy crisis and environmental deterioration due to over-dependence on single source of which is fossil fuel. Though, fuel is needed as ingredients for industrial development and growth of any country, however the fossil fuel which is a major source of energy for this purpose has always been terrifying thus the need for alternative and renewable energy sources. The search for alternative energy sources resulted into the acceptance of a biofuel as a reliable alternative energy source. This work presents the study of optimization of process of transesterification of vegetable oil to biodiesel using NaOH as catalyst. A $2^4$ factorial design method was employed to investigate the influence of ratio of oil to methanol, temperature, NaOH concentration, and transesterification time on the yield of biodiesel from vegetable oil. Low and high levels of the key factors considered were 4:1 and 6:1 mole ratio, 30 and $60^{\circ}C$ temperatures, 0.5 and 1.0 wt% catalyst concentration, and 30 and 60 min reaction time. Results obtained revealed that oil to methanol molar ratio of 6:1, tranesetrification temperature of $60^{\circ}C$, catalyst concentration of 1.0wt % and reaction time of 30 min are the best operating conditions for the optimum yield of biofuel from vegetable oil, with optimum yield of 95.8%. Results obtained on the characterizzation of the produced biodiesel indicate that the specific gravity, cloud point, flash point, sulphur content, viscosity, diesel index, centane number, acid value, free glycerine, total glycerine and total recovery are 0.8899, 4, 13, 0.0087%, 4.83, 25, 54.6. 0.228mgKOH/g, 0.018, 0.23% and 96% respectively. Results also indicate that the qualities of the biodiesel tested for are in conformity with the set standard. A model equation was developed based on the results obtained using a statistical tool. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of data shows that mole ratio of ground nut oil to methanol and transesterification time have the most pronounced effect on the biodiesel yield with contributions of 55.06% and 9.22% respectively. It can be inferred from the results various conducted that vegetable oil locally produced from groundnut oil can be utilized as a feedstock for biodiesel production.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.223-234
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• 2024

This review explores the potential of pillared bentonite materials as solid acid catalysts for synthesizing diethyl ether, a promising renewable energy source. Diethyl ether offers numerous environmental benefits over fossil fuels, such as lower emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and carbon oxides (CO_x) gases and enhanced fuel properties, like high volatility and low flash point. Generally, the synthesis of diethyl ether employs homogeneous acid catalysts, which pose environmental impacts and operational challenges. This review discusses bentonite, a naturally occurring alumina silicate, as a heterogeneous acid catalyst due to its significant cation exchange capacity, porosity, and ability to undergo modifications such as pillarization. Pillarization involves intercalating polyhydroxy cations into the bentonite structure, enhancing surface area, acidity, and thermal stability. Despite the potential advantages, challenges remain in optimizing the yield and selectivity of diethyl ether production using pillared bentonite. The review highlights the need for further research using various metal oxides in the pillarization process to enhance surface properties and acidity characteristics, thereby improving the catalytic performance of bentonite for the synthesis of diethyl ether. This development could lead to more efficient, environmentally friendly synthesis processes, aligning with sustainable energy goals.