Effects of 30% v/v biodiesel/diesel fuel blend on regulated and unregulated pollutant emissions from diesel engines

Two Euro 3 commercial trucks fuelled with a 30% v/v biodiesel/diesel fuel blend (B30) and pure diesel fuel were tested in laboratory under the standard driving conditions (UDC and EUDC driving cycles) and the CADC “URBAN” test cycle, in order to evaluate the fuel consumption, regulated (CO, HC, NO_x, PM) and unregulated emissions (aldehydes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons).     

Influence of advanced injection timing on the performance and emissions of CI engine fueled with ethanol‐blended diesel fuel

Ethanol has been considered as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. On the other hand, injection timing is a major parameter that sensitively affects the engine performance and emissions. Therefore, in this study, the influence of advanced injection timing on the engine performance and exhaust emissions of a single cylinder, naturally aspirated, four stroke, direct injection diesel engine has been experimentally investigated when using ethanol‐blended diesel fuel from 0 to 15% with an increment of 5%. The original injection timing of the engine is 27° crank angle (CA) before top dead center (BTDC). The tests were conducted at three different injection timings (27, 30 and 33° CA BTDC) for 30 Nm constant load at 1800 rpm. The experimental results showed that brake‐specific energy consumption (BSEC), brake‐specific fuel consumption (BSFC), NO_x and CO₂ emissions increased as brake‐thermal efficiency (BTE), smoke, CO and HC emissions decreased with increasing amount of ethanol in the fuel mixture. Comparing the results with those of original injection timing, NO_x emissions increased and smoke, HC and CO emissions decreased for all test fuels at the advanced injection timings. For BSEC, BSFC and BTE, advanced injection timings gave negative results for all test conditions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of fuel properties and composition on NOx emissions from biodiesel powered diesel engines: A review

Biodiesel has proved to be an environment friendly alternative fuel for diesel engine because it can alleviate regulated and unregulated exhaust emissions. However, most researchers have observed a significant increase in NO_x emissions with biodiesel when compared to petrodiesel. The exact cause of this increase is still unclear; however, researchers believe that the fuel properties have been shown to effect the emissions of NO_x. The present work reviews the effect of fuel properties and composition on NO_x emissions from biodiesel fuelled engines. The paper is organised in three sections. The first section deals with the NO_x formation mechanisms. In the following section, the reasons for increased NO_x emissions of biodiesel fuel are discussed. After this, the influence of composition and fuel properties on NO_x emissions from biodiesel fuelled engines has been reviewed. Finally, some general conclusions concerning this problem are summarised and further researches are pointed out.     

The use of ethanol–gasoline blend as a fuel in an SI engine

One of the major problems for the successful application of gasoline–alcohol mixtures as a motor fuel is the realization of a stable homogeneous liquid phase. To overcome this problem, a new carburetor was designed. With the use of this new carburetor, not only the phase problem was solved but also the alcohol ratio in the total fuel was increased.By using ethanol–gasoline blend, the availability analysis of a spark-ignition engine was experimentally investigated. Sixty percent ethanol and 40% gasoline blend was exploited to test the performance, the fuel consumption, and the exhaust emissions.As a result of this study, it is seen that a new dual fuel system could be serviceable by making simple modifications on the carburetor and these modifications would not cause complications in the carburetor system.     

Effect of ethanol–gasoline blends on engine performance and exhaust emissions in different compression ratios

Renewable energy sources for the gasoline engines alcohols gain importance recently. These renewable energy sources have attracted the attention of researchers as alternative fuel due to their high octane number. In addition, these are also clean energy sources and can be obtained from the biomass alcohols with low carbon like ethanol. In this study, the effect of compression ratio on engine performance and exhaust emissions was examined at stoichiometric air/fuel ratio, full load and minimum advanced timing for the best torque MBT in a single cylinder, four stroke, with variable compression ratio and spark ignition engine.     

Exhaust emissions of diesel engines operating under transient conditions with biodiesel fuel blends

The transient operation of turbocharged diesel engines can prove quite demanding in terms of engine response, systems reliability and exhaust emissions. It is a daily encountered situation that drastically differentiates the engine operation from the respective steady-state conditions, requiring careful and detailed study and experimentation. On the other hand, depleting reserves and growing prices of crude oil, as well as gradually stricter emission regulations and greenhouse gas concerns have led to an ever-increasing effort to develop alternative fuel sources, with particular emphasis on biofuels that possess the added benefit of being renewable. In this regard, and particularly for the transport sector, biodiesel has emerged as a very promising solution.     

Effect of ethanol–diesel blend fuels on emission and particle size distribution in a common-rail direct injection diesel engine with warm-up catalytic converter

In this study, the exhaust gas from a common-rail direct injection diesel engine was investigated both upstream and downstream warm-up catalytic converters (WCC). Three different types of ultra-low sulfur fuels (ethanol–diesel blend, ethanol–diesel blend with cetane improver and pure diesel) were tested in this study. The objective of the work was to study the engine performance and the formation of THC (total hydro carbon), CO (carbon monoxide), NO_x (nitrogen oxides), smoke and PM (particulate matters) when using these fuels. THC and CO emissions of the ethanol–diesel blend fuels were slightly increased, and about 50–80% mean conversion efficiencies of THC and CO on catalysts were achieved in the ECE R49 13-mode cycle. Smoke was decreased by more than 42% in the entire ECE 13-mode cycles. From the measurement of scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) for the particle size range of 10–385 nm, the total number and total mass of the PM of the ethanol–diesel blend fuels were decreased by about 11.7–15% and 19.2–26.9%, respectively.     

The effects of ethanol–unleaded gasoline blends and ignition timing on engine performance and exhaust emissions

In this study, the effects of using unleaded gasoline (E0) and unleaded gasoline–ethanol blends (E10, E20 E40 and E60) on engine performance and exhaust emissions have been experimentally investigated. The investigation was conducted on a Hydra single-cylinder, four-stroke, spark ignition engine. The experiments were performed by varying the compression ratio (8:1, 9:1 and 10:1) and ignition timing at a constant speed of 2000 rpm at wide open throttle (WOT). The experimental results showed that blending unleaded gasoline with ethanol slightly increased the brake torque and decreased carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions. It was also found that blending with ethanol allows increasing the compression ratio without knock occurrence.     

The modification of the fuel injection rate in heavy-duty diesel engines. Part 1: Effects on engine performance and emissions

An experimental study has been performed on the effects of injection rate shaping on the combustion process and exhaust emissions of a direct-injection diesel engine. Boot-type injections were generated by means of a modified pump-line-nozzle system, which is able to modulate the instantaneous fuel injection rate. The interest of the study reported here was the evaluation of the effective changes produced in the injection rate at different engine operating conditions, when the engine rotating speed and the total fuel injected were changed. In addition, the influence of these new injection rates was quantified on the global engine performance and pollutant emissions. In particular, the focus was placed on producing “boot-like” injection rate shapes, with the main objective of reducing NO_x emissions.Results show how this system is capable of achieving boot-type injections at different boot pressures and boot durations. Also, even though the general trend of the system is to reduce NO_x and to increase soot and fuel consumption, emissions and performance trade-offs can be improved for some specific boot shapes. On the contrary, the modulation of the injection rate showed to be ineffective at medium engine load, since the increase in soot was greater than the relative decrease in NO_x.The analysis of the modifications produced by these strategies on the combustion process, and on the rate of heat release are the base of a second paper.     

Effects of ethylene glycol ethers on diesel fuel properties and emissions in a diesel engine

The effect of ethylene glycol ethers on both the diesel fuel characteristics and the exhaust emissions (CO, NO_x, smoke and hydrocarbons) from a diesel engine was studied. The ethers used were monoethylene glycol ethyl ether (EGEE), monoethylene glycol butyl ether (EGBE), diethylene glycol ethyl ether (DEGEE). The above effect was studied in two forms: first by determining the modification of base diesel fuel properties by using blends with oxygen concentration around 4 wt.%, and second by determining the emission reductions for blends with low oxygen content (1 wt.%) and with 2.5 wt.% of oxygen content. The addition of DEGEE enhances base diesel fuel cetane number, but EGEE and EGBE decrease it. For concentrations of ?4 wt.% of oxygen, EGEE and diesel fuel can show immiscibility problems at low temperatures (?0 °C). Also, every oxygenated compound, according to its boiling point, modifies the distillation curve at low temperatures and the distillate percentage increases. These compounds have a positive effect on diesel fuel lubricity, and slightly decrease its viscosity. Blends with 1 and 2.5 wt.% oxygen concentrations were used in order to determine their influence on emissions at both full and medium loads and different engine speeds. Generally, all compounds help to reduce CO, and hydrocarbon emissions, but not smoke. The best results were obtained for blends with 2.5 wt.% of oxygen. At this concentration, the additive efficiency in decreasing order was EGEE > DEGEE > EGBE for CO emissions and DGEE > EGEE > EGBE for hydrocarbon emissions. For NO_x, both its behaviour and the sequence are opposite to that of CO.     

Comparative performance and emission studies for vaporized diesel fuel and gasoline as supplements in swirl-chamber diesel engines

An experimental study has been conducted to evaluate and compare the use of fumigated diesel fuel or gasoline as supplementary fuels for a naturally-aspirated, four-stroke diesel engine with a swirl-combustion chamber. The supplementary diesel fuel or gasoline is introduced together with the aspirated air (fumigation) in various proportions with respect to the main diesel fuel, which is injected in the usual manner. The influence of fuel/feed ratios (supplementary or main feed), for a large range of loads, has been examined on fuel consumption, pressure diagrams, exhaust smokiness and exhaustgas emissions (nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide). Knocking limits have been determined. The differences in the measured performance and exhaust-emission parameters from baseline engine operation, when using either supplementary diesel fuel or gasoline fumigated in the intake air, are determined and compared. Our study shows promise for this approach and indicates that above ˜60% of maximum load, there is high smoke reduction with only a slight change in specific fuel consumption, when using either one of the supplementary fumigated fuels. Examination of gaseous pollutant levels shows involved relations with respect to load and fuel proportions. Theoretical aspects of the supplementary fuel-mode (fumigation) of combustion are used to explain the observed engine behaviour.     

Oxides of nitrogen emissions from biodiesel-fuelled diesel engines

Biodiesel has received, and continues to receive, considerable attention for its potential use as an augmenting fuel to petroleum diesel. Its advantages include decreased net carbon dioxide, hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter emissions, and fuel properties similar to petroleum diesel for ease of use in diesel engines. Its disadvantages include poorer cold flow characteristics, lower heating values, and mostly reported higher emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO_x = NO + NO₂, where NO is nitric oxide and NO₂ is nitrogen dioxide). This latter disadvantage (i.e., higher emissions of oxides of nitrogen) is the focus of this review article. NO_x formation mechanisms are complex and affected by several different features (e.g., size, operating points, combustion chamber design, fuel system design, and air system design) of internal combustion engines. The slight differences in properties between biodiesel and petroleum diesel fuels are enough to create several changes to system and combustion behaviors of diesel engines. Combined, these effects lead to several complex and interacting mechanisms that make it difficult to fundamentally identify how biodiesel affects NO_x emissions. Instead, it is perhaps better to say that several parameters seem to most strongly influence observed differences in NO_x emissions with biodiesel, thus introducing several possibilities for inconsistency in the trends. These parameters are injection timing, adiabatic flame temperature, radiation heat transfer, and ignition delay. This article provides a review of the rich literature describing these parameters, and provides additional insight into the system responses that are manifested by the use of biodiesel.     

Effect of choice of pilot fuel on the performance of natural gas in diesel engines

Energy conversion alone is inadequate to satisfy long-term energy demands and to gain independence from petroleum-based fuels. It is, therefore, of great importance that all potential fuel alternatives be recognised and examined. Natural gas and bio-liquids may provide such alternatives and their potential has been examined (Nwafor and Rice, WREC 1994;2:841). Fossil fuel combustion is the main culprit in environmental pollution, whilst the impacts of vegetable oil fuel systems are on the whole less adverse and more localised than those of fossil fuels. This paper investigates the possibility of substituting a plant fuel pilot injection for diesel fuel for combustion of natural gas in a diesel engine. The pilot fuels used are rape methyl ester (RME) and neat rapeseed oil. The test results indicate that engine performance on these alternative pilot fuels was satisfactory and compared favourably with the baseline test result on diesel fuel.     

Experimental investigations on combustion, performance and emissions characteristics of neat karanji biodiesel and its methanol blend in a diesel engine

The increased focus on alternative fuels research in the recent years are mainly driven by escalating crude oil prices, stringent emission norms and the concern on clean environment. The processed form of vegetable oil (biodiesel) has emerged as a potential substitute for diesel fuel on account of its renewable source and lesser emissions. The experimental work reported here has been carried out on a turbocharged, direct injection, multi-cylinder truck diesel engine fitted with mechanical distributor type fuel injection pump using biodiesel-methanol blend and neat karanji oil derived biodiesel under constant speed and varying load conditions without altering injection timings. The results of the experimental investigation indicate that the ignition delay for biodiesel-methanol blend is slightly higher as compared to neat biodiesel and the maximum increase is limited to 1 deg. CA. The maximum rate of pressure rise follow a trend of the ignition delay variations at these operating conditions. However, the peak cylinder pressure and peak energy release rate decreases for biodiesel-methanol blend. In general, a delayed start of combustion and lower combustion duration are observed for biodiesel-methanol blend compared to neat biodiesel fuel. A maximum thermal efficiency increase of 4.2% due to 10% methanol addition in the biodiesel is seen at 80% load and 16.67 s⁻¹ engine speed. The unburnt hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions are slightly higher for the methanol blend compared to neat biodiesel at low load conditions whereas at higher load conditions unburnt hydrocarbon emissions are comparable for the two fuels and carbon monoxide emissions decrease significantly for the methanol blend. A significant reduction in nitric oxide and smoke emissions are observed with the biodiesel-methanol blend investigated.     

Assessment of energy performance and air pollutant emissions in a diesel engine generator fueled with water-containing ethanol–biodiesel–diesel blend of fuels

Biomass based oxygenated fuels have been identified as possible replacement of fossil fuel due to pollutant emission reduction and decrease in over-reliance on fossil fuel energy. In this study, 4 v% water-containing ethanol was mixed with (65–90%) diesel using (5–30%) biodiesel (BD) and 1 v% butanol as stabilizer and co-solvent respectively. The fuels were tested against those of biodiesel–diesel fuel blends to investigate the effect of addition of water-containing ethanol for their energy efficiencies and pollutant emissions in a diesel-fueled engine generator. Experimental results indicated that the fuel blend mix containing 4 v% of water-containing ethanol, 1 v% butanol and 5–30 v% of biodiesel yielded stable blends after 30 days standing. BD1041 blend of fuel, which composed of 10 v% biodiesel, 4 v% of water-containing ethanol and 1 v% butanol demonstrated −0.45 to 1.6% increase in brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC, mL kW⁻¹ h⁻¹) as compared to conventional diesel. The better engine performance of BD1041 was as a result of complete combustion, and lower reaction temperature based on the water cooling effect, which reduced emissions to 2.8–6.0% for NO_x, 12.6–23.7% particulate matter (PM), 20.4–23.8% total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and 30.8–42.9% total BaPeq between idle mode and 3.2 kW power output of the diesel engine generator. The study indicated that blending diesel with water-containing ethanol could achieve the goal of more green sustainability.     

Particle-bound PAH emissions from a waste glycerine-derived fuel blend in a typical automotive diesel engine

Polynuclear or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are known to be one of the most dangerous types of compounds of their class due to their carcinogenic potential. Some atmospheric PAH are measured and regulated to quantify the air quality. However, in order to better understand the presence of these compounds in the atmosphere it is crucial to study the PAH emissions sources. In this work, we analyze the particulate-bound PAH emissions, as well as their carcinogenic potential, from a typical baseline diesel engine using a promising alternative fuel obtained from the glycerol surplus in the biodiesel production industry. This advanced biofuel (Mo.bio) is a ternary mixture of residual glycerine-derived fuel (FAGE), a conventional fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and a diesel fuel. Two operating conditions representative of the conflicting scenarios when studying polluting emissions (speeds of 50 km/h and 70 km/h typical of urban and extra-urban driving conditions) are used. In addition, with the purpose of deepening the understanding of the behavior of this new fuel, tests are carried out modifying the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) ratio. The PAH samples are collected before the aftertreatment systems in order to assess the possible formation of PAH with this type of fuel and to evaluate the options of the aftertreatment devices. Sampling is carried out using fiber-glass filters, extracting the trapped PAH using Soxhlet method. The analytical procedure (liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection) allows to appreciate differences between the different fuels and modes of operation, observing higher emissions of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and dibenz[a,h]anthracene (DahA) for the diesel fuel than for the mixture containing residual glycerine-derived fuel. Therefore, it is concluded that the fossil fuel has a larger carcinogenic potential in these conditions, and that the Mo.Bio fuel may possibly expand the EGR ratio range without increasing the requirement of the particle filter.     

The effect of biodiesel fuel obtained from waste frying oil on direct injection diesel engine performance and exhaust emissions

In this study, usage of methyl ester obtained from waste frying oil (WFO) is examined as an experimental material. A reactor was designed and installed for production of methyl ester from this kind of oil. Physical and chemical properties of methyl ester were determined in the laboratory. The methyl ester was tested in a diesel engine with turbocharged, four cylinders and direct injection. Gathered results were compared with No. 2 diesel fuel. Engine tests results obtained with the aim of comparison from the measures of torque, power; specific fuel consumptions are nearly the same. In addition, amount of emission such as CO, CO₂, NO_x, and smoke darkness of waste frying oils are less than No. 2 diesel fuel.     

Insights on postinjection-associated soot emissions in direct injection diesel engines

A comprehensive study was carried out in order to better understand combustion behavior in a direct injection diesel engine when using postinjections. More specifically, the aim of the study is twofold: (1) to better understand the mechanism of a postinjection to reduce soot and (2) to improve the understanding of the contribution of the postinjection combustion on the total soot emissions by looking at the effect of the postinjection timing variation and the postinjection mass variation on the soot emissions associated with the postinjection. The study is focused only on far postinjections, and the explored operating conditions include the use of EGR. The first objective was fulfilled analyzing some results from a previous work adding only a few complementary results. Concerning the second objective, the basic idea behind the analysis performed is the search of appropriate parameters physically linked to the processes under analysis. These parameters are found based on the state-of-the-art of diesel combustion. For the effect of the postinjection timing, the physical parameter found was the temperature of the unburned gases at the end of injection, T_{ug_EoI}. It was checked that a threshold level of T_{ug_EoI} (∼700 K for the cases explored here) exists below which soot is unable to be formed, independently of the postinjection size, and the amount of soot increases as the temperature increases beyond this threshold. For the effect of the postinjection size, the physical parameter that was found was DoI/ACT (the ratio between the actual duration of injection and the time necessary for mixing—the apparent combustion time). This parameter can quantify when the postinjection is able to produce soot (the threshold value is ∼0.37 for the cases explored here), and the amount of soot produced increases as this parameter increases beyond this threshold value. A function containing these two parameters has been fitted to the experimental soot emissions associated with the postinjection obtained in many engine operating conditions, and the appropriate quality of the fit demonstrates that these two parameters explain the main behaviors of the soot emissions associated with a postinjection.     

The effect of biodiesel and bioethanol blended diesel fuel on nanoparticles and exhaust emissions from CRDI diesel engine

Biofuel (biodiesel, bioethanol) is considered one of the most promising alternative fuels to petrol fuels. The objective of the work is to study the characteristics of the particle size distribution, the reaction characteristics of nanoparticles on the catalyst, and the exhaust emission characteristics when a common rail direct injection (CRDI) diesel engine is run on biofuel-blended diesel fuels. In this study, the engine performance, emission characteristics, and particle size distribution of a CRDI diesel engine that was equipped with a warm-up catalytic converters (WCC) or a catalyzed particulate filter (CPF) were examined in an ECE (Economic Commission Europe) R49 test and a European stationary cycle (ESC) test. The engine performance under a biofuel-blended diesel fuel was similar to that under D100 fuel, and the high fuel consumption was due to the lowered calorific value that ensued from mixing with biofuels. The use of a biodiesel–diesel blend fuel reduced the total hydrocarbon (THC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions but increased nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions due to the increased oxygen content in the fuel. The smoke emission was reduced by 50% with the use of the bioethanol–diesel blend. Emission conversion efficiencies in the WCC and CPF under biofuel-blended diesel fuels were similar to those under D100 fuel. The use of biofuel-blended diesel fuel reduced the total number of particles emitted from the engine; however, the use of biodiesel–diesel blends resulted in more emissions of particles that were smaller than 50 nm, when compared with the use of D100. The use of a mixed fuel of biodiesel and bioethanol (BD15E5) was much more effective for the reduction of the particle number and particle mass, when compared to the use of BD20 fuel.     

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.