- KOLKATA (PTI) - In their
search for alternative FUEL , a team of engineers here has modified popular
vegetable oils to run standard diesel engines at highly economic prices.
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- The team of researchers from city-based Institute of
Engineering and Management led by Dr Satyajit Chakrabarti has struck upon
a method to convert rapeseed, korja and palm oils into fuel by cutting
down on their viscosity through a process called trans-esterisation.
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- "The fuel has better efficiency than diesel and
can be used in diesel engines without any lubricant as its flash point
is higher," Chakrabarti told reporters while demonstrating the application
of the fuel today.
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- The vegetable oils are stripped off their water and volatile
matter content and esterised using methanol as a catalyst to get the fuel
along with glycerine as a by-product.
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- "Glycerine, which is a bonus in the reaction, is
a costly by-product and can be marketed separately. The fuel itself costs
Rs 14 a litre, much lower than diesel," he said.
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- The team, which has applied for an Indian patent, has
sent in an ambitious proposal to the Department of Science and Technology
(DST) for creating co-operatives to manufacture and sell the alternative
fuel thereby providing a means of livelihood to unempolyed youth.
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