Physicnut oil good for hybrid engines

Use of pure physic-nut oil as a biofuel has significantly shortened the life of low-speed engines, according to research by the Khon Kaen University. “If the physic-nut oil is mixed with diesel oil at the ratio of 50 to 50, the engine will last about six or seven years,” the university’s vice-president Kittichai Trirattanasirichai said at an academic seminar yesterday referring to the research, which started late last year. Twelve low-speed engines for agricultural use were put to test in labs to determine physic-nut oil’s performance. “Although the consumption rate of the physic-nut oil is equal to that of diesel oil, the physic-nut oil caused damage to nozzles and shortened the useful life of the engines,” Kittichai said. Pichit Taweesri, an engineer, said an engine powered by pure physic-nut oil usually stopped working after 400 or 500 service hours. For example, the engine should heat the oil at over 100 Celsius degrees before passing it to the combustion chamber,” he explained, “Or, the modification should provide a hybrid system. “Economically speaking, it’s worth spending the money on the modification because this will extend the useful life of engines relying on pure physic-nut oil,” he added. (June 24, 2009)