The Use of Biogas in Internal Combustion Engines: A Review

Author(s):  
Nirendra N. Mustafi ◽  
Robert R. Raine ◽  
Pradeep K. Bansal

Biogas derived from organic waste materials is a promising alternative and renewable gaseous fuel for internal combustion (IC) engines and could substitute for conventional fossil fuels. The aims of this study are to review the past researches on biogas fuelled IC engines and from this review, to identify current research needs. A detailed analysis of the previous results of biogas fueling on the emissions and performance of spark ignition (SI) and dual fuel compression ignition (CI) engines is presented. The literature review reveals that the published research on biogas fueled IC engines are not rich in number and the scenario of biogas-diesel dual fuel engines is even worse. According to the analysis, biogas fueling in IC engines causes lower power output compared to natural gas, irrespective of the engine operating conditions. However, the use of biogas allows exhaust nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions to be reduced substantially. Both experimental and computational analyses have been done in the case of SI engines. However, there are needs to investigate the exhaust emissions for the biogas-diesel dual fuel engines both experimentally and computationally. Also the effect of H2S on engine emissions and life/durability, which is neglected very often in the literature, needs to be investigated.

Author(s):  
Feroskhan M. ◽  
Saleel Ismail

Biogas has emerged as a promising alternative to fossil fuels in internal combustion engines in recent times. It could be used as the primary fuel in Compression Ignition (CI) engines in combination with a small quantity of a high cetane fuel in two modes – dual fuel or Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI). This chapter compares the performance, combustion, and emission parameters of a CI engine operated with biogas in dual fuel and HCCI modes vis-à-vis conventional diesel operation. The effects of biogas composition (quantified in terms of the methane content), location of secondary fuel injection and engine load are investigated. It is observed that the use of biogas has the potential to reduce both NOx and smoke emissions simultaneously, with HCCI mode offering ultra-low emissions. Operating the engine in dual fuel mode can provide high thermal efficiency and significant diesel substitution.


Author(s):  
Samiddha Palit ◽  
Bijan Kumar Mandal ◽  
Sudip Ghosh ◽  
Arup Jyoti Bhowal

Fast depletion of the conventional petroleum-based fossil fuel reserves and the detrimental effects of the pollutant emissions associated with the combustion of these fuels in internal combustion (IC) engines propelled the exploration and development of alternative fuels for internal combustion engines. Biodiesel has been identified as one of the most promising alternative fuels for IC engines. This paper discusses about the advantages and disadvantages of biodiesel vis-a-vis the conventional petro-diesel and presents the energetic performances and emission characteristics of CI engine using biodiesel and biodiesel-petrodiesel blends as fuels. An overview of the current research works carried out by several researchers has been presented in brief. A review of the performance analysis suggests that biodiesel and its blends with conventional diesel have comparable brake thermal efficiencies. The energy balance studies show that biodiesel returns more than 3 units of energy for each unit used in its production. However, the brake specific fuel consumption increases by about 9–14% compared to diesel fuel. But, considerable improvement in environmental performance is obtained using biodiesel. There is significant reduction in the emissions of unburned hydrocarbons, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), soot, particulates, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide with biodiesel. But the NOx emission is more with biodiesel compared to diesel. A case study with Jatropha biodiesel as fuel and the current development status, both global and Indian, of biodiesel as a CI engine fuel have been included in the paper.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-52
Author(s):  
Mariusz Giernalczyk

Abstract The use of gas/LNG to supply marine engines in addition to tangible economic benefits is also a method of limiting emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere and meeting strict environmental protection regulations, especially in special areas. The technology of supplying liquid and gas fuels (Dual Fuel) is most easily used in four-stroke engines but the highest thermal efficiency is ensured by combustion two-stroke piston engines. However, in the first two-stroke dual-fuel engines, the gas supply installation was more complicated than in the four-stroke engine. It resulted, among others from the necessity of compressing the gas to high pressures (15÷30 MPa), for which extremely energy-consuming multi-stage compression systems were needed. The complicated technical system is inherently prone to failures, which is why the dual-fuel low-speed two-stroke diesel engines remained for a long period in the design and experimental phase. In recent years, there has been a significant breakthrough thanks to the introduction of new solutions with the possibility of supplying two-stroke engines with low-pressure gas (less than 1.6 MPa). In recent years, many ships powered by two-stroke, dual-fuel internal combustion engines were commissioned. Some ship-owners owning a fleet of LNG carriers with two-stroke diesel engines that so far have been powered only by liquid fuels have decided to adapt them to gas combustion. This required the adaptation of the engine for gas combustion and the expansion of the supply gas fuel system. This paper is an attempt to analyse the legitimacy of introducing two-stroke, dual-fuel internal combustion engines into the propulsion system and adaptation of engines that are already used to burn gas in them. It presents the changes introduced on one of the LNG gas carriers consisting in adapting the engine to gas combustion through modification of the cylinder head and fuel supply installation. Parameter results of the modified engines obtained during sea trials have been presented. Both advantages and disadvantages resulting from gas combustion have been pointed out. Finally, the possibility of this solution application to other LNG carriers was assessed.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (19) ◽  
pp. 6209
Author(s):  
Behdad Shadidi ◽  
Gholamhassan Najafi ◽  
Talal Yusaf

The demand for fossil fuels is increasing because of globalization and rising energy demands. As a result, many nations are exploring alternative energy sources, and hydrogen is an efficient and practical alternative fuel. In the transportation industry, the development of hydrogen-powered cars aims to maximize fuel efficiency and significantly reduce exhaust gas emission and concentration. The impact of using hydrogen as a supplementary fuel for spark ignition (SI) and compression ignition (CI) engines on engine performance and gas emissions was investigated in this study. By adding hydrogen as a fuel in internal combustion engines, the torque, power, and brake thermal efficiency of the engines decrease, while their brake-specific fuel consumption increase. This study suggests that using hydrogen will reduce the emissions of CO, UHC, CO2, and soot; however, NOx emission is expected to increase. Due to the reduction of environmental pollutants for most engines and the related environmental benefits, hydrogen fuel is a clean and sustainable energy source, and its use should be expanded.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 996
Author(s):  
Venera Giurcan ◽  
Codina Movileanu ◽  
Adina Magdalena Musuc ◽  
Maria Mitu

Currently, the use of fossil fuels is very high and existing nature reserves are rapidly depleted. Therefore, researchers are turning their attention to find renewable fuels that have a low impact on the environment, to replace these fossil fuels. Biogas is a low-cost alternative, sustainable, renewable fuel existing worldwide. It can be produced by decomposition of vegetation or waste products of human and animal biological activity. This process is performed by microorganisms (such as methanogens and sulfate-reducing bacteria) by anaerobic digestion. Biogas can serve as a basis for heat and electricity production used for domestic heating and cooking. It can be also used to feed internal combustion engines, gas turbines, fuel cells, or cogeneration systems. In this paper, a comprehensive literature study regarding the laminar burning velocity of biogas-containing mixtures is presented. This study aims to characterize the use of biogas as IC (internal combustion) engine fuel, and to develop efficient safety recommendations and to predict and reduce the risk of fires and accidental explosions caused by biogas.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-39
Author(s):  
Bibhuti B. Sahoo ◽  
Maryom Dabi ◽  
Ujjwal K. Saha

Abstract Exergy analysis of the reciprocating internal combustion (IC) engines is studied by estimating various input and output energy transfer parameters concerning a dead state reference. Exergy terms such as fuel input, work output, cooling, and exhaust gas are measured and are set into the exergy balance equation to determine the amount of loss or destruction. Exergy destructions are found in many forms such as combustion (entropy generation), cylinder wall, friction, mixing, blow-by, and others. These exergy terms have been estimated by considering various factors such as engine type, fuel type, environmental condition, and others. In this article, the different methods employed in estimating these exergy terms have been reviewed. It attempts to make a compendium of these evaluation methods and segregates them under individual exergy terms with necessary descriptions. The fuel input measurement is mostly based on Gibb's free energy and the lower heating value, whereas its higher heating value is used during the fuel exergy calculation on a molar basis. The work output of the engines is estimated either from the crankshaft or by analyzing the cylinder pressure and volume. The exergy transfer with cooling medium and exhaust gas depends on the temperature of gas. The maximum achievable engine performance is quantified by estimating the exergy efficiency. This piece of study will not only provide a plenty of information on exergy evaluation methods of IC engines but will also allow the future researchers to adopt the appropriate one.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-121
Author(s):  
Oleksandr Khrulev ◽  
◽  
Olexii Saraiev ◽  
Iryna Saraieva ◽  
◽  
...  

The analysis of the crankshaft bearing condition of the automotive internal combustion engines in the case of insufficiency and breakage of oil supply to them is carried out. It is noted that this fault is one of the most common causes of damage to rubbing pairs in operation. At the same time, the different groups of bearings are often damaged, which cannot be explained within the framework of existing models of plain bearing lubrication. The objective of the work is to develop a mathematical model of oil supply to connecting rod bearings in emergency mode, taking into account the characteristic features of the bearing design. The model also, depending on the nature of the damage, should help to determine and explain the causes of bearing failures if they occur in different modes when operating conditions are broken. A computational model has been developed that makes it possible to assess the effect of design differences in the features of oil supply and the action of the centrifugal forces during crankshaft rotation on the oil column in the lubrication hole where oil is supplied to the conrod bearing. Calculations of the change in time of the oil supply pressure to the connecting rod bearings for the various designs of the crankshaft lubrication holes have been performed. It is shown that, depending on the operating mode of the engine and its design, the oil pressure in front of the connecting rod bearings does not disappear immediately after oil supply failure to crankshaft. Moreover, the lower the crankshaft speed is, the longer the lubrication of the conrod bearings will continue. The calculation results are confirmed by the data of the expert studies of the engine technical condition, in which the crankshaft was wedged in the damaged main bearings was found in the absence of serious damage to the connecting rod ones. It has been found that such features of the damage correspond to an rapid breakage of the oil supply to the crankshaft in the case of such operational damage as the oil pump and pressure reducing valve failure, the oil filter seal and oil pan destruction, etc. The developed model explains the difference in lubrication conditions and in the damage feature to the main and connecting rod bearings in the emergency cases of the oil supply breakage, which are observed during operation, and helps to clarify the failure causes. This makes it possible to use the model and the obtained data when providing auto technical expert studies of the failure causes of automobile internal combustion engines This makes it possible to use the model and the obtained data when providing auto technical expert studies of the failure causes of automobile internal combustion engines when the operating conditions are broken.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoichi Niki

Abstract NH3 has been investigated for its use as an alternative fuel including for use in internal combustion engines. In NH3 combustion, emissions of unburned NH3 with toxicity and N2O as a combustion product with high global warming potential (GWP) are important issues. However, few researchers have investigated NH3 and N2O emissions from NH3 assisted diesel engines operated using NH3–diesel dual fuel. We investigate a combustion strategy to reduce these emissions with a single-cylinder diesel engine mixed NH3 gas into the intake air. We found that an early diesel pilot injection reduced unburned NH3 and N2O emissions while HC and CO emissions increased. It was also reported that NH3 and diesel fuel work as low and high reactivity fuel for reactivity controlled compression ignition combustion (RCCI), respectively. Our previous study reports the aspects of RCCI on NH3–diesel dual fuel engine to some extent. The injection timing of diesel fuel and the quantity of NH3 govern the emissions and performance on RCCI combustion. These effects need to be investigated to manipulate the RCCI combustion and reduce emissions. This paper reports the efficiency and emissions for the diesel pilot injection timing sweep at various NH3 supply quantities and the effects of a split injection on the emissions and a combustion phase. In addition, we estimated the reduction in GHG emissions using a NH3–diesel dual fuel engine, which applied the early diesel pilot injection, compared with the diesel only operation, considering the N2O GWP.


2018 ◽  
Vol 182 ◽  
pp. 01027
Author(s):  
Jan Monieta

The intensity of infrared radiation emitted by objects depends mainly on their temperature. One of the diagnostic signals may be the temperature field. In infrared thermography, this quantity is used as an indicator of the technical condition of marine objects. The article presents an overview of the use of infrared thermography for the diagnosis mainly of marine piston floating objects and various types of reciprocating internal combustion engines as well as examples of own research results. A general introduction to infrared thermography and common procedures for temperature measurement and non-destructive testing are presented. Experimental research was carried out both in laboratory conditions and in the operating conditions of sea-going vessels. Experimental studies consisted of the presentation of photographs of the same objects made in visible light and the use of infrared thermography. The same objects were also compared, but for different cylinders of the tested internal combustion engines as well as for the up state and fault state. The characteristics of the temperature values at selected points were taken depending on the engine load along with the approximation mathematical models of these dependencies.


Author(s):  
Helgi S. Fridriksson ◽  
Bengt Sunde´n ◽  
Jinliang Yuan ◽  
Martin Andersson

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have the attractive feature to be able to make use of hydrocarbon fuels in their operation by reforming the fuel into pure hydrogen, either internally or externally. This can open up for a smoother transition from the existing hydro-carbon economy toward a more renewable hydrogen economy. Since both SOFCs and internal combustion (IC) engines can make use of hydrocarbon fuels, it is of interest to examine the major differences in their utilization of the hydrocarbons and investigate how this type of fuel contributes to the power output of the respective systems. Thereby, various advantages and disadvantages of their reactions are raised. It was shown that even though there are fundamental differences between SOFCs and IC engines, both types face similar problems in their designs. These problems mostly include material design and operation management, but even problems related to the chemical reactions, e.g., carbon deposition for SOFCs and pollutant formation for IC engines.


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