Industrial Crops & Products 122 (2018) 702–708

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Industrial Crops & Products

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Determination of physico chemical properties of biodiesel from Citrullus T

lanatus seeds oil and diesel blends
⁎
S. Sania, M.U. Kaisanb, , D.M. Kullab, A.I. Obib, A. Jibrinc, B. Ashokd
a
Department of Energy Management, Training and Manpower Development, Energy Commission of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
c
Department of Agricultural Education, Federal College of Education, Zaria, Nigeria
d
Department of Automotive Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, VIT University, Vellore, India

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Biodiesel from Citrullus lanatus was blended with petro-diesel, thereby forming blends of different percentages,
Biodiesel 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% denoted as B5, B10, B15, B20, and B25 respectively. The physico-chemical
Blends properties such as specific gravity, calorific value, cetane number, kinematic viscosity, flash point, Sulphur
Citrullus lanatus contents, copper strip corrosion, colour index, pour point and cloud point of each of these biodiesel with blends
Compression ignition engine
and pure diesel (B0) were determined. Most of the physico-chemical properties were found to be within the
Physico-chemical properties
American Society for Testing and Materials’-ASTM standards for biodiesel. All the fuel samples are consistent
Watermelon
with the ASTM standards with regards to viscosity and specific gravity except B100 which are slightly above the
American Society for Testing and Materials standard with very insignificant values of 0.09 and 0.018 mm2/s
respectively. Therefore, the blends could be a better option to be used on compression ignition-CI engines for the
improvement of quality of atomization, combustion, fuel droplets and air-fuel mixing. The calorific values of the
biodiesel and blends were all within the ASTM standard with B20 value slightly below that of pure diesel;
similarly, the flash point of the pure biodiesel and its blends were above the pure diesel value but falls within the
ASTM range. The fuel is safe to handle during storage, because it cannot easily spark when exposed to flame and
hence they are recommended for use in the CI engines. The pour points of all the fuel samples conform to the
ASTM standards. The cetane numbers are all greater than that of pure diesel and conforms to ASTM standards.
The biodiesel will be having shortest possible ignition delay when they burn in the CI engines.

1. Introduction sticking (Kaisan et al., 2013). Emulsification, Pyrolysis, Dilution and

Energy is an essential driving factor to socioeconomic development
in every nation. Its impact touches all aspect of human endeavor such as
agriculture, health, education, transportation among others. The major
sources of energy supplies in the world are fossil fuels such as petro-
leum, natural gas, oil and coal. However, fossil fuels are non-renewable
and are projected to be exhausted in the near future (Sokoto et al.,
2013). Increase in the world population, standard of living, urbaniza-
tion and industrialization aggravated the depletion of fossil fuel re-
serves, price increase and more concentration of greenhouse gases
emissions and therefore resulted to severe air contamination, environ-
mental and ecological pollutions.
The major problems of using biodiesel in compression ignition (C.I)
engines are their high viscosity and low volatility. These affect the
atomization and spray patterns of fuel, leading to incomplete combus-
tion and severe carbon deposits, injector chocking and piston ring
Transesterification were the methods used to reduce viscosity. Trans-
esterification is the most commonly used commercial process to pro-
duced clean and environmental friendly fuel.
Conventional fossil fuels used in diesel engine releases higher ex-
haust emission of particulate matter (PM), carbon dioxides (CO2), sul-
phur oxides (SOX), unburned hydrocarbon (HC) and oxides of nitrogen
(NOX). Moreover, CO2 emission causes the greenhouse effect while NOX
and SOX causes’ acid rain (Kaisan et al., 2017a,b,c,d,e). It has been
established in the literature that biodiesel considerably decreases the
CO and CO2 emission but increases NOX emission. Blending of biodiesel
with additives and engine gas recirculation (EGR) were some of the
verified methods to have reduced the NOx emissions (Kanji and Pravin,
2013; Mofijur et al., 2013). In addition to that, the fast depletion of
petro-diesel due to the rapid growth of world population causes more
threat of climatic change and the tragedy of increasing cost (Izah and
Ohimian, 2012). Therefore, researchers are seeking for more potential

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: engineer.kaisan@gmail.com, mukaisan@abu.edu.ng (M.U. Kaisan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2018.06.002
Received 11 February 2018; Received in revised form 30 May 2018; Accepted 2 June 2018
0926-6690/ © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
S. Sani et al. Industrial Crops & Products 122 (2018) 702–708

energy crops for biodiesel productions and biodiesel from watermelon Table 1
seed oil has not been widely investigated (Varala et al., 2012; Oladejo List of equipment and apparatus.
et al., 2013). Equipment/Apparatus Model/Manufacturer
Watermelon seed is a family of Cucurbitaceae and believed to have
originated from Africa, also cultivated across the world (FOA, 2003). Bomb Calorimeter SLFA-1598, HORIBA.
Pensky Martens Closed Cup Man-stanhope-seta,model:13661-3p
China was reported to be the leading country in the watermelon pro-
Viscometre Bath KV-8, STANHOPE-SETA.
duction followed by Turkey, United States, Iran and Republic of Korea Cetane/Octane Meter SLFA-167, HORIBA.
(Huh et al., 2008). In Nigeria, cultivation of watermelon was originally Copper Strip Corrosion Tester. STANHOPE-SETA, Model-K14670
limited to the Northern region, now gradually gaining ground in the Sulphur testing machine SLFA-60, Man-Horida Scientific
southern part of the country (Gwana et al., 2014). Hydrometre (Size 0.6–1.0) Japanese Industrial standard (disk 2830),
Tokyo
The abundance of watermelon during harvest and absence of its
X-fluorescence Sulphur in oil SLFA-60, HORIBA.
processing industries in Nigeria causes a lot of waste to the non-sweated analyzer
watermelon and hence, ended up as a waste. The seed were discarded Color Tester ASTM D1500-1P 196 Color Tester,
each year as cheap animal feed or simply thrown away and decay API for Analine Point Euip. No 212
Furnace SXL-1008 Muffle Furnace Gallenkomp,
naturally (Gwana et al., 2014) and hence, this could be a great alter-
England
native source of biodiesel feedstock in Nigeria. However, various
technical and economic aspects of watermelon biodiesel required fur-
ther improvement (Varala et al., 2012; Oladejo et al., 2013). Therefore, 2.2. Materials preparation
this research work is justifiable by all the aforementioned problems.
This article has established how utilization of watermelon seed oil 2.2.1. Raw materials
for biodiesel production can be used effectively to generate employ- The material used in this research was Watermelon seed (Citrullus
ment through its mass production/market, and may earn Nigeria the lanatus), it is widely cultivated in the Northern Nigeria. Oil was ex-
much needed foreign exchange and therefore, reducing poverty, rural- tracted through mechanical press expeller and the oil was processed to
urban migration, environmental pollution as well as climate change produce biodiesel through esterification process. Conventional diesel
associated problems. was obtained from Daurama filling station, Soba along Zaria-Jos road.
Hundreds of scientific articles and various other reports from The reagents used include: analytical grade methanol, potassium hy-
around the world dealing with biodiesel have appeared in print. droxide, sodium hydroxide, sulphuric acid, propan-2-ol, phenolphtha-
However, various vegetable and plant based derived biodiesel that were lein, calcium oxide, Alumina, distilled water, aluminum foil and tissue
tested for technical and economic aspects need further improvement. paper.
Watermelon seed is a quick maturing plant species that starts bearing
fruits within few months of plantation. Although, a study to determine
2.2.2. Sample collection and preparation
physicochemical properties of oil from watermelon seed and it is suit-
The sample was obtained from Bunkure Local Government Area of
ability for consumption, biodiesel production and other industrial ap-
Kano state. The seeds were sun dried to reduce the moisture content
plications were reported (Varala et al., 2012; Oladejo et al., 2013).
and all the unwanted particles were removed.
However, the physico-chemical properties of blended biodiesel pro-
The sample weight was measured and taken to milling machine for
duced were hardly evaluated.
oil production. The oil produced was then trans-esterified to produce
Compression ignition engines are classes of internal combustion
biodiesel.
engines in which the combustion is initialized spontaneously by the
virtue of the rise in temperature during the compression process.
(Kaisan and Pam, 2013). It works on diesel cycle. In diesel engines, the 2.2.3. Catalyst preparations
energy addition occurs at constant pressure but energy rejection is at Heterogeneous based catalysts have been found to be more suc-
constant volume. The role of the spark plug in petrol (Spark Ignition) cessful with high conversion and yield of biodiesel between 98–100%,
engine is replaced by fuel injector. The compression ratio is from 12 to Ibrahim et al. (2014). Catalysts such as calcium oxide, sulphated tita-
25. The engine has low speed, low running cost, high maintenance cost. nium oxide, zinc oxide, sulphated zirconia and sulphated tin oxide
Compression ignition engines use less volatile liquid fuels (diesel), have could easily replace conventional homogenous catalysts.
compression pressure of 400–700 psi and have no ignition device and The catalyst was prepared by dissolving 20 g of calcium oxide into
the speed/load are controlled varying the fuel quantity injected. 40 cm3 of distilled water in a beaker, 80 g of alumina power was then
added to the solution and placed on a magnetic stirrer. The solution was
stirs at 60 °C until the water completely evaporated. Furthermore, the
2. Methodology powdered was dried-up in an oven at 60 °C for 90 min and further he-
ated in a furnace at 900 °C for 90 min.
2.1. Experimental plan and apparatus
2.2.4. Oil extraction and biodiesel production
2.1.1. Experimental plan The weight of the seed sample was initially determined before the
The discarded watermelon seed could be a great alternative source oil was extracted. The oil expelling machine was set into actions and
of raw material of biodiesel production. Though, some biodiesel prop- allowed to worm up to a certain temperature, for a better oil yield. The
erties such as flash point, viscosity, cetane number, cloud point, pour machine choke was tightened and seed sample was admitted. The
point, calorific value, acid value, ash content and cold flow properties weight of the crude oil obtained was determined and allowed to settle
had to meet certain standard and be comparable to petro-diesel in order then filtered for further analysis.
to be regarded as biodiesel (Lee et al., 2008). Esterification was done in accordance with Kaisan et al. (2013)
when the percentage of free fatty acid (%FFA) of the watermelon oil
was below 1%, this was to convert the fatty acid of the oil into an ester
2.1.2. Apparatus which makes it easy for almost all the oil to be offered for biodiesel
production.
Transesterification reaction was carried out by mixing solid catalyst
of 1.2% and methanol of 15% mass of filtered oil and stirred well to

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S. Sani et al.
mix. The mixture is poured into preheated filtered oil and heated to
temperature of 60 °C for about 90 min. The reacting mixture was stirred
during the heating to ensure good mixture. The product was filtered to
remove the catalyst and heated to temperature of 100 °C to remove
traces of methanol and water.
2.3. Biodiesel blending
Five samples of biodiesel blends were prepared in the giving ratios
by volume; 5%:95%, 10%:90%, 15%:85%, 20%:80%, 25%:75% and are
represented as B5, B10, B15, B20 and B25. The pure biodiesel and pure
diesel are represented as B100 and B0 respectively. They were all stored
for further analysis of their physicochemical properties, engine per-
formance and exhaust gas emissions.
2.4. Determination of physicochemical properties
The physicochemical properties of the biodiesel/blends evaluated
includes; specific gravity, flash point, kinematic viscosity, aniline value,
cloud point, pour point, sulphur content, cetane number, calorific value
and copper strip corrosion. The tests were carried out based on
American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) D6751 Standards in the
fuel testing laboratory of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company
Ltd.
Therefore, in the present study, the quality of biodiesel from water
melon seed oil was determined through physico-chemical analyses of
some vital properties such as specific gravity, kinematic viscosity, flash
point, calorific value, cetane number, cloud point and pour point and
comparison were made with American Society for Testing and
Material’s standard (ASTM). The biodiesels were blended with petro-
leum diesel in a ratio of 5:95, 10:90, 15:85, 20:80, 25:75, pure biodiesel
and pure petroleum diesel which are donated as B5, B10, B15, B20,
B25, B100 and B0 respectively.
2.4.1. Measurement of specific gravity
The specific gravity of the samples was measured using fisher brand
hydrometer at room temperature (29–29.6 °C). The hydrometer
(0.6–1.0) size with accuracy of 0.001%, was dipping into 250 ml
measuring cylinder containing the sample. The lower meniscus of the
hydrometer readings and the corresponding biodiesel temperature for
each sample were recorded. The reading was converted according to
ASTM D4052, using conversion table at 15/4 °C.
2.4.2. Measurement of kinematic viscosity
Viscosity was determined by measuring the time of flow of the
samples between two marked points on the Ostwald viscometer held
vertically in the viscometer tube at constant temperature of 40 °C and
calculating the viscosity by multiplying the time of flow with Ostwald
viscometer calibrated constant (Kaisan et al., 2013; Nurun et al., 2015;
Kaisan et al., 2017e).
The Ostwald viscometers used are series 100; F5432, series 150;
F882, F5263 and series 200: F1335 with the following constant;
0.014770, 0.03772, 0.033268, 0.10628 respectively.
2.4.3. Determination of calorific value
The calorific values of the samples were determined using bomb
calorimeter in accordance with ASTM D240 and Abdulsalam et al.
(2012) and (Kaisan et al., 2017a). The bomb calorimeter was inserted in
to a metal tank that was assumed adiabatic. The tank was filled with
water brought to a suitable temperature. The fuel sample under in-
vestigation was inserted in to the bomb calorimeter, ignited by the
arcing and combusted. The calorific value was read from the screen.
This test was carried out on Parr 6100 Calorimeter.
2.4.4. Determination of flash point
The flash points of biodiesel/blends were determined using Pensky-
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Industrial Crops & Products 122 (2018) 702–708
Martens closed cup tester according to ASTM D93. The cup containing
the biodiesel sample was inserted in to an automated Pensky Martens
closed cup tester which contains stirrer and thermometer ranging from
−30 °C to 20 °C. The sample fuel was continuously stirred and heated,
and flame was passed over the fuel through an opening. Once the
temperature of flash point is reached, the vapour will ignite and easily
detectable flash can be observed (Kaisan et al., 2017d; Nurun et al.,
2015).
2.4.5. Determination of pour point
The pour point determination procedure is similar to that of cloud
point. However, the tip of the thermometer with range (−30 °C to
20 °C) was slightly dipped into the test tube containing the sample and
placed in a refrigerator and observed at time interval. The test tube was
removed after the sample solidified and held horizontally for seconds
without sample flowing. The temperature reading was taken 3 °C above
solid point for degrees’ Celsius thermometer and 5 °F degree Fahrenheit
the other thermometer. This is in accordance with ASTM D5853.
2.4.6. Determination of cloud point
The cloud point was determined by placing the biodiesel sample in
to test tube in which thermometer ranging from −30 °C to 20 °C was
inserted through a cork that covered the mouth of the test tube. The
thermometer was dipped just 2 mm to the bottom of the test tube and
placed in a refrigerator. The test tube was checked at certain interval of
time till the biodiesel sample started to form wax at the bottom and the
temperature reading was taken. That is the cloud point temperature. It
is in accordance with ASTM D2500 and Nurun et al. (2015).
2.4.7. Determination cetane number
The biodiesel sample’s cetane numbers were determined in ac-
cordance with ASTM D4737 and Kaisan et al. (2017a). The Aniline
point (Apt.) was initially determined by mixing 10 ml of Aniline and
10 ml of biodiesel sample in a U-tube glass; a thermometer and a stirrer
were dipped in to the U-tube. The mixture was heated using infrared
ray and stirred continuously with aid of motor. The Aniline points
(Apt.) were recorded when the mixture becomes homogenous and
converted to Fahrenheit.
The API (American Petroleum Institute) and Diesel index (DI) were
evaluated using the Eqs. (1)–(3).
141.5
API = − 131.5
SG (1)
APT x Apt . (Aniline point in Farenheit)
DI =
100 (2)
Cetane Number = DI x 0.72 + 10 (3)
SG = Specific Gravity of the fuel
2.4.8. Determination of total sulphur content
The total sulphur content was determined using X-ray fluorescence
sulphur in oil analyzer. The sample was placed in a container covered
with cell window, then inserted into the machine after booting for
30 min and measurement bottom was pressed to start analyzing. It takes
30 s to analyze a sample. The procedure was repeated twice before
printing the average. This measurement was done in accordance with
ASTM D7039, Kaisan et al. (2013).
2.4.9. Determination of colour indices
The colours of biodiesel and biodiesel blends were determined by
inserting two test tubes in the machine one containing biodiesel sample
and the other distilled water. The machine was turned till equivalent
colour was determined then the index number was taken. The index
number ranges from 0.5 to 3.5 at an interval of 0.5. It is in accordance
S. Sani et al. Industrial Crops & Products 122 (2018) 702–708

with ASTM D6751.

2.4.10. Determination of copper strip corrosion test

The copper strip of three-inch length was cleaned and polished from
both sides to remove colours and makes it reflective. The strip was
dipped into the biodiesel sample and heated at 100 °C for 3 h then re-
moved, cleaned and matched with coloured reproduction strips char-
acteristics of the description. The test is in accordance with ASTM D130
and Nurun et al. (2015).

2.5. Engine performance and emissions test

Fig. 1. Specific gravity of watermelon biodiesel and blends.

The engine test bed used for this work was P8750, stationary 4-
cylinder compression ignition engine. The engine test was performed to
evaluate the following parameters; brake power, brake specific fuel
consumption, brake thermal efficiency and brake mean effective pres-
sure when run on biodiesel/blends and pure diesel. The software in-
stalled on the pc and connected to engine recorded load, speed, air flow
rate, fuel consumption and exhaust and inlet temperatures. The engine
was run at the speeds of 2500 rpm and a constant load of 70% of the
maximum applicable load of the engine (240 Nm). The corresponding
exhaust emissions were all analysed with the aid of gas analyzer. The
test was conducted in accordance with the procedure used by Kaisan
et al. (2017b,c).
3. Results and discussion
The fatty acid profile of methyl esters present in Citrullus Lonatus
biodiesel are presented in Table 1. The percentage of methyl esters
present in the biodiesel was found to be 88.77 as portrayed in the table.
Methyl octadecadienoate (C19H34O2) is the most dominating mono-
saturated methyl ester in the biodiesel profile with 30.80%. It is a very
good compound that has the tendency of assigning stability to the
biodiesel, because, higher degree of unsaturation in the fatty acid me-
thyl esters limits its suitability for use as a fuel due to high poly-
merisation tendency, which is caused by peroxidation as confirmed by
Sunusi et al. (2017) . Table 2 presents the the fatty acid profile of the
biodiesel.
3.1. Results of the physico-chemical analyses
3.1.1. Specific gravity
Fig. 1 depicts the graph of specific gravity against the biodiesel
blends, the values of pure diesel and the maximum and minimum ASTM
standard values were captured. It was observed that the specific gravity
of the biodiesel was slightly higher than pure diesel and also increases
with increase in percentage of biodiesel in the blends as a result of
increase in fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) unsaturation degree (double
bond) (Mohamad et al., 2015).
Specific gravity is the relative density of the biodiesel to that of an
equal volume of water. Hence, higher specific gravity for biodiesel
Table 2
Fatty Acid Profile for Citrullus lonatus Biodiesel.
results in the delivery of a slightly greater mass of fuel that leads to
more power production. This is in consistent with Ayhan (2007).
Therefore, the blends of the biodiesel produced can be used in com-
pression ignition engine because their specific gravity was within the
ASTM standard values. The mean value of the specific gravity of the
water melon seed is 0.8888 which is within the ASTM boundaries and
the standard deviation value is very small which is 0.016.
3.1.2. Kinematic viscosity
Kinematic viscosity influences the ease of starting engine and fuel
spray pattern, the higher the viscosity, the larger fuel droplet sizes
which result in improper air fuel mixing, leading to poor combustion
and high PM emissions (Nurun et al., 2015). Similarly, when the visc-
osity is lower than the standard, leads to reduction in peak heat release
rate, degree of fuel impingement and reduces air fuel mixing rate,
(Hellier et al., 2015).
According to ASTM D6751, the acceptable biodiesel viscosity ranges
between (1.9–6.0 mm2/s) for biodiesel which fall between 1.9 to
6.0 mm2/s, when the viscosity is too low, the out flow will correspond
to a power loss in the engine, and if it is high, the injection pump will be
unable to supply enough fuel to fill the pumping chamber, once more
resulted to power loss (Hellier et al., 2015). It can be observed from
Fig. 2 that, all the kinematic viscosity of the blends is relatively higher
than pure diesel and all consisted with ASTM specified standard except
B100 biodiesel which was 0.018 mm2/s slightly above the standard.
This is as a result of high degree of unsaturation, Chain length, or-
ientation of double bond and methyl ester head group (Anne et al.,
2015). The mean value of the kinematic viscosity of the water melon
seed is 5.35 mm2/s which is within the ASTM boundaries and the
standard deviation value is very small which is 0.49 mm2/s.
3.1.3. Calorific value
Calorific value is the heat energy released when unit quantity of fuel
is completely burnt. Higher calorific value of fuel is desired because it
releases higher heat and consequently improves engine performance
during combustion. Biodiesel have lower calorific values compared to
pure diesel because of their oxygen content. The presence of oxygen in
the biodiesel leads to complete combustion in the I.C engine (Ashraful
et al., 2014).

Chemical Ccompounds Molecular Formula % Area

Methyl octadecenoate C19H36O2 0.94

Methyl pentadecanoate C17H34O2 26.18
Methyl octadecadienoate C19H34O2 30.80
Methyl hexadecanoate C18H36O2 21.94
Methyl dodecenoate C13H24O2 5.44
Methyl eicosanoate C21H42O2 1.81
Methyl heptacosanoate C28H56O2 1.66
Total Methyl Ester 88.77%
Hexadecatriene C16H28 1.95
Octadecadienoyl chloride C18H31ClO 9.28
Total Non-Biodiesel 11.23%
Fig. 2. Kinematic viscosity of watermelon biodiesel and blends.

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S. Sani et al. Industrial Crops & Products 122 (2018) 702–708

Fig. 5. Pour point of watermelon biodiesel and blends.

Fig. 3. Calorific value of watermelon biodiesel and blends.

value of the pour points of the water melon seed is −10.33 °C which is
From Fig. 3, it can be observed that, all the calorific values fall
within the ASTM boundaries and the standard deviation value is
within the ASTM specified standard and slightly below the pure diesel.
2.43 °C.
The calorific value decreases with increase in percentage of biodiesel
for all the blends. B20 have higher calorific value than B15 and B25.
This makes B20 more suitable for use in CI engine operations. The mean 3.1.6. Cloud point
value of the calorific value of the water melon seed is 45 MJ/kg which Cloud point is the temperature at which smallest lump of crystals
is within the ASTM boundaries and the standard deviation value is become visible when the fuel is cooled. It defines the lowest common
0 MJ/kg. used measurement of low-temperature operability of the fuel. At tem-
perature below the cloud point larger crystals fuse together and form
cluster that eventually become extensive enough to prevent pouring of
3.1.4. Flash points
the fluid. The crystals might plug filters or drop to the bottom of a
The flash point is the most important property that must be con-
storage tank (Mohammed et al., 2015). Biodiesel cloud point is higher
sidered in assessing the overall flammability hazard of a fuel. Flash
than mineral diesel. Fig. 6 depicts the cloud point of pure diesel/bio-
point is defined as the minimum temperature at which the fuel ignites
diesel blends and ASTM maximum and minimum values.
when expose to flame or spark. Flash point is inversely proportional to
It can be observed that all the values of cloud points fall within the
volatility; high flash point indicates low volatility properties.
specified ASTM standard. B10 have the highest cloud point and the
As depicted in Fig. 4, all the flash point of the biodiesel sample falls
lowest occurred at B25 as shown in Fig. 6. The mean value of the cloud
within the ASTM standard values and higher than the pure diesel flash
points of the water melon seed is 1 °C which is within the ASTM
point which is 97 °C. Convincingly, these fuel samples under study have
boundaries and the standard deviation value is 2.58 °C.
passed the safely test in relation to the flash point and hence, the bio-
diesel is safe for transport, handling and storage purpose (Ashraful
et al., 2014). The mean value of the Flash Points of the water melon 3.1.7. Cetane number
seed is 5147.5 °C which is within the ASTM boundaries and the stan- Cetane number is the measurement of ignition quality of fuel in a
dard deviation value is very small which is 4.86 °C. power diesel engine. The Cetane number of biodiesel is higher than
pure diesel because of its longer fatty acid carbon chains and presence
of saturation in molecules (Ashraful et al., 2014; Kaisan et al., 2016;
3.1.5. Pour point
Nafiu et al., 2011). Fuel with higher cetane number will have shorter
The pour point is the most important cold flow properties. Define as
ignition delay and low cetane number affects the time between the
the temperature at which wax appeared in the biodiesel that is suffi-
injection and start of combustion (ignition delay). Fig. 7 depicts the
cient to gel and will no longer flow. At this temperature the biodiesel is
cloud point of pure diesel/biodiesel blends and ASTM maximum and
no longer pumpable (Nurun et al., 2015).
minimum values.
As depicted in Fig. 5, the pour point of all the biodiesel blends
Cetane number increases with increase in percentage of biodiesel in
conform to ASTM specified standard. Biodiesel has higher pour points
the blend as depicted in Fig. 7. B100 have the highest cetane number
than conventional fuel diesel (Fernando et al., 2007). Higher propor-
and B5 have the lowest and all the values conform to ASTM specified
tions of saturated fatty acids indicate that higher pour point of bio-
standard. The mean value of the cetane number of the water melon seed
diesel. It can be observed that only B25 reach the ASTM minimum
is 55.68 which is within the ASTM boundaries and the standard de-
temperature of -15 °C, the remaining blends under study have a very
viation value is 1.48.
good fluidity at the lowest ASTM temperature, hence, could be use in
the cold climate countries of the world without any trouble. The mean

Fig. 4. Flash points of watermelon biodiesel and blends. Fig. 6. Cloud points of watermelon biodiesel and blends.

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Table 3
“Colour Indices.
Blends B5 B10 B15 B20 B25 B100

ASTM max 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5

WATERMELON 2 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5
DIESEL 2 2 2 2 2 2
ASTM min 1 1 1 1 1 1

Table 4
Copper Strip Corrosion of watermelon biodiesel and blends.
Blends B5 B10 B15 B20 B25 B100
Fig. 7. Cetane number of watermelon biodiesel and blends.
ASTM max 4c 4c 4c 4c 4c 4c
Watermelon 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a
3.1.8. Sulphur content Diesel 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a
Sulphur in a fuel is undesirable element which results in higher level ASTM min 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a 1a
of soot particles during combustion (Nurun et al., 2015). High sulphur
fuels cause engine wear and shorter life of catalysts. Sulphur emission is
harmful to human health; sometimes, sulphur forms oxides of sulphur portrayed in Table 4 below.
and sulpheric acid by dissolving sulphur oxides in rain water which The minimum ASTM specified standard for copper strip corrosion is
causes acid rain, a major source of cancer (Kaisan et al., 2013). 1a and the maximum is 4c. All the biodiesel and their blends conform to
The total sulphur present in the fuel samples were plotted against the ASTM standard as shown in Table 3. Therefore, all the blended
the blends. The ASTM maximum and minimum values were also in- samples as well as B100 are safe to be used in internal combustion
clusive as shown in Fig. 8. All the blends conform to the ASTM stan- engine without forming corrosion.
dards except the B100 biodiesel which is less than the minimum stan-
dard value. The reduction in sulphur content resulted in the less 3.2. Engine performance and emissions results
tendency of sulphur (IV) oxide emission to the atmosphere during the
combustion of the diesel fuel. From Table 5, the maximum value of brake mean effective pressure
was recorded by B15 at 2500 rpm. The brake thermal efficiency of pure
3.1.9. Colour indices diesel B0 was lower than some of the biodiesel blends at variable
The colour indices of a biodiesel do not affect any of the perfor- speeds. It can be observed that in some of the blends in this work, the
mances of the biodiesel in diesel engine (Kaisan et al., 2013). The brake thermal efficiencies of the biodiesel blends are higher than that of
maximum and minimum biodiesel colour indices set by ASTM. The the diesel fuel; this is consistent with the findings of Atabani and Cesar
mean value of the Sulphur content of the water melon seed is 0.13 (2014). It can be concluded that all the biodiesel blends have higher
which is within the ASTM boundaries and the standard deviation value specific fuel consumption than pure diesel.
is 0.05. From Table 6, the overall highest peak of NOX emission was ex-
hibited by B100 at the speed of 2500 rpm. The lowest NOX emission
percentage was achieved by B25 at 2500 rpm. Pure diesels have higher
3.1.10. Colour indices of biodiesel and blends
CO2 emission than biodiesel and reduce with increase in concentration
of biodiesel blends. Pure biodiesel (B100) have the least value of CO2
It can be observed all the colour indices of the pure diesel, biodiesel
emissions at 1500 rpm followed by B25 at the corresponding speed of
and their blends conforms with ASTM specified standard as shown in
2500 rpm and 2500 rpm respectively.
Table 3. Hence, all the fuel samples can be utilized in internal com-
bustion engine.”
4. Conclusion

3.1.11. Copper strip corrosion

The watermelon biodiesel, its blends and the pure diesel are con-
This test measures the possibility of corrosion to occur in the
sistent with the ASTM standards for total sulphur, copper strip and
copper. It is used to measure the level of copper corrosion that would
colour index. All the fuel samples are consistent with the ASTM stan-
occur if biodiesel were used in any application where metals such as
dards with regards to viscosity and specific gravity except B100 which
copper are present as reported by Kaisan et al. (2016). This test
are slightly above the ASTM standard with very negligible values of
monitors the presence of acids in the fuel. The test was accomplished by
0.09 and 0.018 mm2/s respectively. Therefore, the water melon bio-
using a copper strip tarnish test. The result of copper strip corrosion are
diesel and blends could be a better option to be use on CI engines for the

Table 5
Engine performance of watermelon biodiesel and blends at 2500 rpm.
Blends Torque Brake BSFC Brake Thermal BMEP (N/m2)
(Nm) Power (kJ/ Efficiency (%)
(kW) kWh)

B0 168 32.603 0.22 49 13,878.45

B5 168 34.094 0.46 45 17,896.82
B10 168 38.483 0.39 46 17,827.68
B15 168 34.257 0.4 43 18,944.02
B20 168 33.256 0.44 44 18,302.93
B25 168 32.24 0.48 42 17,722.03
B100 168 32.24 0.56 40 17,722.03
Fig. 8. Sulphur content of watermelon biodiesel and blends.

707
S. Sani et al. Industrial Crops & Products 122 (2018) 702–708

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