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PurposeLiterature limited in scope regarding the incorporation of sustainability into engineering curriculum encouraged authors to look at the current approaches of universities to the integration of sustainability into university curricula. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the literature published and analyse the university secondary data (information published on the university websites and magazines and programme catalogues) to understand the current status of Australian universities regarding the integration of sustainability in engineering.Design/methodology/approachArticles and reports from different trustworthy sources have been analysed in this study. A text mining methodology was used to gather information from websites, magazines and programme catalogues.FindingsObtained information and data indicate that the universities are considering sustainability seriously with both internal and external stakeholders of universities working towards embedding sustainability in engineering curricula. Most of the Australian universities have successfully implemented sustainable engineering education and the rest are focussing on integrating sustainability into their engineering education curriculum.Originality/valueThis is the first review, which focusses on incorporating sustainability into the engineering education of Australian universities. However, considering current progress and also some drawbacks of the universities regarding the integration of sustainability into engineering curriculum, 15 future research questions have been developed, which should be considered to make the integration process more efficient and equip engineers who would be able to engage and tackle the environmental, personal, social and economic challenges of the twenty-first century.

Diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (DGM), also known as diglyme, has a very high cetane number with fuel-bound oxygen of up to 36%, it has strong potential to reduce diesel emissions. This work is an investigation of the turbocharged diesel engine’s emissions and performance parameters using coconut biodiesel-diglyme-diesel blends. Coconut biodiesel was used as an oxygenated fuel, while DGM was utilised as an oxygenated additive for its excellent cetane number and higher fuel-bound oxygen. The reason for adding diglyme to coconut biodiesel blends is to study the influence of cetane number and fuel-bound oxygen on performance, combustion and emission characteristics. There were five fuels tested in this study. To compare the performance, combustion and emissions data, a regular diesel was used as a base fuel. The neat diesel (100% diesel) and the neat coconut biodiesel (100% coconut biodiesel) were designated as diesel and Ox4 respectively. Blend of 70% diesel + 30% coconut biodiesel is abbreviated as Ox1, 70% diesel + 20% coconut biodiesel + 10% diglyme blend is abbreviated as Ox2, and 70% diesel + 10% coconut biodiesel + 20% diglyme blend is labelled as Ox3. All blending percentages were based on a volume basis. Engine experiments were performed with an unmodified Cummins 6-cylinder common rail diesel engine. The engine was fitted with precision measuring instruments. Using GT-Power, a one-dimensional (1-D) model was developed to examine some key performance parameters with those of experimental data. Most of the performance results show the variations between experimental and simulation data were within 10%.

This study investigated the impact of the addition of a novel series of biodiesels on diesel engine performance, emissions and combustion characteristics. Two non-edible biodiesels, namely waste cooking oil and macadamia oil (Macadamia integrifolia) biodiesels were experimentally tested in this study. The fuel blends were prepared in such a way that the fuel oxygen remains at 3.35 wt% in the blend. A 4-stroke, 4-cylinder, naturally aspirated diesel engine was used for all experiments. The engine was coupled and loaded with an eddy current dynamometer. The experimental results indicated that compared to diesel, all diesel-biodiesel blends show no significant changes in engine performance, but higher combustion efficiency and significant reductions in all major diesel emissions with a little penalty of NOx emission. Fuel energy and exergys were almost unchanged or slightly lower than diesel.

This investigation explored engine performance, combustion and exhaust emissions with a new series of fuels for compression ignition engine. Three blends were formulated using diesel, tea tree oil and diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (DGM). Low grade tea tree oil is considered as waste, which was used as fuel in this investigation. DGM was blended with tea tree oil and diesel as an additive for its high oxygen content and cetane number. Diesel was chosen for comparison purposes. The three blends examined in this study were, 70-30-0, 70-20-10 and 70-10-20 in ratios of diesel-tea tree oil-DGM. A six-cylinder, four-stroke, turbocharged diesel engine was used in this experiment. Four different loads of 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% and 1500 revolutions per minute (rpm) were selected for the experiments. Engine performance parameters like efficiency, power, mean effective pressure and specific fuel consumption were considered. In-cylinder pressure, the rate of heat release, peak and boost pressure were considered for combustion parameters. Carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM) and particulate number (PN) were considered for emission parameters. A maximum of 70% PM, 54% PN and 33% CO reductions were observed with three blends. However, 16% higher NOx emissions were observed with the blends.

A one-dimensional (1-D) thermodynamic model for engine performance, combustion and emissions using a regular diesel and two paraffin fuels (decane and dodecane) were developed using a GT-Suite simulation software. The engine performance, combustion and emission parameters for two paraffin fuels were analysed and compared with that of regular diesel. Thermal efficiency and specific fuel consumption were considered for engine performance analysis. Amongst the combustion parameters, in-cylinder pressure, rate of heat release, maximum temperature, start of combustion, ignition delay, 50% burned crank angle, 50% burned duration, and volumetric efficiency and excess air ratio were taken into consideration for analysis. Finally, specific oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and specific soot emissions were considered for emission analysis. Based on the engine performance, combustion and emissions analysis of all three fuels, it was found that decane and dodecane can be used as alternative fuels for diesel engine.

Increasing global energy demand at a rate faster than the population growth has led the researcher to look for alternative fuel. Amongst the options, biodiesel is an environmentally sustainable substitute of diesel fuel being renewable, biodegradable and have similar properties of fossil diesel. Among the biodiesel sources, microalgae is a potential third generation biodiesel feedstock which can be produced throughout the year and its oil yield is higher than any other crops. This paper reviews recent development in microalgae biodiesel in terms of its oil extraction technics, challenges of oil extraction, production of biodiesel from microalgae oil and its fuel properties. Finally, the paper discusses the performance and combustion analysis of diesel engine fuelled with microalgae biodiesel. This paper provides a clear understanding of the potential use of microalgae biodiesel as an alternative source to fossil diesel for diesel engines.

The present study compares diesel engine performance, emissions, energy and exergy parameters of three non-edible biodiesels blends and a reference diesel. The three biodiesel blends were prepared so as to keep the blend oxygen percentage at around 3.3 wt%. Considering the economy and availability, waste cooking and macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia) biodiesels were chosen for all the engine experiments. A commercial diesel was used as a reference fuel to compare the performance and emissions with those of the biodiesel blends. To keep the oxygen percentage of the blends approximately the same as for the reference diesel, around 30% waste cooking biodiesel was added to 70% reference diesel to make the first blend. Similarly, around 30% macadamia biodiesel was mixed with 70% reference diesel to make the second blend. In addition, 10% macadamia biodiesel and 20% waste cooking biodiesel were mixed with the 70% reference diesel to make the third blend with similar oxygen content. The macadamia blend is designated as MaD, the waste cooking blend is termed WcD, and the blend with macadamia and waste cooking biodiesel is abbreviated as MaWcD. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the fuel-oxygen on engine performance, emissions, energy and exergy parameters. A well-instrumented, 4-cylinder, 4-stroke, naturally aspirated direct injection (DI) diesel engine was used for the experiments. The engine was loaded and coupled with an eddy current dynamometer. Performance, emissions, energy and exergy parameters for the three biodiesel blends were compared with those of the reference diesel. Without significant reduction in engine performance, a significant reduction in total unburnt hydrocarbon (THC), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM) emissions with a penalty of increased nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions were realised with all three biodiesel blends.

The current work is an experimental investigation to examine the influence of biodiesel derived from waste cooking oil on engine performance and exhaust emissions. Experiments were conducted with three biodiesel blends at 20%, 40%, and 60% (by volume). A petroleum diesel fuel was used as a reference fuel. The primary purpose of this study was to observe both particulate matter (PM) and particle number (PN) emissions for the three biodiesel blends. Furthermore, the blow-by emissions of the biodiesel blends were also studied. All measurements were conducted in a six-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine with a high-pressure common rail injection system in compliance with a 13-Mode European Stationary Cycle (ESC).

This paper builds on previous work using surrogate fuel to investigate advanced internal combustion engine fuels. To date, a surrogate fuel of this nature has not been used for microalgae hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) biocrude. This research used five different chemical groups found in microalgae HTL biocrude to design a surrogate fuel. Those five chemical groups constitute around 65% (by weight) of a microalgae biocrude produced by HTL. Weight percentage of the microalgae HTL biocrude chemical compounds were used to design the surrogate fuel, which was miscible with diesel at all percentages. The engine experiments were conducted on a EURO IIIA turbocharged common-rail direct-injection six-cylinder diesel engine to test engine performance and emissions. Exhaust emissions, including particulate matter and other gaseous emissions, were measured with the surrogate fuel and a reference diesel fuel. Experimental results showed that without significantly deteriorating engine performance, lower particulate mass, particulate number and CO emissions were observed with a penalty in NOx emissions for all surrogate blends compared to those of the reference diesel.

Energy and exergy (EnE) efficiencies are considered the most important parameters to compare the performance of various thermal systems. In this paper, an analysis was carried out for EnE efficiencies of a flat plate solar collector (FPSC) using four different kinds of nanofluids as flowing mediums, namely, Al2O3/water, MgO/water, TiO2/water, and CuO/water, and compared with water as a flowing medium (traditional base fluid). The analysis considered nanofluids made of nanomaterials’ volume fractions of 1–4% with water. The volume flow rates of nanofluids and water were 1 to 4 L/min. The solar collector′s highest EnE efficiency values were obtained for CuO/water nanofluid among the four types of nanofluids mentioned above. The EnE efficiencies of the CuO nanofluid-operated solar collector were 38.21% and 34.06%, respectively, which is significantly higher than that of water-operated solar collectors. For the same volume flow rate, the mass flow rate was found to be 15.95% higher than water for the CuO nanofluid. The EnE efficiency of FPSC can also be increased by increasing the density and reducing the specific heat of the flowing medium.

In this study, the biodiesel properties and effects of blends of oil methyl ester petroleum diesel on a CI direct injection diesel engine is investigated. Blends were obtained from the marine dinoflagellate Crypthecodinium cohnii and waste cooking oil. The experiment was conducted using a four-cylinder, turbo-charged common rail direct injection diesel engine at four loads (25%, 50%, 75% and 100%). Three blends (10%, 20% and 50%) of microalgae oil methyl ester and a 20% blend of waste cooking oil methyl ester were compared to petroleum diesel. To establish suitability of the fuels for a CI engine, the effects of the three microalgae fuel blends at different engine loads were assessed by measuring engine performance, i.e. mean effective pressure (IMEP), brake mean effective pressure (BMEP), in cylinder pressure, maximum pressure rise rate, brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC), brake thermal efficiency (BTE), heat release rate and gaseous emissions (NO, NOx,and unburned hydrocarbons (UHC)). Results were then compared to engine performance characteristics for operation with a 20% waste cooking oil/petroleum diesel blend and petroleum diesel. In addition, physical and chemical properties of the fuels were measured. Use of microalgae methyl ester reduced the instantaneous cylinder pressure and engine output torque, when compared to that of petroleum diesel, by a maximum of 4.5% at 50% blend at full throttle. The lower calorific value of the microalgae oil methyl ester blends increased the BSFC, which ultimately reduced the BTE by up to 4% at higher loads. Minor reductions of IMEP and BMEP were recorded for both the microalgae and the waste cooking oil methyl ester blends at low loads, with a maximum of 7% reduction at 75% load compared to petroleum diesel. Furthermore, compared to petroleum diesel, gaseous emissions of NO and NOx, increased for operations with biodiesel blends. At full load, NO and NOx emissions increased by 22% when 50% microalgae blends were used. Petroleum diesel and a 20% blend of waste cooking oil methyl ester had emissions of UHC that were similar, but those of microalgae oil methyl ester/petroleum diesel blends were reduced by at least 50% for all blends and engine conditions. The tested microalgae methyl esters contain some long-chain, polyunsaturated fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) (C22:5 and C22:6) not commonly found in terrestrial-crop-derived biodiesels yet all fuel properties were satisfied or were very close to the ASTM 6751-12 and EN14214 standards. Therefore, Crypthecodinium cohnii- derived microalgae biodiesel/petroleum blends of up to 50% are projected to meet all fuel property standards and, engine performance and emission results from this study clearly show its suitability for regular use in diesel engines.

The insecure supply of fossil fuel coerces the scientific society to keep a vision to boost investments in the renewable energy sector. Among the many renewable fuels currently available around the world, biodiesel offers an immediate impact in our energy. In fact, a huge interest in related research indicates a promising future for the biodiesel technology. Heterogeneous catalyzed production of biodiesel has emerged as a preferred route as it is environmentally benign needs no water washing and product separation is much easier. The number of well-defined catalyst complexes that are able to catalyze transesterification reactions efficiently has been significantly expanded in recent years. The activity of catalysts, specifically in application to solid acid/base catalyst in transesterification reaction depends on their structure, strength of basicity/acidity, surface area as well as the stability of catalyst. There are various process intensification technologies based on the use of alternate energy sources such as ultrasound and microwave. The latest advances in research and development related to biodiesel production is represented by non-catalytic supercritical method and focussed exclusively on these processes as forthcoming transesterification processes. The latest developments in this field featuring highly active catalyst complexes are outlined in this review. The knowledge of more extensive research on advances in biofuels will allow a deeper insight into the mechanism of these technologies toward meeting the critical energy challenges in future.

The current investigation reports on diesel particulate matter emissions, with special interest in fine particles from the combustion of two base fuels. The base fuels selected were diesel fuel and marine gas oil (MGO). The experiments were conducted with a four-stroke, six-cylinder, direct injection diesel engine. The results showed that the fine particle number emissions measured by both SMPS and ELPI were higher with MGO compared to diesel fuel. It was observed that the fine particle number emissions with the two base fuels were quantitatively different but qualitatively similar. The gravimetric (mass basis) measurement also showed higher total particulate matter (TPM) emissions with the MGO. The smoke emissions, which were part of TPM, were also higher for the MGO. No significant changes in the mass flow rate of fuel and the brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) were observed between the two base fuels.

The principal objective of this study was to investigate the effect of fuel oxygen on diesel particulate mass and number emissions using two different oxygenated blends. Jatropha biodiesel (JBD) and diglyme were used as oxygenates. Marine gas oil (MGO) was chosen as base fuel for its diesel like properties and frequent use in maritime transportations. Tests were conducted with a diesel engine at four different loads. Two blends were made maintaining same oxygen content in the blends. The diglyme blend is termed as Ox1, while JBD blend as Ox2. A dilution tunnel was used to collect the particle mass on glass fiber filter, while a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) was used to determine the particle number concentrations. Smoke, carbon monoxide (CO), total unburnt hydrocarbon (THC), and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) were also measured. Experimental results showed that at high loads, for both oxygenated blends (Ox1, Ox2), fine particle number concentrations in the accumulation mode (AM) (peaking at around 73 nm) decreased markedly, compared to the reference MGO. However, the number concentrations, for the Ox2, in the nucleation mode (NM) (peaking at around 15 nm) blend increased significantly at all loads. The total particulate matter (TPM), which was measured by gravimetric method, was lower for both Ox1 and Ox2 compared to MGO. Ox1 and Ox2 also reduced CO, THC and smoke emissions. NOx emissions and exhaust temperatures were identical with the three blends. No significant changes in BSFC, brake thermal efficiency, CO2 and gas pressures were observed among the three fuels. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In this work addition of ethanol to high viscosity jatropha methyl ester (JME) through port injection is investigated in order to determine its effect fuel viscosity reduction on diesel engine performance. In addition to viscosity alteration, the impact of ethanol addition on combustion characteristics such as combustion duration, ignition delay and emissions levels from diesel engines fuelled with blends of ethanol, diesel and JME is studied in particular. It is found that blending of oxygenated fuels with diesel modifies the chemical structure and physical properties which again alter the engine operating conditions, combustion parameters and emissions levels. However, the injection of only 5% ethanol through port injection allows for a total of 25% blending of biofuels into diesel yet keeping the fuel characteristics close to that of conventional diesel. However, both experimental and numerical results show that ethanol addition in JME blended diesel results in a slight increase in fuel consumption and thermal efficiency for the same power outputs as that of conventional diesel fuel. Also, the combustion characteristics with ethanol addition include improved maximum in-cylinder peak pressure, cumulative heat release (CHR) rate of heat release (ROHR), in-cylinder peak temperature and combustion duration. Regarding emission characteristics the experimental results show significant reduction in smoke, carbon monoxide (CO) and total hydrocarbon (THC) emissions with extended oxygen mass percentage in the fuel at higher engine loads. However, oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions are found to increase at high loads although the common tradeoff between smoke and NOx is found to be more prominent for the oxygenated fuels.

This paper deals with theoretical investigation of engine thermal efficiency, specific heat at constant pressure ( Cp ), gas temperature, molecular number, adiabatic flame temperature, oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) emission, and some fundamental combustion-related parameters such as theoretical air fuel ratio (AFR), lower calorific value (LCV) and ratio of LCV and theoretical AFR for different oxygenated fuels. The computations are carried out at standard atmospheric condition. Pentadecane (PD) was used as a base fuel in this computation. The results showed that almost all of the above combustion-related parameters are closely related to oxygen content in the fuels. The ratio of LCV and theoretical AFR is constant for all kinds of oxygenated fuels regardless of the oxygen content in their molecular structure. One of the interesting findings of this work is that with the increase in oxygen content in the fuels adiabatic flame temperature decreases linearly consequently NO x emission decreased linearly. The engine thermal efficiency is almost unchanged below oxygen content of 30% w/w, but gradually decreased above 30% w/w. The reduction in NO x emission is associated with the reduction in adiabatic flame temperature for the oxygenated fuels, while the reduction of engine thermal efficiency above 30% w/w of oxygen associated with the increase in gas specific heat.

This paper presents production of biodiesel (BD) from non-edible renewable karanja (Pongamia Pinnata) oil, determination of BD properties and influence of BD on engine performance and emissions. Bangladesh imports 2.4 million metric ton (MT) DF each year [M.N. Nabi, M.S. Akhter, K.M.F. Islam, Prospect of biodiesel production from jatropha curcas, a promising non edible oil seed in Bangladesh. International Conference on Mechanical Engineering (ICME, Dhaka, Bangladesh) Proceedings 2007, paper no. ICME07-TH-06. [1]]. It has 0.32 million hectare of unused land [M.N. Nabi, S.M.N. Hoque, M.S. Uddin, Prospect of Jatropha curcas and pithraj cultivation in Bangladesh. Journal of Engineering and Technology. IUT Dhaka, Bangladesh, 7 (1) (2009) 41-54.[2]]. It has been found that cultivating of karanja plant in such unused land; Bangladesh can reduce DF import by 28%. Karanja methyl ester (KME), which is termed as BD, has been produced by well-known transesterification process. The properties of B100 (B100) and its blends were determined mainly according to ASTM standard and some of them were as per EN14214 standard. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis showed that the DF fuel contained mainly alkanes and alkens, while the B100 contained mainly esters. The gas chromatography (GC) of B100 revealed that a maximum of 97% methyl ester was produced from karanja oil. Engine experiment result showed that all BD blends reduced engine emissions including carbon monoxide (CO), smoke and engine noise, but increased oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Compared to DR B100 reduced CO. and smoke emissions by 50 and 43%, while a 15% increase in NOx emission was observed with the B100. Compared to DF, engine noise with B100 was reduced by 2.5 dB. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The use of biodiesel is rapidly expanding around the world, making it imperative to fully understand the impacts of biodiesel on the diesel engine combustion process and pollutant formation. Biodiesel is known as the mono-alkyl-esters of long chain fatty acids derived from renewable feedstocks, such as, vegetable oils or animal fats, for use in compression ignition engines. Different parameters for the optimization of biodiesel production were investigated in the first phase of this study, while in the next phase of the study performance test of a diesel engine with neat diesel fuel and biodiesel mixtures were carried out. Biodiesel was made by the well known transesterification process. Cottonseed oil (CSO) was selected for biodiesel production. Cottonseed is non-edible oil, thus food versus fuel conflict will not arise if this is used for biodiesel production. The transesterification results showed that with the variation of catalyst, methanol or ethanol, variation of biodiesel production was realized. However, the optimum conditions for biodiesel production are suggested in this paper. A maximum of 77% biodiesel was produced with 20% methanol in presence of 0.5% sodium hydroxide. The engine experimental results showed that exhaust emissions including carbon monoxide (CO) particulate matter (PM) and smoke emissions were reduced for all biodiesel mixtures. However, a slight increase in oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emission was experienced for biodiesel mixtures.

Significant improvements in smoke, particulate matter, NOx, THC, engine output and thermal efficiency were simultaneously achieved with highly oxygenated liquid fuels. Engine noise was also remarkably reduced for oxygenates with higher ignitability. The improvements in exhaust emissions and thermal efficiency depended almost entirely on the oxygen content in the fuels regardless of the oxygenate-diesel fuel blending ratio or type of oxygenate. Smoke emission decreased sharply and linearly with an increase in oxygen content and disappeared entirely at an oxygen content above 38 wt %, even at stoichiometric conditions. Smoke-free, low NOx diesel combustion with oxygenated fuels was achieved at stoichiometric conditions with the adoption of very high exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). NOx, THC and CO emissions were almost completely removed with a combination of high EGR and a three-way catalyst over a wide range of brake mean effective pressure (b.m.e.p.). The maximum b.m.e.p. with the highly oxygenated fuels was significantly higher than that with the conventional diesel fuel because b.m.e.p. was released from the smoke limits.

This paper investigates the diesel engine performance and exhaust emissions with marine gas oil-alternative fuel additive. Marine gas oil (MGO) was selected as base fuel for the engine experiments. An oxygenate, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (DGM), and a biodiesel (BD) jatropha oil methyl ester (JOME) with a volume of 10% were blended with the MGO fuel. JOME was derived from inedible jatropha oil. Lower emissions with diesel-BD blends (soybean methyl ester, rapeseed methyl ester etc.) have been established so far, but the effect of MGO-BD (JOME) blends on engine performance and emissions has been a growing interest as JOME (BD) is derived from inedible oil and MGO is frequently used in maritime transports. No phase separation between MGO-DGM and MGO-JOME blends was found. The neat MGO, MGO-DGM and MGO-JOME blends are termed as MGO, Ox10 and B10 respectively. The experiments were conducted with a six-cylinder, four-stroke, turbocharged, direct-injection Scania DC 1102 (DI) diesel engine. The experimental results showed significant reductions in fine particle number and mass emissions, PM and smoke emissions with Ox10 and B10 fuels compared to the MGO fuel. Other emissions including total unburned hydrocarbon (THC), carbon monoxide (CO) and engine noise were also reduced with the Ox10 and B10 fuels, while maintaining similar brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and thermal efficiency with MGO fuel. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions, on the other hand, were slightly higher with the Ox10 and B10 fuels at high engine load conditions.