The impact of gasoline and synthesized ethanol blends on the emissions of a spark ignition engine

Considering pollution problems and the energy crisis today, investigations have been concentrated on lowering the concentration of toxic components in combustion products and decreasing fossil fuel consumption by using renewable alternative fuels. In this work, the effect of ethanol addition to gasoline on the exhaust emissions of a spark ignition engine at various speeds was established. Ethanol was extracted from groundnut seeds using fermentation method. Gasoline was blended with 20 - 80% of the extracted ethanol in an interval of 20%. Results of the engine test indicated that using ethanol-gasoline blended fuels decreased carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions as a result of the lean- burn effects caused by the ethanol, and the carbon dioxide (CO2) emission increased because of a near complete combustion. Finally, the results showed that blending ethanol in a proportion of 40% with gasoline can be used as a supplementary fuel in modern spark ignition engines as it is expected that the engine performs at its optimum in terms of air toxic pollutants reduction, by virtue of that mix.

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Ethanol/Gasoline Blends as Alternative Fuel in Last Generation Spark-Ignition Engines: A Review on CO and HC Engine Out Emissions

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14134034 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (13) ◽

pp. 4034

Author(s):

Paolo Iodice ◽

Massimo Cardone

Keyword(s):

Physicochemical Properties ◽

Alternative Fuels ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Alternative Fuel ◽

Exhaust Emissions ◽

Spark Ignition ◽

Operating Conditions ◽

Spark Ignition Engine ◽

Spark Ignition Engines ◽

The Impact

Among the alternative fuels existing for spark-ignition engines, ethanol is considered worldwide as an important renewable fuel when mixed with pure gasoline because of its favorable physicochemical properties. An in-depth and updated investigation on the issue of CO and HC engine out emissions related to use of ethanol/gasoline fuels in spark-ignition engines is therefore necessary. Starting from our experimental studies on engine out emissions of a last generation spark-ignition engine fueled with ethanol/gasoline fuels, the aim of this new investigation is to offer a complete literature review on the present state of ethanol combustion in last generation spark-ignition engines under real working conditions to clarify the possible change in CO and HC emissions. In the first section of this paper, a comparison between physicochemical properties of ethanol and gasoline is examined to assess the practicability of using ethanol as an alternative fuel for spark-ignition engines and to investigate the effect on engine out emissions and combustion efficiency. In the next section, this article focuses on the impact of ethanol/gasoline fuels on CO and HC formation. Many studies related to combustion characteristics and exhaust emissions in spark-ignition engines fueled with ethanol/gasoline fuels are thus discussed in detail. Most of these experimental investigations conclude that the addition of ethanol with gasoline fuel mixtures can really decrease the CO and HC exhaust emissions of last generation spark-ignition engines in several operating conditions.

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An Attempt to Reduce the Emission of Spark-Ignition Engine with Mixtures of Bioethanol and Gasoline as Substitute Fuels

Journal of KONES ◽

10.2478/kones-2019-0054 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 31-38

Author(s):

Wojciech Gis ◽

Maciej Gis ◽

Piotr Wiśniowski ◽

Mateusz Bednarski

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Fuel Consumption ◽

Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽

Alternative Fuels ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Spark Ignition ◽

Solid Particles ◽

Spark Ignition Engine ◽

Maximum Power ◽

The Impact

Abstract Limiting emissions of harmful substances is a key task for vehicle manufacturers. Excessive emissions have a negative impact not only on the environment, but also on human life. A significant problem is the emission of nitrogen oxides as well as solid particles, in particular those up to a diameter of 2.5 microns. Carbon dioxide emissions are also a problem. Therefore, work is underway on the use of alternative fuels to power the vehicle engines. The importance of alternative fuels applies to spark ignition engines. The authors of the article have done simulation tests of the Renault K4M 1.6 16v traction engine for emissions for fuels with a volumetric concentration of bioethanol from 10 to 85 percent. The analysis was carried out for mixtures as substitute fuels – without doing any structural changes in the engine's crankshafts. Emission of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, oxygen at full throttle for selected rotational speeds as well as selected engine performance parameters such as maximum power, torque, hourly and unit fuel consumption were determined. On the basis of the simulation tests performed, the reasonableness of using the tested alternative fuels was determined on the example of the drive unit without affecting its constructions, in terms of e.g. issue. Maximum power, torque, and fuel consumption have also been examined and compared. Thus, the impact of alternative fuels will be determined not only in terms of emissions, but also in terms of impact on the parameters of the power unit.

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A comparative study of the effect of compression ratio on the efficiency and flame development angle in a Cooperative Fuel Research engine fueled with binary gasoline–alcohol blends

International Journal of Engine Research ◽

10.1177/1468087419859104 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 146808741985910 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Guillermo Rubio-Gómez ◽

Lis Corral-Gómez ◽

David Rodriguez-Rosa ◽

Fausto A Sánchez-Cruz ◽

Simón Martínez-Martínez

Keyword(s):

Comparative Study ◽

Compression Ratio ◽

Alternative Fuels ◽

Internal Combustion Engines ◽

Fossil Fuels ◽

Combustion Process ◽

Spark Ignition ◽

Spark Ignition Engine ◽

Flame Development ◽

The Impact

In the last few years, increasing concern about the harmful effects of the use of fossil fuels in internal combustion engines has been observed. In addition, the limited availability of crude oil has driven the interest in alternative fuels, especially biofuels. In the context of spark ignition engines, bioalcohols are of great interest owing to their similarities and blend capacities with gasoline. Methanol and ethanol have been widely used, mainly due to their knocking resistance. Another alcohol of great interest is butanol, thanks to its potential of being produced as biofuel and its heat value closer to gasoline. In this study, a comparative study of gasoline–alcohol blend combustion, with up to 20% volume, with neat gasoline has been carried out. A single-cylinder, variable compression ratio, Cooperative Fuel Research-type spark ignition engine has been employed. The comparison is made in terms of fuel conversion efficiency and flame development angle. Relevant information related to the impact in the combustion process of the use of the three main alcohols used in blends with gasoline has been obtained.

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An Experimental Study of Cyclic Variations in a Lean Burn Natural Gas Fuelled Spark Ignition Engine

Design and Control of Diesel and Natural Gas Engines for Industrial and Rail Transportation Applications ◽

10.1115/icef2003-0772 ◽

2003 ◽

Author(s):

A. Ramesh ◽

Mohand Tazerout ◽

Olivier Le Corre

Keyword(s):

Natural Gas ◽

Heat Release ◽

Pressure Rise ◽

Spark Ignition ◽

Spark Ignition Engine ◽

High Rate ◽

Lean Burn ◽

Complete Combustion ◽

Average Value ◽

Indicated Mean Effective Pressure

This work deals with the nature of cycle by cycle variations in a single cylinder, lean burn, natural gas fuelled spark ignition engine operated at a constant speed of 1500 rev/min under variable equivalence ratio, fixed throttle conditions. Cycle by cycle variations in important parameters like indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), peak pressure, rate of pressure rise and heat release characteristics were studied. At the lean misfire limit there was a drastic increase in combustion duration. With mixtures leaner than the lean limit, good cycles generally followed poor cycles. However, the vice versa was not true. Cycles that had a high initial heat release rate lead to more complete combustion. A high rate of pressure rise led to a high IMEP. The IMEP of cycles versus their frequency of occurrence was symmetric about the average value when the combustion was good.

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An experimental study the impact of the hydrogen enrichment on cycle-to-cycle variations of the large bore and lean burn natural gas spark-ignition engine

Fuel ◽

10.1016/j.fuel.2020.118868 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 282 ◽

pp. 118868 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xiongbo Duan ◽

Banglin Deng ◽

Yiqun Liu ◽

Shunzhang Zou ◽

Jingping Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Experimental Study ◽

Natural Gas ◽

Spark Ignition ◽

Spark Ignition Engine ◽

Lean Burn ◽

Hydrogen Enrichment ◽

The Impact

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Effect of Hydrogen Addition on Combustion Characteristics of a Spark Ignition Engine Fueled With Low Heat Value Gas

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.197-198.688 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 197-198 ◽

pp. 688-691

Author(s):

Zhung Qing Hu ◽

Xin Zhang

Keyword(s):

Spark Ignition ◽

Combustion Characteristics ◽

Spark Ignition Engine ◽

Lean Burn ◽

Hydrogen Addition ◽

Indicated Mean Effective Pressure ◽

Excess Air ◽

Heat Value ◽

Hc Emissions ◽

Engine Power

An experimental investigation on the effect of hydrogen fraction on the combustion characteristics of a spark ignition engine fueled with low heat value gas-hydrogen blends was studied. The results show that engine indicated thermal efficiency, indicated mean effective pressure and maximum combustion pressure are increased with the increase of hydrogen fraction in the blends. And hydrogen addition shows remarkable influence on engine power and emissions. At the same excess air ratio, HC emissions decrease, CO and NOxemissions increase with the increase of hydrogen fraction in the blends. And engine power is influenced by both hydrogen fraction and heat value in low heat value gas-hydrogen blends combining. Hydrogen significant extends the lean burn limit of combustion of low heat value gas.

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The Impact of Formation of Oxide Layer on the Piston Crown Using Micro - Arc Oxidation on the Characteristics of the Spark Ignition Engine

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.813.31 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 813 ◽

pp. 31-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. Velavan ◽

C.G. Saravanan ◽

M. Vikneswaran

Keyword(s):

Thermal Oxidation ◽

Oxide Layer ◽

Spark Ignition ◽

Spark Ignition Engine ◽

Reactive Metal ◽

Piston Crown ◽

Engine Cylinder ◽

Micro Arc Oxidation ◽

Hc Emissions ◽

The Impact

In the present study, experiments were conducted to compare the effect of oxide layer formation on the piston crown coated using Micro-Arc Oxidation (MAO) with uncoated piston on the combustion and emission characteristics of the port injected Spark Ignition engine fueled by gasoline. The micro-arc oxidation (MAO) coating technique is the modern process to form a ceramic oxide layer on the reactive metal substrate (base metal) by electrochemical and electro-thermal oxidation in an alkaline electrolytic solution. Using MAO technique, an oxide layer of thickness 72 μm was formed on the piston crown. This oxide layer acts as a thermal barrier to reduce the in-cylinder heat rejection and increase the durability of the piston by withstanding high temperature and pressure produced during combustion. Combustion flames have been captured using the AVL combustion analyzer to analyze the development and propagation of flames within the engine cylinder. From the flame images, it was observed that propagation of flame was faster in MAO coated piston compared to uncoated piston. This is because of higher local temperature inside the combustion chamber that was resulted due to low thermal conductivity of MAO layer. It was also found that carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions were reduced as a result of efficient fuel combustion, while NOx emissions increased because of increased combustion temperatures for MAO coated pistons. Keywords: Electro-thermal oxidation, Flame propagation, Micro-arc oxidation, Piston crown, Thermal barrie

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Ignition Stability Improvement and Emission Reduction via Multiple Ignition Sites Strategy Under Cold Start and Transient Conditions

10.1115/icef2021-67909 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoxi Zhang ◽

Xiao Yu ◽

Simon Leblanc ◽

Ming Zheng ◽

Jimi Tjong

Keyword(s):

Catalytic Converter ◽

Cold Start ◽

Spark Ignition ◽

Spark Ignition Engine ◽

Lean Burn ◽

Engine Operation ◽

Warm Up ◽

Spark Timing ◽

Engine Stability ◽

The Impact

Abstract Downsizing, turbocharging, and lean burn strategies offer improved fuel efficiency and engine-out emissions to that of conventional spark ignition engines. However, maintaining engine stability becomes difficult, especially at low load and low speed operation such as cold start conditions. Under cold start operation, the spark timing is retarded to rush catalyst warm-up temperature followed by advancing the spark timing for engine stability. In this sequence, securing ignition while using retarded spark timing is difficult because of the cold cylinder walls and low engine loads. Through previous investigations, the noval multiple ignition sites strategy demonstrated its capability to expend lean burn boundaries beyond traditional single core spark plug and improve cycle to cycle variation. In this work, multisite ignition is tested on a production 4-cylinder direct injection spark ignition engine. A large number of tests are performed on the engine to investigate the impact of ignition strategy on emissions and stability during catalytic converter warm up period as part of the cold-start operation. Results show that the three-core spark igniter shortens the ignition delay thus providing a wider stable spark timing window for stable engine operation. As a result, the concentration of unburnt fuel in the exhaust gas can be reduced before the catalyst reaches the light-off temperature.

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