Assessing the performance of treated biogas and petrol-powered generators: A comparative analysis for energy efficiency

Abstract

The gas was then compressed in a cylinder with the aid of a pressure valve and refrigerator compressor, a 3kg cylinder was used and the pressure was observed with the aid of pressure valve. A 5.5KW generator was used the carburetor was replaced with a low pressured hybrid carburetor. The biogas was then connected to the carburetor and the generator works smoothly without any sign of knocking, the power output was evaluated using 200W incandescent bulbs and was evaluated at 200W,400W,600W,800W,1KW,1.4KW. It was observed that 0.5bar of the gas which is approximately 0.4935atmL was used for 60 minutes when the generator operated at 1.4kw compared to petrol which uses 1.5atmL for 60 minutes at the same load condition. It can therefore be concluded that the use of biogas for electricity generation is possible and cheaply compared to petrol. It is however recommended that further research should carried out on the exhaust emission of generator when using biogas, engine speed should be determined, the kinetic studies should be carried out, the shelf life of the engine oil should also be determined.