Saint Vincent CollegeCabuyao

THESIS 1

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Surname First Name Middle Name
Program: BSIT

TOPIC PRESENTATION

Topic No. 1

I. General Subject Area

Application of Mathematical Tools in Material Characterization

II. Specific Topic

A PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE RELATION OF THE
CETANE NUMBER TO THE PROPERTIES THAT VARY NON-
INTUITIVELY IN BIODIESEL BLENDS

III. Specifics of Research

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A. Introduction
The lure of modernization is economic benefit that is the requisite of the good life.
Unscrupulous and/or irresponsible practices in industrialization and urbanization lead
to the considerable depletion of resources and to the worsening damage to life and
environment.

There are natural processes in the environment that are, in fact, part of the overall
system that affects the life and development of organisms on earth. Left as they are,
the processes shall proceed without disturbing the balance that proved most
beneficial in the ecosystem. There are, however, individuals who use resources
beyond the requirements of comfortable living, and without regard for environmental
impact. As a result, there are already disadvantageous shifts in the environment in
the last two hundred years.

Estimate of the world’s proven reserves of petroleum is placed at 1000 billion

barrels. Petroleum-based fuels remain most convenient, therefore, most popular for
the longest time (Volume of world petroleum reserves, 2000). At the current
estimated consumption of 77 million barrels per day and 3% increase in consumption
rate per year, there are only 36 years of reserves left in the ground (Volume of world
petroleum reserves, 2000). The most valuable energy resource in the world is being
depleted at a very fast pace.

Phenomena such as the Green House Effect, Photochemical Smog, Acid Rain, and
the Depletion of the Ozone Layer are promoted to destructive proportion by
urbanization and industrialization without regard to environmental sustainability. As
such, these occurrences pose real danger to the world at present.

Cognizant of the problems related to the use of petroleum-based fuels in internal

combustion engines, many individuals, institutions and organizations around the
world expended efforts and resources towards the production and utilization of viable
alternatives and extenders. The accumulation of pertinent knowledge and
technologies made it possible for countries like the United States of America,
Canada, Australia, and the Philippines to use fuels from indigenous sources as
extender of diesel in transport applications. Initial experiences of these countries
showed significant reduction in emission levels and diesel fuel consumption without
any observable drop in power output and specific fuel consumption.

B. Background of Study

In March 2004, the Philippines started using 1% coconut methyl ester (CME) in a
blend with diesel to power the government fleets of vehicles. The producers of the
ester were recommending the use of 5% CME. This however cannot be done
immediately in such a big scale because the sudden increase in demand for coconut
oil may put undue stress in the market (considering the many competing uses of
coconut oil) causing increase in prices. The identification of other appropriate methyl
esters and their most advantageous fractions in diesel blends can promote the
substitution of a greater volume of petroleum-based fuel in the medium term.

Engine tests to determine fuel suitability are expensive and at times impossible to
undertake due to the limitation, even absence, of necessary facilities. Usually, it is
easier and less expensive to do laboratory tests for properties that affect fuel
handling and use in a diesel engine. If the results of such laboratory tests can be
related to the fuel’s cetane number, then a satisfactory initial evaluation of suitability
covering combustion characteristics, transport and storage can be made. The
expensive engine tests can be considerably decreased to a small number of
confirmation runs only for the more promising fuels.

C. Research Description

 Objectives (General and specific)

This study aims to establish the relation of the cetane number to the properties that
vary in a non-intuitive fashion with respect to the fraction of biodiesel (methyl ester)
in diesel blends, and, in so doing, provide a model system of analysis using the
rough set theory.

Specifically, the study aims to

1. Organize a set of validated and relevant data for a number of methyl ester-
diesel blends derived from varied feedstocks;
 2. Establish general rules that relate cetane number with the blend properties
under consideration, such as viscosity, pour point, cloud point, cold filter
plugging point, lubricity, and oxidation stability;
3. Determine if the rules vary with respect to the biomass feedstock in the methyl
ester production;
4. Show if the rules differ with the fraction of methyl ester in the blend; and
5. Compare the results from the application of rough set theory with those from
variable correlation and step-wise regressions.

 Manageability (Scope and limitations)

The study uses secondary data from the subcontractor’s report entitled “ Production
of Biodiesels from Multiple Feedstocks and Properties of Biodiesels and
Biodiesel/Diesel Blends” of the Institute of Gas Technology in Des Plaines, Illinois in
a project sponsored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Kinast 2003).
The methods and procedures are therefore significantly simplified.

An information table or an attribute-value table is organized to include the data on

viscosity, pour point, cloud point, cold filter plugging point, lubricity, oxidation
stability, and cetane number for biodiesel blends with 0.50%, 1%, 3%, 5%, 10%,
35%, 50%, and 100% methyl esters from vegetable and non-vegetable sources
(Appendix 1).

Rose 2 Lite is used to test for variable relationships and to establish the rules that
govern such relationships. The dependent variable is the cetane number. The test
shall be done on the total data sample as well as on the data per ME blend.

For comparison, Pearson’s correlation shall be used to test for variable relationships
and Anova shall be used to derive an empirical equation that can predict the value of
the dependent variable, cetane number, upon the substitution of the values of the
significant independent variables.

Articulation shall be done regarding the strength of the relationship of the significant
factors with cetane number. It is deemed necessary to analyze the points of
agreement and disagreement in the results obtained from the various strategies of
data treatment. Another important study area is the complementation of results
from the different data processing techniques in order to draw clearer and stronger
conclusions.
  Schedule of Activities

Table 1. Activities and timelines

ACTIVITY M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6
1. Data Acquisition and Organization
2. Data Treatment
3. Organization and Interpretation of
Results
4. Documentation

 Resource Requirement

Reading resources:
Books, Journals, Internet articles

Software:
Rose Lite 2 and other mathematical packages

Hardware:
Complete desktop system

 Expected Output

1. Mathematical models relating cetane number with other biodiesel

properties

2. Complete project documentation

IV. LITERATURE CITED

Dictionary of scientific and technical terms (1983). McGraw-Hill, Inc. 3rd ed.
Greco, S., Matarazzo, B. and Slowinski, R. (1999). Rough approximation of
preference relation by dominance relations. European Journal of
Operational Research 117 (1), 63 – 83.
Greco, S., Matarazzo, B. and Slowinski, R. (2001). Rough set theory for
multicriteria decision analysis. European Journal of Operational Research
129 (1), 1 - 47.
Greco, S., Matarazzo, B. and Slowinski, R. (2002). Rough set methodology for
sorting problems in presence of multiple attributes and criteria. European
Journal of Operational Research 138 (2), 247 - 259.
Kinast, J. (2003). Production of biodiesels from multiple feedstocks and
properties of biodiesels and biodiesel/diesel blends. Gas Technology
Institute Final Report 1.
Pawlak, Z. 1997. Rough set approach to knowledge-based decision support.
European Journal of Operational Research 99 (1), 48 - 57.
Tan, R. (2003) Rule-based environmental life cycle assessment using modified
rough set induction methodology.
Volume of world petroleum reserves. The Physics Factbook.
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/ 2000/EvanAbel.shtml/

Endorsed by: Submitted by:

Research Professor Student

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