Re: vegetable oil for running diesel engines

[Peter Singfield <snkm@btl.net>]

At 02:14 PM 11/23/2002 +0530, A.D. Karve wrote:
>Dear Peter,
>Everybody is talking about substituting diesel with vegetable oils but the
>quantities available would not suffice to satisfy the demand. I confirm your
>statement about the availability of tree oils in the tropics, but the ones
>listed by you, e.g. coconut and oil palm, are grown on plantations, and
>therefore costly.  There are atleast 50 oilseed bearing trees in India, that
>grow wild. Their seed is available free of cost to anybody, who has the time
>and patience to collect them in the forest. They produce non-edible oil,
>which costs only half as much as the edible one, because the tree seeds are
>available free of cost. The non-edible oils are used mainly for soap making.
>For increasing the supply of these oils, these trees would have to be grown
>on a plantation scale, and then they too would become as costly as the
>edible oils because of the agronomic inputs that the farmer has to use. I
>feel that producer gas or biogas would be better options than vegetable oil
>for running diesel engines. Both of these fuels can be produced from
>agricultural waste, which is readily available at a negligible cost.
>Dr.A.D.Karve
>President,
>Appropriate Rural Technology Institute
>Pune, India
>

Dear Dr. Karve;

Your absolutely correct regarding the use of tree oils as fuel. I sell the
product for much greater value than the cost of kerosene.

However -- we have no petroleum reserves in Belize -- and one never knows
when we have no choice but to use tree oils.

We have no tree oil plantations in Belize. Most of the coconuts I press are
"wild" -- and of poor yield. Takes 45 coconuts to produce one gallon of oil.

We do have a very common wild palm -- called Cohune -- that grows in large
amounts all about in the wild. 

It to produces and excellent edible oil -- which can be better traded for
kerosene than burned directly. But extraction is much more involved than
for coconuts.

Regarding IC engines fueled by producer gas. How often is crank case
lubrication changed?? More than "normal"??

In the past people have used tree oils both as fuel and lubrication.

If all goes well -- in the next few months I will be receiving more
equipments from India -- a small sugar cane crusher and two single cylinder
-- 650 RPM -- 6 HP -- old style Lister Diesels -- along with numerous spare
parts -- extra pulleys -- belts -- piston rings -- bearings -- and so forth.

I also must build another furnace -- along the lines of my present flat
plate heat exchanger for fast drying of grated nut meats -- for boiling
cane juice to produce Panala -- called Guri in India??

This furnace to be fueled by the pressed cane wastes -- bagasse.

I am sorely tempted to "experiment".

Converting one of the Lister (copies) to a Rankine engine using butane as a
working fluid and recovering waste heat from the Flue exhaust of the juice
boiler to power this.

I still believe in the potential of using a refrigerant working fluid
Rankine engine.

I can easily use tree oil for lubrication -- 

I believe the India made old Style "Lister" engines are the perfect base
for such an adaption. 

Certain changes must be made -- but these are price compensated by not
requiring diesel injection parts -- camshaft -- valves and valve actuation.

The new parts are a longer cylinder extension -- displacement piston that
fits to top of existing piston -- "pop" valve -- and a reed style exhaust
valve.

A flat plate cylinder head.

Feed fluid injection pump.

As the flue gas is at low temperature -- plan to use a direct injection
coiled tubing flash boiler placed in the base of chimney -- so boiler costs
are negligable.

The actual piston will still run water cooled -- and a nylon sleeve/ring
fitted to existing piston becomes the sealing mechanism. This is a complete
seal -- no lubrication for rings required in working fluid. It is
temperature stabilized by existing water jacket. The expansion of hot
working gas occuring above -- by the displacement piston.

I is possible for me here -- with existing infrastructure -- to accomplish
these modifications. And if all works well -- will share these design
alterations with the engine makers in India.

This style prime mover would work well with your charcoal kilns as well.
Extracting electrical power from heart presently going to the sky.

I hope to achieve 1000 watts of power in this manner -- using a six HP
Lister engine modified accordingly.

So very little "stress" -- the Lister should have unlimited life.

Peter / Belize

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