Experimental investigation and evaluation of using ammonia and gasoline fuel blends for power generators

Abstract

This paper aims to make use of ammonia as a possible fuel source for power generators and an experimental study is conducted using a gasoline generator with ammonia based gasoline fuel blends. The main aim of using ammonia is to decrease the greenhouse emissions compared to deleterious emissions occurring after the combustion of fossil fuels. In the experimental works the exhaust temperatures, power output and CO2 emissions are measured between 369.9 °C to 480.1 °C, 3689.2 W to 3572.8 W and 2.535 g/s to 2.4916 g/s, respectively with the increase in ammonia percentage of the fuel blends. The measured variables from the experimental studies are later on used for assessing the performance of the generator by finding the energy and exergy efficiencies of the ammonia based gasoline blends under different fuel ratios. The overall energy and exergy efficiencies of the generator decrease from 35.7% to 28.74% and from 44.85% to 36.4%, respectively with the increase of ammonia percentage of the fuel blends. The reductions in the efficiencies are, as expected, take place with the lower energy density and lower heating values of ammonia in compared to gasoline, but the reduction in CO2 emissions make it worth of using ammonia as a combustion promoter.