Considering a paradigm shift in rural electrification: biodiesel as renewable energy electrification alternative

Abstract

This research was conducted to investigate using biodiesel for rural electrification in a rural community in Ghana. A model electrification system was set up to run on biodiesel to evaluate the technical parameters of the power system and compare it with fossil diesel system. The fuel properties for both JCME and PKME and their blends in this study were comparable to commercial diesel and within the limit set by ASTM/EN for biodiesel standards. It was realised that the difference in consumption and engine performance characteristics of biodiesel was not significant at 95% confidence level from fossil diesel. The difference of between 7 and 15% of all technical parameters evaluated gave support that biodiesel could be used instead of fossil diesel for rural electrification in Ghana.

Keywords

• biodiesel
• rural electrification
• fuel consumption
• renewable energy