Edwin Geo Varuvel

• PhD
• Professor at SRM Institute of Science and Technology

Lithium‐ion cells have become an important part of our daily lives. They are used to power mobile phones, laptops and more recently electric vehicles (both two‐ and four‐wheelers). The chemical behavior of the cells is rather complex and non‐linear. For reliable and sustainable use of the cells for practical applications, it is imperative to predic...

Lithium-ion batteries are the heart of modern electric vehicle technology. Operational stresses such as temperature changes, mechanical impacts, and electrochemical aging often subject them to faults, necessitating accurate fault diagnosis that adheres to international safety standards. Consequently, this review examines state-of-the-art fault diag...

It is essential to forecast the exact rate at which the cell's capacity would decline for practical uses, to comprehend the intricate and non‐linear behavior of the cell. Furthermore, the majority of studies provided subpar prediction criteria, making early cell lifetime prediction difficult. Applying reliable and accurate aging models to the dynam...

Alcohol-based fuels have shown high compatibility with spark-ignition (SI) engines, which require improvements in fuel efficiency and emissions reduction to meet modern environmental standards. While extensive research has been conducted on ethanol and other lower-order alcohols, there has been comparatively limited investigation into higher-order...

This study explored the recovery of oil from lemon peel biomass and then tested it in a spark ignition as a substitute for gasoline. The study adopted the micro-arc oxidation coating technique, intending to improve the engine performance of the lemon peel oil-gasoline blends. The oil was recovered from discarded lemon peel biomass using steam disti...

Fossil fuels dominate the transportation industry and contribute to a major influence on global energy consumption. However, there is a need for sustainable and renewable alternatives to conventional fossil fuels to create significant health hazards for the ecological system. This study investigates the potential of waste cashew nut shell liquid (C...

The performance and durability of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) are critically hindered by the oxidation susceptibility of graphite felt gas diffusion layers (GDLs). This study addresses this challenge by employing a protective coating of 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium Bis(trifluoromethyl sulfonyl)imide ([EMIM][TFSI]) on the GDL through...

Biomass‐derived carbon material has drawn significant attention recently due to its wide availability, environmentally free, and effective performance of the resulting porous carbons for supercapacitor (SC) applications. Carbon electrode material derived from biomass is used for energy storage (ES) because it has distinct qualities in porosity, a l...

The development of modern solid‐state batteries with high energy density has provided the reliable and durable solution needed for over‐the‐air network connectivity devices. In this study, a NASICON‐type Na3Zr2Si2PO12 (NZSP) ceramic filler was prepared using the sol‐gel method and then a polymer‐integrated solid electrolyte consisting of polyethyle...

This study examines the combustion properties of pine oil (PO), which is classified as a low viscosity, low cetane (LVLC) fuel. It highlights the superior performance of pine oil in comparison to diesel fuel, but acknowledges that its low cetane index causes a delay in combustion initiation, which consequently results in elevated NOx emissions. Fue...

This study explores the potential of converting High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) waste into liquid hydrocarbon fuels through catalytic degradation using fly ash. It achieves significant conversion rates, with HDPE reaching over 95% total conversion and a 66.4% oil yield at a catalyst-to-polymer ratio of 0.20, whi...

Biodiesel is a highly promising and viable alternative to fossil-based diesel that also addresses the urgent need for effective waste management. It can be synthesized by the chemical modification of triglycerides sourced from vegetable origin, animal fat, or algal oil. The transesterification reaction is the preferred method of producing biodiesel...

Renewable energy is found to be an effective alternative in the field of power production owing to the recent energy crises. Among the available renewable energy sources, solar energy is considered the front runner due to its ability to deliver clean energy, free availability and reduced cost. Photovoltaic (PV) modules are placed over large geograp...

This study examines the combustion properties of pine oil (PO), which is classified as a low viscosity, low cetane (LVLC) fuel. It highlights the superior performance of pine oil in comparison to diesel fuel, but acknowledges that its low cetane index causes a delay in combustion initiation, which consequently results in elevated NOx emissions. Fue...

This article aims to study the impact of camphor oil premixing with intake air on compression ignition (CI) engine characteristics powered with jatropha oil and cottonseed oil. The experiment is conducted on the direct injection compression engine attached to the premixing setup. The investigation reveals that premixing of camphor oil with cottonse...

The research primarily focuses on investigating the impact of hydrogen induction on the parameters of a compression ignition (CI) engine utilizing biodiesel blended with decanol, up to knock limit. The utilization of non-edible oil, exemplified by Prosopis Juliflora seed oil (JFO), presents inherent challenges due to its elevated viscosity, limited...

Herein, in order to estimate the optimized process specifications, an empirical study is done for biodiesel production, performance of standard and coated engine, combustion, and discharge aspects of Raphanus sativus (radish) biodiesel. Optimization process parameters of biodiesel production are done using the response surface method. The importanc...

"Unveiling the Potential of Nanofluids in PEMFC Cooling: A Comprehensive Review, explored nanofluids' transformative role in PEMFC thermal management, emphasizing heat transfer enhancement mechanisms. Critical areas covered include nanoparticle attributes, stability, behavior in flow, and system impact. Our review highlights some exceptional perfor...

Biomass‐based biofuel production is a promising solution to the decline of fossil fuels. Prosopis juliflora seed‐derived vegetable oil, known as Prosopis juliflora methyl ester (JFME), offers a potential feedstock for biodiesel. To enhance its properties, the addition of Decanol is investigated, a higher‐order alcohol similar to Diesel. Experiments...

Inducting hydrogen with biodiesel in a compression ignition (CI) engine contributes to improvising the performance characteristics of the engine and minimize long-term issues. Combustion of hydrogen along with intake air impacts positively in air quality by preventing the formation of toxic emissions like hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO)....

This paper reported a research work that investigated the compatibility of using pomegranate peel oil (PPO) as a substitute for gasoline in a spark-ignition engine. Initially, fuel characterization was performed for the PPO biofuel, and a blend was prepared by blending PPO in gasoline at a ratio of 10:90 by volume. Then, fuel properties were measur...

Biodiesel emits lesser harmful pollutant emissions than renewable and biodegradable ones compared diesel. Research confirms that edible products and crops are the major sources of biofuel production. Excessive usage of these crops leads to higher production costs, economic imbalance, and depletion of food supply. Biofuel production from inedible so...

This study pertains to studying the feasibility of the third-generation biodiesel obtained from one of the algae species known as Azolla microphylla by exploring their fundamental droplet combustion behavior and diesel engine characteristics. Firstly, the droplet evolution and burn rate are investigated for diesel, Azolla100, and Azolla50 (50% biod...

The demand for energy is increasing every year. For a long time, fossil fuels have been used to satiate this energy demand. However, using hydrocarbon-based fossil fuels has led to an enormous rise of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere resulting in global warming. It is therefore necessary to look for alternatives to fossil fuels. The research...

Bio-oil from nonedible sources is an ideal alternative for thermal oil in solar and heat applications. The significant merits of bio-oil in high-temperature applications are less volatile, higher availability, non-hazardous, environmentally friendly, and renewable resources. Heat transmission fluids (HF) are a medium that transfers heat in all sola...

The automobile sector dominated by conventional fossil fuels greatly impacted human lives and strengthened the economy of many countries. However, the harmful emissions from the engines have contaminated the environment and induced severe climate changes; hence the emphasis is being laid on low carbon fuels that emit lower emissions and greenhouse...

Flow field plate (FFP) is an integral polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack component that has multifunctional applications, such as facilitation of the reactant flow, transfer current from cell-to-cell, heat dissipation and product water removal. The conventional FFPs are made of graphite or metals, with their limitations, such as l...

This experimental work aims to address the challenges of waste management. Biomass waste is converted into useful fuel and considered as a replacement to conventional fuel in CI engines. In this context, the grape marc and grape pomace are crushed and further processed to produce grapeseed oil. The grapeseed oil is further trans esterified to produ...

In this research, gasoline engine performance and emission characteristics were studied when powered by diisopropyl ether-gasoline blends. The main objective of this study is to determine the behavior of diisopropyl ether-gasoline blends at various engine speeds and compression ratios. Further, the engine parameters were optimized using the respons...

The experimental study was carried out on the port fuel injection system installed spark-ignition engine fuelled by 1.5%, 3%, and 5% higher order alcohol such as 1-hexanol and 2-heptanol blended gasoline. In this study, the endoscopic combustion visualization technique was employed to compare and analyze the changes observed in the spatial flame ch...

This study focuses on effectively utilizing the biodiesel extracted from Azolla (third-generation biofuel), which is regarded as a renewable energy source, for fueling diesel engines. Biodiesel is unique due to its increased viscosity and different fatty acid composition, which proved difficult to attain better engine performance with a mechanical...

The scope of this work investigates the feasibility of using orange peel oil (OPO)–gasoline blends in a spark-ignition engine for the first time. Initially, fuel characterization of OPO is performed, and the fuel properties are reported. Subsequently, engine experiments were performed in a spark-ignition engine at a constant speed with different en...

Effective thermal management strategy for the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack is critical in maintaining the overall stack efficiency and durability. The present assessment critically explores the recent developments (predominantly last decade) in thermal management strategies of PEMFCs, which encompasses an in-depth analysis o...

The effect of the modified intake port with various inclined nozzle angles such as 30°, 60°, and 90° on the diesel engine characteristics when operated with pine oil-diesel blends is investigated. Prior to the engine experimental study, a computational analysis was performed to investigate the impact produced on the flow field parameters of an engi...

In this research, an ample attempt was made to make use of oil extracted from bergamot fruit peel, which can be regarded as a renewable energy source. A systematic experimental approach was adopted to evaluate the feasibility of bergamot peel oil (BGT) as a substitute for gasoline fuel in spark-ignition (SI) engine applications. The oil derived fro...

The increased use of fossil fuels in the transportation sector has led to an exponential rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide (CO2) is the major cause of global warming resulting in climate change and extreme weather conditions. This study explores the ways of reducing the CO2 emission from the exhaust of a common rail engin...

This study is an exhaustive investigation on engine performance and combustion features of a conventional diesel engine charged with biodiesel produced from biomass waste. Grapeseed oil methyl ester resulted in poor thermal efficiency with enormous quantity of harmful emissions. As an effort to reduce the engine pollutants, Grapeseed oil methyl est...

This study aims to replace diesel with Prosopis Juliflora seed oil (JPO) in a compression ignition (CI) engine. The high viscosity of JPO promotes inferior performance and combustion. Brake thermal efficiency of JPO is 28.3%, which is less compared to 30.7% for diesel. This also leads to higher brake-specific energy consumption, HC, CO, and smoke e...

The transportation sector is a major emitter of carbon dioxide emissions. It is a known fact that carbon dioxide is the cause of global warming which has resulted in extreme weather conditions as well as climate change. In this study a combination of different methods of expediting the CO2 emission from a single cylinder common rail direct injectio...

Disposal of biomass waste in winery industry is an additional burden to the breweries. This biomass when converted to useful source of fuel energy to compression ignition engines serves the dual effect of waste reduction as well as cheaper energy source. Grapeseed biodiesel has been rarely studied in the recent literatures. The aim of this research...

This study aims to enhance the turbulence of direct injection (DI) diesel engine by modifying the inlet manifold design with an inclined nozzle-like provision angles of 30°, 60°, and 90° along with its regular intake system. Numerical analysis was carried out using the computational fluid dynamics package (STAR-CD libraries of es-ice) to study the...

A novel photovoltaic thermal air (PVTa) system with semi length fins in the downstream portion of the air channel was tested experimentally for its performance capability for the generation of hydrogen in the present work. Fins are passive devices used to overcome the main detrimental effect of reduced power output due to photovoltaic panel heating...

The performance of engine parameters is more influenced with fuel injection strategies namely start of main injection timing (SoMI). An experimental analysis was performed to find the optimum SoMI timing based on performance, emission, and combustion characteristics. Base fuel of diesel and neem biodiesel was used as test fuels. The neem biodiesel...

Use of biodiesel in diesel engine helps to reduce HC, CO, and smoke emissions due to their enormous oxygen content, whereas NOx emissions formed by Zeldovich mechanism shoot up. Implementation of Bharat Stage (BS) VI by April 2020 in India has created extreme pressure on automobile manufacturers to include after treatment technology in their system...

Gas Diffusion Electrode Backing Layer is a critical component of PEM fuel cell and present invention incorporate the Additive Manufacturing (SLS) technique to fabricate such components.

This research work endeavours to study the effect of 2-butoxyethanol blended gasoline on the engine in-cylinder spatial flame propagation, performance, and emission characteristics of a twin-cylinder spark ignition engine at a constant speed of 2400 rpm. The four blends were prepared by adding 1%, 1.5%, 2%, and 2.5% 2-butoxyethanol by volume propor...

Bioethanol is gaining momentum to be the best suitable replacement fuel for internal combustion engines; since it can be produced from biomass and lesser NOx emissions due its increased latent heat of vaporization. It has high flame speed which helps to complete the combustion quickly in premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) mode. The focus o...

Alcohol-based fuels are slowly emerging as most promising alternative fuel. Among different alcohols, diethyl ether (DEE) appears to have the largest potential to be used as fuel. In this study, a constant speed, diesel engine was tested for the change in its performance when fueled with diesel – diethyl ether blends. Three blends of diethyl ether...

The ill effects of carbon dioxide on global warming are well known, and the transportation segment is among the major emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2). Use of renewable fuels in diesel engines can reduce the emission as they recycle carbon dioxide. In this context, the present study aims to achieve low carbon emissions from the engine exhaust by ble...

There is a need to find suitable substitutes for the petroleum based fuels as the conventional fuels are decreasing in order in recent years. Vegetable oils are attractive as an alternative fuel for diesel engines as they are renewable and can be used in engines without employing any major modifications. The main problems with the use of neat veget...

In this work, the performance analysis of a diesel engine fitted with a porous medium (PM) combustor is investigated. Three different sizes of Silicon carbide (SiC) porous medium such as 10, 20, and 30 Pores Per Inch (PPI) were evaluated. The porous medium was installed into the piston bowl to study the variation in performance, combustion and emis...

Designing an efficient and stable electrocatalyst made of earth abundant elements to take over expensive noble metal based for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) have been focused. Cobalt disulfide-molybdenum disulfide nanocomposite supported by nitrogen doped reduced graphene oxide and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CoS2/MoS2@NrGO-MWCNT) is reported...

Currently, India imports 84% of its total oil needs and aims to bring that down to 67% by 2022. To aim for this, the hunt for sustainable production of non-toxic, renewable, and low-cost alternative fuel sources is the need of the hour. Azolla microphylla plant which grows on the water surfaces can be a potential feedstock for the production of bio...

Stringent emission norms impose challenges to original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in reducing diesel engine emissions. Implementing renewable fuels as alternative energy sources in diesel engines leads to increased emission levels particularly NOx. In this work, performance, combustion, and emission parameters from a diesel engine powered with gr...