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Because of higher NOx and PM emissions Compression Ignition (CI) engines are slowly being replaced by gas engines in metro cities though CI engine have better thermal efficiency and emit less Carbon monoxide (CO) and Unburned Hydrocarbons (UHC) emission than SI engines. Pollutants formed during combustion, depleting fossil fuels and continuous raising fuel price pushes the research community to find new alternative fuels which can be used along with diesel or replace the diesel without making major modifications in the current engine. The objective of this research work is to derive bio-diesel fuel from the source of algae and use it as a fuel by blending with commercially available diesel fuel. Heptanol is added along with algae bio-diesel and diesel blend to improve the ignition quality of the blend. Tests were conducted on a single cylinder constant speed, water cooled stationary diesel engine with different blends proportions of heptanol-biodiesel-diesel.

Microalgae as feedstock are the potential third generation biofuels. Microalgae are photosynthetic microorganism which requires light, carbon-di-oxide, nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium for growth and to produce lipids, proteins and carbohydrates in large amounts over short a periods of time. The production of biofuels from microalgal is a viable alternative due to their easy adaptability to growth conditions, possibility of growing biomass either in fresh or marine waters. Hence the current project was designed to elucidate the biodiesel producing ability of blue-green algae such as Spirulina platensis and Green algae Chlorella vulgaris. The selected algae were cultivated in suitable growth media such as modified Zarrouke medium and bold basal medium, respectively. The Spirulina platensis and Chlorella vulgaris were mass cultured for 8 days then harvested using 50 micron nylon filters and dried in sunlight to obtain dry biomass.

Nowadays, the major most challenge in the diesel engine is the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) trade-off, with minimal reduction in Power and BSFC. Modern day engines also rely on expensive after-treatment devices, which may decrease the performance and increase the BSFC. In this paper, combustion optimization and in-cylinder emission control by introducing the Split injection technique along with EGR is carried out by 1-D (GT- POWER) simulation. Experiments were conducted on a 3.5 kW Single-cylinder naturally aspirated CRDI engine at the different load conditions. The Simulation model incorporates detailed pressure (Burn rate) analysis for different cases and various aspects of ignition delay, premixed and mixing controlled combustion rate, the injection rate affecting oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter.

The Diesel Particulate NOx Reduction (DPNR) system is used for simultaneous reduction of PM and NOx in diesel engine. DPF is used to trap particulate matter in diesel engines. NOx absorber technology removes NOx in a lean (i.e. oxygen rich) exhaust environment for both diesel and gasoline lean-burn GDI engines. The NOx storage and reduction catalyst is uniformly coated on the wall surface and in the fine pores of a highly porous filter substrate. Combination of these two components in the DPNR results in a compact size of the system. The base diesel engine model validated with pressure crank angle diagram and performance parameters such as Indicated mean effective pressure. This base engine’s exhaust emission is given as an input to the DPNR system. The surface reaction is connected to the DPF through chemcon template. The surface reaction is NOx storage and reduction chemical kinetics like Lean NOx Trap. The modelling of DPNR and Base engine is done using GT-SUITE.

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel for diesel which is made through a chemical process which converts vegetable oils and fats of natural origin into fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). The most usual method to transform Bio-oil into biodiesel is Transesterification that can be carried out using different catalyst systems. Jatropha is second generation, non-edible oil and can be used for producing biodiesel. The Transesterification reaction consists of heating jatropha oil with proper concentration of methanol at appropriate temperature in the presence of catalyst. After reaction, the mixture is allowed to settle down for 8-10 hrs. Two separate layers, top layer of biodiesel and lower layer of glycerol will form, which can be separated. Reaction temperature, amount of methanol, catalyst and reaction time are important parameters which decide yield and quality of biodiesel.

Automotive engine emissions are disturbing the ecological system and it has caused major impact on flora & fauna and environment. The major motive force behind this research is to find the alter-native fuel for the future sustainable mobility and less dependence on the fossil fuels. Biodiesel fuel produced from non-edible oil (like castor) could be used to replace a considerable portion of the conventional fuel consumed worldwide. Castor oil is selected for this study considering a fact that India is a major contributor in global castor oil seed production and also it, being a non-edible oil, avoids the cold-war between food vs fuel. The present study has been conducted in three phases.

The batteries for electric vehicles (EV) generate heat during discharging cycles. During these rapid discharge cycles the temperature of cell may increase above allowable limits. The high temperature of lithium ion cell is the primary factor affecting the cell performance and life. To develop efficient cooling mechanism for batteries, thermal behavior of secondary cell is must know. In this research, experimentally the thermal behavior analysis of cylindrical lithium ion cells at constant current discharge cycles with different current rates for each cycle is evaluated. The experiments were carried out at three discharge cycles of 1C, 2C and 3C rates and two battery chemistries namely NiMnCo and NiCoAlare considered for analysis. The instantaneous temperature of cell was measured using thermal imager and increase in overall cell surface temperature at different discharge rates, for entire discharging interval has been studied.