Use of palm oil-based biofuel in the internal combustion engines: Performance and emissions characteristics

Palm oil (PO) was treated using different methods in order to use and test it as fuel in Compression Ignition (CI) engines. The treatments include PO preheated and preparation of PO/diesel oil blends, using mixtures of PO with waste cooking oil (WCO), which are converted into esters by a transesterification process. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of the palm oil-based biofuels to replace diesel oil in CI engines.Tests were conducted in a single cylinder, four-stroke, air-cooled, direct injection diesel engine (no engine modifications were required). Experiments were initially carried out with diesel oil for providing baseline data. All the tested fuels have a low heating value compared to diesel fuel. A high fraction of PO in diesel fuel decreases the heating value of the blend. The brake thermal efficiency increases for the PO/Diesel blends. HC emissions for all those fuels except for the PO/Diesel blends are found lower, while CO emissions rise for all types of fuels. NO_x emissions are higher at low load, but lower at full load, for the engine fueled with PO and lower both at middle and full load for the engine fueled with the esters.     

汽油机燃用含氧混合燃料时燃烧特性和碳氢排放的研究

开展了汽油机燃用含氧混合燃料时燃烧特性和碳氢排放的研究 ,分析了质量燃烧率和发动机碳氢排放。基于实测示功图的计算结果表明 ,与汽油相比 ,燃用汽油 乙醚混合燃料可明显缩短火焰发展角和快速燃烧角。当汽油中加入的醇类燃料比例较小时 ,与燃用汽油相比 ,可缩短火焰发展角和明显缩短快速燃烧角 ;而当汽油中加入的醇类燃料比例较大时 ,反而会增加火焰发展角和快速燃烧角。试验结果表明 ,与燃用汽油相比 ,燃用含氧混合燃料可降低发动机碳氢排放量 ,燃用汽油 乙醚混合燃料比燃用汽油 醇类混合燃料具有更低的碳氢排放。     

BUTANOL—A SINGLE CYLINDER ENGINE STUDY: ENGINE PERFORMANCE

The effect of methanol and butanol addition to gasoline on brake specific fuel consumption (b.s.f.c.), exhaust gas temperature, and thermal efficiency has been experimentally investigated. A Hydra single cylinder, spark ignition, fuel injection engine was used over a wide range of fuel/air equivalence ratio (ϕ=0⋅8 to 1⋅3) for 30% volume alcohol–gasoline blends. The goal of this work is to study the engine performance when methanol and butanol–gasoline blends are used. The performance measurements show that there is an increase in b.s.f.c. when using alcohol–gasoline blends, and b.s.f.c. of a butanol–gasoline blend is less than for a methanol–gasoline blend. The experimental results show that the engine thermal efficiency was decreased when fueled with alcohol–gasoline blends. It was found that there was about a 4.5% reduction in engine thermal efficiency at ϕ=1⋅0 when 30% butanol was blended with gasoline compared to pure gasoline. The exhaust gas temperature measurements show that there is an increase in temperature in the case of using gasoline as compared to alcohol–gasoline blends, and that the temperature reaches a maximum at ϕ≈1⋅1 when using gasoline and alcohol–gasoline blends. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

NOX emissions of compression ignition engines fueled with various biodiesel blends: A review

There are some challenges about NO_X emissions exhausted from diesel engines fueled with biodiesel. Due to increasingly stringent emission regulations, the different methods such as varying the engine operating parameters, treatment with antioxidant additive and blending fuels have been adapted to reduce emissions of biodiesel combustion. One of the effective methods is the combustion of dual or blending fuels. Various fuels such as gasoline, hydrogen, natural gas, biogas, different types of alcohols and also fuel additives have been used to reduce biodiesel disadvantages. This study reviews the potential of the different fuels as an additive in biodiesel fuel in correspond to reduce NO_X emissions. The general reduction of NO_X has been observed with the presence of gasoline, biogas and alcohols in biodiesel blends. The reduction of NO_X in biodiesel-hydrogen, biodiesel-diesel or biodiesel–CNG combustion has not been observed through all engine conditions. Moreover the retarding injection timing, the lower injection pressure, EGR higher than 30% can result in the reduced NO_X emissions. However it seems the decrease in NO_X emissions can be achieved by the use of most fuels in blending with biodiesel under all engine operating conditions, if only the proper injection parameters and blending proportions of fuels are set.     

Comparison and analysis of the emissions of a small non-road spark-ignition engine operating under different alcohol–gasoline blended fuels

In this experimental study we focused our interest on comparing the effect of lower and higher molecular mass alcohol–gasoline-blended fuels on the regulated emissions emitted by a small non-road spark-ignition engine. Twenty-one test fuels were used in this experimental study that included gasoline as a reference as well as low and high molecular mass alcohol–gasoline blends containing 5%, 10%, 20% and 40% v/v. In exhaust gases that originated from alcohol gasoline test fuels, low CO/HC and high CO₂/NO_x emissions were observed as the total percentage of alcohol in the blend increased. Methanol–gasoline blends seemed to achieve good combustion efficiency, but the engine will require a catalytic converter against high NO_x emissions. Butanol–gasoline blends in several cases gave lower emissions in comparison with the ethanol and propanol–gasoline blends. Finally, the pentanol–gasoline blends showed exactly the same emission patterns as those of neat gasoline.     

不同基础汽油配制的乙醇汽油对汽车性能的影响

在一辆排量为1．6L的汽车上进行了燃用不同基础汽油配制的车用乙醇汽油对汽车性能影响的试验研究。结果表明：与无铅汽油相比,燃用不含MTBE纯汽油配制的乙醇汽油,汽车性能有所改善或不变;而燃用含MTBE无铅汽油配制的乙醇汽油,汽车的性能下降,其主要原因是燃料中氧含量增加较多,与汽车的电控系统不匹配。因此配制乙醇汽油的基础汽油应使用不合任何含氧化合物的纯汽油,而不能使用含MTBE的无铅汽油。     

DME-LPG混合燃料的试验研究

通过在火花点火式发动机燃用二甲醚混合燃料与汽油的对比试验,评价了二甲醚混合燃料的不同组份在发动机上的应用特性,分析了由二甲醚、液化石油气和甲醇组成的两种配比混合燃料的经济性能、动力性能及怠速时的排放性能。结果表明,发动机燃用二甲醚—液化石油气混合燃料基本达到了燃用汽油的水平。     

Fuel design and management for the control of advanced compression-ignition combustion modes

Due to concerns regarding the greenhouse effect and limitations on carbon dioxide emissions, the possibility of a next-generation combustion mode for internal combustion engines that can simultaneously reduce exhaust emissions and substantially improve thermal efficiency has drawn increasing attention. The most prominent characteristic of new combustion modes, such as Homogenous-Charge Compression-Ignition (HCCI), Stratified-Charge Compression-Ignition (SCCI), and Low-Temperature Combustion (LTC), is the requirement of creating a homogenous mixture or controllable stratified mixture prior to ignition. To this end, a lean fuel/air mixture and/or a controllable high level of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) are employed to prolong the timescale of the ignition chemistry and port fuel injection or early in-cylinder injection is used to lengthen the mixing period. The mixture then undergoes controlled self-ignition near the top dead center (TDC) position due to the compression effect of the piston’s upward movement. It is worth noting that the entire combustion process lacks a direct method for the control of ignition timing and combustion rate, which are instead controlled primarily by chemical kinetics and, to a lesser extent, by turbulence and mixing. Because of the significant impacts of fuel physical–chemical properties on the ignition and combustion process, fuel design and management has become the most common approach for the control of ignition timing and combustion rate in such advanced combustion modes.This paper summarizes the concepts and methods of fuel design and management and provides an overview of the effects of these strategies on ignition, combustion, and emissions for HCCI, LTC, and SCCI engines, respectively. From part 2 to part 4, the paper focuses on the effect of fuel design on HCCI combustion. A fuel index suitable for describing ignition characteristic under HCCI operating conditions is first introduced. Next, the proposed fuel design concept is described, including principles and main methodologies. Strategies based on the fuel design concept (including fuel additives, fuel blending, and dual-fuel technology) are discussed for primary reference fuels (PRF), alternative fuels, and practical gasoline and diesel fuels. Additionally, the effects of real-time fuel design on HCCI combustion fueled with PRFs and dimethyl ether/liquefied petroleum gas (DME–LPG) are evaluated. Diesel HCCI combustion has suffered from difficulties in homogenous mixture formation and an excessively high combustion rate. Therefore, LTC, which concentrates on local combustion temperature and a balance of mixture formation timescale and ignition timescale, has been proposed by many researchers. In Part 5, this paper provides an overview of the major points and research progress of LTC, with a preliminary discussion of the fundamental importance of fuel properties and fuel design strategy on the LTC process and emissions. Due to the stratification strategy has the capable of extending the HCCI operation range to higher loads, SCCI combustion, which incorporates HCCI combustion into a traditional combustion mode, has the potential to be used in commercial engines. Thus, this paper discusses the principles and control strategies of fuel design and management and also summarizes recent progress and future trends. The effect of fuel design and management on SCCI combustion is assessed for high cetane number fuels and high octane number fuels as well as the in SCCI combustion of gasoline–diesel dual-fuel and blends.     

Study of cold start air–fuel mixture parameters for spark ignition engines fueled with gasoline–isobutanol blends

Biofuels are set to play an important role in the future strategy of automotive fuel suppliers, and therefore the study of using alcohols in spark ignition engines has become a necessity. A simple thermodynamic model was developed for calculating air–fuel mixture parameters for port injection engines fueled with gasoline–isobutanol blends, and theoretical results were compared to experimental values. For simulating the evaporation process, gasoline was considered a mixture of four components, with isobutanol added in different proportions. As all engine components are at ambient temperature during cold starts, mixture formation was considered an adiabatic process, with the fuel breaking up into droplets and evaporating, thus resulting in a temperature drop. A port injection engine fitted to a passenger car was used to validate the model for calculating air–fuel mixture parameters.     

Evaluation of hydrogen-containing NaBH4 and oxygen-containing alcohols (CH3OH,C2H5OH) as fuel additives in a gasoline engine

The aim of this study is to obtain alternative fuels with hydrogen-containing (NaBH₄) and oxygen-containing (ethanol, methanol) fuel additives and to test these fuels in a gasoline engine. For this purpose, each of the NaBH₄ added ethanol and methanol solutions was added to pure gasoline at a volume of 10% and mixed fuels named SE10 and SM10 were obtained, respectively. The obtained SE10 and SM10 mixed fuels were tested in a spark ignition engine and the performance and emission effects of the fuels were compared with the pure gasoline fueled engine test data. When the test results of the mixture fuel engine were compared with the test results of the engine running with pure gasoline, the torque of the SE10 fuel engine decreased compared to the pure gasoline engine, while the torque of the SM10 blended engine increased. In addition, while the exhaust gas temperatures of both blended fuels decreased, their specific fuel consumption and thermal efficiency increased. On the other hand, adding NaBH₄ doped ethanol and methanol solutions to pure gasoline resulted in better combustion, reductions in CO emissions of SE10 and SM10 blended fuels by 31.04% and 53.7%, but CO₂ emissions increased by 11.20% and 19.51% respectively. In addition, NO_x emissions of SE10 and SM10 blended fuels decreased by 15.17% and 8.73%, respectively.     

Effect of equivalence ratio on knocking tendency in spark ignition engines fueled with fuel blends of biogas,natural gas,propane and hydrogen

This research evaluates the effect of the equivalence ratio on knocking tendency in two Spark Ignition (SI) engines fueled with gaseous fuels. A Lister Petter TR2 Diesel engine (TR2) converted to SI was used to evaluate the equivalence ratio effect when the engine was fueled with fuel blends of biogas, natural gas, propane, and hydrogen. A Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine was used to study the effect of equivalence ratio on the Critical Compression Ratio (CCR) which is a metric to evaluate the knocking tendency of gaseous fuels. In both engines, the tests were conducted using the knocking threshold as the engine limit operation to quantify the effect of the equivalence ratio on knocking tendency. Experimental results in the CFR engine revealed that a lean mixture reduces the knocking tendency allowing to operate the CFR engine at higher CCR. In contrast, the effect of the equivalence ratio on the knocking tendency in the TR2 engine was different since leaner mixtures increased the engine knocking tendency. This tendency was caused by the increase in the % throttle which increased the mixture pressure at the end of the compression stroke. The high knocking tendency to lean mixtures forces to reduce the output power to find the knocking threshold for all fuel blends.     

Hydrogen addition to tea seed oil biodiesel: Performance and emission characteristics

Compression ignition engines are the dominant tools of the modern human life especially in the field of transportation. But, the increasing problematic issues such as decreasing reserves and environmental effects of diesel fuels which is the energy source of compression ignition engines forcing researchers to investigate alternative fuels for substitution or decreasing the dependency on fossil fuels. The mostly known alternative fuel is biodiesel fuel and many researchers are investigating the possible raw materials for biodiesel production. Also, hydrogen fuel is an alternative fuel which can be used in compression ignition engines for decreasing fuel consumption and hazardous exhaust emissions by enriching the fuel. In this study, influences of hydrogen enrichment to diesel and diesel tea seed oil biodiesel blends (B10 and B20) were investigated on an unmodified compression ignition engine experimentally. In consequence of the experiments, lower torque and higher brake specific fuel consumption data were measured when the engine was fuelled diesel biodiesel blends (B10 and B20) instead of diesel fuel. Also, diesel biodiesel blends increased CO₂ and NO_x emissions while decreasing the CO emissions. Hydrogen enrichment (5 l/m and 10 l/m) was improved the both torque and brake specific fuel consumption for all test fuels. Furthermore, hydrogen enrichment reduced CO and CO₂ emissions due to absence of carbon atoms in the chemical structure for all test fuels. Increasing flow rate of hydrogen fuel from 5 l/m to 10 l/m further improved performance measures and emitted harmful gases except NO_x. The most significant drawback of the hydrogen enrichment was the increased NO_x emissions.     

Performance and combustion characteristics of alcohol–gasoline blends at wide-open throttle

This study discusses the performance and exhaust emissions of a vehicle fueled with low content alcohol (ethanol and methanol) blends and pure gasoline. The vehicle tests were performed at wide-open throttle and at vehicle speeds of 40 km h⁻¹, 60 km h⁻¹, 80 km h⁻¹ and 100 km h⁻¹ by using an eddy current chassis dynamometer. The test results obtained with the use of alcohol-gasoline blends (5 and 10 percent alcohol by volume) were compared to pure gasoline test results. The test results indicated that when the vehicle was fueled with alcohol-gasoline blends, the peak wheel power and fuel consumption slightly increased. And also, in general, alcohol-gasoline blends provided higher combustion efficiency compared to pure gasoline use. In exhaust emission results, a stable trend was not seen, especially for CO emission. But, on average, alcohol-gasoline blends exhibited decreasing HC emissions. In 100 km h⁻¹ vehicle speed test, the alcohol-gasoline blends provided lower vehicle performance and lower NO_x emission values compared to pure gasoline. At all vehicle speeds, minimum CO₂ emission was obtained when 5% methanol was added in gasoline. The low content alcohol blends did not reveal any starting problem, or irregular operation on the engine.     

Determination of ecological efficiency in internal combustion engines: The use of biodiesel

This paper evaluates and quantifies the environmental impact from the use of some renewable fuels and fossils fuels in internal combustion engines. The following fuels are evaluated: gasoline blended with anhydrous ethyl alcohol (anhydrous ethanol), conventional diesel fuel, biodiesel in pure form and blended with diesel fuel, and natural gas. For the case of biodiesel, its complete life cycle and the closed carbon cycle (photosynthesis) were considered. The ecological efficiency concept depends on the environmental impact caused by CO₂, SO₂, NO_x and particulate material (PM) emissions. The exhaust gases from internal combustion engines, in the case of the gasoline (blended with alcohol), biodiesel and biodiesel blended with conventional diesel, are the less polluting; on the other hand, the most polluting are those related to conventional diesel. They can cause serious problems to the environment because of their dangerous components for the human, animal and vegetable life. The resultant pollution of each one of the mentioned fuels are analyzed, considering separately CO₂, SO₂, NO_x and particulate material (PM) emissions. As conclusion, it is possible to calculate an environmental factor that represents, qualitatively and quantitative, the emissions in internal combustion engines that are mostly used in urban transport. Biodiesel in pure form (B100) and blended with conventional diesel as fuel for engines pollute less than conventional diesel fuel. The ecological efficiency for pure biodiesel (B100) is 86.75%; for biodiesel blended with conventional diesel fuel (B20, 20% biodiesel and 80% diesel), it is 78.79%. Finally, the ecological efficiency for conventional diesel, when used in engines, is 77.34%; for gasoline, it is 82.52%, and for natural gas, it is 91.95%. All these figures considered a thermal efficiency of 30% for the internal combustion engine.     

Fuel conversion efficiency of a port injection engine fueled with gasoline–isobutanol blends

This paper describes the comparative advantages of using isobutanol as a fuel for SI (spark ignition) engines instead of ethanol. An experimental study of fuel conversion efficiency was performed on a port injection engine fueled with mixtures containing 10, 30 and 50% isobutanol blended with gasoline. Efficiency as well as performance levels were maintained within acceptable limits for all three types of fuel blends compared to running the engine on straight gasoline. These results show that isobutanol is an attractive drop-in fuel for SI engines, and can be blended with gasoline in much higher concentrations compared to ethanol, without any modifications to the fuel system or other engine components.     

甲醇-汽油混合燃料电喷汽油机性能的试验研究

在一台多点电喷汽油机上,系统开展了燃用高比例的甲醇汽油混合燃料(甲醇的体积比为85%)M85时发动机的动力性,经济性和排放特性。研究结果表明:电喷汽油机燃用M85时,动力性明显改善,经济性明显提高,有效热效率明显提高;CO和NOx的排放有明显改善,但HC排放明显恶化。     

氢燃料发动机的应用

叙述了氢燃料发动机的特点，结构和工作原理，以及氢燃料的储存及燃烧特性。给出了一些氢燃料发动机的排放试验数据，并与使用其它燃料时进行了比较。主要从发动机的新能源和排放污染等方面，探讨推广氢燃料发动机的必要性及其应用可行性。     

Evolution,challenges and path forward for low temperature combustion engines

Universal concerns about degradation in ambient environment, stringent emission legislations, depletion of petroleum reserves, security of fuel supply and global warming have motivated research and development of engines operating on alternative combustion concepts, which also have capability of using renewable as well as conventional fuels. Low temperature combustion (LTC) is an advanced combustion concept for internal combustion (IC) engines, which has attracted global attention in recent years. LTC concept is different from the conventional spark ignition (SI) combustion as well as compression ignition (CI) diffusion combustion concepts. LTC technology offers prominent benefits in terms of simultaneous reduction of both oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) and particulate matter (PM), in addition to reduction in specific fuel consumption (SFC). However, controlling ignition timing and combustion rate are primary challenges to be tackled before LTC technology can be implemented in automotive engines commercially. This review covers fundamental aspects of development of LTC engines and its evolution, historical background and origin of LTC concept, encompassing LTC principle, its advantages, challenges and prospects. Detailed insights into preparation of homogeneous charge by external and internal measures for mineral diesel and gasoline like fuels are covered. Fuel requirements and fuel induction system design aspect for LTC engines are also discussed. Combustion characteristics of LTC engines including combustion chemistry, heat release rate (HRR), combustion duration, knock characteristics, high load limit, fuel conversion efficiencies and combustion instability are summarized. Emission characteristics are reviewed along with insights into PM and NO_x emissions from LTC engines. Finally, different strategies for controlling combustion rate and combustion timings for gasoline and mineral diesel like fuels are discussed, showing the way forward for this technology in future towards its commercialization.     

含氧燃料对内燃机燃烧和排放性能的影响

列举醇类、醚类、酯类、生物柴油等及其作为含氧燃料添加剂与汽、柴油混合的混合燃料性能，介绍部分纯质含氧燃料及其混合燃料对内燃机燃烧和排放的影响。研究表明，醇类燃料及其与汽油的混合燃料能够降低点燃式发动机的HC和CO排放，使发动机的动力性和经济性提高；二甲醚燃料、柴油与DMC或ADMM等的混合燃料对降低压燃式发动机的微粒排放具有显著的作用。含氧化合物混入燃油中有利于降低内燃机中HC，CO等物质的排放。     

Efficiency and pollutant emissions of an SI engine using biogas-hydrogen fuel blends: BIO60, BIO95, H20BIO60 and H20BIO95

Our planet has been experiencing abrupt climate changes in recent years. The major contributor to this phenomenon is, without doubt, emissions of gases derived from petroleum-based fuels, compared to their high consumption, especially diesel and gasoline. In Brazil, the sum of all motorized trips shows that more than half of them (60%) is based on public transport, with buses carrying 94% of all those who use this service. These vehicles, in their vast majority, use the technology of Compression Ignition (CI) engines. On the other hand, studies have shown that the country has a high biofuel production potential from various sources, such as landfills and hydroelectric plants, with an extensive production of biogas and hydrogen, that can be used, for example, in Spark Ignition (SI) engines. Nevertheless, SI engines have lower efficiency than CI engines. Part load operation of SI engines is conventionally achieved by the use of a throttle to control the airflow or air-fuel mixture into the engine. When operating at partial load the throttle causes exergy losses what affecting on decreasing engine efficiency. With the objective of analysing the emission of pollutants and the efficiency of conversion of fuel chemical energy, this work presents an analysis on the use of blends of hydrogen (H₂), biogas (BIO60) and methane (BIO95) using an SI engine. The system was operated in partial load and the addition of H₂ was an attempt to increase efficiency by reducing the pumping work through the throttle, once it was possible increasing the lambda value. The tests were performed at different ignition angles and air/fuel ratio. The value of ignition advance angle has been adjusted to obtain maximum Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE) of the engine. It was possible to recognize that the addition of H₂ allowed the combustion limits to be extended. On the other hand, reduced values of CO and NO_x emissions could be achieved.