Plant oil fueled MFPs as a development mechanism: Engine modification kit design, endurance testing, and agroforestry crop adoption implications

Multi-function energy Platforms (MFPs) are agroprocessing centers comprised of a small stationary compression ignition engine driving various milling, grinding, or pumping attachments. The pairing of this mature technology with plant oil fueling has been explored in detail through three complimentary studies. First, an engine modification kit was designed and tested. It was found that a legacy engine component could be modified as a passive pre-heater, and that when the injector timing was advanced to 25° Before Top Dead Center (BTDC) and the Injector Valve Opening Pressure (IVOP) was increased to 15 MPa, optimal engine performance was obtained. This performance was comparable to diesel fueling.;The second study included a 500 hour longevity test examining the durability of utilizing the designed kit for fueling the engine on waste vegetable oil. The study served to characterize break-in wear conditions. Lubrication oil was closely monitored and modeled toward the identification of wear metal generation rates and the estimation of important maintenance time-tables such as lube oil change rate and piston ring replacement.;In the third study ten engines were monitored in the field over a 13 month period. Operation analysis as well as lubrication oil monitoring and other performance parameters were studied. It was found that the most significant engine wear was not incurred from fuel related causes, but operator-error and environmental factors. In addition to the technical analysis, an economic investigation provided evidence that plant oil fueling could vastly improve the profitability of the platforms.;As a complement to the primary investigations regarding engine wear and performance, a study was carried out to examine the potential factors influencing adoption of a relevant plant oil crop, Jatropha. The exploratory study pointed toward water access being the most significant factor related to adoption, though issues of a farmer's perceived risk and uncertainty were also important.