An experimental investigation on performance and emissions study with port injection using diesel as an ignition source for different EGR flow rates

Exhaust gas recirculation, EGR, is one of the most effective means of reducing NO_x emissions from IC engines and is widely used in order to meet the emission standards. In the present work, experimental investigation has been carried out to study the NO_x reduction characteristics by exhaust gas recirculation in a dual fueled engine using hydrogen and diesel. A single cylinder diesel engine was converted to operate on hydrogen-diesel dual fuel mode. Hydrogen was injected in intake port and diesel was injected directly inside the cylinder. The injection timing and injection duration of hydrogen were optimized initially based on the performance and emissions. It was observed that start of injection at 5° before gas exchange top dead center (BGTDC) and injection duration of 30° crank angle gives the best results. The flow rate of hydrogen was optimized as 7.5 lpm for the best start of injection and injection duration of hydrogen. Cold exhaust gas recirculation technique was adopted for the optimized injection parameter of hydrogen and flow rate. Maximum quantity of exhaust gases recycled during the test was 25% beyond this the combustion was not stable resulting in increase in smoke.     

An experimental study on performance,emission and combustion parameters of hydrogen fueled spark ignition engine with the timed manifold injection system

In the present study, a single cylinder spark ignition (SI) engine is modified to operate with hydrogen gas with ECU (Electronic Controlled Unit) operated timely manifold injection system. Performance, emission and combustion parameters are studied at MBT (Maximum Brake Torque) spark timing with WOT (Wide Open Throttle) position. All trials are performed in the speed range of 1100 rpm–1800 rpm. Baseline observations are recorded with gasoline for comparison purpose. Results have shown that maximum brake power is reduced by 19.06% and peak brake thermal efficiency is increased by 3.16% in the case of hydrogen operation. Reduction in NO_x emission is observed for hydrogen at higher engine speed. The maximum net heat release rate is two times higher and the peak cylinder pressure is 1.36 times higher for hydrogen as compared to gasoline at the engine speed of 1400 rpm.     

Progress in the production and application of n-butanol as a biofuel

Butanol is a very competitive renewable biofuel for use in internal combustion engines given its many advantages. In this review, the properties of butanol are compared with the conventional gasoline, diesel fuel, and some widely used biofuels, i.e. methanol, ethanol, biodiesel. The comparison of fuel properties indicates that n-butanol has the potential to overcome the drawbacks brought by low-carbon alcohols or biodiesel. Then, the development of butanol production is reviewed and various methods for increasing fermentative butanol production are introduced in detailed, i.e. metabolic engineering of the Clostridia, advanced fermentation technique. The most costive part of the fermentation is the substrate, so methods involved in renewed substrates are also mentioned. Next, the applications of butanol as a biofuel are summarized from three aspects: (1) fundamental combustion experiments in some well-defined burning reactors; (2) a substitute for gasoline in spark ignition engine; (3) a substitute for diesel fuel in compression ignition engine. These studies demonstrate that butanol, as a potential second generation biofuel, is a better alternative for the gasoline or diesel fuel, from the viewpoints of combustion characteristics, engine performance, and exhaust emissions. However, butanol has not been intensively studied when compared to ethanol or biodiesel, for which considerable numbers of reports are available. Finally, some challenges and future research directions are outlined in the last section of this review.