Purification and investigation of bio-glycerol as heat transfer fluid and as coolant in automobile radiators

Abstract

Glycerol is a key by product of the biodiesel extraction process. The rapid growth of biodiesel establishments will continue to result in glycerol oversupply. Purified glycerol can be used as an antifreeze in automotive radiators since it has a freezing point of −30 °C and a boiling temperature of 160 °C. Heat transfer by automotive radiators is important in optimizing engine fuel economy. The goal of this research is to employ purified bio glycerol as a heat transfer fluid and a coolant in vehicle radiators. The proposed water mixed bio glycerol convective heat transfer rate is experimentally compared to standard ethylene glycol. The rate of heat transfer by bio glycerol is determined by passing the fluid through an automobile radiator test apparatus. For this objective, an Automobile Radiator test rig is devised and built. Experiments with distilled water blended bio-glycerol in volume ratios of 50:50, 70:30, and 60:40 were carried out, and the test findings revealed that the 70:30 water bio glycerol volume ratio created a higher heat transfer rate when compared to the water ethylene glycol mixture.

Keywords

• Transesterification
• Biodiesel
• Bio glycerol
• Radiator
• Heat transfer
• Glycol