Table of contents

International Conference on Alternative Fuels and Electric Vehicles 2021 (ICAFEV 2021) was hosted by the Alard College of Engineering and Management, Pune, India in association with Technology Research and Innovation Centre, Pune, India and Accra Technical University, Accra, Ghana on 09-10 December 2021 and conducted in virtual mode. This international meeting provided a platform to various worldwide researchers, and academicians engaged in the field of alternative fuels, electric vehicles and renewable energy with the motive of exploring the research to drive the World towards a sustainable future. ICAFEV 2021 received papers from authors of eleven countries such as Cameroon, Chile, Ghana, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Australia and United Kingdom.

This volume is a compilation of research papers presented in three tracks, 1) Alternative Fuels, 2) Electric Vehicles and 3) Renewable Energy. We feel, these papers will provide a valuable contribution in the field and readers will receive this content for their future research activities.

The conference organizers and associate organizers are thankful to all authors, technical committee members, advisory committee members and organizing committee members for contributing actively and whole heartily in successful completion of the conference throughout the various stages. We also express out gratitude towards the IOP publishing for providing support to publish the ICAFEV 2021 papers in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science.

List of ICAFEV 2021 Committees are available in this pdf.

All papers published in this volume have been reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.

• Type of peer review: Single Anonymous

• Conference submission management system: EasyChair

• Number of submissions received: 63

• Number of submissions sent for review: 32

• Number of submissions accepted: 19

• Acceptance Rate (Submissions Accepted / Submissions Received × 100): 30.2

• Average number of reviews per paper: 2

• Total number of reviewers involved: 14

• Contact person for queries:

Name: Sandip A. Kale

Email: sandipkale@technologycentre.co.in

Affiliation: Technology Research and Innovation Centre, Pune, India

Homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is a technology for concurrently reducing nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matters (PM) emissions. Since, the pure HCCI lags in control over combustion phasing, Pre-mixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) method is proposed. To achieve partial homogeneity in PCCI combustion, the air is pre-injected with fuel. The main injection is required for the combination to take place. This paper investigates the impact of using the varying percentages and types of bio-diesels for the constant speed genset application engine. The paper first discus the effect of various ratios of diesel and biodiesel mixtures on the performance parameters like engine power, specific fuel consumption (sfc) and the break thermal efficiency. These effects are caused by the combustion happening inside the combustion chamber which can be seen in pressure, temperature and heat release curves. The result of the simulation finally discusses the formation of NOx and PM emissions during the combustion. These results also provide guidelines for actual testing of the engine with bio-diesel.

Looking at the present scenario of world's energy consumption and its dependency on fossil fuels, biodiesel has become a ray of hope as it is environmental friendly fuel derived from plant sources. In that context the present paper reports the study of physical properties of Mahua, Pongamia and Waste cooking oil blend for usage as biodiesels in engines. Each biodiesel has its own specific properties which need to be tested before running test on a engine. The physical properties such as kinematic viscosity, flash point, fire point, density, heating values and acid values are measured for MPW (Mahua 50%, Pongamia 30%, Waste Cooking Oil 20%), PWM (Pongamia 50%, Waste Cooking Oil 30%, Mahua 20%) and WMP (Waste Cooking Oil 50%, Mahua 30%, Pongamia 20%) compositions prepared on volume basis. This study discovered that WMP biodiesel physical properties match nearly to that of diesel fuel. It is the best alternative with moderate flash point temperature, fire point temperature, better thermal efficiency, density and acid value in comparison with MPW and PWM biodiesels.

Engine emissions have become one of the major problems of the world today. Therefore, researchers need to find ways to reduce engine emissions. There are many available methods to reduce emissions or improve engine performance such as using an alternative engine or using alternative fuels. The simplest method is by introducing additives to the currently used fuel and engines. Nanoparticles of zinc oxide, titanium oxide, aluminium oxide, and cerium oxide are among the popular additives used by researchers. The results from the research have been very positive, as it successfully reduced engine emissions. However, there are concerns about the toxicity of the emissions that exposed hazards to human health. A few researchers introduced carbon-based nanomaterials as an additive to improve engine performance and reduce engine emissions. The use of carbon-based nanomaterials is very promising since it poses little to no effect on human health. Graphene is a carbon-based nanomaterial used as an additive in this study. This study aimed to forecast the effects of graphene nanoplatelets' addition to engine performance. The study used torque, power, brake-specific fuel consumption, and brake thermal efficiency as performance parameters. The prediction models consider speed, load, and blend concentration in the calculation. A full-quadratic model with help of Minitab software is used to develop the prediction model. The model is then presented in surface plot and contour plot. The results show that the prediction model agrees with the experimental data with ±10% accuracy. In conclusion, the RSM model of graphene nanoplatelets' effects on diesel engine performance is producible using full quadratic calculation.

The present paper reports the performance and emission studies for a four stroke single cylinder CI-DI unmodified engine using laxmi taru biodiesel as fuel. Laxmi taru biodiesel has 80% potential of extracting oil from the seeds as compared to other biofuels. The properties of laxmi taru biodiesel fuel nearly match the properties of diesel fuel. In this paper performance and emission tests are conducted for different blends such as S0 (0% laxmi taru + 100% diesel), S5, S10, S20, S40 by volume. At full load conditions (4.9 kW) brake thermal efficiency (BTE) decreased for S5, S10, S20 and S40 blends by 3.26%, 4.53%, 3.16% and 5.54% respectively as compared to diesel fuel operation because of poor heating value of laxmi taru biodiesel. Presence of oxygen content in the fuel and better combustion leads to decreased carbon monoxide (CO) emission for S5, S10, S20 and S40 blends by 4%, 8%, 12% and 28% as that of diesel. Similarly hydrocarbon (HC) emission reduced by 16.21%, 24.32% and 29.7% in S10, S20 and S40 blends respectively. Oxides of Nitrogen (NO_x) emission increased by 27.19%, 30.57%, 15.2% and 19.3% for S5, S10, S20 and S40 blends respectively in comparison with diesel fuel, under full load conditions due to high incylinder temperature. Usage of laxmi taru biodiesel in CI engines resulting in drastic reduction in carbon based (CO, HC) emissions without altering the performance of the engine. Therefore laxmi taru biodiesel is better alternate fuel for CI engines.

The present world is questing for low carbon fuel, which can replace diesel and biodiesels are one such promising fuel. In this study, the feasibility of Chia seed oil as a blended bio-diesel for use as partial replacement to Diesel is evaluated through transesterification process. 10 grams of dried, moisture free Chia seeds were subject to transesterification process using methanol as a replacement alcohol. NaOH was used as a catalyst. The resulting mixture was stirred for one hour at 700 rpm, maintaining 70°C. The methyl ester was separated after one hour settling period and washed several times using distilled water at 100°C and dried at 70 °C and stored. Impurities were removed by Decalcification process that resulted in 80% yield. Characterization of the oil was used different blends from B05 - B25 in an incremental steps five percent by volume with diesel. Major fluid and thermodynamic properties like viscosity, density, specific gravity, etc. were extracted as per the ASTM prescribed standards. The results show that the flash and fire points of Chia seed oil are respectively 2.96 times and 2.57 times higher compared to Diesel, while the kinematic viscosity and density are comparable but 6.88% and 5.2% higher. Further investigation shows that biodiesel blend B20 could be a second fuel for diesel engine.

Diesel engine is mostly preferred engine especially for heavy duty work, as it delivers high efficiency, durability and low operating cost. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) are the main emission components emitted from these diesel engines. Alcohols or biodiesels blending with mineral diesel are known to reduce the NOx and PM emissions. Ethanol fuel contains 35% (m/m) of oxygen, which helps to minimise the smoke and PM emissions. The primary objective of this work is to in-house design and fabricate a partial flow dilution tunnel for PM sampling on substrates. Ethanol blends (E05 and E10; v/v) were tested for Particulate matter collection for a twin cylinder CRDI Compression Ignition Engine. Ethanol blends showed 33% reduction in PM emission compared to mineral diesel.

Sugarcane bagasse, a by-product of sugar industry is a potential lignocellulose biomass for bio-oil production by hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). The catalyst and the reaction parameters are important for the higher bio-oil yield. Hence, by the sol-gel method, cobalt oxide catalyst was synthesized, characterized by FTIR, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption and studied for the HTL of sugarcane bagasse with varying reaction time, catalyst/biomass weight ratio and water/biomass weight ratio. Formation of face-centered cubic spinel of Co₃O₄ was confirmed from the XRD peaks at 2Θ positions of 18, 31, 37, 45, and 65° and FTIR absorption bands at 558 and 654 cm⁻¹ attributed to stretching vibrations of Co-O, having the Co³⁺ in octahedral and tetrahedral coordination respectively. A high BET surface area of 413.63 cm²/g obtained may be attributed to the citric acid added during sol-gel synthesis, which got decomposed off during the calcination. The highest yield of bio-oil was found to be 57.6% at the reaction time of 120 min, catalyst/biomass ratio of 0.4, water/biomass ratio of 28, 250°C and initial CO pressure of 45 bars, compared to 35.2% for non-catalytic HTL, confirmed its catalytic activity.

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), a mimic of natural formation of petroleum is the only thermochemical conversion having ability to convert the wet biomass to bio-oil, which upon hydrotreatment gives drop-in auto fuels. Yield of bio-oil, the energy product of HTL depends on the activity of the catalyst. Hence the synthesis of hierarchical Fe-Co-ZSM-5 was reported for the first time, the same was characterized and evaluated for the HTL of municipal sewage sludge to bio-oil. From their XRD characterization and calculated XRD crystallinity, 3 days was found to be the optimum crystallization time, as its crystallinity was 84% of hierarchical Al-ZSM-5 as standard, maximum among others crystallized at 2 and 4 days. From the characterization of Fe-Co-ZSM-5 obtained at 3 days by N₂ adsorption, mesoporosity was found to be 87.7% conforming its hierarchical nature and UV-visible reflectance spectrometry confirmed the incorporation of Fe and Co into the tetrahedral zeolite framework. Hydrothermal liquefaction of municipal sewage sludge studied at 250°C and initial H₂ pressure of 40 bar using the hierarchical Fe-Co-ZSM-5 (3 days) catalysts gave higher bio-oil yield of 23.8% compared to 10.26% for non-catalytic HTL.

Use of woody biomass of logging residues at plots where different types of logging has occurred as a planned management activity has to be based on the analysis of relevant environmental risks. These risks include biodiversity losses, soil fertility reduction, and formation of dangerous volumes of flammable materials in forests during the fire-hazardous period, which is especially relevant on plots with high recreational load. As a result of the research, we propose indicative utilization rates for logging residues at sites where care or final cuts occur in spruce, beech and fir dominated stands in various growth conditions. The information basis of the research is formed by the research data on distribution of the relevant forest stands in different types of forest growth conditions, as well as on influence of forest growth conditions on processes of biological destruction and accumulation of forest flammable materials at plots with intensive recreational load. The proposed utilization rates for logging residues serve as an information component in the process of formation of regional strategy of forest bioenergy development.

Woody biomass in Ukraine is currently seen as an important resource for securing development of national renewable energy sector, avoiding dependence on the imported fossil fuels, and for building a low-carbon economy. This research highlights the indices of the overall energy potential of Ukraine's forests of the dominant tree species, expressed in units of primary energy. The indices are differentiated by biomass components and stand age groups. The information basis of the research consists of two main components: data on biometric assessment of trees collected at temporary sample plots, and mathematical models of biomass expansion factors. The research features the assessment results on the annual potential of woody biomass for stem wood (fuel wood), logging residues and wood processing residues. This resource forms a part of the sources of renewable energy and can be used for securing energy needs of the society. The proposed indices of woody biomass energy potential serve as an information basis for shaping the regional programs of forest bioenergy development in Ukraine.

Battery technology has been widely used in various applications such as electric vehicles, smart grids, renewable energy systems, and sustainable power applications in recent years. The type, rating, and operating characteristics of batteries vary from one application to another. For example, Electric Vehicles (EVs) need lightweight batteries capable of producing fast energy and withstanding frequent charge/discharge cycles. Renewable energy applications require batteries that can store large energy in the time of excessive electric power generation and can substitute renewable energy sources to supply power in times of non-generation. As batteries are an electro-chemical phenomenon and are generally expensive, it is essential to establish an effective battery model to analyze its behavior under different operating conditions. In this regard, this paper presents a comprehensive study of various battery modeling approaches widely used for the characterization of batteries employed as energy sources for electric vehicles. A simple modified generic battery model is developed and simulated for the ANR26650M1 Li-ion battery in a MATLAB-Simulink environment. The modified generic model includes a polarization voltage term to represent the open-circuit voltage accurately and the polarization resistance term is slightly modified. The model parameters are deduced from the data sheet provided by the battery manufacturers. The discharge curve obtained through simulation is validated with the one given in the datasheet.

The battery is the key source of green energy for vehicle movement or powering residential / industrial buildings. The increase in energy demand requires larger battery capacity and energy density to meet power requirements in mobility and stationary energy storage applications such as in emergency power backup, solar power storage, portable power packs, etc., In recent years, the technology used in batteries has improved beyond expectations, mainly due to various cell chemistry. It is essential to understand the basic design and cost challenges in battery design, selection, cell chemistry advancements and on-going research areas in battery cell development. The study uses a detailed literature review, technical comparison of various cell chemistries & applications and identification of key design parameters using technical data comparison. The study reveals that Lithium batteries have an advantage over other cell chemistries due to its specific energy density, cost, scale of production in mobility and energy storage applications.

This research explores the trends of photovoltaic (PV) decentralization in Ghana and provides an updated illuminating insight into the sector. A literature review was carried out to understand and map out the trends, risks, and success factors. Additionally, time-series analysis was used to explore the installation trends from 2013 to 2019. A one-sample t-test was used to test the significance of each of the underlying indicators. The study identifies 2015 and 2018 as the years with the highest PV installations. On regional distribution, the research identified Central (63.25%), Greater Accra (26.44%), and Upper East (3.99%) as areas with the highest cumulative rate of a PV installation, respectively. This research raises awareness on the emerging perspectives on PV investment risk decisions and success criteria in Ghana. Considerations for potential investment opportunities and the stage of PV installations are expounded. It brings to light the geographical spread of installation that will aid critical policy decisions. Findings would be invaluable in making profound changes in the state's policy formulation around PV. The study provides a sound basis for further research, to be directed towards complementing this work by focusing on the social impacts and further engagement of end-users with solar PV.

Hybrid power systems that combine wind and solar PV technology have been widely employed for power generation, particularly for electrification in remote and islanding locations, because they are more cost-effective and reliable than traditional power systems. This article intends to develop an environmentally friendly and cost-effective hybrid power system for selected critical loads in the Avuto community of Ghana. Following the acquisition of site data, a hybrid solar PV, wind, diesel generator, and converter analysis was conducted using HOMER software to establish the appropriate sizing of system components based on technical and economic parameters such as load served, annual electricity production, net present cost (NPC), emission, Operating cost, Fuel consumption and energy cost (COE). Based on the optimization computational results, it can be stated that the combination of system components, including solar photovoltaic, wind turbine, and diesel generator, is a good fit for the application region and might be used for rural and island electrification in the future. The suggested energy system has an LCOE of 0.39 US$/kWh for the 1.08 US$/litre diesel fuel cost and a 3.33-year payback period, with 58.8 kW for PV, 7 units for 3 kW wind turbines, 10 kW for diesel generator, and 6.99 kW for the converter. In terms of emission reduction, the proposed case presented a 55% emission reduction from the base case scenario.

Concentrated solar power (CSP) technology has become a promising technique for harnessing the sun's energy. Ganged heliostat system, also called as central receiver system (CRS), a type of CSP system that uses a field of radially distributed heliostats (mirrors), which track the position of the sun in two axes and focus the sunlight on the centrally placed receiver. Heliostats are used to concentrate solar rays on the receiver, producing a huge amount of energy which can later get converted into electricity or heat. The receiver is kept at a sufficient height to absorb maximum reflected rays. In the present work, a numerical analysis method is used to optimize receiver design parameters such as receiver size, its position in horizontal and vertical planes, and to predict the heat flux intensity at the receiver surface. However, there is no direct method to decide these parameters and often results in a loss of time while optimizing them. In this research paper, a simple methodology has been proposed to design a central receiver for CRS consisting of ganged heliostat system using SolTrace 3.1.0 software. This method is effective in determining the size, the position of the receiver and heat flux distribution at the receiver surface in the initial phase of receiver system design.

Wind and Solar PV energy as alternative energy supplies to the traditional fossil fuel have been a subject of study for researchers at various fora including climate change summits. However, the technical and economic feasibility of wind and solar projects involve a lot of complexity and depends mostly on geographical location and availability of resources. To address the constraints and factors affecting wind and solar PV systems, this paper aims to undertake a techno-economic feasibility assessment of a grid connected solar PV/Wind hybrid system capable of meeting a typical commercial load, located in Kumasi, Ghana. To achieve the purpose of this study an energy audit has been undertaken to establish the load demand of the facility. Again, RETSCREEN software was used to design and simulate the proposed hybrid system in order to analyse the technical, economic and environmental implications of the system. Findings show that, there is a high potential for providing commercial scale energy consumption in most months in the year, and there is extra energy available to be sold to the grid, generating considerable income. Though the system has a high levelized cost of energy (LCOE) as compared to the existing grid tariff, the study adds significantly to the national objective to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels while meeting local energy requirement.

The research on Zinc oxide nanoparticles has become very important on these days due to its unique property and wide range of applications in all the branches of science. In this study, we synthesized ZnO nanoparticles through a simple and cost-effective wet chemical precipitation approach. The XRD spectra revealed the hexagonal wurtzite structure in the prepared ZnO nanoparticles. The UV-Vis absorption peak of the as - prepared ZnO sample was identified at 301.2 nm and was observed to be blue shifted in comparison to the bulk counterpart. The transmittance analysis of the prepared ZnO sample showed very high transmittance to the visible range of light. The widening of the optical band gap was observed in the preparation ZnO sample. The band gap of the synthesized ZnO sample was found to be 3.7943 eV. The theoretical estimation of particle size in the prepared ZnO sample was performed using the Brus model and the particle size was estimated to be 4.38 nm. This study revealed the potential application of prepared ZnO nanoparticles as transparent electrode in solar cell.

Accessibility to dependable energy resource is vital to the emerging economy to function appropriately in this contemporary world for both residential and commercial purposes. Technological advancement has opened avenues for more sophisticated technologies to combine multiple energy sources to generate affordable electricity for residential and industrial purposes. The study, therefore aims at analyzing the fiscal benefits of hybrid Solar PV and Diesel Generator (DG) (PV-DG) grid-connected system using RETSceen software. The study focused on a specific location, J. A. Plant Pool Ghana Limited, warehouse Department. The study recommended and proposed an effective design of a hybrid PV-DG grid connected electricity supply for the warehouse Department. The economic viability of the project and the payback period obtained through computation were very attractive. Also, the total revenue of electricity exported to the grid annually and GHG emission reduction were within the standard benchmark. The study finally concurred that renewable energy sources such as solar when hybridized with any other energy systems, lead to a noticeable electrical cost reduction. Therefore, this system design provides multiple benefits, including; improved reliability, reduced emission and significant cost reduction.

A study is presented on the economic and environmental impacts, due to the reduction of electricity consumption in a Technical High School in Manzanillo, Mexico, during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the impacts generated by the reduction of student mobility. This research shows an analysis of the reduction of electrical energy consumption, the reduction of monthly economic costs and CO₂ emissions in the studied institution, these impacts on student mobility during confinement between November 2019 and October 2021 are also analyzed. Results show electrical energy savings of approximately 60MWh during this period, about 34 TnCO₂ and an economic saving of 8654 USD. It has also estimated an economic saving in student mobility of approximately 312,840 USD and a reduction in emissions of the order of 64 TnCO₂. This research also suggests the implementation of technologies that use renewable energy sources as a strategy in the face of this health emergency and contributes to raising future scenarios for sustainable energy planning.