The study of the spark ignition engine performance at fueling with n-butanol-gasoline mixture

Abstract

The actual challenges regarding renewable energy sources, pollution and climate changes have pushed industries sectors (including the automotive sector) to find sustainable solutions for long-term. Numerous studies have been conducted for to find the alternative fuels sources to solve the energetic and pollution problems. A special attention was given to alcohols use (ethanol, butanol, methanol) in mixture with the conventional fuels like gasoline or diesel. Butanol has a great advantage comparative with other alcohols due its better miscibility properties, allowing a butanol higher percentages use in mixture with gasoline or diesel fuel. Butanol is also less corrosive VS ethanol or methanol, which makes it ideal for the spark-ignition engines. An automotive gasoline engine with a 1.5L displacement was fueled with butanol in mixture with gasoline in deferent percentages, deferent dosages and deferent engine operation regimes. In the paper the effects are presented of the engine fueling with B15 fuel (15%-vol. n-butanol in mixture with 85%-vol. gasoline) on the combustion, on the engine energetic performances and pollutants. The experimental investigations (engine load 55% and 2500 rpm engine speed) showed the brake specific energetic consumption and the level of the pollutants emissions decrease at the butanol and the lean mixtures use, at the same engine power, comparative to engine gasoline. Another advantage of n-butanol is the stable engine operation at lean mixtures use.