Eco Factor: Bio-fuel manufactured from cottonseed oil.
Cottonseed, which is usually considered a waste product of cotton manufacturing units, could one day be a new source of auto fuel. The findings came after a research group at the GMR Institute of Technology in India found that cottonseed oil was as efficient as petroleum diesel when used as fuel in small engines. Their findings got more significance when they found that a blend of both performed better than either of the fuels used alone.
The researchers conducted experiments on a single-cylinder compression ignition diesel engine, which when fueled by cottonseed oil performed similar to a petroleum diesel fueled engine. The engine operating on the specific blended fuel actually showed improved emissions compared to the other fuels and fuel blends tested. The findings get even more promising as cottonseed oil is a comparatively low-cost source of bio-fuel as the cottonseed oil is only extracted from the seeds of cotton plants after cotton has been removed for other purposes.
Via: AIP
