Performance Analysis of Petrol Engine using Producer Gas with Variable CR

Producer gas is promising alternative fuel to meet energy demand in many countries which is defined as gas generation from solid waste through thermo-chemical conversion route (also termed as gasification) can be used for fuelling a compression ignition (CI) engine in duel fuel mode or a spark ignition (SI) engine in the gas alone mode. This technology is also environmentally benign and holds large promise for the future. Survey in the field of producer gas based engines reveals modest research work have been carried out since the inception of biomass/ charcoal gasification systems. Producer gas contains a large fraction of inert and with laminar burning velocity being high (due to presence of H2), smooth operation at higher Compression ratio does not seem impossible. Many researchers have found that power loss could be reduce (about 15-30%)while operating producer gas at higher compression ratio. This could be attributed to two reasons, namely non- availability of standard gasification system that could generate consistent quality producer gas and the other relating to misconceptions about producer gas (related to compression ratio limitation due to knock tendency and de-rating). The knock tendency can be expected to be better on account of large fraction of inert gas as compared to natural gas. However, there has not been any research on octane rating test conducted on producer gas fuel and moreover it is not clear if any established test procedure exists for producer gas like the methane number test for natural gas and biogas. Power loss in producer gas engine could be due to reduction in the mixture energy density and the product-to- reactant mole ratio

Information and Communication Technology Capabilities, Environmental Characteristics and Small Firm Survival

Although a potentially costly investment, information and communication technology capability (ICT capabilities) has received increasing attention for its potential for improving firm performance. Less is known about the long-term effects of such capability investments which can be understood in ICT capability construct dimensions such as the technical knowledge about ICT, knowledge about ICT operations, and investments in ICT objects such as presence of hardware, IT personnel and IT infrastructure. In a longitudinal multi-year empirical study, we empirically examine the relevance of building ICT capabilities for the long term survival of small firms. We find that ICT capabilities reduce likelihood of failure, and that at higher levels of environmental dynamism and environmental complexity the likelihood of small firms failure is further reduced by such capabilities. The study implications points to the importance of recognizing potential benefits of building ICT capabilities for long term survival.</p