Performance, emission and combustion analysis of an ethanol fuelled stationary CI engine

To tread the path of sustainability, researchers are striving to develop renewable fuels obtained from biological raw materials so as to promote indigenous renewable energy and reduce the reliance on imported oil. Currently, considerable attention has been given to the investigation of ethanol as an alternative fuel for internal combustion engines. The aim of this paper is to investigate the thermal performance, exhaust emissions and combustion characteristics of a stationary compression ignition engine using fumigated ethanol. The results indicate a 2.5% increase in brake thermal efficiency with ethanol fumigation. It was found that application of various ethanol fumigation modes led to significant reduction in CO2 (carbon dioxide), NOx (oxides of nitrogen) and smoke. However, an increase in CO (carbon monoxide) and HC (hydrocarbons) was observed with the use of ethanol fumigation. Moreover, the study revealed that increasing the fumigation levels of ethanol resulted in an increase in the maximum rate of pressure rise by 0.3-0.5 bar/degrees crank angle, and the crank angle after top dead centre, where peak pressure occurs, shifted by 1-2 degrees crank angle. It was also observed that maximum heat release rate increased by 3-10 J/degrees crank angle as compared to baseline diesel case.