Effects on CHP plant efficiency of H2 production through partial oxydation of natural gas over two group VIII metal catalysts

Blending H₂ with natural gas in spark ignition engines can increase for electric efficiency. In-situ H₂ production for spark ignition engines fuelled by natural gas has therefore been investigated recently, and reformed exhaust gas recirculation (RGR) has been identified a potentially advantageous approach: RGR uses the steam and O₂ contained in exhaust gases under lean combustion, for reforming natural gas and producing H₂, CO, and CO₂. In this paper, an alternative approach is introduced: air gas reforming circulation (AGRC). AGRC uses directly the O₂ contained in air, rendering the chemical pathway comparable to partial oxidation. Formulations based on palladium and platinum have been selected as potential catalysts. With AGRC, the concentrations of the constituents of the reformed gas are approximately 25% hydrogen, 10% carbon monoxide, 8% unconverted hydrocarbons and 55% nitrogen. Experimental results are presented for the electric efficiency and exhaust gas (CO and HC) composition of the overall system (SI engine equipped with AGRC). It is demonstrated that the electric efficiency can increase for specific ratios of air to natural gas over the catalyst. Although the electric efficiency gain with AGRC is modest at around 0.2%, AGRC can be cost effective because of its straightforward and inexpensive implementation. Misfiring and knock were both not observed in the tests reported here. Nevertheless, technical means of avoiding knock are described by adjusting the main flow of natural gas and the additional flow of AGRC.     

Burn-rate and knock reduction in the spark ignition engine

The dependence of knock on combustion chamber shape is investigated. Knock originating from the spark plug's ignition of the air-fuel charge (‘spark knock’) is assumed. Four general parameters that influence knock are isolated. Examination of the parameters reveal that manipulation of the burn history is favoured in curbing knock. By utilizing an existing model of knock, it was shown that slightly larger pressures and temperatures can be applied to an air-fuel charge for shorter times without knock. This explains the well-known observation that reducing the burn time in a spark ignition (SI) engine decreases the end-gas's propensity to knock. It was also shown that the increase in end-gas pressure and temperature associated with a higher burn rate is insufficient to re-introduce knock. Results for the engine data examined indicate that for a pressure trace at the onset of knock (reference trace), a twofold reduction in burn time can allow the combustion pressure to be scaled up by about 23% without knock occurring.     

Experimental study of combustion performances and emissions of a spark ignition cogeneration engine operating in lean conditions using different fuels

This work presents an experimental study describing a six-cylinder spark ignition engine running with a lean equivalence ratio, high compression ratio, ignition delay and used in a cogeneration system (heat and electricity production). Three types of fuels; natural gas, pure methane and methane/hydrogen blend (85% CH₄ and 15% H₂ by volume), were used for comparison purposes. Each fuel has been investigated at 1500 rpm and for various engine loads fixed by electrical power output conditions. CO, CO₂, HC, and NOx emissions values, and exhaust gas temperature were measured. The effect of fuel composition on engine characteristics has been studied. The results show, that the hydrogen addition increased HC emissions (around 18%), as well as performance, whilst it reduced NO_x (around 31%), exhaust gas temperature, CO and CO₂.     

The effects of ethanol–unleaded gasoline blends on engine performance and exhaust emissions in a spark-ignition engine

Alcohols have been used as a fuel for engines since 19th century. Among the various alcohols, ethanol is known as the most suited renewable, bio-based and ecofriendly fuel for spark-ignition (SI) engines. The most attractive properties of ethanol as an SI engine fuel are that it can be produced from renewable energy sources such as sugar, cane, cassava, many types of waste biomass materials, corn and barley. In addition, ethanol has higher evaporation heat, octane number and flammability temperature therefore it has positive influence on engine performance and reduces exhaust emissions. In this study, the effects of unleaded gasoline (E0) and unleaded gasoline–ethanol blends (E50 and E85) on engine performance and pollutant emissions were investigated experimentally in a single cylinder four-stroke spark-ignition engine at two compression ratios (10:1 and 11:1). The engine speed was changed from 1500 to 5000 rpm at wide open throttle (WOT). The results of the engine test showed that ethanol addition to unleaded gasoline increase the engine torque, power and fuel consumption and reduce carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions. It was also found that ethanol–gasoline blends allow increasing compression ratio (CR) without knock occurrence.     

Strategies to improve the performance of a spark ignition engine using fuel blends of biogas with natural gas,propane and hydrogen

This work presents the strategies applied to improve the performance of a spark ignition (SI) biogas engine. A diesel engine with a high compression ratio (CR) was converted to SI to be fueled with gaseous fuels. Biogas was used as the main fuel to increase knocking resistance of the blends. Biogas was blended with natural gas, propane, and hydrogen to improve fuel combustion properties. The spark timing (ST) was adjusted for optimum generating efficiencies close to the knocking threshold. The engine was operated on each blend at the maximum output power under stable combustion conditions. The maximum output power was measured at partial throttle limited by engine knocking threshold. The use of biogas in the engine resulted in a power derating of 6.25% compared with the original diesel engine (8 kW @ 1800 rpm). 50% biogas + 50% natural gas was the blend with the highest output power (8.66 kW @1800 rpm) and the highest generating efficiency (29.8%); this blend indeed got better results than the blends enriched with propane and hydrogen. Tests conditions were selected to achieve an average knocking peak pressure between 0.3 and 0.5 bar and COV of IMEP lower than 4% using 200 consecutive cycles as reference. With the blends of biogas, propane, and hydrogen, the output power obtained was just over 8 kW whereas the blends of biogas, natural gas, and hydrogen the output power were close to 8.6 kW. Moreover, a new approach to evaluate the maximum output power in gas engines is proposed, which does not depend on the engine % throttle but on the limit defined by the knocking threshold and cyclic variations.     

不同过量空气系数下射流点火发动机燃烧、排放和爆震特性的试验研究

基于单缸试验机研究了过量空气系数对射流点火发动机性能的影响。通过分析发动机性能曲线、缸内燃烧情况及爆震特性探究射流点火最佳运行区间,并与火花点火燃烧方式进行对比。结果表明,射流点火可以有效提升瞬时放热率并拓展发动机稀燃极限,缩短缸内混合气滞燃期与燃烧持续期,同时燃油经济性有一定提升。在稀燃条件下氮氧化物排放极低。爆震方面,随着点火提前角增大,射流火焰的多点点火效应会在缸内产生明显压力震荡,继续增大点火提前角会诱导末端混合气自燃。因此射流点火爆震缸压表现为两阶段压力震荡,爆震因子集中性高。提升过量空气系数可以降低射流点火爆震因子幅值,使发动机工作在轻微爆震或无爆震状态。     

Novel heavy duty engine concept for operation dual fuel H2–NH3

A prior paper has presented a novel design of a heavy duty truck engine fuelled with H₂. In this design, the customary in-cylinder Diesel injector and glow plug are replaced with a main chamber fuel injector and a jet ignition pre-chamber. The jet ignition pre-chamber is a small volume that is connected to the in-cylinder through calibrated orifices accommodating another fuel injector and a glow or a spark plug that controls the start of combustion. This design permits to operate the engine in four different modes: traditional compression ignition (CI), diffusion, Diesel-like (M₁); mixed gasoline/Diesel-like (M₂); traditional spark ignition (SI), premixed, gasoline-like (M₃); premixed, homogeneous charge compression ignition HCCI-like (M₄). In the mode diffusion with jet ignition (M₁), an injection occurs in the jet ignition pre-chamber before the main chamber fuel is injected and the engine operates therefore mostly Diesel-like. In the mode mixed diffusion/premixed Diesel/gasoline-like (M₂) an injection occurs in the jet ignition pre-chamber after only part of the main chamber fuel is injected and mixed with air. In the mode premixed with jet ignition (M₃), an injection occurs in the jet ignition pre-chamber after the main chamber fuel is injected and mixed with air and the engine operates gasoline-like. Finally, in the mode premixed without jet ignition (M₄), no injection occurs in the jet ignition pre-chamber and the engine operates HCCI-like. Modelling results have already been presented and discussed with H₂ as the main chamber and pre-chamber fuel. This paper considers the option to accommodate a second main chamber injector that will inject the NH₃ that will then burn in air thanks to the hot combusting gases from the combustion of H₂ and air using the modes M₁ and M₂ described above. The mode M₃ also of interest is not considered here. First results of simulations show the opportunity to achieve better than Diesel fuel energy conversion efficiency thanks to the reduced heat losses of the “cold burning” NH₃ and suggest to perform the experiments needed to further support the findings.     

Effects of EGR on performance of engines with spark gap projection and fueled by biogas–hydrogen blends

In this study, the effects of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on the behavior of a spark ignition engine fueled by hydrogen-blended low-calorific biogas were investigated, and its performance and emission characteristics were compared with those of the lean burn engine investigated in our previous work. The engine was operated at a constant rotational speed of 1800 rpm under a 60 kW power output condition, and a simulated biogas containing H₂ was used to realize a wide range of gas compositions. The engine test results demonstrate that when less than 20% H₂ was added to the biogas, the EGR operations had inferior fuel economy to the lean burn technique. However, when the H₂ blending ratio was increased, the EGR method achieved higher engine performance with lower NO_x emissions than the legal standard. Analyses of the O₂ fraction and thermal capacity variations of the inlet charge also indicated that a dilution (O₂ replacement) effect rather than a thermal effect was the dominant factor when EGR was introduced in a low-calorific biogas engine. Subsequently, in order to improve the engine efficiency as well as combustion characteristics, the spark gap was projected further into the combustion chamber with EGR engine operations. The engine test results show that repositioning the discharge location improved the thermal efficiency, and the maximum tolerable EGR rate increased because of spatial advantages such as relatively short flame propagation lengths and high electrode temperatures.     

Performance and emission characteristics of a turbocharged CNG engine fueled by hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas with high hydrogen ratio

This paper investigates the effect of high hydrogen volumetric ratio of 55% on performance and emission characteristics in a turbocharged lean burn natural gas engine. The experimental data was conducted under various operating conditions including different spark timing, excess air ratio (lambda), and manifold pressure. It is found that the addition of hydrogen at a high volumetric ratio could significantly extend the lean burn limit, improve the engine lean burn ability, decrease burn duration, and yield higher thermal efficiency. The CO, CH₄ emissions were reduced and NO_x emission could be kept an acceptable low level with high hydrogen content under lean burn conditions when ignition timing were optimized.     

Availability analysis of a coke oven gas fueled spark ignition engine

The current work investigates a coke oven gas fueled spark ignition (SI) engine from the perspective of the first and second laws in order to understand the energy conversion performance of fuels and achieve highly efficient utilization. A detailed energy and exergy analysis is applied to a quasi-dimensional two-zone spark ignition engine model which combines turbulence flame propagation speed model at 1500 rpm by changing gas fuel types, compression ratio, load and ignition timing. It was found that the irreversibility of methane is the maximum and that of syngas is the minimum among the three different fuels. The irreversibility in the combustion process of a coke oven gas fueled SI engine is reduced when the compression ratio or the throttle valve opening angle is increased and the ignition timing is delayed. Increasing the compression ratio and delaying the ignition timing can improve the first and second law efficiency and reduce the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC). The power performance and fuel economy are good and the energy is also used effectively when the compression ratio is 11, the throttle angle is 90% and the ignition time is ?10° CA ATDC respectively.     

Detailed numerical simulation of syngas combustion under partially premixed combustion engine conditions

Two-dimensional detailed numerical simulation is performed to study syngas/air combustion under partially premixed combustion (PPC) engine conditions. Detailed chemical kinetics and transport properties are employed in the study. The fuel, a mixture of CO and H₂ with a 1:1 molar ratio, is introduced to the domain at two different instances of time, corresponding to the multiple injection strategy of fuel used in PPC engines. It is found that the ratio of the fuel mass between the second injection and the first injection affects the combustion and emission process greatly; there is a tradeoff between NO emission and CO emission when varying the fuel mass ratio. The ignition zone structures under various fuel mass ratios are examined. A premixed burn region and a diffusion burn region are identified. The premixed burn region ignites first, followed by the ignition of mixtures at the diffusion burn region, and finally a thin diffusion flame is formed to burn out the remaining fuel. NO is produced mainly in the premixed burn region, and later from the diffusion burn region in mixtures close to stoichiometry, whereas unburned CO emission is mainly from the diffusion burn region. An optimization of the fuel mass in the two regions can offer a better tradeoff between NO emission and CO emission. The effects of initial temperature and turbulence on the premixed burn and diffusion burn regions are investigated.     

Effects of compression ratio on performance and emission characteristics of heavy-duty SI engine fuelled with HCNG

The wide range of hydrogen's flammable limits enables ultra-lean combustion. A lean burn reduces the combustion temperature, increases thermal efficiency, and reduces knock, which is a serious problem in a spark ignition (SI) engine. The anti-knock improvement from hydrogen addition makes it feasible to increase the compression ratio (CR) and further improve the thermal efficiency. Herein, the effects of the CR on performance and emission characteristics were investigated using an 11-L heavy-duty SI engine fuelled with HCNG30 (CNG 70 vol%, hydrogen 30 vol%) and CNG. These fuels were used to operate an engine with CRs of 10.5 and 11.5. The results showed that thermal efficiency improved with an increased CR, which significantly decreased CO₂ emission. On the other hand, the NO_x emission was largely increased. Nevertheless, for HCNG30, a CR of 11.5 improved thermal efficiency by 6.5% and decreased NO_x emission by over 75%, as compared to a conventional CNG engine.     

Fuel conversion efficiency of a port injection engine fueled with gasoline–isobutanol blends

This paper describes the comparative advantages of using isobutanol as a fuel for SI (spark ignition) engines instead of ethanol. An experimental study of fuel conversion efficiency was performed on a port injection engine fueled with mixtures containing 10, 30 and 50% isobutanol blended with gasoline. Efficiency as well as performance levels were maintained within acceptable limits for all three types of fuel blends compared to running the engine on straight gasoline. These results show that isobutanol is an attractive drop-in fuel for SI engines, and can be blended with gasoline in much higher concentrations compared to ethanol, without any modifications to the fuel system or other engine components.     

Investigation of hydrogen addition to methanol-gasoline blends in an SI engine

In this study, effects of hydrogen-addition on the performance and emission characteristics of Methanol-Gasoline blends in a spark ignition (SI) engine were investigated. Experiments were conducted with a four-cylinder and four stroke spark ignition engine. Performance tests were performed via measuring brake thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption, cylinder pressure and exhaust emissions (CO, CO₂, HC, NOx). These performance metrics were analyzed under three engine load conditions (no load, 50% and 100%) with a constant speed of 2000 rpm. Methanol was added to the gasoline up to 15% by volume (5%, 10% and 15%). Besides, hydrogen was added to methanol-gasoline mixtures up to 15% by volume (3%, 6%, 9% and 15%). Results of this study showed that methanol addition increases BSFC by 26% and decreases thermal efficiency by 10.5% compared to the gasoline. By adding hydrogen to the methanol - gasoline mixtures, the BSFC decreased by 4% and the thermal efficiency increased by 2% compared to the gasoline. Hydrogen addition to methanol – gasoline mixtures reduces exhaust emissions by about 16%, 75% and 15% of the mean average values of HC, CO and CO2 emissions, respectively. Lastly, ?t was concluded that hydrogen addition improves combustion process; CO and HC emissions reduce as a result of the leaning effect caused by the methanol addition; and CO2 and NOx emission increases because of the improved combustion.     

Evaluation of acetylene as a spark ignition engine fuel

In spite of its known shortcomings as a fuel for spark ignition engines, acetylene has been suggested as a possible alternative to petroleum-based fuels since it can be produced from non-petroleum resources (coal, limestone and water). Therefore, acetylene was evaluated in a single-cylinder engine to investigate performance and emission characteristics with special emphasis on lean operation for NO_x control. Testing was carried out at constant speed, constant airflow and MBT spark timing. Equivalence ratio and compression ratio were the primary variables. The engine operated much leaner when fuelled with acetylene than with gasoline. With acetylene, the engine operated at equivalence ratios as lean as 0·53 and 0·43 for compression ratios of 4 and 6, respectively. However, the operating range was very limited. Knock-induced preignition occurred either with compression ratios above 6 or with mixtures richer than 0·69 equivalence ratio. Both the indicated thermal efficiency and power output were less for acetylene fuelling than for gasoline. Acetylene combustion occurred at sufficiently lean equivalence ratios to produce very low NO_x and CO emissions. However, when the low NO_x levels were achieved hydrocarbon control was not improved over that with gasoline. Despite the potential for NO_x control demonstrated in this study of acetylene fuelling, difficulties encountered with engine knock and preignition plus well-known safety problems (wide flammability limits and explosive decomposition) associated with acetylene render this fuel impractical for spark ignition engines.     

Hydrogen–ethanol blending as an alternative fuel of spark ignition engines

The performance and pollutant emission of a four-stroke spark ignition engine using hydrogen–ethanol blends as fuel have been studied. The tests were performed using 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 mass% hydrogen–ethanol blends. Gasoline fuel was used as a basis for comparison. The effect of using different blends of hydrogen–ethanol on engine power, specific fuel consumption, CO and NO_x emission was studied. Operating test results for a range of compression ratio (CR) and equivalent ratio are presented. The results show that the supplemental hydrogen in the ethanol–air mixture improves the combustion process and hence improves the combustion efficiency, expands the range of combustibility of the ethanol fuel, increases the power, reduces the s.f.c., and reduces toxic emissions. The important improvement of hydrogen addition is to reduce the s.f.c. of ethanol engines. Results were compared to those with gasoline fuel at 7 CR and stoichiometric equivalence ratio.     

Comparison between direct and indirect (prechamber) spark ignition in the case of a cogeneration natural gas engine,: part II: engine operating parameters and turbocharger characteristics

In the first paper (part I), prechamber ignition in cogeneration natural gas engines has been shown to significantly intensify and accelerate the combustion process, offering a further potential to reduce the exhaust gas emissions while keeping efficiency at a high level. This second part discusses the influence of the engine operating parameters (spark timing and load) and the turbocharger characteristics with the objective of evaluating the potential to reduce the exhaust gas emissions, particularly the CO emissions, below the Swiss limits (NO_X and CO emissions: 250 and 650 mg/m_N³, 5% O₂, respectively), without exhaust gas after treatment. The advantage of using an unscavenged prechamber is conditioned by a significant delay of the spark timing in order to generate substantial gas jets. This results in a large decrease in peak cylinder pressure and in an important reduction of NO_X, CO and THC emissions. Minimum emissions are achieved at a spark timing of about 8° CA_BTDC. In comparison with the direct ignition, the prechamber ignition yields approximately 40% and 55% less CO and THC emissions, respectively. However, this also leads to about 2%-point lower fuel conversion efficiency. The optimisation of the turbocharger results in a recovery of about 1%-point in fuel conversion efficiency, but a consequent change in the exhaust manifold gas dynamics attenuates the reduction in THC emissions. At the rated power output (150 kW), the prechamber ignition operation fulfils the Swiss requirements for exhaust gas emissions and still achieves a fuel conversion efficiency higher than 36.5%.     

Knocking combustion in spark-ignition engines

Knocking combustion research is crucially important because it determines engine durability, fuel consumption, and power density, as well as noise and emission performance. Current spark ignition (SI) engines suffer from both conventional knock and super-knock. Conventional knock limits raising the compression ratio to improve thermal efficiency due to end-gas auto-ignition, while super-knock limits the desired boost to improve the power density of modern gasoline engines due to detonation. Conventional combustion has been widely studied for many years. Although the basic characteristics are clear, the correlation between the knock index and fuel chemistry, pressure oscillations and heat transfer, and auto-ignition front propagation, are still in early stages of understanding. Super-knock combustion in highly boosted spark ignition engines with random pre-ignition events has been intensively studied in the past decade in both academia and industry. These works have mainly focused on the relationship between pre-ignition and super-knock, source analyses of pre-ignition, and the effects of oil/fuel properties on super-knock. The mechanism of super-knock has been recently revealed in rapid compression machines (RCM) under engine-like conditions. It was found that detonation can occur in modern internal combustion engines under high energy density conditions. Thermodynamic conditions and shock waves influence the combustion wave and detonation initiation modes. Three combustion wave modes in the end gas have been visualized as deflagration, sequential auto-ignition and detonation. The most frequently observed detonation initiation mode is shock wave reflection-induced detonation (SWRID). Compared to the effect of shock compression and negative temperature coefficient (NTC) combustion on ignition delay, shock wave reflection is the main cause of near-wall auto-ignition/detonation. Finally, suppression methods for conventional knock and super-knock in SI engines are reviewed, including use of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), the injection strategy, and the integration of a high tumble - high EGR-Atkinson/Miller cycle. This paper provides deep insights into the processes occurring during knocking combustion in spark ignition engines. Furthermore, knock control strategies and combustion wave modes are summarized, and future research directions, such as turbulence-shock-reaction interaction theory, detonation suppression and utilization, and super-knock solutions, are also discussed.     

Investigation of hydrogen usage on combustion characteristics and emissions of a spark ignition engine

In this study, initially, a single cylinder, naturally aspirated, spark ignition engine was loaded with AC engine dynamometer and a spark plug type engine transducer was used to obtain in-cylinder pressure. The test engine was operated with gasoline fuel at full load and different engine speeds (3100, 3200, 3300, 3400 and 3450 rpm). Secondly, using obtained engine performance, emission values and in-cylinder pressure, a one dimensional engine model was built and validated by an engine performance and emission analysis software (AVL-Boost). After the validation of single dimensional theoretical engine model, a comparison was made between the emission, performance and combustion (in-cylinder pressure, rate of heat release) values of operations with pure hydrogen fuel and such values of the operations with unleaded gasoline. The emissions of CO and total hydrocarbons (THC) were negligible with using hydrogen as fuel in SI engine. A dramatic increase in NO_x emissions was obtained with using hydrogen as fuel. However, by using hydrogen in lean conditions, NO_x emissions were taken under control by means of wide flammability limits of hydrogen.     

Comparison of the effects of EGR and lean burn on an SI engine fueled by hydrogen-enriched low calorific gas

A naturally aspirated spark ignition (SI) engine fueled by hydrogen-blended low calorific gas (LCG) was tested in both exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and lean burn modes. The “dilution ratio” was introduced to compare their effects on engine performance and emissions under identical levels of dilution. LCG composed of 40% natural gas and 60% nitrogen was used as a main fuel, and hydrogen was blended with the LCG in volumes ranging from 0 to 20%. The engine test results demonstrated that EGR operations at stoichiometry showed a narrower dilution range, inferior combustion characteristics, lower brake thermal efficiency, faster nitrogen oxides (NO_x) suppression, and higher total hydrocarbon (THC) emissions for all hydrogen blending rates compared to lean burn. These trends were mainly due to the increased oxygen deficiency as a result of using EGR in LCG/air mixtures. Hydrogen enrichment of the LCG improved combustion stability and reduced THC emissions while increasing NO_x. In terms of efficiency, hydrogen addition induced a competition between combustion enhancement and increases in the cooling loss, so that the peak thermal efficiency occurred at 10% H₂ with excess air ratio of 1.5. The engine test results also indicated that a close-to-linear NO_x-efficiency relationship occurred for all hydrogen blending rates in both operations as long as stable combustion was achieved. NO_x versus combustion duration analysis showed that adding H₂ reduced combustion duration while maintaining the same level of NO_x. The methane fraction contained in the THC emissions decreased slightly with an increase in hydrogen enrichment at low EGR or excess air dilution ratios, but this tendency was diminished at higher dilution ratios because of the combined dilution effects from the inert gas in the LCG and the diluents (EGR or excess air).