Emission Reduction of Regenerative Fuel Powered Co-Generation Plants with SCR- and Oxidation-Catalysts

Since the beginning of combustion engine development in this recent century various different fuels have been successfully tested. Diesel engines have been adapted to fuels made from mineral oils because of the rising importance and the cheapness in comparison to other fuels. On the other hand, it is possible to burn regenerative fuels in engines and achieve some significant advantages in comparison to fossil diesel fuel. This is, for example, a closed carbon dioxide (CO₂) cycle which causes no green house effect. It is possible to extract oil from various seeds like rapeseed. It is also possible to burn used oil from the food processing industry or waste grease and oil from food recycling companies. The great advantages: (1) food recycling oils can produce energy instead of use as animal food, and (2) as nobody knows exactly the consistency of the collected oils, poisonous pollution is possible. These regenerative fuels can be burned without any further processing in special adapted diesel engines, for example an Elsbett engine, or in precombustion engines with large swept volumes. Most researchers focused on operating diesel engines with regenerative fuels and reducing the emissions caring only about regulated exhaust components. In comparison to these studies it is necessary to learn more about the emissions beyond the exhaust regulations. Additionally emission reduction is possible by using an SCR-catalyst (selective catalytic reduction) to reduce the NO₂ combined with an oxidation-catalyst which reduces any kind of oxidisable emissions. The TU München, Lehrstuhl für Energie- und Umwelttechnik der Lebensmittelindustrie, operates a small co-generation plant with the ability of analysing the standard emission components (CO, NO₂, HC, particles, CO₂, O₂) and unregulated components (SO₂, NH₃, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), aldehyde, ketone). The emissions show some significant differences in comparison to fossil diesel fuel which is caused by the diversity of each fuel. Results of an investigation on four different fuels (wastefat methyl ester (WME), rapeseed methyl ester (RME), rapeseed oil and diesel fuel) burned in a small co-generation plant with a SCR- and oxidation-catalyst will be presented. A comparison to the emissions before and after the catalysts will be shown additionally to the results of the different reduction potential of diesel fuel, methyl ester or untreated oils. The combination of regenerative fuel and catalyst shows good potential for reducing the emissions. Furthermore the use of regenerative fuels is a sustainable production of energy with an overall efficiency of almost 90%. Regenerative fuels based on vegetable oils and waste fat are a valuable form of energy and have some significant advantages in comparison to diesel fuel, like an almost closed carbon dioxide cycle, rapid biological decomposition and lower CO, HC and particle emissions. Regenerative fuels should also meet minimum standards discussed in the paper to avoid the risk of engine damage and to reduce emissions.     

Ignition delay in a palm oil and rapeseed oil biodiesel fuelled engine and predictive correlations for the ignition delay period

This paper presents the results of engine tests of biodiesels obtained by transesterification of palm oil and rapeseed oil and with fossil diesel fuel as a reference. The analysis is focused on the determination of the ignition delay and on obtaining a predictive correlation for it. The experiments show no significant difference in in-cylinder pressures at injection timing for each fuel. With biodiesel slightly lower peak cylinder pressures were observed for most engine conditions. Palm oil and rapeseed oil biodiesel gave shorter ignition delay than fossil diesel fuel due to the higher cetane number for the biodiesels. The ignition delay data were correlated as a function of the equivalence ratio, the mean cylinder pressure and mean temperature over the ignition delay interval. A comparison is made with other available correlations. The ignition delay values estimated by the new correlations are in good agreement with the experiments.     

Determination of performance and exhaust emissions properties of B75 in a CI engine application

In this study, performance and exhaust emissions of biodiesel in a compression ignition engine was experimentally investigated. Therefore, biodiesel has been made by transesterification from cotton seed oil and then it was mixed with diesel fuel by 25% volumetrically, called here as B75 fuel. B75 fuel was tested, as alternative fuel, in a single cylinder, four strokes, and air-cooled diesel engine. The effect of B75 and diesel fuels on the engine power, engine torque and break specific fuel consumption were clarified by the performance tests. The influences of B75 fuel on CO, HC, NOx, Smoke opacity, CO₂, and O₂ emissions were investigated by emission tests. The engine torque and power, for B75 fuel, were lower than that of diesel fuel in range of 2-3%. However, for the B75, specific fuel consumption was higher than that of diesel fuel by approximately 3%. CO₂, CO, HC, smoke opacity and NO_x emissions of B75 fuel were lower than that of diesel fuel. The experimental results showed that B75 fuel can be substituted for the diesel fuel without any modifications in diesel engines.     

Experimental investigation of mineral diesel fuel, GTL fuel, RME and neat soybean and rapeseed oil combustion in a heavy duty on-road engine with exhaust gas aftertreatment

The effects of mineral diesel fuel, gas-to-liquid fuel, rapeseed methyl ester, neat soybean and neat rapeseed oil on injection, combustion, efficiency and pollutant emissions have been studied on a compression ignition heavy duty engine operated near full load and equipped with a combined exhaust gas aftertreatment system (oxidation catalyst, particle filter, selective catalytic NO_x reduction). In a first step, the engine calibration was kept constant for all fuels which led to differences in engine torque for the different fuels. In a second step, the injection duration was modified so that all fuels led to the same engine torque. In a third step, the engine was recalibrated in order to keep the NO_x emissions at an equal level for all fuels (injection pressure, injection timing, EGR rate). The experiments show that the critical NO_x emissions were higher (even behind the exhaust gas aftertreatment systems) for oxygenated fuels in case of the engine not being recalibrated for the fuel. GTL and the oxygenated fuels show lower emissions for some pollutants and higher efficiency after recalibration to equal NO_x levels.     

Effects of biodiesel on a DI diesel engine performance, emission and combustion characteristics

Experimental tests were investigated to evaluate the performance, emission and combustion of a diesel engine using neat rapeseed oil and its blends of 5%, 20% and 70%, and standard diesel fuel separately. The results indicate that the use of biodiesel produces lower smoke opacity (up to 60%), and higher brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) (up to 11%) compared to diesel fuel. The measured CO emissions of B5 and B100 fuels were found to be 9% and 32% lower than that of the diesel fuel, respectively. The BSFC of biodiesel at the maximum torque and rated power conditions were found to be 8.5% and 8% higher than that of the diesel fuel, respectively. From the combustion analysis, it was found that ignition delay was shorter for neat rapeseed oil and its blends tested compared to that of standard diesel. The combustion characteristics of rapeseed oil and its diesel blends closely followed those of standard diesel.     

Physical and chemical properties of ethanol-diesel fuel blends

This paper discusses the physical-chemical properties of ethanol-diesel fuel blends. The attention is focused on the properties which influence the injection and engine characteristics significantly. Main properties have been investigated experimentally. The analysis of experimentally obtained fuel properties of tested fuels and their influence on engine characteristics are presented. Physical and chemical properties of diesel fuel and ethanol-diesel fuel blends were measured according to requirements and test methods for diesel fuel (EN590, 2003). The tested fuels were neat mineral diesel fuel (D100), 5% (v/v) ethanol/diesel fuel blend (E05D95), 10% (v/v) ethanol-diesel fuel blend (E10D90) and 15% (v/v) ethanol-diesel fuel blend (E15D85). It has been proved that, for ethanol-diesel fuel blends, some additives are necessary to keep stability under low temperature conditions. Also, cold weather properties test, such as cloud point and pour point tests are negatively affected by phase separation. The rest of the properties, excepting flash point, were within diesel fuel standard specifications. Based on this study, it can be concluded that using additives to avoid phase separation and to raise flash point, blends of diesel fuel with ethanol up to 15% can be used to fuel diesel engines if engine performance tests corroborate it.     

The influence of zeolite catalysts on the products of rapeseed oil cracking

The article is devoted to the study of rapeseed oil cracking in the presence of zeolite catalysts in order to prepare the liquid fraction with the properties close to fossil diesel.To evaluate the cracking products, the chromatographic methods GL and GC/MS were used, together with the determination of viscosities, acid values and densities. The cracking of rapeseed oil in the presence of zeolite-type catalysts in batch arrangement at temperatures between 350 and 440 °C gave a yield of liquid condensate 85 to 90 wt.%. After removal of volatile components 3 to 9 wt.% by distillation at the temperatures up to 190 °C, the GL chromatogram of treated condensate was similar to that of fossil diesel fuel. The paper deals with the influence of the kind and amount of catalyst on composition and properties of treated products with the use of GL and GC/MS chromatography and with the tests of blends of fossil diesel fuel with cracking products at contents up to 7 vol.%. The blended fuels meet all parameters specified by standard EN 590 for diesel fuel.     

Experimental investigation on injection characteristics of bioethanol-diesel fuel and bioethanol-biodiesel blends

This paper analyses the fuel injection characteristics of bioethanol-diesel fuel and bioethanol-biodiesel blends considered as fuel for diesel engines. Attention is focused on the injection characteristics which significantly influence the engine characteristics and subsequently the exhaust emissions. In this context the following injection characteristics have been investigated experimentally: fuelling, injection timing, injection delay, injection duration, mean injection rate, and injection pressure. The tested fuels were neat mineral diesel fuel, neat biodiesel made from rapeseed oil, bioethanol/diesel fuel and bioethanol/biodiesel blends up to 15% (v/v) bioethanol with an increment of 5%. The fuels blends were experimentally investigated in a fuel injection M system at rated condition (FL, 1100 rpm), peak torque (FL, 850 rpm), and maximum pump speed (1100 rpm) for different partial loads (PL 75% and PL 50%), at ambient temperature.It has been proven that for all operating regimens tested, the addition of bioethanol to biodiesel reduces fuelling, injection timing, injection duration, mean injection rate and maximum injection pressure and increases injection delay compared to pure biodiesel. Meanwhile, increasing bioethanol in diesel fuel shows no significant variations or a slightly increase in fuelling, injection timing, injection duration, and mean injection rate and a decrease in injection delay and maximum injection pressure, compared to pure diesel fuel.The influence of bioethanol in biodiesel is much more significant that in diesel fuel; it has a beneficial effect on biodiesel injection characteristics because bioethanol addition brings them nearer to the diesel fuel one and it is expected to decrease biodiesel NO_x emissions.     

Comparing the lubricity of biofuels obtained from pyrolysis and alcoholysis of soybean oil and their blends with petroleum diesel

A diesel-like fuel, pyrodiesel (PD), was synthesized by a pyrolysis method using soybean oil as starting material. Some physical properties of the material were studied, both neat and in blends with high-sulfur (HSD) and low-sulfur (LSD) diesel fuels, and compared with blends of biodiesel (BD) in fossil fuels. It was observed using different methods that the lubricity of biobased fuels obtained after the transesterification or pyrolysis of soybean oil is superior to LSD and HSD and also that the lubricity of diesel fuels are enhanced when either BD or PD are added. Based on the results reported herein, PD is a viable alternative to BD for use in compression-ignition engines.     

柴油乳化的进展

柴油机的尾气中颗粒物、氮氧化物和碳氢化合物含量的很高，对环境造成了严重危害。为了节约石油资源和保护环境，乳化柴油和微乳化柴油作为清洁燃料和代用燃料中的一种，得到快速发展。介绍了（微）乳化柴油的研究及应用情况，分析了柴油乳化技术中存在的问题，指出了研究方向。     

Winter rape oil fuel for diesel engines: Recovery and utilization

Although vegetable oil cannot yet be recommended as a fuel for general use, considerable progress in recovery and use of rapeseed oil (Brassica napus L.) for diesel operation has been made. Operation of a small-scale screwpress plant (40 kg/hr) was demonstrated. Maintenance of screw and end rings was a major problem. The plant has operated with a recovery efficiency of 77% and has processed 10,100 kg of seed in 230 hr. High viscosity of the rapeseed oil and its tendency to polymerize within the cylinder were major chemical and physical problems encountered. Attempts to reduce the viscosity of the vegetable oil by preheating the fuel were not successful in sufficiently increasing the temperature of the fuel at the injector to be of value. Short-term engine performance with vegetable oils as a fuel in any proportion show power output and fuel consumption to be equivalent to the diesel-fueled engines. Severe engine damage occurred in a very short time period in tests of maximum power with varying engine rpm. Additional torque tests with all blends need to be conducted. A blend of 70/30 winter rape and No. 1 diesel has been used successfully to power a small single-cylinder diesel engine for 850 hr. No adverse wear, effect on lubricating oil or effect on power output were noted. Approved as Paper No. 8237 of the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station.     

Various strategies for reducing Nox emissions of biodiesel fuel used in conventional diesel engines: A review

Energy demand, decreasing fossil fuel reserves, and health-related issues about pollutants have led researchers to search for renewable alternative fuels to either partially or fully replace fossil fuels. Among many alternative fuels, biodiesel became one of the most popular choices due to similar properties to that of conventional diesel. Biodiesel produces slightly lower brake thermal efficiency compared to that of conventional biodiesel, but has an advantage of reduced emissions of CO₂, CO, HC, and smoke. However, biodiesel shows higher NOx emission which, when used in increased biodiesel market, may become a serious problem. Various strategies were attempted by different researcher to reduce NOx emissions. In this paper, various strategies, adapted for reducing NOx emissions of biodiesel fuel used in diesel engines for automobile applications, are reviewed and discussed. The strategies are grouped into three major groups, namely combustion treatments, exhaust after-treatments, and fuel treatments. Among various strategies discussed, fuel treatments, such as low temperature combustion, mixing fuel additives and reformulating fuel composition, reduce NOx emission without compromising other emission and performance characteristics and they seem to be promising for future biodiesel fuel.     

Biodiesel production from pomace oil and improvement of its properties with synthetic manganese additive

Renewable energy sources are attracting more attention due to lower cost and lower pollution relative to fossil fuels. The aim of this experimental work is the production of renewable and clean methyl ester from pomace oil as an alternative fuel. This oil was obtained from pomace which is the waste of olive oil plants. Optimum producing conditions were determined experimentally. The maximum yield was obtained at 30% of methanol/oil ratio, 60 °C temperature for 60 min with NaOH catalyst. The properties of the biodiesel thus obtained were compared with diesel fuel requirements. An organic based Manganese additive improved the biodiesel properties. Doping the fuel at a ratio of 12 μmol/l oil methyl ester led to a 20.37% decrease in viscosity, 7 °C fall in the flash point and reduced the pour point from 0 °C to −15 °C. This blend of pomace oil methyl ester-diesel fuel with manganese additive was tested in a direct injection diesel engine. The maximum effect of the new fuel blend and diesel fuel on engine performance was obtained at 1400 rpm.     

Numerical analysis of injection characteristics using biodiesel fuel

This paper deals with numerical analysis of injection process using biodiesel/mineral diesel fuel blends with the aim to search for the potentials to reduce engine harmful emissions. The considered fuels are neat biodiesel from rapeseed oil and its blends with mineral diesel D2. For the numerical analysis a one-dimensional mathematical model is employed. In order to model accurately the investigated fuels, the employed empirical expressions for their properties are determined by experiments. To verify the mathematical model and the empirical expressions, experiments and numerical simulation are run on a mechanical control diesel fuel injection M system at several operating regimes. Injection process at many different operating regimes and using several fuel blends are then investigated numerically. Attention is focused on the injection characteristics, especially on fuelling, fuelling at some stage of injection, mean injection rate, mean injection pressure, injection delay and injection timing, which influence the most important engine characteristics. The analysis of the obtained results reveals that, while keeping engine performance within acceptable limits, harmful emissions can be reduced by adjusting appropriately pump injection timing in dependence on the biodiesel content. This prediction is also confirmed experimentally.     

Experimental investigation of fuel properties, engine performance, combustion and emissions of blends containing croton oil, butanol, and diesel on a CI engine

Emission problems associated with the use of fossil fuels have led to numerous research projects on the use of renewable fuels. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of blends containing croton mogalocarpus oil (CRO)-Butanol (BU) alcohol-diesel (D2) on engine performance, combustion, and emission characteristics. Samples investigated were 15%CRO-5%BU-80%D2, 10%CRO-10%BU-80%D2, and diesel fuel (D2) as a baseline. The density, viscosity, cetane number CN, and contents of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen were measured according to ASTM standards. A four cylinder turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel engine was used for the tests. It was observed that brake specific energy consumption (BSEC) of blends was found to be high when compared with that of D2 fuel. Butanol containing blends show peak cylinder pressure and heat release rate comparable to that of D2 on higher engine loads. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) and smoke emissions of the BU blends were lower in comparison to D2 fuel.     

Canola and high erucic rapeseed oil as substitutes for diesel fuel: Preliminary tests

A cooperative project using the facilities of the POS Pilot Plant Corporation, the Saskatchewan Research Council and the Agricultural Engineering Department, University of Saskatchewan, and funded by Agriculture Canada, was initiated in 1980 to investigate the feasibility of using canola and high erucic rapeseed oil as a replacement/extender to diesel fuel in direct-injection diesel engines. Work carried out included the documented production and refining of canola and R500 (high erucic) vegetable oils, preparation of methyl ester and of blends of all these fuels with methanol and ethanol. These fuels were evaluated by ASTM and improvised tests to determine their usefulness as diesel fuel. Engine tests involved a 2-cylinder Petter diesel and a 6-cylinder John Deere turbocharged diesel. Results were similar for both engines in short-term performance tests, and indicated that: (a) maximal power was essentially the same when burning canola oil as when burning diesel fuel; (b) specific fuel consumption was ca. 6% higher when burning canola oil, but because canola oil has a heating value 14% less than diesel fuel, the thermal efficiency is somewhat higher when operating on canola oil; (c) there were no starting problems down to 10 C; (d) there were fewer particulates in the exhaust when burning canola oil; and (e) there was generally less combustion noise when burning canola oil. The high viscosity of canola oil (ca. 35 times that of disel fuel at 20 C) poses a major problem in using the oil at low temperature. Blending with diesel fuel and the creation of a methyl ester from the canola oil both proved effective in reducing viscosity, but neither lowered the pour point apprecibly. Efforts on reduction of pour points and further work on blends and on heating the fuel are described.     

Cold flow properties of fuel mixtures containing biodiesel derived from animal fatty waste

The aims of the present study were to evaluate the cold temperature behavior of methyl esters of vegetable and animal origin and of their mixtures with fossil diesel fuel, as well as to investigate the effectiveness of different depressants. Various blends of rapeseed oil methyl esters, linseed oil methyl esters, pork lard methyl esters and fossil diesel fuel were prepared, and both cloud point and cold filter plugging point (CFPP) were analyzed. It was found that mixtures with CFPP values of –5 °C and lower may contain up to 25% of pork lard methyl esters; whereas the ratio of summer fossil diesel fuel and rapeseed oil methyl esters may vary over a wide range, i.e. such mixtures can be used in a diesel engine in the summer. In the transitory periods it is possible to use up to 20% animal and vegetable ester blends (3 : 7) with winter fossil diesel, whereas only up to 5% of esters can be added to the fuel used in winter. In order to improve the cold properties of rapeseed oil, pork lard and linseed oil methyl ester mixtures, various additives were tested. Depressant Viscoplex 10–35 with an optimal dose of 5000 mg/kg was found to be the most effective.     

Study on the application of DME/diesel blends in a diesel engine

In this paper fuels, based on various DME to diesel ratios are investigated. Physical and chemical properties of DME and diesel display mutual solubility at any ratio. The vapor pressure of DME/diesel blends is lower than that of pure DME at the same temperatures and it decreases with an increase of diesel mass fraction in blends, which is beneficial to the elimination of vapor lock in the fuel supply system on CI engines. Performance, emission and other features of three kinds of DME/diesel blend fuels and diesels are evaluated in a four-cylinder test engine. By taking relative advantages of DME and diesel, the DME/diesel blends could achieve satisfactory properties in lubricity and atomization, which contributed to improvements in spray and combustion characteristics. Simultaneously, smoke emission could be reduced significantly with a little penalty on CO and HC emissions for DME/diesel blended engine at high loads, in comparison to diesel engine. NO_x emissions of the engine powered by DME/diesel blends are decreased somewhat. Moreover, the power output would be improved a little and NO_x emission could be reduced further if the fuel supply advance angle is retarded appropriately.     

Ethanolamines used for degumming of rapeseed and sunflower oils as diesel fuels

Pure vegetable oils can be used as alternative fuel for standard unmodified diesel engines, provided the oil viscosity has been lowered by heating before they enter the fuel injection system. In its role as diesel fuel, a vegetable oil has to have, among other parameters, a low acidity and low contents of phosphorus and the alkali earth metals Ca + Mg. Such parameters can be achieved by appropriate partial refining of oil by degumming. In this article, three common ethanolamines, monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA) and triethanolamine (TEA), were used as degumming agents for removing non‐hydratable phospholipids from crude rapeseed and sunflower oils. Among the studied ethanolamines, MEA is the most effective for the removal of phosphorus. After degumming with MEA (0.5 wt‐%), the phosphorus content in rapeseed oil was reduced from 445 to 3.5 ppm, and from 163 to 2.2 ppm in sunflower oil. After oil treatment with MEA (1.0 wt‐%), the residual content of Ca and Mg decreased from 136 to 4.2 ppm and from 55.4 to 1.1 ppm in rapeseed oil. In sunflower oil, the values of Ca and Mg decreased from 23.9 to 1.5 ppm and from 24.6 to 1.0 ppm. The acid value of the oils also decreased after degumming with ethanolamines. The advantage of this oil treatment process is that it takes place at ambient temperature, resulting in lower production costs and simpler technology.     

Biodiesel usage at low temperature

This paper deals with numerical and experimental analysis of the influence of fuel temperature on the injection process. The tested injection system is the mechanically controlled diesel fuel injection M system of a bus diesel engine. The considered fuels are neat biodiesel from rapeseed oil and neat mineral diesel. All injection parameters, obtained with biodiesel, are compared to those of mineral diesel. At first, attention is focused on a single injection assembly (plunger-in-barrel assembly, high pressure tube, and injector). The flow through a single assembly to one cylinder is investigated numerically by using an one-dimensional mathematical model. The injection process is simulated at different operating regimes. On the basis of the numerical results, the influence of fuel temperatures on the injection characteristics, especially on fuelling at some stage of injection, mean injection rate, mean injection pressure, injection delay, and injection timing is investigated in view of harmful emissions reduction. Furthermore, the fuel flow through the whole injection system (all six injection assemblies) to all six cylinders is investigated experimentally with respect to fuel temperature. The pressure drop through the fuel filter and fuelling through each of six injection assemblies are analyzed.