Title: Exergetic cost analysis of a CI engine fuelled with petrodiesel and palm and karanja biodiesels: a comparative assessment

Authors: Jibanananda Jena; Rahul Dev Misra

Addresses: Mechanical Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology, Silchar, Assam 788010, India ' Mechanical Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology, Silchar, Assam 788010, India

Abstract: This paper deals with evaluation of suitable fuel for a 4-stroke single-cylinder diesel engine operated at steady state amongst three fuels - petrodiesel (PD), palm biodiesel (PB) and karanja biodiesel (KB) - through exergy, economic and thermoeconomic analyses. Based on exegy analysis, PB is found to be the best fuel with highest exergetic efficiencies 26.02%. However, PD evolves to be best fuel based on economic analysis with its cost rate of product as 0.025 rupees/s. This invites application of thermoeconomic analysis for better justification on selection of the fuel. The thermoeconomic analysis, based on the thermoeconomic model developed for this purpose using exergy costing approach, has been performed and found that PD is the best fuel followed by PB and then KB. The cost rate of product exergy for PD is found to be 0.026 rupees/s, and the cost rate associated with exergy destruction for PD is found to be 0.02 rupees/s.

Keywords: petrodiesel; biofuels; exergy destruction; economic cost; exergetic cost; fuel selection; thermoeconomic analysis; exergy analysis; CI engines; palm biodiesel; karanja biodiesel; exergy costing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEX.2014.065647

International Journal of Exergy, 2014 Vol.15 No.2, pp.214 - 232

Received: 15 Jul 2013
Accepted: 31 Aug 2013

Published online: 30 Apr 2015 *

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