A comprehensive analysis of energy, exergy, performance, and emissions of a spark-ignition engine running on blends of gasoline, ethanol, and isoamyl alcohol

Abstract

This present study showed a comprehensive analysis of energy, exergy, performance, and emission characteristics of a spark-ignition engine powered by blends of gasoline-isoamyl alcohol-ethanol at volume proportions (100_0_0)% (P0E0), (90_5_5)% (P5E5), (80_5_15)% (P5E15), and (70_5_25)% (P5E25) at various engine speeds and compression ratios (CR). The outcomes of thermodynamic analyses revealed that the highest exergy and energy efficiency were 28.92 % (P0E0, 2600 rpm, CR of 9:1) and 31.01 % (P0E0, 2600 rpm, CR of 9:1), respectively. In addition, the average brake power and brake thermal efficiency for P0E0, P5E5, P5E15, and P5E25 increased by (30.36 %, 27 %, 26.74 %, 27.84 %) and (0.34 %, 0.07 %, 0.35 %, 0.33 %) respectively, while brake specific fuel consumption decreased by (2.5 %, 0.64 %, 3.62 %, 6.33 %) in the engine speed range of 2600–3200 rpm. Compared to gasoline, the maximum reduction of carbon monoxide emissions was 6.13 %, 8.81 %, and 9.96 %, while unburnt hydrocarbon emissions exhibited the maximum decrement by 5.8 %, 10.75 %, 12.58 % for P5E5, P5E15, and P5E25, respectively. However, nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions for P5E25 tended to increase significantly compared to P0E0, while the difference in NOx emissions for P5E15 and P0E0 was marginal. Overall, P5E15 could be considered as the potential alternative fuel for spark-ignition engines towards the goal of sustainable energy conversion.