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Bhutan is a small nation in the eastern Himalayas, between two of the world's largest neighbors and fastest-growing economies; China, and India. The GDP of the country is $2.707 Billion as of 2022. Bhutan’s largest renewable source is hydropower, which has a known potential of 30,000 MW. However, it has only been able to harvest only 1,480 MW (5% of the potential). The current overall electrification rate is 99% overall with 98.4% in rural areas. It exports 75.5% of total electricity generated in the country to India. However, the reliable supply of electricity remains a big challenge. The government is also pushing the use of renewable energy sources like solar and wind to diversify the energy mix and enhance the power security of the country. The share of renewable energy is very minimal at present amounting to 723 kW Solar PV and 600 kW Wind power.

The power generation, agriculture, and transportation sectors are dominated by diesel engines due to better thermal efficiency and durability. Diesel engines are also a major contributor to the air pollutants such as NOx and particulate matter. Acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) is considered a promising alternative fuel as it emits less pollutants compared to conventional fuels. In current work, the ABE used was of the ratio (3:6:1) and four samples were prepared for engine trial ABE (10%90%diesel), ABE (20%80%diesel), ABE (30%70%diesel) and ABE (40%60%diesel). Their physio-chemical properties like kinematic viscosity, density, specific gravity and calorific value were checked and tested on compression ignition engine at different operating parameters. The experimental work was conducted upon Kirloskar 4-stroke single cylinder, vertical, air-cooled 661cc compression ignition engine at different speeds and loads.

In view of the rapid depletion, increasing prices and uneven distribution of conventional petroleum fuels; the interest in the use of alternative fuels has increased exponentially. Fuels such as biodiesel & alcohol have been evaluated both at experimental and commercial scale due to improved emission characteristics as compared to conventional fuels. Alcohols are oxygenated and result in improving the engine performance. As a blend with conventional gasoline, the alcohols enhance the premixed and diffusive combustion phase which improves the combustion efficiency. The present investigation evaluates studies on stability and homogeneity along with physicochemical properties like density, viscosity, calorific value, copper-strip corrosion and solubility at room temperature of Propan-2-ol and gasoline blends. Comprehensive engine trials on unmodified petrol engine fuelled with blends of Propan-2-ol and gasoline blends in the proportions of 5, 10, 15 and 20% by volume have been conducted.

Biodiesel is a potential substitute for diesel and extensive research is carried in India on production and utilization of biodiesel from a variety of edible/non-edible, animal fat and waste oils. However, issues like stability, clogging, increased NOx, and high consumption rate etc. are some of the critical issues which are associated with long-term use of these alternative fuels in a diesel engine. The recent developments in science and technology may have concreted a method to create nano measure vigorous resources that have incredible benefits to micron sized constituents. Nano liquids may be a fresh period of compact-fluid complex constituents comprising of nano sized concrete elements disseminated into a base liquid. The present study investigates the effect of doping metal oxides nanoparticles with waste fish oil-based biodiesel. For the present study, the blends of fuel are prepared by using 30ppm each of titanium dioxide and alumina nanoparticles respectively.

Biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester, or FAME) can be used as an alternative fuel for diesel engines which is produced by the chemical reaction of vegetable oil or animal fat with an alcohol such as ethanol or methanol in the presence of a catalyst. The growing interest in biodiesel is because of the similarity in its properties when compared with the diesel fuel as well as various benefits it provides such as lower soot emissions, less dependency on crude oil, etc. The optimization of experimental parameters, such as catalyst concentration, molar ratio of alcohol to oil, and reaction time, on the transesterification for the production of deodar methyl ester was performed in this article. Optimization of the transesterification process of deodar oil was achieved by a three-factorial central composite design (CCD) using response surface methodology (RSM) in 20 experimental runs. The RSM was performed to determine the optimum operating conditions and to optimize the biodiesel yield.

As petroleum prices are rising continuously biodiesel production has been receiving worldwide awareness. Thus for its production the requirement for non-edible and unidentified feedstocks has risen. This research presents the production and process optimization of biodiesel obtained from non-edible feedstock namely cedar wood(Cedrus deodara) oil, with response surface methodology using statistical software minitab 18.0. Cedar Wood (Cedrus deodara) is a tree accessible in different parts of the world like India and Nepal. In Indian context, these are available in abundance especially in the forests of Himalayan region as a non-edible feedstock. Methyl ester of Cedar Wood Oil is prepared by process known as Transesterification. The FFA content of cedar wood oil was 0.5% which is below the 2% suggested for the application of the one step alkaline transesterification method.

Heat exchangers are widely used in various transportation, industrial, or domestic applications such as thermal power plants, means of heating, transporting and air conditioning systems, electronic equipment and space vehicles. In all these applications improvements in the efficiency of the heat exchangers can lead to substantial cost, space and material savings. Hence considerable research work has been done in the past to seek effective ways to improve the efficiency of heat exchangers. In this paper the effect of natural convection is justified between exterior solid wall surfaces and the surrounding air inside the enclosure. Designing of electronic devices, heavy industrial equipments such as boilers, turbines etc. and building aerodynamics are some of the real world application associated with this study.

Study of starting friction during the running of the engineering application has an important role in designing them, especially working at low speed and high load conditions. A significant portion of research and development today is concentrated on saving the energy by reducing the friction. The present paper addresses the measurement technique and analysis of the starting friction during the running of the journal bearing. The experiments were performed during the hydrodynamic lubrication regime using SAE 15W-30 lubricating oil. A journal bearing having journal diameter as 22 mm, length/diameter ratio 1 and 0.027 mm radial clearance has been designed and fabricated to test the starting friction. Analysis of starting friction and average friction torque during the running of journal bearing was done at 900, 1150, 1400, 1650, 1900, 2150 and 2400 revolution per minute (rpm) speed of the journal at load values of 250, 400 and 500 N.

The use of alternative fuel has many advantages and the main ones are its renewability, biodegradability with better quality exhaust gas emission, which do not contribute to raise the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The use of non-edible vegetables oils as an alternative fuels for diesel engine is accelerated by the energy crisis due to depletion of resources and increase in environmental problems. In Asian countries like India, great need of edible oil as a food so cannot use these oils as alternative fuels for diesel engine. However there are many issues related to the use of vegetable oils in diesel engine that is high viscosity, low calorific value, high self-ignition temperature etc. Jatropha curcas has been promoted in India as a sustainable substitute to diesel fuel. This research prepared micro emulsions of ethanol and Jatropha vegetable oil in different ratio and find out the physico-chemical parameters to compare with mineral diesel oil.

Exploring and enhancement of biodiesel production from feedstock like non-edible vegetable oil is one of the powerful method to resolve inadequate amount of conventional raw materials and their high prices. The main aim of this study is to optimize the biodiesel production process parameters of a biodiesel obtained from non-edible feedstocks, namely Neem (Azadirachta indica) oil and Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) oil, with response surface methodology using Doehlert’s experimental design. Based on the results, the optimum operating parameters for transesterification of the mixture A50S50 oil mixture at 51.045° C over a period of 45 minutes are as follows: methanol-to-oil ratio: 8.45, and catalyst concentration: 1.933 wt.%. These optimum operating parameters give the highest yield for the A50S50 biodiesel with a value of 95.24%.

Dependency and increase in use of fossil fuels is leading to its depletion and raises serious environmental concerns. There are international obligations to reduce emissions and requirements to strengthen security of fuel supply which is pressuring the automobile industry to use cleaner and more sustainable fuels. Hydrogen fits these criteria as it is not just an abundant alternative but also a clean propellant and Hydrogen engines represent an economic alternative to fuel cells. In the present investigation, EGR has been used on hydrogen boosted SI engine running on gasoline-methanol and ethanol-gasoline blends to determine the additional advantages of the same compared to pure gasoline operation and gasoline-methanol and ethanol-gasoline blends without EGR.

The diesel engine has for many decades now assumed a leading role in both the medium and medium-large transport sector due to their high efficiency and ability to produce high torque at low RPM. Furthermore, energy diversification and petroleum independence are also required by each country. In response to this, biodiesel is being considered as a promising solution due to its high calorific value and lubricity conventional petroleum diesel. However, commercial use of biodiesel has been limited because of some drawbacks including corrosivity, instability of fuel properties, higher viscosity, etc. Biodiesel are known for lower CO, HC and PM emissions. But, on the flip side they produce higher NOx emissions. The addition of alcohol to biodiesel diesel blend can help in reducing high NOx produced by the biodiesel while improving some physical fuel properties.

Gasoline has been the major fuel in transportation, its good calorific value and high volatility have made it suitable for use in different injection methods. The drastic increase in use of carbon based fuels has led to increase in harmful emissions, thus resulting in implementation of stricter emissions norms. These harmful emissions include carbon monoxide and NOx. To meet the new norms and reduce the harmful emissions, better techniques have to be implemented to achieve better combustion of gasoline and reduce the amount of carbon monoxide in the exhaust. One such way of doing this is by enriching gasoline with hydrogen. Due to its low activation energy and high calorific value, the high energy released from hydrogen can be used to achieve complete combustion of gasoline fuel. However, there are certain drawbacks to the use of hydrogen in spark ignition engine, knocking and overheating of engine parts being the major problems.

The continued reliance on fossil fuel energy resources is not sufficient to cater to the current energy demands. The excessive and continuous use of crude oil is now recognized as unviable due to its depleting supplies and elevating environmental degradation by increased emissions from automobile exhaust. There is an urgent need for a renewable and cleaner source of energy to meet the stringent emission norms. Hythane is a mixture of 20% hydrogen and 80% methane. It has benefits of low capital and operating costs and is a cleaner alternative than crude oil. It significantly reduces tailpipe emissions and is the cheapest way to meet new emission standards that is BS-IV. Hythane produces low carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrocarbons (HC) on combustion than crude oil and helps in reduction of greenhouse gases.

Worldwide, research is going on numerous types of engines that practice green and alternative energy such as natural gas engines, hydrogen engines, and electric engines. One of the possible alternatives is the air powered car. Air is abundantly available and can be effortlessly compressed to higher pressure at a very low cost. After the successful development of Compressed Air Engines, engineers shifted their focus in making this technology cost effective and feasible. This led to advancement in the field of pneumatics that is advanced Compressed Air Engine Kit (used for conversion of a small-two stroke SI engine to Compressed Air Engine) where its frugality and compatibility is kept at high priority. This research is in continuation with our previous project of development of an advanced Compressed Air Engine kit and optimisation of injection angle and injector nozzle area for maximum performance.

Non-edible vegetable oils have a huge potential for biodiesel production and also known as second generation feedstock’s. Biodiesel can be obtained from edible, non-edible, waste cooking oil and from animal fats also. This paper focuses on production of biodiesel obtained from mixture of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) oil and neem (Azadirachta indica) oil which are easily accessible in India and other parts of world. Neem oil has higher FFA content than sesame oil. Biodiesel production from neem oil requires pretreatment neutralization procedure before alkali catalyzed Trans esterification process also it takes large reaction time to achieve biodiesel of feasible yield. Neem oil which has very high FFA and sesame oil which has low FFA content are mixed and this mixture is Trans esterified with no pre-treatment process using molar ratio of 6:1.Fuel properties of methyl ester were close to diesel fuel and satisfied ASTM 6751 and EN 14214 standards.

The present study was carried to explore the potential suitability of biodiesel as an extender of Kerosene in an off road dual fuel (gasoline start, kerosene run) generator set and results were compared with kerosene base line data. The biodiesel was blended with kerosene in two different proportions; 2.5% and 5% by volume. Physico-chemical properties of blends were also found to be comparable with kerosene. Engine tests were performed on three test fuels namely K100 (Kerosene 100%), KB 2.5 (Kerosene 97.5% + Biodiesel 2.5%) and KB5 (Kerosene 95% + Biodiesel 5%). It was found that brake thermal efficiency [BTE] increases up to 3.9% while brake specific energy consumption [BSEC] decreases up to 2.2% with increasing 5% volume fraction of biodiesel in kerosene. The exhaust temperature for blends was lower than kerosene. The test engine emitted reduced Carbon monoxide [CO] emission was 7.4 % less than using neat kerosene as compared to kerosene-biodiesel blends.

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a method of changing the properties of metal through intense, localized plastic deformation. This deformation is produced by forcibly inserting a non-consumable tool into a workpiece, and revolving the tool in a stirring motion as it is pushed laterally through the workpiece. It comprises of a rotating tool with pin and shoulder which are inserted into a single piece of material and traversed along the desired path to cover the region of interest. Friction between the shoulder and work piece results in localized heating which raises the temperature of the material to the range where it is plastically deformed. During this process, severe plastic deformation occurs and due to thermal exposure of material, it results in a significant evolution in the local microstructure. Carbon nanotubes were dispersed into Al matrix by multipass FSP to fabricate Al6082 T0/Fe-MWCNT.

This research is an attempt to investigate the significance of Value Stream Mapping (VSM) in the lean transformation of manufacturing units (largely automotive) and then apply the same in a tool room. It is an essential tool used to interpret both material and information flow in a system. The tool room under study specializes in production of a large variety of high precision tools for the automotive industry. A product family is chosen to map and analyze various stages of its production process, starting from the raw material (R/M) to the finished goods’ (F/G) stage. VSM is then implemented in the tool room to correctly identify wastes and thus improvement areas to bridge gaps between current and future states. Both current and future state maps are drafted along with usage of other lean tools to justify its implementation in a small setup like tool room.

In the present experimental investigation, performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a single cylinder diesel engine using diesel-biodiesel blends and antioxidant containing biodiesel test fuels was carried out. The potential suitability of aromatic amine based antioxidants to enhance the oxidation stability of biodiesel on one hand and reduction of tail pipe oxides of nitrogen (NOx) on the other were evaluated. Tertiary Butyl Hydroquinone (TBHQ) was considered as the antioxidant and Calophyllum Inophyllum vegetable oil was taken as the feedstock for biodiesel production. The test fuel samples were neat diesel (D100), 10% and 20% blend of Calophyllum biodiesel with diesel (CB10 and CB20) and 1500 ppm of TBHQ in CB10 and CB20 (CBT10 and CBT20). The results indicated that neat biodiesel blended test fuels (CB10 and CB20) exhibited lower brake thermal efficiency compared to the diesel baseline by a margin of 3% to 10% at full load.