<smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"><smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"> Mahua (<i style="">Madhuca indica</i>) seed oil: A source of renewable energy in India </smarttagtype></smarttagtype>

Abstract

Mahua oil methyl, ethyl and butyl esters were prepared and studied in a four stroke, direct injection diesel engine for their performance and emissions. The engine test results showed high thermal efficiency in case of methyl ester compared to all other esters and diesel fuel. Different emissions such as carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NO_x), hydrocarbons (HC) is low for alkyl esters compared to diesel. Among alkyl esters except NO_xall tail pipe emissions are lower in case of methyl ester compared to other esters. The ethyl ester shows lower NO_x emission compared to other esters. Based on this study, mahua oil methyl ester performs well compared to other esters on the basis of performance and emissions.