Abstract
Fuel catalytic additives have been tested for many years. Herein, their influence on the overall efficiency of combustion engines is investigated, and their pro-ecological impact is assessed. The majority of this research concerns diesel engines. Despite many advantages, to this day, the use of catalytic additives has not become widespread. Wishing to clarify the situation, a research group from the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology decided to investigate this matter, starting with verification tests. This article presents the methodology and results of testing an actual diesel engine, and evaluates the effects of the use of a fuel catalytic additive. The focus was on the analysis of fuel consumption and exhaust gas emissions from a Doosan MD196TI engine. The tested additive was a commercial fuel performance catalyst (FAMAX) with up to 5% ferric chloride as an organometallic compound. The proportion of the mixture with the fuel was 1:2000. These studies provide an energy and ecological assessment of propulsion in inland vehicles relative to current exhaust emission standards. The tests were carried out in accordance with the ISO 8178 standard, albeit on a much broader scale regarding engine operation than required by the standard. In this way, a set of previously published data was more than doubled in scope. Detailed conclusions indicate the positive effect of the tested fuel additive. The emission values decreased, on average by 16.7% for particulate matter (PM), 10.1% for carbon monoxide (CO), and 7.9% for total hydrocarbons (THC). Unfortunately, the amount of nitrogen oxides (NOx) increased by 1.2%. The average difference in specific fuel consumption (BSFC) between the fuel with additive and pure diesel fuel was 0.5%, i.e. below the level of measurement error. The authors formulated the following scientific relationship between the thermal efficiency of the engine and the operation of the catalyst: the effect of the catalyst on the combustion process decreases with the increase of the thermodynamic efficiency of the engine. This conclusion indicates that despite the proven positive effect of catalysts on the combustion process, they can only be used in markets where engines with low thermal efficiency are used, i.e., older generation engines.
Highlights
Diesel engines are widely used, especially in heavy road transport and various nonroad applications such as construction machinery, agricultural tractors as well as in sea and inland navigation.The main factor determining the suitability of an internal combustion engine to a selected application is compliance with the appropriate regulations
Many laboratory experiments and in situ tests have been carried out, especially by the Center for Energy at the University of Western Australia. Research at this institution focused on two issues: the first was to assess the effect of using ferric picrate as an additive to diesel fuel, and the second was to evaluate its impact on the combustion process and on biodiesel emissions [1,4,6,22,28]
The total increase in nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions (Table 5) measured during the fuel performance catalyst (FPC) fuel test can be explained by considering that NOx formation in diesel engines occurs due to the reduction of nitrogen as a component of ambient air participating in the fuel combustion process
Summary
Diesel engines are widely used, especially in heavy road transport and various nonroad applications such as construction machinery, agricultural tractors as well as in sea and inland navigation. Illustrates the effectiveness of promoting the combustion process thanks to the use of iron picrate, which is an organometallic compound made under controlled conditions from compounds containing iron and picric acid This fuel performance catalyst (FPC) was commercially introduced by Fuel Technology Pty Ltd.; Perth, Western Australia [27]. Many laboratory experiments and in situ tests have been carried out, especially by the Center for Energy at the University of Western Australia Research at this institution focused on two issues: the first was to assess the effect of using ferric picrate as an additive to diesel fuel, and the second was to evaluate its impact on the combustion process and on biodiesel emissions [1,4,6,22,28]. The most important conclusion in comparison with the research of others is as follows: if the efficiency of the engine is higher, the impact of the fuel catalyst on the efficiency of the combustion process is smaller
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call