Improving Vegetable Oil Fueled CI Engine Characteristics Through Diethyl Ether Blending

Author(s):  
S. Vedharaj ◽  
R. Vallinayagam ◽  
S. Mani Sarathy ◽  
Robert W. Dibble

In this research, the flow and ignition properties of vegetable oil (VO) are improved by blending it with diethyl ether (DEE). DEE, synthesized from ethanol, has lower viscosity than diesel and VO. When DEE is blended with VO, the resultant DEEVO mixtures have favorable properties for compression ignition (CI) engine operation. As such, DEEVO20 (20% DEE + 80% VO) and DEEVO40 (40% DEE + 60% VO) were initially considered in the current study. The viscosity of VO is 32.4*10−6 m2/s; the viscosity is reduced with the increase of DEE in VO. In this study, our blends were limited to a maximum of 40% DEE in VO. The viscosity of DEEVO40 is 2.1*10−6 m2/s, which is comparable to that of diesel (2.3*10−6 m2/s). The lower boiling point and flash point of DEE improves the fuel spray and evaporation for DEEVO mixtures. In addition to the improvement in physical properties, the ignition quality of DEEVO mixtures is also improved, as DEE is a high cetane fuel (DCN = 139). The ignition characteristics of DEEVO mixtures were studied in an ignition quality tester (IQT). There is an evident reduction in ignition delay time (IDT) for DEEVO mixtures compared to VO. The IDT of VO (4.5 ms), DEEVO20 (3.2 ms) and DEEVO40 (2.7 ms) was measured in IQT. Accordingly, the derived cetane number (DCN) of DEEVO mixtures increased with the increase in proportion of DEE. The reported mixtures were also tested in a single cylinder CI engine. The start of combustion (SOC) was advanced for DEEVO20 and DEEVO40 compared to diesel, which is attributed to the high DCN of DEEVO mixtures. On the other hand, the peak heat release rate decreased for DEEVO mixtures compared to diesel. Gaseous emissions such as nitrogen oxide (NOX), total hydrocarbon (THC) and smoke were reduced for DEEVO mixtures compared to diesel. The physical and ignition properties of VO are improved by the addition of DEE, and thus, the need for the trans-esterification process is averted. Furthermore, this blending strategy is simpler and enables operation of straight run oils and fats in CI engine, replacing diesel completely.

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 4923
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Ure ◽  
Manik K. Ghosh ◽  
Maria Rappo ◽  
Roland Dauphin ◽  
Stephen Dooley

An innovative and informed methodology for the rational design and testing of anti-knock additives is reported. Interaction of the additives with OH● and HO2● is identified as the key reaction pathway by which non-metallic anti-knock additives are proposed to operate. Based on this mechanism, a set of generic design criteria for anti-knock additives is outlined. It is suggested that these additives should contain a weak X-H bond and form stable radical species after hydrogen atom abstraction. A set of molecular structural, thermodynamic, and kinetic quantities that pertain to the propensity of the additive to inhibit knock by this mechanism are identified and determined for a set of 12 phenolic model compounds. The series of structural analogues was carefully selected such that the physical thermodynamic and kinetic quantities could be systematically varied. The efficacy of these molecules as anti-knock additives was demonstrated through the determination of the research octane number (RON) and the derived cetane number(DCN), measured using an ignition quality tester (IQT), of a RON 95 gasoline treated with 1 mole % of the additive. The use of the IQT allows the anti-knock properties of potential additives to be studied on one tenth of the scale, compared to the analogous RON measurement. Using multiple linear regression, the relationship between DCN/RON and the theoretically determined quantities is studied. The overall methodology reported is proposed as an informed alternative to the non-directed experimental screening approach typically adopted in the development of fuel additives.


Author(s):  
Eric Bermudez ◽  
Andrew McDaniel ◽  
Terrence Dickerson ◽  
Dianne Luning Prak ◽  
Len Hamilton ◽  
...  

A new hydroprocessed depolymerized cellulosic diesel (HDCD) fuel has been developed using a process which takes biomass feedstock (principally cellulosic wood) to produce a synthetic fuel that has nominally ½ cycloparaffins and ½ aromatic hydrocarbons in content. This HDCD fuel with a low cetane value (derived cetane number from the ignition quality tester, DCN = 27) was blended with naval distillate fuel (NATO symbol F-76) in various quantities and tested in order to determine how much HDCD could be blended before diesel engine operation becomes problematic. Blends of 20% HDCD (DCN = 45), 30%, 40% (DCN = 41), and 60% HDCD (DCN = 37) by volume were tested with conventional naval distillate fuel (DCN = 49). Engine start performance was evaluated with a conventional mechanically direct injected (DI) Yanmar engine and a Waukesha mechanical indirect injected (IDI) Cooperative Fuels Research (CFR) diesel engine and showed that engine start times increased steadily with increasing HDCD content. Longer start times with increasing HDCD content were the result of some engine cycles with poor combustion leading to a slower rate of engine acceleration toward rated speed. A repeating sequence of alternating cycles which combust followed by a noncombustion cycle was common during engine run-up. Additionally, steady-state engine testing was also performed using both engines. HDCD has a significantly higher bulk modulus than F76 due to its very high aromatic content, and the engines showed earlier start of injection (SOI) timing with increasing HDCD content for equivalent operating conditions. Additionally, due to the lower DCN, the higher HDCD blends showed moderately longer ignition delay (IGD) with moderately shorter overall burn durations. Thus, the midcombustion metric (CA50: 50% burn duration crank angle position) was only modestly affected with increasing HDCD content. Increasing HDCD content beyond 40% leads to significantly longer start times.


Author(s):  
Ziliang Zheng ◽  
Tamer Badawy ◽  
Naeim Henein ◽  
Peter Schihl ◽  
Eric Sattler

Sasol isomerized paraffinic kerosene (IPK) is a coal-derived synthetic fuel under consideration as a blending stock with jet propellant 8 (JP-8) for use in military equipment. However, Sasol IPK is a low ignition quality fuel with derived cetane number (DCN) of 31. The proper use of such alternative fuels in internal combustion engines (ICEs) requires the modification in control strategies to operate engines efficiently. With computational cycle simulation coupled with surrogate fuel mechanism, the engine development process is proved to be very effective. Therefore, a methodology to formulate Sasol IPK surrogate fuels for diesel engine application using ignition quality tester (IQT) is developed. An in-house developed matlab code is used to formulate the appropriate mixture blends, also known as surrogate fuel. And aspen hysys is used to emulate the distillation curve of the surrogate fuels. The properties of the surrogate fuels are compared to those of the target Sasol IPK fuel. The DCNs of surrogate fuels are measured in the IQT and compared with the target Sasol IPK fuel at the standard condition. Furthermore, the ignition delay, combustion gas pressure, and rate of heat release (RHR) of Sasol IPK and its formulated surrogate fuels are analyzed and compared at five different charge temperatures. In addition, the apparent activation energies derived from chemical ignition delay of the surrogate fuel and Sasol IPK are determined and compared.


Author(s):  
Ziliang Zheng ◽  
Tamer Badawy ◽  
Naeim Henein ◽  
Eric Sattler ◽  
Nicholas Johnson

This paper investigates the effect of a cetane improver on the autoignition characteristics of Sasol IPK in the combustion chamber of the ignition quality tester (IQT). The fuel tested was Sasol IPK with a derived cetane number (DCN) of 31, treated with different percentages of Lubrizol 8090 cetane improver ranging from 0.1 to 0.4%. Tests were conducted under steady state conditions at a constant charging pressure of 21 bar. The charge air temperature before fuel injection varied from 778 to 848 K. Accordingly, all the tests were conducted under a constant charge density. The rate of heat release was calculated and analyzed in detail, particularly during the autoignition period. In addition, the physical and chemical delay periods were determined by comparing the results of two tests. The first was conducted with fuel injection into air according to ASTM standards where combustion occurred. In the second test, the fuel was injected into the chamber charged with nitrogen. The physical delay is defined as the period of time from start of injection (SOI) to point of inflection (POI), and the chemical delay is defined as the period of time from POI to start of combustion (SOC). Both the physical and chemical delay periods were determined under different charge temperatures. The cetane improver was found to have an effect only on the chemical ID period. In addition, the effect of the cetane improver on the apparent activation energy of the global combustion reactions was determined. The results showed a linear drop in the apparent activation energy with the increase in the percentage of the cetane improver. Moreover, the low temperature (LT) regimes were investigated and found to be presented in base fuel, as well as cetane improver treated fuels.


Author(s):  
Umashankar Joshi ◽  
Ziliang Zheng ◽  
Amit Shrestha ◽  
Naeim Henein ◽  
Eric Sattler

The auto-ignition process plays a major role in the combustion, performance, fuel economy, and emission in diesel engines. The auto-ignition quality of different fuels has been rated by its cetane number (CN) determined in the cooperative fuel research engine, according to ASTM D613. More recently, the ignition quality tester (IQT), a constant volume vessel, has been used to determine the derived cetane number (DCN) to avoid the elaborate, time consuming, and costly engine tests, according to ASTM D6890. The ignition delay (ID) period in these two standard tests and many investigations has been considered to be the time period between start of injection (SOI) and start of combustion (SOC). The ID values determined in different investigations can vary due to differences in instrumentation and definitions. This paper examines the different definitions and the parameters that effect ID period. In addition, the activation energy dependence on the ID definition is investigated. Furthermore, results of an experimental investigation in a single-cylinder research diesel engine will be presented, while the charge density is kept constant during the ID period. The global activation energy is determined and its sensitivity to the charge temperature is examined.


Author(s):  
Samy Alkhayat ◽  
Manan Trivedi ◽  
Naeim Henein ◽  
Sampad Mukhopadhyay ◽  
Peter Schihl

Surrogates development is important to extensively investigate the combustion behavior of fuels. Development of comprehensive surrogates has been focusing on matching chemical and physical properties of their target fuel to mimic its atomization, evaporation, mixing, and auto-ignition behavior. More focus has been given to matching the derived cetane number (DCN) as a measure of the auto-ignition quality. In this investigation, we carried out experimental validation of a three-component surrogate for Sasol-Isoparaffinic Kerosene (IPK) in ignition quality tester (IQT) and in an actual diesel engine. The surrogate fuel is composed of three components (46% iso-cetane, 44% decalin, and 10% n-nonane on a volume basis). The IQT experiments were conducted as per ASTM D6890-10a. The engine experiments were conducted at 1500 rpm, two engine loads, and two injection timings. Analysis of ignition delay (ID), peak pressure, peak rate of heat release (RHR), and other combustion phasing parameters showed a closer match in the IQT than in the diesel engine. Comparison between the surrogate combustion behavior in the diesel engine and IQT revealed that matching the DCN of the surrogate to its respective target fuel did not result in the same negative temperature coefficient (NTC) profile—which led to unmatched combustion characteristics in the high temperature combustion (HTC) regimes, despite the same auto-ignition and low temperature combustion (LTC) profiles. Moreover, a comparison between the combustion behaviors of the two fuels in the IQT is not consistent with the comparison in the diesel engine, which suggests that the surrogate validation in a single-cylinder diesel engine should be part of the surrogate development methodology, particularly for low ignition quality fuels.


Author(s):  
Umashankar Joshi ◽  
Ziliang Zheng ◽  
Amit Shrestha ◽  
Naeim Henein ◽  
Eric Sattler

The auto-ignition process plays a major role in the combustion, performance, fuel economy and emission in diesel engines. The auto-ignition quality of different fuels has been rated by its cetane number (CN) determined in the CFR engine, according to ASTM D613. More recently, the Ignition Quality Tester (IQT), a constant volume vessel, has been used to determine the derived cetane number (DCN) to avoid the elaborate, time consuming and costly engine tests, according to ASTM D6890. The ignition delay period in these two standard tests and many investigations has been considered to be the time period between start of injection (SOI) and start of combustion (SOC). The ignition delay (ID) values determined in different investigations can vary due to differences in instrumentation and definitions. This paper examines the different definitions and the parameters that effect ID period. In addition the activation energy dependence on the ID definition is investigated. Furthermore, results of an experimental investigation in a single-cylinder research diesel engine will be presented while the charge density is kept constant during the ID period. The global activation energy is determined and its sensitivity to the charge temperature is examined.


Author(s):  
Ziliang Zheng ◽  
Tamer Badawy ◽  
Naeim Henein ◽  
Eric Sattler

This paper investigates the physical and chemical ignition delay (ID) periods in the constant volume combustion chamber of the Ignition Quality Tester (IQT). IQT was used to determine the derived cetane number (DCN) according to ASTM D6890-10a standards. The fuels tested were ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD), jet propellant-8 (JP-8), and two synthetic fuels of Sasol IPK and F-T SPK (S-8). A comparison was made between the DCN and cetane number (CN) determined according to ASTM-D613 standards. Tests were conducted under steady state conditions at a constant pressure of 21 bars and various air temperatures ranging from 778 K to 848 K. The rate of heat release (RHR) was calculated from the measured pressure trace, and a detailed analysis of the RHR trace was made particularly for the auto-ignition process. Tests were conducted to determine the physical and chemical delay periods by comparing results obtained from two tests. In the first test, the fuel was injected into air according to ASTM standards. In the second test, the fuel was injected into nitrogen. The point at which the two resultant pressure traces separated was considered to be the end of the physical delay period. The effects of the charge temperature on the total ID as defined in ASTM D6890-10a standards, as well as on the physical and chemical delays, were determined. It was noticed that the physical delay represented a significant part of the total ID over all the air temperatures covered in this investigation. Arrhenius plots were developed to determine the apparent activation energy for each fuel using different IDs. The first was based on the total ID measured according to ASTM standards. The second was the chemical delay determined in this investigation. The activation energy calculated from the total ID showed higher values for lower CN fuels except Sasol IPK. The activation energy calculated from the chemical delay period showed consistency in the increase of the activation energy with the drop in CN including Sasol IPK. The difference between the two findings could be explained by examining the sensitivity of the physical delay period of different fuels to the change in air temperature.


Author(s):  
Eric Bermudez ◽  
Andrew McDaniel ◽  
Terrence Dickerson ◽  
Dianne Luning Prak ◽  
Len Hamilton ◽  
...  

A new Hydroprocessed Depolymerized Cellulosic Diesel (HDCD) fuel has been developed using a process which takes biomass feedstock (principally cellulosic wood) to produce a synthetic fuel that has nominally 1/2 cyclo-paraffins and 1/2 aromatic hydrocarbons in content. This HDCD fuel with a low cetane value (Derived Cetane Number from the Ignition Quality Tester, DCN = 27) was blended with naval distillate fuel (NATO symbol F-76) in various quantities and tested in order to determine how much HDCD could be blended before diesel engine operation became problematic. Blends of 20% HDCD (DCN = 45), 30%, 40% (DCN = 41) and 60% HDCD (DCN = 37) by volume were tested with conventional naval distillate fuel (DCN = 49). Engine start performance was evaluated with a conventional mechanically Direct Injected (DI) Yanmar engine and a Waukesha mechanical indirect injected (IDI) CFR diesel engine, and showed that engine start times increased steadily with increasing HDCD content. Longer start times with increasing HDCD content were the result of some engine cycles with poor combustion leading to a slower rate of engine acceleration towards rated speed. A repeating sequence of alternating cycles which combust followed by a non-combustion cycle were common during engine run-up. Additionally, steady state engine testing was also performed using both engines. HDCD has a significantly higher bulk modulus than F76 due to its very high aromatic content, and the engines showed earlier Start of Injection (SOI) timing with increasing HDCD content for equivalent operating conditions. Additionally, due to the lower DCN, the higher HDCD blends showed moderately longer Ignition Delay (IGD) with moderately shorter overall burn durations. Thus, the mid-combustion metric (CA50: 50% burn duration Crank Angle position) was only modestly affected with increasing HDCD content. Increasing HDCD content beyond 40% led to significantly longer start times.


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