Alcohol fuel

About: Alcohol fuel is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2030 publications have been published within this topic receiving 42757 citations.

Flex-fuel variable displacement engine control system and method

Abstract: A method for operating an engine having at least one cylinder that may be deactivated and a fuel system operating with an alcohol fuel blend, comprising of adjusting a range of operating parameters in which the at least one cylinder is deactivated, where said range is adjusted as the alcohol blend of the fuel varies.

Reduction of emissions with propane addition to a diesel engine

Abstract: Recent studies on dual-fuel combustion in compression-ignition (CI) engines, also known as diesel engines, fall into two categories. In the first category are studies focused on the addition of small amounts of gaseous fuel to CI engines. In these studies, gaseous fuel is regarded as a secondary fuel and diesel fuel is regarded as the main fuel for combustion. The objectives of these studies typically involve reducing particulate matter (PM) emissions by using gaseous fuel as a partial substitution for diesel fuel. However, the addition of gaseous fuel raises the combustion temperature, which increases emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). In the second category are studies focused on reactivity-controlled compression-ignition (RCCI) combustion. RCCI combustion can be implemented by early diesel injection with a large amount of low-reactivity fuel such as gasoline or gaseous fuel. Although RCCI combustion promises lower NOx and PM emissions and higher thermal efficiency than conventional diesel combustion, it requires a higher intake pressure (usually more than 1.7 bars) to maintain a lean fuel mixture. Therefore, in this study, practical applications of dual-fuel combustion with a low air-fuel ratio (AFR), which implies a low intake pressure, were systemically evaluated using propane in a diesel engine. The characteristics of dualfuel combustion for high and low AFRs were first evaluated. The proportion of propane used for four different operating conditions was then increased to decrease emissions and to identify the optimal condition for dual-fuel combustion. Although the four operating conditions differ, the AFR was maintained at 20 (ϕ approximately equal to 0.72) and the 50% mass fraction burned (MFB 50) was also fixed. The results show that dual-fuel combustion can reduce NOx and PM emissions in comparison to conventional diesel combustion.

Methanol and Ethanol Fuels in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: A Thermal Imaging Study of Carbon Deposition

Abstract: Near-infrared (NIR) thermal imaging is used to study anodes of anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) when operating with alcohol fuels. Relative propensities for carbon formation can be de...