Effect of engine parameters and type of gaseous fuel on the performance of dual-fuel gas diesel engines—A critical review

Petroleum resources are finite and, therefore, search for their alternative non-petroleum fuels for internal combustion engines is continuing all over the world. Moreover gases emitted by petroleum fuel driven vehicles have an adverse effect on the environment and human health. There is universal acceptance of the need to reduce such emissions. Towards this, scientists have proposed various solutions for diesel engines, one of which is the use of gaseous fuels as a supplement for liquid diesel fuel. These engines, which use conventional diesel fuel and gaseous fuel, are referred to as ‘dual-fuel engines’. Natural gas and bio-derived gas appear more attractive alternative fuels for dual-fuel engines in view of their friendly environmental nature. In the gas-fumigated dual-fuel engine, the primary fuel is mixed outside the cylinder before it is inducted into the cylinder. A pilot quantity of liquid fuel is injected towards the end of the compression stroke to initiate combustion. When considering a gaseous fuel for use in existing diesel engines, a number of issues which include, the effects of engine operating and design parameters, and type of gaseous fuel, on the performance of the dual-fuel engines, are important. This paper reviews the research on above issues carried out by various scientists in different diesel engines. This paper touches upon performance, combustion and emission characteristics of dual-fuel engines which use natural gas, biogas, producer gas, methane, liquefied petroleum gas, propane, etc. as gaseous fuel. It reveals that ‘dual-fuel concept’ is a promising technique for controlling both NO_x and soot emissions even on existing diesel engine. But, HC, CO emissions and ‘bsfc’ are higher for part load gas diesel engine operations. Thermal efficiency of dual-fuel engines improve either with increased engine speed, or with advanced injection timings, or with increased amount of pilot fuel. The ignition characteristics of the gaseous fuels need more research for a long-term use in a dual-fuel engine. It is found that, the selection of engine operating and design parameters play a vital role in minimizing the performance divergences between an existing diesel engine and a ‘gas diesel engine’.     

Use of hydrogen in dual-fuel diesel engines

Hydrogen is a promising future energy carrier due to its potential for production from renewable resources. It can be used in existing compression ignition diesel engines in a dual-fuel mode with little modification. Hydrogen's unique physiochemical properties, such as higher calorific value, flame speed, and diffusivity in air, can effectively improve the performance and combustion characteristics of diesel engines. As a carbon-free fuel, hydrogen can also mitigate harmful emissions from diesel engines, including carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, particulate matter, soot, and smoke. However, hydrogen-fueled diesel engines suffer from knocking combustion and higher nitrogen oxide emissions. This paper comprehensively reviews the effects of hydrogen or hydrogen-containing gaseous fuels (i.e., syngas and hydroxy gas) on the behavior of dual-fuel diesel engines. The opportunities and limitations of using hydrogen in diesel engines are discussed thoroughly. It is not possible for hydrogen to improve all the performance indicators and exhaust emissions of diesel engines simultaneously. However, reformulating pilot fuel by additives, blending hydrogen with other gaseous fuels, adjusting engine parameters, optimizing operating conditions, modifying engine structure, using hydroxy gas, and employing exhaust gas catalysts could pave the way for realizing safe, efficient, and economical hydrogen-fueled diesel engines. Future work should focus on preventing knocking combustion and nitrogen oxide emissions in hydrogen-fueled diesel engines by adjusting the hydrogen inclusion rate in real time.     

生物制气-柴油双燃料发动机放热规律试验研究

采用气化炉热解气化各种农林废弃的生物质,产生可燃生物制气,用作为以柴油引燃的双燃料发动机的主要燃料。测量生物制气-柴油双燃料发动机气缸压力,计算分析放热规律。双燃料发动机与燃用纯柴油时的发动机相比,燃烧始点延迟,最大燃烧压力降低,最大放热率和排气温度增加,后燃较严重。负荷增大时,双燃料发动机燃烧始点提前,最大燃烧放热率增高,最高燃烧温度升高,后燃较严重。供油提前角提前时,后燃减小,燃烧过程明显改善。     

生物制气-柴油双燃料发动机燃烧及排放分析

采用气化炉热解气化各种农林废弃的生物质,得到可燃生物制气。将柴油机改制成双燃料发动机,用生物制气作为主要燃料,由柴油引燃。测量生物制气-柴油双燃料发动机在最大扭矩转速时的气缸压力及废气排放,分析燃烧特性及对排放物生成的影响,并对比分析柴油机与双燃料发动机的差别。     

Investigation of the degradation of a low-cost untreated biogas engine using preheated biogas with phase separation for electric power generation

Today, environmental concerns push for new technologies to reduce our energy dependence on fossil fuels.The use of treated biogas in dual-fuel diesel engines is common as it has no major effects on engine performance and it only requires minor engine modifications, consisting mostly on premixing and injection timing advance.However, biogas itself cannot be directly used in engines because of degradation caused by acid attacks and sulfidation, making sulfur compound filtration a necessity. In this case, biogas use is economically competitive for relatively big installations with electrical power above ≈100–200 kW. Simple, low-costs solutions are needed for small installations (below 100 kW).The objective of this paper is to assess the degradation of a 3.1 kW diesel engine in dual-fuel mode with preheated untreated biogas with phase separation. The modifications on the engine consist only in an exhaust/biogas heat exchanger with phase separation and lubricant replacement with a higher total base number. These changes are relatively costless compared to removing sulfur from the biogas. A test engine did function for 550 h with preheated untreated biogas containing 2000 ppmv of H₂S. The load was maintained at 60% of maximum load with 50% of diesel replacement with biogas. Degradation was monitored by visual inspection, weight and size measurements of engine parts, in-cylinder pressure measurements, and oil analysis. Dismantling of the engine at the end of the experiment showed almost negligible signs of degradation.For comparison purposes, a similar test was conducted on the engine with the same operating conditions but without biogas preheating or phase separation. The degradation observed was noticeably more important in that experiment as the oil total base number decreased faster and cylinder head gasket wear was more important.Biogas preheating with phase separation seems a promising low-cost alternative for biogas use in small farms as it limits acid attacks and sulfidation in engines.     

低热值燃气-柴油双燃料发动机动力性能计算

推导了低热值燃气-柴油双燃料发动机动力性能计算公式,并对由单缸、四冲程、水冷、直喷式柴油机改装的生物制气-柴油双燃料发动机的动力性能进行了计算分析。结果表明：双燃料发动机能够达到原柴油机的动力水平;其动力性能随引燃油量的减小而降低;在新鲜空气充足的前提下,供给更多的燃气,双燃料发动机的动力性能增强;燃气替代率有一最大值,超过该值后,随替代率增大,动力性能急剧下降;燃气低热值越高,替代率便可越大。计算得出的生物制气-柴油双燃料发动机在标定点和最大转矩点的最大生物制气替代率和对应的燃气进气比,与试验结果相吻合。     

生物制气-柴油双燃料发动机NOx计算模型

采用气化炉热解气化各种农林废弃的生物质,产生可燃生物制气,作为双燃料发动机的主要燃料。双燃料发动机由单缸、四冲程、水冷、直喷式柴油机改装,生物制气通入发动机进气管,在进气过程中吸入气缸。在油滴蒸发准维燃烧模型的基础上,结合单区模型和详细化学反应动力学机理,建立生物制气-柴油双燃料发动机的NOx生成模型,计算结果与试验结果吻合较好。供油提前角提前,生物制气-柴油双燃料发动机NOx排放量增加;引燃柴油量减小时,NOx排放量减小。     

Combined impact of varying biogas mass flow rate and rice bran methyl esters blended with diesel on a dual-fuel engine

ABSTRACT

For fetching day-to-day energy needs, current energy requirement majorly depends on fossil fuels. But ambiguous matter like abating petroleum products and expanding air pollution has enforced the experts to strive for another fuel which can be used as an alternative or reduce the applications of fossil fuels. Considering the issues, the main objective of the present study is to find the feasibility by using blends of rice bran oil biodiesel and diesel which are used as pilot fuels by blending 10% and 20% biodiesel in fossil diesel and biogas, introduced as gaseous fuel by varying its mass flow rate in a dual-fuel engine mode. An experimentation study was carried out to find the performance and emission parameters of the engine relative to pure diesel. The results were very much similar to the majority of researchers who used biodiesel and gaseous fuels in a dual-fuel engine. Brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of the engine was noticed to have increased, while brake thermal efficiency was on the lower side in dual fuel mode in comparison with regular diesel. In relation with conventional diesel, it was noticed that combined effect of rice bran methyl esters and varying mass flow rate of biogas showed a decrement in NO _x and smoke emissions, whereas HC and CO exhalations were on higher side when biogas and biodiesel were utilized collectively in dual-fuel engine. Hence, it was concluded that combination of blends of biodiesel and diesel and introduction of biogas in the engine can be a promising combination which can be used as a substitute fuel for addressing future energy needs.     

Effect of utilization of hydrogen-rich reformed biogas on the performance and emission characteristics of common rail diesel engine

The utilization of renewable gaseous fuels in the diesel engine has gained significant interest in recent years due to its clean-burning nature and higher availability. In this study, hydrogen-rich reformed biogas was used as a gaseous fuel in a common rail diesel engine with diesel as pilot fuel. The hydrogen-rich reformed gas was synthesized through dry-oxidative reforming. The experimentations were performed in the load range from 6 to 24 N m with two different flow rates of gaseous fuel (0.5 and 1.5 kg/h) at a constant speed of 1800 RPM. The effects on engine performance parameters (brake thermal efficiency, brake specific energy consumption, and brake specific diesel consumption), combustion parameters (rate of pressure rise and maximum heat release rate) and emission parameters (Unburnt hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide) were assessed. The induction of gaseous fuel led to an increase in brake thermal efficiency by 10.5%, reduction in brake specific energy consumption by 13.6%, and a reduction of 26.4% in brake specific diesel consumption with a flow rate of 0.5 kg/h when compared to diesel-only mode at 24 N m load. The HC, NO_X and CO₂ emissions were reduced by 18.2%, 7.4% and 1.4% with a flow rate of 0.5 kg/h when compared to diesel-only mode at 24 N m load due to lower availability of carbon content in the combustible mixture. The utilization of renewable fuel like hydrogen-rich reformed biogas has great potential for overcoming the issue related to both biogas and hydrogen in diesel engines. Moreover, the higher diesel substitution also demonstrates the potential for cost-saving and fossil fuel conservation.     

使用双燃料发动机与普通柴油机作钻机动力的经济性分析

本文简要介绍2000型柴油／天然气双燃料发动机的技术特点,以及双燃料发动机与普通柴油机的区别,并以配备DJ40钻机动力为例,从经济效益方面对双燃料发动机与普通柴油机进行了对比分析,最终为优选双燃料发动机提供依据。     

Biogas (a promising bioenergy source): A critical review on the potential of biogas as a sustainable energy source for gaseous fuelled spark ignition engines

Increasing demand for energy accompanied by environmental concerns has raised the requirement for limiting the use of fossil fuels in energy generation and transportation applications. Among the green and renewable energy-based solutions, biogas is quite promising since it could be implemented for power generation applications (engines driving generators and pump sets) in rural areas, at domestic and industrial scales with lower capital investment and production cost by using the agricultural crop residues and other domestic biomass sources as raw materials. However, the composition of biogas varies depending on the raw materials, and higher concentration of carbon dioxide in biogas results in combustion variations affecting engine durability. This review focuses on the role of biogas in achieving sustainable development goals with an emphasis on its utilization in gaseous fuelled spark-ignited engines. Recent progress in biogas production and upgradation techniques are also detailed. Challenges related to the stability and characteristics of biogas fuelled spark-ignited engines could be addressed by either modifying the physical parameters of the engine or by enhancing the fuel quality (upgradation to biomethane or blending with hydrogen). A comprehensive review on the effects of these approaches on the performance, combustion, and emission characteristics of biogas-fuelled engines is discussed in detail with a note on engine operating parameters.     

6105ZQS双燃料发动机的开发及试验研究

针对6105ZQ增压中冷发动机开发出了610SZQS柴油-天然气双燃料发动机。为了进一步对6105ZQ双燃料发动机进行性能研究，针对燃烧室结构参数、供油提前角、天然气替代率等对双燃料发动机性能有重要影响的因素进行了试验，研究其对发动机性能、缸内压力升高率、放热率以及缸内温度的影响，为今后开发天然气电控喷射式双燃料发动机及提高其性能提供依据。     

Dual fuel mode operation in diesel engines using renewable fuels: Rubber seed oil and coir-pith producer gas

Partial combustion of biomass in the gasifier generates producer gas that can be used as supplementary or sole fuel for internal combustion engines. Dual fuel mode operation using coir-pith derived producer gas and rubber seed oil as pilot fuel was analyzed for various producer gas–air flow ratios and at different load conditions. The engine is experimentally optimized with respect to maximum pilot fuel savings in the dual fuel mode operation. The performance and emission characteristics of the dual fuel engine are compared with that of diesel engine at different load conditions. Specific energy consumption in the dual-fuel mode of operation with oil-coir-pith operation is found to be in the higher side at all load conditions. Exhaust emission was found to be higher in the case of dual fuel mode of operation as compared to neat diesel/oil operation. Engine performance characteristics are inferior in fully renewable fueled engine operation but it suitable for stationary engine application, particularly power generation.     

Emissions from sawdust biomass and diesel blends fuels

Biomass producer gas presents a very promising alternative fuel to diesel since it is a renewable and clean burning fuel having similar properties to those of diesel. In this outline, a multi-cylinder diesel engine is experimentally optimized for maximum diesel savings, lower emissions, and without any excessive vibration of the engine using sawdust biomass as producer gas. Emission parameters of the double-fuel engine at diverse gas flow rates are contrasted with those of diesel at distinctive load conditions. The study brings out that the greatest diesel reserve happens to be 80% at 8 kW load without any engine issue in dual-fuel mode. Carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in dual-fuel mode are more contrasted with diesel at all test extents. Smoke opacity and oxide of nitrogen (NO) emission values in dual-fuel mode are less contrasted with diesel.     

Combustion,performance and emission analyses of a CI engine operating with renewable diesel fuels (HVO/FARNESANE) under dual-fuel mode through hydrogen port injection

The use of hydrogen in internal combustion engines is pointed out as an alternative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In applications that require high levels of torque and low engine speeds, compression ignition (CI) engines are more appropriate. However, because of the high auto-ignition temperature of hydrogen, its use in these engine types is more suitable when the dual-fuel concept is applied. This study comprehensively investigates, through experimental techniques, the use of hydrogen port-injection in a four-stroke single-cylinder CI engine operating with the renewable diesel-like fuels hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and farnesane, in comparison to fossil diesel dual-fuel operation. In this sense, the present work aims to fill a gap in the literature by performing a novel analysis of dual-fuel operation with hydrogen, considering different substitution fractions, and using groundbreaking biofuels, such as HVO and farnesane. The results showed that in-cylinder pressure and temperature were increased with H₂ enrichment for every pilot fuel, but green diesel fuels presented lower values than those for diesel operation. Furthermore, hydrogen port injection slightly delayed the start of combustion and increased the ignition delay, but a reduction in both premixed and diffusion combustion duration was observed. Reductions in PM, CO, and CO₂ emissions were reported during H₂ addition for every pilot fuel, while increased NO_x was observed. Despite this increase, both HVO and farnesane decreased the emissions of this pollutant in single and dual-fuel operations, compared with fossil diesel. In addition, both renewable diesel fuels presented higher BTE than diesel for every studied H₂ mass flow.     

Status,challenges and opportunities of dual fuel hybrid approaches-a review

Consumers conventionally adopt diesel generation to meet the energy needs where the grid connection is unreliable or unavailable. While electrification has provided these communities a variety of economic and social opportunities, diesel consumption has resulted in adverse costs and environmental pollution. Two technologies available to reduce the expense and emissions of diesel fuel reliance include dual fuel or hybrid diesel applications. The dual-fuel approach involves a supplementary gas fuel charge in support of reduced diesel fuel consumption. Hybrid applications involve the integration of renewable generation to displace diesel fuel consumption. This paper reviews the potential for hybrid dual-fuel applications, identifying engine flexibility as a major integration barrier. In comparing the flexibility of various dual-fuel technologies to operate dynamically, this paper presents a critical review across hydrogen, liquified petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas (NG) and blended hydrogen and NG derivatives. The results identify a range of approaches able to improve engine flexibility and thus reduce the cost and carbon intensity of diesel-fired internal combustion engines. At low load conditions, while NG and LPG exhibit similar performance, the use of hydrogen and hydrogen blends provide improved engine performance and response. Unfortunately, given the current cost of hydrogen fuel, significant commercial barriers exist to the adoption of hydrogen or hydrogen blended fuels. Despite this, this review indicates the potential of hydrogen-NG blends to offer additional flexibility in comparison to alternative dual-fuel technologies. This position is furthered considering near term cost targets associated with the development of a global green hydrogen industry, coupled with its ability to serve as a demand-side management approach within isolated power systems, one of the multiple future research themes.     

Strategies to improve the performance of a spark ignition engine using fuel blends of biogas with natural gas,propane and hydrogen

This work presents the strategies applied to improve the performance of a spark ignition (SI) biogas engine. A diesel engine with a high compression ratio (CR) was converted to SI to be fueled with gaseous fuels. Biogas was used as the main fuel to increase knocking resistance of the blends. Biogas was blended with natural gas, propane, and hydrogen to improve fuel combustion properties. The spark timing (ST) was adjusted for optimum generating efficiencies close to the knocking threshold. The engine was operated on each blend at the maximum output power under stable combustion conditions. The maximum output power was measured at partial throttle limited by engine knocking threshold. The use of biogas in the engine resulted in a power derating of 6.25% compared with the original diesel engine (8 kW @ 1800 rpm). 50% biogas + 50% natural gas was the blend with the highest output power (8.66 kW @1800 rpm) and the highest generating efficiency (29.8%); this blend indeed got better results than the blends enriched with propane and hydrogen. Tests conditions were selected to achieve an average knocking peak pressure between 0.3 and 0.5 bar and COV of IMEP lower than 4% using 200 consecutive cycles as reference. With the blends of biogas, propane, and hydrogen, the output power obtained was just over 8 kW whereas the blends of biogas, natural gas, and hydrogen the output power were close to 8.6 kW. Moreover, a new approach to evaluate the maximum output power in gas engines is proposed, which does not depend on the engine % throttle but on the limit defined by the knocking threshold and cyclic variations.     

Low-load hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel engine operation – A combustion efficiency improvement approach

Hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel operation can provide significant benefits to the performance and carbon-based emissions formation of compression-ignition engines. The wide flammability range of hydrogen allows engine operation at extremely low equivalence ratios while its high diffusivity and flame speed promote wide range combustion inside the cylinder. Nonetheless, despite the excellent properties of hydrogen for internal combustion, unburned hydrogen emissions and poor combustion efficiency have been previously observed at low-load conditions of compression ignition engines.The focus of the present study is to assess the effects of different engine operation and diesel injection parameters on the combustion efficiency of a heavy-duty dual-fuel engine while observing their interactions with the brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and emissions formation of the engine. In an attempt to reduce the unburned hydrogen rates at the exhaust of the engine, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and different diesel injection strategies were implemented. Statistical methods were applied in this study to reduce the experimental time.The results show a strong connection between unburned hydrogen rates, combustion and brake thermal efficiencies with the EGR rate. Higher EGR rates increase the intake charge temperature and provide improved hydrogen combustion and fuel economy. Operation of the dual-fuel engine at low-load with high EGR rate and slightly advanced main diesel injection can deliver simultaneous benefits to most of the harmful emissions and the BTE of the engine. Despite the efforts to achieve optimal engine operation at low loads, the combustion efficiency for most of the tested cases was in the range of 90%. Thus, increased hydrogen rates should be avoided as the benefits of the dual-fuel operation are weak at low-load conditions.     

Application of machine learning and Box-Behnken design in optimizing engine characteristics operated with a dual-fuel mode of algal biodiesel and waste-derived biogas

Waste-derived biogas and third-generation algal biodiesel are attractive alternative fuels to substitute fossil diesel in a diesel engine. However, using biodiesel as a pilot liquid fuel and biogas as the main fuel in a diesel engine is a complicated and highly non-linear process. The current study seeks to predict and optimize the combustion and exhaust emission characteristics of a variable compression dual-fuel combustion engine. Data from experiments were obtained at a variety of engine loads, compression ratios, pilot fuel injection pressures, and timings. A multi-layer perceptron network was employed to develop an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) based prognostic model using the experimental data. The developed prognostic model was used to estimate brake thermal efficiency, biogas flow rates, peak in-cylinder pressure, carbon dioxide, unburned hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, and carbon monoxide. The predictive model's robustness is demonstrated by statistical metrics such as R (0.9723–0.988) and R² (0.9453–0.9761), Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency (94–97%), and mean absolute percentage error (0.013–0.128%), Kling-Gupta efficiency (0.9548–0.9836), and Theil's U2 model uncertainty (0.162–0.368). To optimize the parameters of dual-fuel combustion, the Multi-Output Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed. The trade-off assessment between emission and efficiency using the desirability approach revealed that 84% engine load, 244 bar of fuel injection pressure, 28 °BTDC of injection timing, and 17.5 compression ratio are the best-operating conditions for the test engine. An experimental investigation was used to corroborate the RSM research findings, and errors were less than 9%. It was revealed that ANN-linked RSM is a good hybrid technique for modeling, prediction, and optimization of the performance of a dual-fuel engine.     

Assessment of combustion and exhaust emissions in a common-rail diesel engine fueled with methane and hydrogen/methane mixtures under different compression ratio

This study investigates the potential usage of the methane and hydrogen enriched methane in a turbocharged common-rail direct injection diesel engine. Methane and hydrogen/methane mixtures are sent through the air intake manifold of the engine. The engine is operated at four different loads and three different compression ratios. Results are compared amongst single diesel and dual-fuel operations at different compression ratios and load conditions. Compared to diesel, dual-fuel operations mostly generate higher and advanced peak in-cylinder gas pressure, more combustion noise, late pilot injection and start of combustion, advanced combustion center, substantial variations at ignition delay and combustion duration, a significant increase in cyclic variations at low and medium loads, and earlier heat release. Hydrogen enrichment decreases evidently specific fuel consumption. Concerning emissions, compared to diesel operation, dual-fuel operations produce higher total hydrocarbon (THC) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) but lower carbon dioxide (CO₂). Hydrogen substitutions decrease THC and CO₂ emissions of methane dual-fuel operations approximately between 9-29% and 1–32%, respectively. Smoke emission of dual-fuel operations is less than that of diesel at low and medium loads, whereas it sharply increases at high load. Knocking occurs at high compression ratio and load conditions with dual-fuel operations and dramatically increases with increasing hydrogen ratio. Decreasing the compression ratio notably reduces the combustion noise as well as some emissions, such as NO_x, CO₂ and smoke, for entire load ranges of dual-fuel and diesel operations.