Ethanol Biodiesel Research Articles

Crystallization of hydrogenated biodiesel–ethanol–diesel blend based on the solid–liquid equilibrium theory

AbstractHydrogenated biodiesel–ethanol–diesel is a novel ternary fuel blend containing easily volatile, moderately volatile, and hardly volatile components. In this study, based on the thermodynamic phase equilibrium, a model was established to depict the phase transition under changeable pressure and temperature conditions. The crystallization behavior of hydrogenated biodiesel–ethanol–diesel ternary blends was estimated, and the influence of ethanol on the low temperature performance of ternary blends was interpreted in contrast to that of hydrogenated biodiesel–diesel binary blends. It was revealed that the crystallization points of ternary blends such as PHC5E5 (5% partially hydrogenated cottonseed biodiesel + 5% ethanol + 90% diesel), PHC10E10 (10% partially hydrogenated cottonseed biodiesel + 10% ethanol + 80% diesel), and PHC15E15 (15% partially hydrogenated cottonseed biodiesel + 15% ethanol + 70% diesel) were reduced by 4.5 K, 5.7 K and 6.1 K respectively as compared with their countering binary blends. Declines of 4.3 K, 5.3 K and 6.1 K in crystallization points were also demonstrated between partially hydrogenated soybean biodiesel ternary blends and binary blends. Meanwhile, apparent drops in crystallization quantities were perceived between ternary blends and binary blends under different temperatures. The role of ethanol affecting the crystallization of ternary blends was then comprehensively analyzed. At the onset of crystallization, ethanol was simultaneously precipitated in a eutectic manner with compositions of high melting point, impeding the tendency of nucleation and lagging the growth of solid crystals. In addition, most of non‐crystallized ethanol distributed in liquid fuel as well as the interstices of the network and the plate crystal. It beneficially increased the solubility of the crystalline composition in the base liquid to some extent. That is to say, the crystallization points and crystallization quantities were evaluated based on the solid–liquid equilibrium theory, which can provide an effective and reliable method for optimizing the low temperature performance of hydrogenated biodiesel.

Study on the Influence of EGR on the Combustion Performance of Biofuel Diesel at Different Ambient Simulated Pressures

In order to explore the influence of EGR at different altitudes on the performance of biofuel diesel engines, a comparative experimental study is conducted with the biodiesel–ethanol–diesel B15E5 (biodiesel with 15% volume fraction, ethanol with 5% volume fraction and diesel with 80% volume fraction) mixed fuel at different EGR rate and different atmospheric pressure. The experimental results show that diesel engine power performance and economy goes up with the increase of atmospheric pressure, and it decreases with the increase of EGR rate. At 2200 rpm, the improvement range of medium and high diesel engine load is 1.5–6.8%, and that of 1800 rpm is 2.8–11.7%. At the same atmospheric pressure, with the increase of EGR rate, the power and economy turn worse. The peak combustion pressure and heat release rate both increased with the increase of the atmospheric pressure at full load. At the same atmospheric pressure, peak combustion pressure and peak heat release rate fall with the increase of EGR rate. At part load, firstly, smoke emissions fall with the increase of the load and then rise. As the atmospheric pressure goes up, the smoke emissions show a downward trend, with a decline of 6.6–40%, while the NOx emissions show a rising trend, with an increase of 1.2–8.5%. At the same atmospheric pressure, the smoke emission increase with the increase of EGR rate by 9–12.5%, and the NOx emissions increase with the decrease of EGR rate by 2.5–6.8%. The HC and CO Emissions decrease with the increase of atmospheric pressure. HC emission decreases by 9.3–19.1%, and CO emission decreases by 2.9–16.6%. At the same atmospheric pressure, the HC emission decreases with the increase of the EGR rate by 3.3–4.5% at medium and high loads, and the CO emission increases with the EGR rate by 3.1–4.5%.

Effect of Biodiesel B100 and Ethanol Blends on the Performance of Small Diesel Engine

<p class="02abstracttext"><span lang="IN">A small diesel engine is a machine that has high efficiency but causes a high level of pollution. The most widely used fuel so far is fossil energy which is unrenewable energy. The fruit of the Calophyllum inophyllum plant has great potential to be developed as alternative energy for small diesel engines. In this study, the test fuel used was D100, B100, E5, E10, and E15. The small engine diesel used TG-R180 Diesel with a compression ratio of 20:1 at engine turns 1500, 1800, 2100, and 2400 rpm, and the braking load at a constant prony disc brake is 1,5 kg/cm<sup>2</sup>. The result of the study using E10 fuel can improve engine performance and can reduce the opacity of the exhaust gas. The highest power in the D100 fuel at 2100 rpm is 8,06 PS. The highest thermal efficiency of E10 fuel is 50,29%. The use of Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel (B100) can reduce exhaust gas opacity in small diesel engines when compared to the use of D100. E10 fuel has the lowest exhaust gas opacity rate of 4,1%.</span></p>

Relaxation Dynamics of Ethanol and N-Butanol in Diesel Fuel Blends from Terahertz Spectroscopy

Binary blends of ethanol-diesel, n-butanol-diesel, ethanol-biodiesel, and n-butanol-biodiesel have been analyzed with terahertz time-domain spectroscopy in a full range of concentrations and at room temperature. The real and imaginary parts of the complex dielectric constant of the blends were obtained from the spectra and fitted to the Debye model at low volume concentrations (up to 7.5% for ethanol in diesel and up to 20% for butanol in diesel, ethanol in biodiesel, and butanol in biodiesel blends), considering the number of relaxation processes recommended in the literature for each pure component (single for diesel, double for biodiesel, and triple for alcohols). The results indicate that the faster relaxation time in low alcohol mixtures is longer than in pure alcohols. This relaxation time increases as the alcohol content increases. The excess of the real and of imaginary parts of the dielectric constant were individually determined. The analysis of such excess and of its different contributions (volume, contrast, and interactions) suggests that the intermolecular interactions between the different components of the blends dominate the relaxation dynamics in each pseudo-binary system. Ethanol was found to move blends further away from ideal behavior than n-butanol. In fact, these latter blends showed the most ideal behavior, suggesting that the length of the alcohol carbon chain plays an important role. This information allows a possible link between the nonlinear behavior of the physicochemical properties of the blends (e.g., viscosity and surface tension) and the molecular interactions between their constituent molecules. This relation could have direct application for monitoring the fuel composition and quality in the vehicle control systems.

Effects of ethanol on the evaporation and burning characteristics of palm-oil based biodiesel droplet

Palm biodiesel-ethanol blends could be the better automotive fuel over palm biodiesel alone owing to the high oxygen content and high volatility of ethanol. The evaporation and burning characteristics of palm biodiesel with 10%, 20%, and 30% ethanol by volume concentration respectively, were investigated by using the droplet experiment. Rapid bubble growth and bubble explosions during the heating stage were observed to be substantial for the palm biodiesel droplet added with 30% volume of ethanol (BE30). Adding ethanol in palm biodiesel increased the ignition delay and burn-rate constant by up to 38.6% and 23.2%, respectively whereas, the evaporation duration and burning period decreased by up to 20.6% and 22.5%, respectively. Overall, the relatively shorter evaporation duration and higher burn-rate found for the BE30 droplet could promote high thermal efficiency and has the potential to achieve ultra-low carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (UHCs) emissions in diesel and gas turbine engines.

Experimental study on spray characteristics, combustion stability, and emission performance of a CRDI diesel engine operated with biodiesel–ethanol blends

Biodiesel is a promising alternative fuel for diesel engines, but its high viscosity and low volatility have limitations in decreasing emissions. As a renewable alternative fuel with a high oxygen content, ethanol blended with biodiesel can decrease kinematic viscosity and improve fuel evaporation. In this study, the effects of the ethanol addition ratio on the spray, combustion, and emission performances of a diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel were investigated. The spray characteristics were measured using a high-speed camera and Malvern laser analysis, whereas the combustion and emission performances were tested on a turbocharged common rail direct injection (CRDI) diesel engine. The results show that adding ethanol to biodiesel enlarges the spray cone angle (SCA) and shortens spray tip penetration (STP). In addition, the curves of the size–volume distribution (SVD) of the atomized fuel droplets move toward a smaller diameter, and the Sauter mean diameter (SMD) of the biodiesel–ethanol (BE) blends gradually decreases with increasing ethanol proportion. At low loads, the fuel injection strategy is multi-injection, and the peak cylinder pressures (PCPs) of BE blends are 0.77–1.96% higher than that of diesel at different ethanol blending ratios. However, the peak heat release rates (PHRRs) of BE blends are 9.3–11.5% higher than that of diesel owing to a faster combustion rate, longer main-injection duration, and more hydroxyl radicals generated in the pilot-injection stage. At medium–high loads, the injection strategy changes to single injection, the PCPs of BE blends are roughly equivalent to that of diesel, and the PHRRs of BE blends for different ethanol blending ratios are 9.76–11.91% lower than that of diesel. This is because of the lower diffusion combustion ratio, lower heat value, and change of injection duration corresponding to the variation in fuel properties. In addition, the results of the peak pressure rise rate and the cyclic variation indicate that the higher ethanol addition ratio increases the combustion noise and decreases the combustion stability. In terms of exhaust emissions, compared with biodiesel, with increasing ethanol blending ratio, the soot emissions for different BE blends decrease by 11.28–47.23%, the NOx emissions increase by 2.68–7.04%, and the HC emissions increase by 9.99–21.47%. Considering the engine performance comprehensively, a 20% ethanol blending ratio in biodiesel is recommended.

Analysis of a diesel engine fueled with ternary fuel blends and alumina nano-additives at various combustion chamber geometries

The present study investigates the impact of various combustion chamber geometries in a direct injection engine fueled with diesel–biodiesel–ethanol blends mixed with alumina nano-additives, named as high-performance fuel (HPF). The HPF was subjected to various combustion bowl geometries including standard hemispherical chamber geometry (SG), shallow depth reentrant bowl geometry (CG1), toroidal reentrant chamber geometry (CG2), and toroidal chamber geometry (CG3). Performance results reveal that in comparison with the SG-HPF arrangement, brake thermal efficiency increased by 11.51% and brake-specific energy consumption decreased by 10.37% when using the CG2-HPF arrangement. For emmisions, CG2-HPF reduced carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, and smoke emissions by 33.53%, 18.35%, and 14.37%, respectively, in comparison with SG-HPF. Regarding combustion, CG2-HPF resulted in a high heat release rate owing to the reentrant chamber profile of CG2 which improves the air–fuel mixture rate, atomization, and evaporation rate, resulting in more efficient combustion, increased cylinder pressure, and increased heat release rate. Thanks to the geometry of the reentrant profile, the turbulent kinetic energy of the fuel mixture is maintained and returned to the combustion zone. Thus, the stagnation of rich mixtures within the combustion zone tend to decrease. Overall, the CG2 geometry was found to be the optimum geometry profile for HPF, based on improved performance and combustion characteristics, as well as reduced exhaust emissions.

Mechanical and emissions performance of a diesel engine fueled with biodiesel, ethanol and diethyl ether blends

In this work, the effects of the addition of ethanol and diethyl ether (DEE) in a 54 kW mechanical fuel injection diesel engine, operating with diesel–biodiesel blends, were evaluated. The fuel compositions tested were fossil diesel (D100), B20 (20% biodiesel and 80% diesel), B20E (90% B20 and 10% ethanol) and B20E + DEE (95% B20E and 5% DEE). DEE was used as a cetane improver for the ethanol–biodiesel–diesel blend. D100 and B20 were used as references. Its results showed few differences between them, considering performance and emissions. Considering the blends B20E and B20E + DEE, effective reductions in NOx and PM emissions were observed, in relation to D100 and B20, especially in medium and high loads. MBT decreased as a result of the reduction in LHV. The engine efficiency for all the fuels was close, but at the high load the blend B20E + DEE presented the highest efficiency.

Chemical kinetic mechanism for diesel/biodiesel/ethanol surrogates using n-decane/methyl-decanoate/ethanol blends

Diesel–biodiesel–ethanol blends have been the focus of research in engines, as biodiesel and ethanol additives can lower pollutant emissions while maintaining diesel performance. To facilitate modeling and analysis, those complex fuels are often substituted by simplified surrogate fuels, composed of only a few well-characterized molecules, but displaying similar properties compared to the fuel that they represent. In this context, the objective of this paper is to develop and validate a new chemical reaction mechanism for diesel–biodiesel–ethanol surrogate fuels. n-Decane and methyl-decanoate (MD) were chosen as the diesel and biodiesel surrogates, respectively, as they are frequently used in the literature. As the available reduced methyl-decanoate models do not reproduce the negative temperature coefficient behavior found in auto-ignition delay experiments, the detailed MD model of Dievart et al. was reduced using DRGEP. This last model was then combined with the reduced n-decane model due to Chang et al. and that of ethanol due to Marinov. Validations are performed on 0D constant-volume auto-ignition by comparing auto-ignition delay times and 1D freely propagating gaseous premixed flame configurations by analyzing laminar flame speeds, using the original single component kinetic models, against the combined surrogate kinetic models, and experimental results found in the literature. Laminar flame speeds of n-decane/methyl-decanoate/ethanol blends are also presented.

US biofuel production and policy: implications for land use changes in Malaysia and Indonesia

BackgroundIt has been argued that the US biofuel policy is responsible for the land use changes in Malaysia and Indonesia (M&I). In this paper, following a short literature review that highlights the relevant topics and issues, we develop analytical and numerical analyses to evaluate the extent to which production of biofuels in the US alters land use in M&I. The analytical analyses make it clear that market-mediated responses may generate some land use change in M&I due to biofuel production in the US. These analyses highlight the role of substitution among vegetable oils in linking these economies in markets for vegetable oils. To numerically quantify these effects, we modified and used a well-known Computable General Equilibrium model (CGE), GTAP-BIO. We conducted some sensitivity tests as well.ResultsAccording to the simulation results obtained from two base case scenarios for corn ethanol and soy biodiesel, we find that producing 15 BGs of corn ethanol and 2 BGs gallons of soy biodiesel together could potentially increase area of cropland in M&I by 59.6 thousand hectares. That is less than 0.5% of the cropland expansion in M&I for the time period of 2000–2016, when biofuel production increased in the US. The original GTAP-BIO model parameters including the regional substitution rates among vegetable oils were used for the base case scenarios. The estimated induced land use change (ILUC) emissions values for corn ethanol and soy biodiesel are about 12.3 g CO2e MJ−1, 17.5 g CO2e MJ−1 for the base case scenarios. The share of M&I in the estimated ILUC emissions value for corn ethanol is 10.9%. The corresponding figure for soy biodiesel is much higher, 78%. The estimated ILUC emissions value for soy biodiesel is sensitive with respect to the changes in the regional rates of substitution elasticity among vegetable oils. That is not the case for corn ethanol. When we replaced the original substitution elasticities of the base case, which are very large (i.e., 5 or 10) for many regions, with a small and uniform rate of substitution (i.e., 0.5) across the world, the ILUC emissions value for soy biodiesel drops from 17.5 g CO2e MJ−1 to 10.16 g CO2e MJ−1. When we applied larger substitution elasticities among vegetable oils, the estimated ILUC emissions value for soy biodiesel converged towards the base case results. This suggests that, other factors being equal, the base case substitution elasticities provide the largest possible ILUC emissions value for soy biodiesel. Finally, our analyses clearly indicate that those analyses that limit their modeling framework to only palm and soy oil and ignore other types of vegetable oils and fats provide misleading information and exaggerate about the land use implications of the US biofuels for M&I.Conclusion(1) Production of biofuels in the US generates some land use effects in M&I due to market-mediated responses, in particular through the links between markets for vegetable oils. These effects are minor compared to the magnitude of land use change in M&I. However, because of the high carbon intensity of the peatland the emissions fraction of M&I is larger, in particular for soy biodiesel. (2) The GTAP-BIO model implemented a set of regional substitution elasticities among vegetable oils that, other factors being equal, provides the largest possible ILUC emissions value for soy biodiesel. (3) With a larger substitution elasticity among all types of vegetable oils and animal fats in the US, less land use changes occur in M&I. That is due to the fact that a larger substitution elasticity among vegetable oils in the US, diverts a larger portion of the additional demand for soy oil to non-palm vegetable oils and animal fats that are produced either in the US or regions other than M&I. (4) Those analyses that limit their modeling framework to only palm and soy oils and ignore other types of vegetable oils and fats provide misleading information and exaggerate about the land use implications of the US biofuels for M&I.

Particulate emission and physical properties of particulate matter emitted from a diesel engine fueled with ternary fuel (diesel-biodiesel-ethanol) in blended and fumigation modes

The present study aimed to explore the influences of different fueling modes, including diesel alone, blended, fumigation and a combined fumigation + blended (F + B) modes, on the particulate emission and physical properties of particulate matter (PM) emitted from a 4-cylinder diesel engine fueled with a ternary fuel (diesel-biodiesel-ethanol, DBE) under two engine speeds and loads. Biodiesel-ethanol (BE) fuel was mixed with diesel fuel in the blended mode; but it was sprayed into the intake air manifold in fumigation mode. In the F + B mode, half of the BE fuel was sprayed into the intake air manifold (same as fumigation mode); while another half of it was mixed with diesel to produce the DBE fuel (same as blended mode). The blended, fumigation and F + B modes had the same fuel composition (D80B5E15, volume %) for comparison of their impacts.According to the average results, the blended mode has lower PM mass, total number concentration (TNC) and geometric mean diameter (GMD) compared to the fumigation mode. In respect of the PM physical properties, the blended mode has lower primary particle size, fringe length, tortuosity and fringe separation distance compared to the fumigation mode. The magnitudes of all the parameters investigated in the F + B mode are in between those of the fumigation mode and the blended mode. Despite of using the same fuel of D80B5E15, the blended and fumigation modes show different effects on the PM emission; this finding shows that the effect of fueling type is stronger than fuel type. It can be summarized that the application of DBE in the blended mode has effect on reducing the PM emissions, especially PM mass (–42.5%), TNC (–22.3%) and GMD (–8.8%), while fumigation mode has almost no effect on the PM mass and GMD but causes increase in TNC (36.2%) compared to diesel mode.

Exergy and energy analyses on biodiesel–diesel-ethanol blends in a diesel engine

This article intends to evaluate the available energy and various losses in the diesel engine and three different blends: D90J7.5E2.5 (7.5% Jatropha curcas oil and 2.5% of ethanol biodiesel blended with 90% of diesel), D95J3.75E1.25 (3.75% Jatropha curcas oil and 1.25% of ethanol biodiesel blended with 90% of diesel), D98J1.5E0.5 (1.5% Jatropha curcas oil and 0.5% of ethanol biodiesel blended with 98% of diesel ). Experimental tests were done to examine the exergy and energy characteristics of the diesel engine fuelled by three different blends at various load conditions.

Experimental investigation of combustion, performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fuelled with diesel–biodiesel–alcohol blends

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of diesel–biodiesel–alcohol blends on the combustion, performance and emissions characteristics of a single-cylinder diesel engine. Tests were conducted at different engine speeds of 1750, 2250, 2750 and 3250 rpm and under full load. In this study, different fuels [called as reference diesel (D100), 20 vol% cottonseed methyl ester (D80C20), 10 vol% ethanol (D90E10) and finally the ternary type of their derivations (D70C20E10)], were used. The experimental results showed that the highest reduction values were observed on CO emission by 42%, 30% and 8% for the D90E10, D70C20E10 and D80C20 fuels, respectively. These reductions for HC emission were achieved as 40%, 31% and 23% for the D90E10, D70C20E10 and D80C20, respectively. On the other hand, the reductions of NOx and CO2 emissions were not sharp and varied between 2–7%. Besides the reductions on the exhaust emissions, biodiesel–ethanol blend presented better results in terms of HRRmax and CPmax than using biodiesel alone. Additionally, ignition delay of the biodiesel blends was longer than that of D100 fuel owing to their low cetane numbers. Combustion duration was shortened with the increment in engine speed because the turbulence increased in the combustion chamber at high engine speed. This case also improved the homogeneity of test fuels and increased the quality of the combustion process. As a consequence, this paper clearly reported that it is possible to achieve fewer emissions, the highest CPmax values with the presence of ethanol in biodiesel fuels rather than using biodiesel alone for diesel engines.

Experimental and numerical analysis of the spray characteristics of biodiesel–ethanol fuel blends

The effects of adding ethanol on the macroscopic and microscopic spray characteristics of biodiesel were investigated by experimental and numerical methods. The spray tip penetration (STP) was recorded with a high-speed camera system, while the statistical size distribution of atomized droplets and the Sauter mean diameter (SMD) were obtained using a Malvern laser particle size analyzer. The spray calculation models were established with Fluent software, and the calculation results were validated by the experimental results. Then the numerical simulation of the spray characteristics for diesel, biodiesel, and biodiesel–ethanol fuel blends were conducted. The results showed that the farther the distance is from the nozzle exit, the lower the concentration and the velocity of atomized droplets. The concentration and the velocity of atomized droplets gradually decrease along the radial direction, extending from the center to the periphery. The turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) at the front and rear of the spray is relatively lower, while the TKE is higher in the middle of the spray, and turbulent vortices appear on both sides of the axial spray center. In addition, the spray characteristics of the different fuels revealed that compared to diesel, the STP and SMD of biodiesel increase by 33.59% and 33.08% on average, respectively. The maximum concentration of biodiesel is higher than that of diesel, and the concentration distribution is more concentrated. The droplet velocity and TKE of biodiesel respectively decrease by 7.38% and 14.49% in comparison to diesel. When ethanol was added to biodiesel by a volume percentage of 30%, the STP and SMD of biodiesel–ethanol fuel blends reduce by 22.05% and 20.88%, respectively. The concentration distribution, the velocity distribution, and the TKE distribution of the fuel blends are similar to that of diesel. This indicates that adding 30% ethanol to biodiesel can effectively improve its spray quality.

India’s bioenergy policy

On December 31, 2002, the Shatabdi Express, one of the top trains in India, ran from Amritsar to New Delhi using fuel blended with Jatropha curcas L. (Jatropha) seed oil. After this, very ambitious goals were set by India in 2003 to blend 20% Jatropha seed oil and ethanol in diesel and petrol by 2017, respectively, and this was expected to reach 30% by the end of 2020. During the last decade, India has undertaken various programs like Ethanol Blended Petrol Program, National Biodiesel Mission, Biodiesel Blending Program, etc., to promote the use of biofuels. Currently, the blending of ethanol in petrol and biodiesel in diesel is only about 2 and 0.1%, respectively. On June 4, 2018, India has revamped its National Policy on Biofuels, with few modifications in earlier bioenergy policies and almost same target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% biodiesel oil in diesel by 2030. Within 3 months of release of this policy, Jatropha biodiesel has energized Indian aviation to fly its first biofuel-based flight to cover about 126 miles of air distance on August 27, 2018. Here, I am briefly sharing my views about the journey of bioenergy globally and mindset of Indian policy makers regarding potential developments of bioenergy in India.

The Impact of Biodiesel Fuel on Ethanol/Diesel Blends

The interest in biofuels was stimulated by the fossil fuel depletion and global warming. This work focuses on the impact of biodiesel fuel on ethanol/diesel (ED) fuel blends. The soybean methyl ester was used as a representative composition of typical biodiesel fuels. The heating and evaporation of ethanol–biodiesel–diesel (EBD) blends were investigated using the Discrete–Component (DC) model. The Cetane Number (CN) of the EBD blends was predicted based on the individual hydrocarbon contributions in the mixture. The mixture viscosity was predicted using the Universal Quasi-Chemical Functional group Activity Coefficients and Viscosity (UNIFAC–VISCO) method, and the lower heating value of the mixture was predicted based on the volume fractions and density of species and blends. Results revealed that a mixture of up to 15% biodiesel, 5% ethanol, and 80% diesel fuels had led to small variations in droplet lifetime, CN, viscosity, and heating value of pure diesel, with less than 1.2%, 0.2%, 2%, and 2.2% reduction in those values, respectively.

The Influence of Formulation Ratio and Emulsifying Settings on Tri-Fuel (Diesel–Ethanol–Biodiesel) Emulsion Properties

In this study, an alternative fuel for compression ignition (CI) engines called tri-fuel emulsion was prepared using an ultrasonic emulsifier. The objective of the study is to investigate the effect of emulsifying settings and formulation ratio on the physicochemical properties of tri-fuel emulsions. Design of experiment (DOE) with the two-level factorial design was employed to analyze the effect of emulsifying settings such as time, amplitude, and cycle along with the variation ratio of tri-fuel emulsion components as control factors. Numbers of responses identified were important parameters that may contribute to microexplosion phenomenon in CI engine. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out for each response, and the results indicated that density, dynamic viscosity, surface tension, and average droplet size were influenced by specific preparation control factors. Furthermore, interaction among the control factors was found to affect the responses as well. Interaction means the effect of two factors together is different than what would be expected from each factor separately. Besides, the stability of the tri-fuel emulsion was observed for three months. Furthermore, a qualitative approach with a multiobjective lens digital microscope revealed the geometry of freshly made dispersed tri-fuel emulsion droplets. Microscopic examination on tri-fuel emulsion droplets has shown that the dispersed ethanol capsulated within diesel with the help of biodiesel is similar to a water in diesel emulsion and is dissimilar to commercial diesel mixed with fatty acid methyl esters found in the market.

An experimental assessment on the influence of fuel-borne additives on ternary fuel (diesel-biodiesel-ethanol) blends operated in a single cylinder diesel engine.

The present work is dedicated to the experimental analysis on the influence of fuel-borne additives on ternary fuel blend operated in a single cylinder DI diesel engine. Alumina (Al2O3) nanoparticles were chosen as fuel additives at dosing levels of 10, 20, and 30ppm, respectively, and the ternary fuel (TF) is prepared by blending 70% diesel, 20% Jatropha biodiesel, and 10% ethanol. Performance characteristics like brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and brake-specific energy consumption (BSEC) and emission characteristics like HC, CO, NOx, and smoke along with combustion characteristics like cylinder pressure, HRR (heat release rate), and CHRR (cumulative heat release rate) were considered for analysis. Based on experimentation, it is observed that TF blended with 20ppm alumina nanoadditive (TF20) resulted in higher BTE and lowered BSEC by 7.8 and 4.93% and lowered HC, CO, NOx, and smoke emissions by 5.69, 11.24, 9.39, and 6.48% in comparison with TF. Moreover, TF20 resulted in higher cylinder pressure, HRR, and CHRR of about 72.67bar, 76.22J/°CA, and 1171.1J, respectively, which are higher than those of diesel and TF. Hence, it is concluded that the addition of 20ppm alumina nanoadditive in TF can enhance the engine performance and combustion as well as lower the exhaust pollutants simultaneously.

Analysis on the impact of biodiesel–ethanol–diesel fuel on the performance and emissions of a diesel engine

ABSTRACTBased on the physical and chemical properties of biodiesel, ethanol and diesel fuels, biodiesel–ethanol–diesel (abbreviated as BED) fuel were produced by compounding. The compatibility and stability of the BED and its compact on diesel engine performance and emissions were studied experimentally with six different BED fuels. The results show the following findings. Firstly, the biodiesel, ethanol, and diesel constituents can keep soluble at certain proportions when the volume ratio of the biodiesel is 25%~55% of the BED fuels. Secondly, the engine power decreases slightly, and the reduction amplitude becomes larger when the proportions of ethanol and biodiesel increase at medium speeds and high loads. Moreover, the power of the engine using the B30E10D60 fuel decreases by 10.2% when the engine is running at maximum torque condition. Thirdly, there is no significant variation in equivalent fuel consumption rate at low loads, and the fuel consumption rate becomes lower with the increase of oxygen content at high loads. Therefore, the equivalent fuel consumption rates of BED fuels are lower than that of pure diesel (petrochemical diesel). Finally, the CO emission of the BED is almost the same as that of pure diesel at low loads, but becomes lower at high loads. The NOx emission of the BED is slightly lower than that of pure diesel at low loads, but becomes higher at high loads. The NOx emission increases with the increase of biodiesel proportion and decreases with the increase of ethanol proportion. The THC emission of the BED is almost the same as that of pure diesel at low loads and becomes lower at high loads. The THC emission decreases when the biodiesel proportion increases, and increases when the ethanol proportion increases.

Selective catalytic reduction of NOx emissions by hydrocarbons over Ag–Pt/Al2O3 catalyst in diesel engine

Selective catalytic reduction is an application used to control NOx pollutants in diesel engines. Aqueous urea solution, commercially called AdBlue and obtained by mixing pure water and NH3, is the most commonly used reductant while the V2O5–WO3/TiO2 structure has a widespread use as catalyst in SCR technology. However, the SCR systems included AdBlue and V2O5–WO3/TiO2 structure have low NOx conversion efficiency at low exhaust gas temperatures. The use of hydrocarbons as reductant and catalysts containing silver improves the conversion efficiency of selective catalytic reduction systems at low exhaust temperatures. In this work, selective catalytic reduction of NOx emissions from diesel engines in the presence of hydrocarbons has been studied. While ethanol and biodiesel mixtures were used as hydrocarbons, the Ag–Pt/Al2O3 structure was preferred as the catalyst. Scanning electron microscope and X-ray fluorescence analyses of the catalyst produced by the impregnation method were carried out. In order to determine the NOx conversion efficiency of ethanol–biodiesel mixtures in the selective catalytic reduction system, tests were carried out at different engine loads and different exhaust gas temperatures under actual operating conditions. As a result of the tests carried out, it was concluded that the reductant, which consists of 15% biodiesel and 85% ethanol, has the highest conversion performance.