Performance and exhaust emissions of a biodiesel engine

In this study, the applicabilities of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have been investigated for the performance and exhaust-emission values of a diesel engine fueled with biodiesels from different feedstocks and petroleum diesel fuels. The engine performance and emissions characteristics of two different petroleum diesel-fuels (No. 1 and No. 2), biodiesels (from soybean oil and yellow grease), and their 20% blends with No. 2 diesel fuel were used as experimental results. The fuels were tested at full load (100%) at 1400-rpm engine speed, where the engine torque was 257.6 Nm. To train the network, the average molecular weight, net heat of combustion, specific gravity, kinematic viscosity, C/H ratio and cetane number of each fuel are used as the input layer, while outputs are the brake specific fuel-consumption, exhaust temperature, and exhaust emissions. The back-propagation learning algorithm with three different variants, single layer, and logistic sigmoid transfer function were used in the network. By using weights in the network, formulations have been given for each output. The network has yielded R² values of 0.99 and the mean % errors are smaller than 4.2 for the training data, while the R² values are about 0.99 and the mean % errors are smaller than 5.5 for the test data. The performance and exhaust emissions from a diesel engine, using biodiesel blends with No. 2 diesel fuel up to 20%, have been predicted using the ANN model.     

Combustion performance and emission reduction characteristics of automotive DME engine system

This article is a condensed overview of a dimethyl ether (DME) fuel application for a compression ignition diesel engine. In this review article, the spray, atomization, combustion and exhaust emissions characteristics from a DME-fueled engine are described, as well as the fundamental fuel properties including the vapor pressure, kinematic viscosity, cetane number, and the bulk modulus. DME fuel exists as gas phase at atmospheric state and it must be pressurized to supply the liquid DME to fuel injection system. In addition, DME-fueled engine needs the modification of fuel supply and injection system because the low viscosity of DME caused the leakage. Different fuel properties such as low density, viscosity and higher vapor pressure compared to diesel fuel induced the shorter spray tip penetration, wider cone angle, and smaller droplet size than diesel fuel. The ignition of DME fuel in combustion chamber starts in advance compared to diesel or biodiesel fueled compression ignition engine due to higher cetane number than diesel and biodiesel fuels. In addition, DME combustion is soot-free since it has no carbon–carbon bonds, and has lower HC and CO emissions than that of diesel combustion. The NO_x emission from DME-fueled combustion can be reduced by the application of EGR (exhaust gas recirculation). This article also describes various technologies to reduce NO_x emission from DME-fueled engines, such as the multiple injection strategy and premixed combustion. Finally, the development trends of DME-fueled vehicle are described with various experimental results and discussion for fuel properties, spray atomization characteristics, combustion performance, and exhaust emissions characteristics of DME fuel.     

Engine performance and emissions of a diesel engine operating on diesel-RME (rapeseed methyl ester) blends with EGR (exhaust gas recirculation)

The effects of biodiesel (rapeseed methyl ester, RME) and different diesel/RME blends on the diesel engine NO_x emissions, smoke, fuel consumption, engine efficiency, cylinder pressure and net heat release rate are analysed and presented. The combustion of RME as pure fuel or blended with diesel in an unmodified engine results in advanced combustion, reduced ignition delay and increased heat release rate in the initial uncontrolled premixed combustion phase. The increased in-cylinder pressure and temperature lead to increased NO_x emissions while the more advanced combustion assists in the reduction of smoke compared to pure diesel combustion. The lower calorific value of RME results in increased fuel consumption but the engine thermal efficiency is not affected significantly. When similar percentages (% by volume) of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) are used in the cases of diesel and RME, NO_x emissions are reduced to similar values, but the smoke emissions are significantly lower in the case of RME. The retardation of the injection timing in the case of pure RME and 50/50 (by volume) blend with diesel results in further reduction of NO_x at a cost of small increases of smoke and fuel consumption.     

The effect of clove oil and diesel fuel blends on the engine performance and exhaust emissions of a compression-ignition engine

Diesel engines provide the major power source for transportation in the world and contribute to the prosperity of the worldwide economy. However, recent concerns over the environment, increasing fuel prices and the scarcity of fuel supplies have promoted considerable interest in searching for alternatives to petroleum based fuels. Based on this background, the main purpose of this investigation is to evaluate clove stem oil (CSO) as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. To this end, an experimental investigation was performed on a four-stroke, four-cylinder water-cooled direct injection diesel engine to study the performance and emissions of an engine operated using the CSO–diesel blended fuels. The effects of the CSO–diesel blended fuels on the engine brake thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), specific energy consumption (SEC), exhaust gas temperatures and exhaust emissions were investigated. The experimental results reveal that the engine brake thermal efficiency and BSFC of the CSO–diesel blended fuels were higher than the pure diesel fuel while at the same time they exhibited a lower SEC than the latter over the entire engine load range. The variations in exhaust gas temperatures between the tested fuels were significant only at medium speed operating conditions. Furthermore, the HC emissions were lower for the CSO–diesel blended fuels than the pure diesel fuel whereas the NO_x emissions were increased remarkably when the engine was fuelled with the 50% CSO–diesel blended fuel.     

The emission analysis of an IDI diesel engine fueled with methyl ester of waste frying palm oil and its blends

In this study, the exhaust emissions of an unmodified diesel engine fueled with methyl ester of waste frying palm-oil (biodiesel) and its blends with petroleum based diesel fuel (PBDF) were investigated at the full load-variable speed condition. The relationships between the fuel properties and the air–fuel equivalence ratio, fuel line pressure, start of injection (SOI) timing, and ignition delay were also discussed to explain their effects on the emissions. The obtained test results were compared with the reference values which were determined by using PBDF. The results showed that when biodiesel was used in the test engine, the fuel line pressure increased while air–fuel equivalence ratio and ignition delay decreased. These behaviors affected the combustion phenomena of biodiesel which caused to reduction 57% in carbon monoxide (CO) emission, about 40% in unburned hydrocarbon (HC) emission and about 23% in smoke opacity when compared with PBDF. However, NO_x and CO₂ emissions of the biodiesel have showed different behaviors in terms of the engine speed.     

Emissions reductions using hydrogen from plasmatron fuel converters

Improvements in internal combustion engine and aftertreatment technologies are needed to meet future environmental quality goals. Systems using recently developed compact plasmatron fuel converters in conjunction with state-of-the-art engines and aftertreatment catalysts could provide new opportunities for obtaining substantial emissions reductions. Plasmatron fuel converters provide a rapid response, compact means to transform a wide range of hydrocarbon fuels (including gasoline, natural gas and diesel fuel) into hydrogen-rich gas. Hydrogen-rich gas can be used as an additive to provide NO_x reductions of more than 80% in spark ignition gasoline engine vehicles by enabling very lean operation or heavy exhaust engine recirculation. It may also be employed for cold start hydrocarbon reduction. If certain requirements are met, it may also be possible to achieve higher spark ignition engine efficiencies (e.g., up to 95% of those of diesel engines). These requirements include the attainment of ultra lean, high compression ratio, open throttle operation using only a modest amount of hydrogen addition. For diesel engines, use of compact plasmatron reformers to produce hydrogen-rich gas for the regeneration of NO_x absorber/adsorbers and particulate traps for diesel engine exhaust aftertreatment could provide significant advantages. Recent tests of conversion of diesel fuel to hydrogen-rich gas using a low current plasmatron fuel converter with non-equilibrium plasma features are described.     

Experimental study of the performances of a modified diesel engine operating in homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion mode versus the original diesel combustion mode

Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion mode provides very low NO_x and soot emissions; however, it has some challenges associated with hydrocarbon (HC) emissions, fuel consumption, difficult control of start of ignition and bad behaviour to high loads. Cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is a common way to control in-cylinder NO_x production in diesel and HCCI combustion mode. However EGR has different effects on combustion and emissions, which are difficult to distinguish. This work is intended to characterize an engine that has been modified from the base diesel engine (FL1 906 DEUTZ-DITER) to work in HCCI combustion mode. It shows the experimental results for the modified diesel engine in HCCI combustion mode fueled with commercial diesel fuel compared to the diesel engine mode. An experimental installation, in conjunction with systematic tests to determine the optimum crank angle of fuel injection, has been used to measure the evolution of the cylinder pressure and to get an estimate of the heat release rate from a single-zone numerical model. From these the angle of start of combustion has been obtained. The performances and emissions of HC, CO and the huge reduction of NO_x and smoke emissions of the engine are presented. These results have allowed a deeper analysis of the effects of external EGR on the HCCI operation mode, on some engine design parameters and also on NO_x emission reduction.     

A new diesel oxygenate additive and its effects on engine combustion and emissions

2-methoxyethyl acetate (MEA) can be used to decrease exhaust smoke as a new oxygenated additive of diesel. Several fuel blends which containing 10%, 15% and 20% MEA were prepared. The effects of MEA on engine’s power, fuel economy, emissions and combustion characteristics were studied on a single cylinder DI diesel engine. Under the same speed and load conditions, the maximum cylinder pressure decreases when fueled with the blends, while the ignition delays and the combustion duration becomes shorter. The engine emissions of smoke, HC and CO are reduced when MEA is added in diesel. However, MEA has a little effect on NO_x emissions. When fueled with MEA15, the coefficient of light absorption of smoke opacimeter decreases about 50% with expense of 5% power, and the engine’s thermal efficiency increases about 2%.     

Comparative engine performance and emission analysis of CNG and gasoline in a retrofitted car engine

A comparative analysis is being performed of the engine performance and exhaust emission on a gasoline and compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled retrofitted spark ignition car engine. A new 1.6 L, 4-cylinder petrol engine was converted to the computer incorporated bi-fuel system which operated with either gasoline or CNG using an electronically controlled solenoid actuated valve mechanism. The engine brake power, brake specific fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency, exhaust gas temperature and exhaust emissions (unburnt hydrocarbon, carbon mono-oxide, oxygen and carbon dioxides) were measured over a range of speed variations at 50% and 80% throttle positions through a computer based data acquisition and control system. Comparative analysis of the experimental results showed 19.25% and 10.86% reduction in brake power and 15.96% and 14.68% reduction in brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) at 50% and 80% throttle positions respectively while the engine was fueled with CNG compared to that with the gasoline. Whereas, the retrofitted engine produced 1.6% higher brake thermal efficiency and 24.21% higher exhaust gas temperature at 80% throttle had produced an average of 40.84% higher NO_x emission over the speed range of 1500–5500 rpm at 80% throttle. Other emission contents (unburnt HC, CO, O₂ and CO₂) were significantly lower than those of the gasoline emissions.     

Experimental investigation of the effect of compression ratio and injection pressure in a direct injection diesel engine running on Jatropha methyl ester

Being a fuel of different origin, the standard design parameters of a diesel engine may not be suitable for Jatropha methyl ester (JME). This study targets at finding the effects of the engine design parameters viz. compression ratio (CR) and fuel injection pressure (IP) jointly on the performance with regard to fuel consumption (BSFC), brake thermal efficiency (BTHE) and emissions of CO, CO₂, HC, NO_x and Smoke opacity with JME as fuel. Comparison of performance and emission was done for different values of compression ratio along with injection pressure to find best possible combination for operating engine with JME. It is found that the combined increase of compression ratio and injection pressure increases the BTHE and reduces BSFC while having lower emissions. For small sized direct injection constant speed engines used for agricultural applications (3.5 kW), the optimum combination was found as CR of 18 with IP of 250 bar.     

Application of exhaust gas fuel reforming in diesel and homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines fuelled with biofuels

This paper documents the application of exhaust gas fuel reforming of two alternative fuels, biodiesel and bioethanol, in internal combustion engines. The exhaust gas fuel reforming process is a method of on-board production of hydrogen-rich gas by catalytic reaction of fuel and engine exhaust gas. The benefits of exhaust gas fuel reforming have been demonstrated by adding simulated reformed gas to a diesel engine fuelled by a mixture of 50% ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD) and 50% rapeseed methyl ester (RME) as well as to a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine fuelled by bioethanol. In the case of the biodiesel fuelled engine, a reduction of NO_x emissions was achieved without considerable smoke increase. In the case of the bioethanol fuelled HCCI engine, the engine tolerance to exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) was extended and hence the typically high pressure rise rates of HCCI engines, associated with intense combustion noise, were reduced.     

Effect of ethanol blending with biodiesel on engine performance and exhaust emissions in a CI engine

The use of biodiesel as an alternative diesel engine fuel is increasing rapidly. However, due to technical deficiencies, they are rarely used purely or with high percentages in unmodified diesel engines. Therefore, in this study, we used ethanol as an additive to research the possible use of higher percentages of biodiesel in an unmodified diesel engine. Commercial diesel fuel, 20% biodiesel and 80% diesel fuel, called here as B20, and 80% biodiesel and 20% ethanol, called here as BE20, were used in a single cylinder, four strokes direct injection diesel engine. The effect of test fuels on engine torque, power, brake specific fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency, exhaust gas temperature, and CO, CO₂, NO_x and SO₂ emissions was investigated. The experimental results showed that the performance of CI engine was improved with the use of the BE20 especially in comparison to B20. Besides, the exhaust emissions for BE20 were fairly reduced.     

H2 effects on diesel combustion and emissions with an LPL-EGR system

In this study, we examined H₂ effects on the combustion and emissions of a diesel engine with low-pressure loop (LPL) exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). We converted a 2.2-L four-cylinder direct-injection diesel engine satisfying Euro5 for H₂ supply. An LPL-EGR system replaced the high-pressure loop (HPL) EGR system. For all tests, the brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) was kept at 4 bar and the EGR ratio was varied from 9 to 42%. The H₂ energy percentage was varied from 0 to 7.4% independently to evaluate the H₂ effects and EGR effects separately. The heat release rate was calculated from the measured cylinder pressure. We found that substitution of H₂ for diesel fuel made the premixed burn fraction larger, and reduced the nitrous oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions simultaneously. For example, the NOx emissions were reduced by 36% for an EGR of 42% and an H₂ percentage of 7.4%. PM emissions were reduced by 18% for an EGR of 35% and an H₂ percentage of 7.4% compared with diesel fuel only cases.     

Investigation of the effects of hydrogen on cylinder pressure in a split-injection diesel engine at heavy EGR

The distinctive properties of hydrogen have initiated considerable applied research related to the internal combustion engine. Recently, it has been reported that NO_x emissions were reduced by using hydrogen in a diesel engine at low temperature and heavy EGR conditions. As the continuing study, cylinder pressure was also investigated to determine the combustion characteristics and their relationship to NO_x emissions. The test engine was operated at constant speed and fixed diesel fuel injection rate (1500 rpm, 2.5 kg/h). Diesel fuel was injected in a split pattern into a 2-L diesel engine. The cylinder pressure was measured for different hydrogen flow rates and EGR ratios. The intake manifold temperature was controlled to be the same to avoid the gas intake temperature variations under the widely differing levels (2%-31%) of EGR. The measured cylinder pressure was analyzed for characteristic combustion values, such as mass burn fraction and combustion duration.The rising crank angle of the heat release rate was unaffected by the presence of hydrogen. However, supplying hydrogen extended the main combustion duration. This longer main combustion duration was particularly noticeable at the heavy EGR condition. It correlated well with the reduced NO_x emissions.     

CNG-diesel engine performance and exhaust emission analysis with the aid of artificial neural network

This study investigates the use of artificial neural network (ANN) modelling to predict brake power, torque, break specific fuel consumption (BSFC), and exhaust emissions of a diesel engine modified to operate with a combination of both compressed natural gas CNG and diesel fuels. A single cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine was modified for the present work and was operated at different engine loads and speeds. The experimental results reveal that the mixtures of CNG and diesel fuel provided better engine performance and improved the emission characteristics compared with the pure diesel fuel. For the ANN modelling, the standard back-propagation algorithm was found to be the optimum choice for training the model. A multi-layer perception network was used for non-linear mapping between the input and output parameters. It was found that the ANN model is able to predict the engine performance and exhaust emissions with a correlation coefficient of 0.9884, 0.9838, 0.95707, and 0.9934 for the engine torque, BSFC, NO_x and exhaust temperature, respectively.     

Effect of exhaust gas recirculation on diesel engine nitrogen oxide reduction operating with jojoba methyl ester

Jojoba methyl ester (JME) has been used as a renewable fuel in numerous studies evaluating its potential use in diesel engines. These studies showed that this fuel is good gas oil substitute but an increase in the nitrogenous oxides emissions was observed at all operating conditions. The aim of this study mainly was to quantify the efficiency of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) when using JME fuel in a fully instrumented, two-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke direct injection diesel engine. The tests were carried out in three sections. Firstly, the measured performance and exhaust emissions of the diesel engine operating with diesel fuel and JME at various speeds under full load are determined and compared. Secondly, tests were performed at constant speed with two loads to investigate the EGR effect on engine performance and exhaust emissions including nitrogenous oxides (NO_x), carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbons (HC) and exhaust gas temperatures. Thirdly, the effect of cooled EGR with high ratio at full load on engine performance and emissions was examined. The results showed that EGR is an effective technique for reducing NO_x emissions with JME fuel especially in light-duty diesel engines. With the application of the EGR method, the CO and HC concentration in the engine-out emissions increased. For all operating conditions, a better trade-off between HC, CO and NO_x emissions can be attained within a limited EGR rate of 5–15% with very little economy penalty.     

Effect of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) on performance,emissions, deposits and durability of a constant speed compression ignition engine

To meet stringent vehicular exhaust emission norms worldwide, several exhaust pre-treatment and post-treatment techniques have been employed in modern engines. Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) is a pre-treatment technique, which is being used widely to reduce and control the oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) emission from diesel engines. EGR controls the NO_x because it lowers oxygen concentration and flame temperature of the working fluid in the combustion chamber. However, the use of EGR leads to a trade-off in terms of soot emissions. Higher soot generated by EGR leads to long-term usage problems inside the engines such as higher carbon deposits, lubricating oil degradation and enhanced engine wear. Present experimental study has been carried out to investigate the effect of EGR on soot deposits, and wear of vital engine parts, especially piston rings, apart from performance and emissions in a two cylinder, air cooled, constant speed direct injection diesel engine, which is typically used in agricultural farm machinery and decentralized captive power generation. Such engines are normally not operated with EGR. The experiments were carried out to experimentally evaluate the performance and emissions for different EGR rates of the engine. Emissions of hydrocarbons (HC), NO_x, carbon monoxide (CO), exhaust gas temperature, and smoke opacity of the exhaust gas etc. were measured. Performance parameters such as thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) were calculated. Reduction in NO_x and exhaust gas temperature were observed but emissions of particulate matter (PM), HC, and CO were found to have increased with usage of EGR. The engine was operated for 96 h in normal running conditions and the deposits on vital engine parts were assessed. The engine was again operated for 96 h with EGR and similar observations were recorded. Higher carbon deposits were observed on the engine parts operating with EGR. Higher wear of piston rings was also observed for engine operated with EGR.     

Preparation,characterization, engine combustion and emission characteristics of rapeseed oil based hybrid fuels

In this study, hybrid fuels consisting of rapeseed oil/diesel blend, 1% aqueous ethanol and a surfactant (oleic acid/1-butanol mixture) were prepared and tested as a fuel in a direct injection (DI) diesel engine. The main fuel properties such as the density, viscosity and lower heating value (LHV) of these fuels were measured, and the engine performance, combustion and exhaust emissions were investigated and compared with that of diesel fuel. The experimental results showed that the viscosity and density of the hybrid fuels were decreased and close to that of diesel fuel with the increase of ethanol volume fraction up to 30%. The start of combustion was later than that of diesel fuel and the peak cylinder pressure, peak pressure rise rate and peak heat release rate were higher than those of diesel fuel. The brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of hybrid fuels was increased with the volume fraction of ethanol and higher than that of diesel. The brake specific energy consumption (BSEC) was almost identical for all test fuels. The smoke emissions were lower than those for diesel fuel at high engine loads, the NO_x emissions were almost similar to those of diesel fuel, but CO and HC emissions were higher, especially at low engine loads.     

Biodiesel production from inedible animal tallow and an experimental investigation of its use as alternative fuel in a direct injection diesel engine

In this study, a substitute fuel for diesel engines was produced from inedible animal tallow and its usability was investigated as pure biodiesel and its blends with petroleum diesel fuel in a diesel engine. Tallow methyl ester as biodiesel fuel was prepared by base-catalyzed transesterification of the fat with methanol in the presence of NaOH as catalyst. Fuel properties of methyl ester, diesel fuel and blends of them (5%, 20% and 50% by volume) were determined. Viscosity and density of fatty acid methyl ester have been found to meet ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 specifications. Viscosity and density of tallow methyl esters are found to be very close to that of diesel. The calorific value of biodiesel is found to be slightly lower than that of diesel. An experimental study was carried out in order to investigate of its usability as alternative fuel of tallow methyl ester in a direct injection diesel engine. It was observed that the addition of biodiesel to the diesel fuel decreases the effective efficiency of engine and increases the specific fuel consumption. This is due to the lower heating value of biodiesel compared to diesel fuel. However, the effective engine power was comparable by biodiesel compared with diesel fuel. Emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NO_x), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and smoke opacity were reduced around 15%, 38.5%, 72.7% and 56.8%, respectively, in case of tallow methyl esters (B100) compared to diesel fuel. Besides, the lowest CO, NO_x emissions and the highest exhaust temperature were obtained for B20 among all other fuels. The reductions in exhaust emissions made tallow methyl esters and its blends, especially B20 a suitable alternative fuel for diesel and thus could help in controlling air pollution. Based on this study, animal tallow methyl esters and its blends with petroleum diesel fuel can be used a substitute for diesel in direct injection diesel engines without any engine modification.     

Biodiesel fuel in diesel micro-turbine engines: Modelling and experimental evaluation

Many performance and emission tests have been carried out in reciprocating diesel engines that use biodiesel fuel over the past years and very few in gas turbine engines. This work aims at assessing the thermal performance and emissions at full and partial loads of a 30 kW diesel micro-turbine engine fed with diesel, biodiesel and their blends as fuel. A cycle simulation was performed using the Gate Cycle GE Enter software to evaluate the thermal performance of the 30 kW micro-turbine engine. Performance and emission tests were carried out on a 30 kW diesel micro-turbine engine installed in the NEST laboratories of the Federal University of Itajubá, and the performance results were compared with those of the simulation. There was a good agreement between the simulations and the experimental results from the full load down to about 50% of the load for diesel, biodiesel and their blends. The biodiesel and its blends used as fuel in micro-turbines led to no significant changes in the engine performance and behaviour compared to diesel fuel. The exhaust emissions were evaluated for pure biodiesel and its blends and conventional diesel. The results revealed that the use of biodiesel resulted in a slightly higher CO, lower NO_x and no SO₂ emissions.