ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0287-2067
Current Organisation
University of Engineering and Technology
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVMAN.2019.109924
Abstract: Sustainability in power generation mainly depends on the transition from fossils to sustainable energy resources. Biomass from the crop residue has huge potential for renewable power generation, but it is still not utilized to its full potential. This study presents a comprehensive methodology to evaluate and forecast the current and future availability of selective crop residue to generate renewable energy. A forecast model incorporating historical trends in the crop yield has been developed in MATLAB and implemented for crop residue based biomass resource assessment of five primary crops (wheat straw, rice husk, rice straw, cotton straw, corn stover, and bagasse) in order to estimate the energy generation potential for Pakistan from 2018 till 2035. It was found that about 40 million tonnes of crop residue was available in Pakistan for power generation in the year 2018 considering a residue removal (availability) factor of 50%. This translates to an estimated potential of about 11,000 MW of electricity generation capacity using crop residue derived biomass for 2018. This capacity is predicted to gradually increase up to 16,000 MW by the year 2035 based on the trends in the growth of crop production since 2001. The suitability of a potential region for the installation of 100 MW biomass-fired power plants was also assessed by calculating crop residue density and an equivalent collection radius (R
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 19-05-2023
DOI: 10.3390/SU15108291
Abstract: The brick kiln industry is one of the largest and most highly unregulated industrial sectors in developing countries. Most of the kilns use low-quality coal as primary fuel along with small quantities of bagasse, rice husk, and wooden chips. As a result of inefficient methods of combustion in conventional brick kilns, such as fixed chimney Bull’s trench kilns (FCBTKs), harmful pollutants are emitted in high quantities, which ultimately deteriorate the environment and are widely in operation in Pakistan. The most prominent harmful pollutants include carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), black carbon (BC), and particulate matter less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5). Over the years, new technologies have been adopted by developed countries for the reduction of environmental burdens. One of these technologies is induced draught zigzag kilns (IDZKs), or zigzag kilns (ZZKs), technology, which effectively improves the combustion across the path of bricks stacked in a zigzag pattern. For the mass adoption of this technology, environmental assessment and comparison of both technologies is a crucial step. Both types of kiln sites are investigated for the analysis of their emissions and their environmental impact in this work. Carbon mass balance equations are used for the calculation of emission factors. Collected inventory data is then used for the life cycle assessment of both types of kilns using open LCA (version 1.10.3) and the Eco-invent database. According to the study, ZZK technology outperforms FCBTK in all aspects. The analysis of the specific energy consumption (SEC) of fired bricks for each kiln type reveals that ZZKs require 30% less energy than the conventional FCBTK. This implies that ZZKs demand lesser fuel than FCBTKs. The zigzag technology adoption scenario, in particular, can lead to approximately 30% lower CO2 emissions, which can be further reduced by up to 80% when taking into account black carbon (BC) emissions. Additionally, the adoption of zigzag technology can result in a 35% decrease in PM2.5 emissions. The study shows that adopting ZZK technology significantly reduces impact categories, such as particulate matter formation (PMF), photochemical oxidant formation (POF), and terrestrial acidification (TA) by 63%, 93%, and 95%, respectively.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 13-11-2020
DOI: 10.3390/EN13225941
Abstract: In this study, waste cooking oil (WCO) was used as a feedstock for biodiesel production, where the pretreatment of WCO was performed using mineral acids to reduce the acid value. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to create an interaction for different operating parameters that affect biodiesel yield. The optimised biodiesel yield was 93% at a reaction temperature of 57.50 °C, catalyst concentration 0.25 w/w, methanol to oil ratio 8.50:1, reaction stirring speed 600 rpm, and a reaction time of 3 h. Physicochemical properties, including lower heating value, density, viscosity, cloud point, and flash point of biodiesel blends, were determined using American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. Biodiesel blends B10, B20, B30, B40, and B50 were tested on a compression ignition engine. Engine performance parameters, including brake torque (BT), brake power (BP), brake thermal efficiency (BTE), and brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) were determined using biodiesel blends and compared to that of high-speed diesel. The average BT reduction for biodiesel blends compared to HSD at 3000 rpm were found to be 1.45%, 2%, 2.2%, 3.09%, and 3.5% for B10, B20, B30, B40, and B50, respectively. The average increase in BSFC for biodiesel blends compared to HSD at 3500 rpm were found to be 1.61%, 5.73%, 8.8%, 12.76%, and 18% for B10, B20, B30, B40, and B50, respectively.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 08-08-2022
DOI: 10.3390/EN15155757
Abstract: Alcoholic fuels have recently come to light as a sustainable source for powering today’s vehicles. Various studies have investigated the effects of alcoholic fuels on engine efficiency and emission characteristics. However, scarce literature is available for their effects on lubricant. Therefore, propanol-gasoline fuel mixtures, with concentrations of 9% (P9) and 18% (P18) propanol, were made to compare their engine characteristics and lubricating oil condition with that of pure gasoline (0 percent propanol (P0)). To determine the rate of deterioration, the characteristics of the lubricating oil were evaluated after 100 h of engine operation, as suggested by the manufacturer. When compared with unused lube oil, P18 showed reductions in flash point temperature and kinematic viscosity of 14% and 36%, respectively, at 100 °C. For P18, which contains Fe (27 PPM), Al (11 PPM), and Cu (14 PPM), the highest wear element concentrations in the lubricating oil were found. The moisture in the degraded oil was well within the allowable limit for the three fuel mixtures. With the increase in propanol percentage in the propanol-gasoline blend, the engine performance was increased. Compared to P9 and P0, P18 had the partially unburned emissions.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 25-06-2020
DOI: 10.3390/SU12125186
Abstract: Rapid depletion in fossil fuels, inflation in petroleum prices, and rising energy demand have forced towards alternative transport fuels. Among these alternative fuels, diesel-ethanol and diesel-biodiesel blends gain the most attention due to their quality characteristics and environmentally friendly nature. The viscosity and density of these biodiesel blends are slightly higher than diesel, which is a significant barrier to the commercialization of biodiesel. In this study, the density and viscosity of 30 different ternary biodiesel blends was investigated at 15 °С and 40 °С, respectively. Different density and viscosity models were developed and tested on biodiesel blends soured from different feedstock’s including palm, coconut, soybean, mustard, and calophyllum oils. The prognostic ability and precisions of these developed models was assessed statistically using Absolute Percentage Error (APE) and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE). The MAPE of 0.045% and 0.085% for density model and 1.85%, 1.41%, 3.48% and 2.27%, 1.85%, 3.50% for viscosity models were obtained on % volume and % mass basis. These developed correlations are useful for ternary biodiesel blends where alcohols are the part of biodiesel blends. The modeled values of densities and viscosities of ternary blends were significantly comparable with the measured densities and viscosities, which are feasible to avoid the harm of vehicles’ operability.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 07-2020
DOI: 10.3390/EN13133375
Abstract: This research work focuses on investigating the lubricity and analyzing the engine characteristics of diesel–biodiesel blends with fuel additives (titanium dioxide (TiO2) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC)) and their effect on the tribological properties of a mineral lubricant. A blend of palm–sesame oil was used to produce biodiesel using ultrasound-assisted transesterification. B30 (30% biodiesel + 70% diesel) fuel was selected as the base fuel. The additives used in the current study to prepare ternary fuel blends were TiO2 and DMC. B30 + TiO2 showed a significant reduction of 6.72% in the coefficient of friction (COF) compared to B30. B10 (Malaysian commercial diesel) exhibited very poor lubricity and COF among all tested fuels. Both ternary fuel blends showed a promising reduction in wear rate. All contaminated lubricant s les showed an increment in COF due to the dilution of combustible fuels. Lub + B10 (lubricant + B10) showed the highest increment of 42.29% in COF among all contaminated lubricant s les. B30 + TiO2 showed the maximum reduction (6.76%) in brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC). B30 + DMC showed the maximum increment (8.01%) in brake thermal efficiency (BTE). B30 + DMC exhibited a considerable decline of 32.09% and 25.4% in CO and HC emissions, respectively. The B30 + TiO2 fuel blend showed better lubricity and a significant improvement in engine characteristics.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 16-09-2203
DOI: 10.3390/SU141710947
Abstract: Pakistan is a developing country that faces severe energy crises due to the increased use of energy. The purpose of this study is energy transition by designing a strategy for the adoption of renewable energy policies in the entire energy system by using all renewable energy resources to forecast future energy needs and carbon emission mitigation potential. This research study aims to evaluate the renewable energy policies of Pakistan and to analyze the ways to secure energy sources in the future using LEAP. The study established a path for the transformation of the Pakistan energy system by considering the potential of renewable resources, the cost of the energy system, and the primary energy supply. The highest value of energy demand is noted for the 1st scenario, while the lowest emissions are noted for the 16th scenario for each renewable source (WIN16, SOL16, and BIO16). The lowest values of energy demand and emissions (192.1 TWh and 37.7 MMT, respectively) are shown using the green solution compared to other scenarios (hydro, nuclear, BAU), concluding that the green solution is the most suitable scenario. The analysis shows, that from a technological and economic perspective, it is possible to carry out transformation with the necessary steps to effectively achieve a renewable energy system. The findings of this study show that the green scenario in Pakistan which has the lowest operational and externality costs is the best choice for the future.
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Muhammad Farooq.