Multidimensional CFD simulation of syngas combustion in a micro-pilot-ignited dual-fuel engine using a constructed chemical kinetics mechanism

A multidimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of a constructed syngas chemical kinetic mechanism was performed to evaluate the combustion of syngas in a supercharged dual-fuel engine for various syngas initial compositions under lean conditions. The modelled results were validated by comparing predictions against corresponding experimental data for a supercharged dual-fuel engine. The predicted and measured in-cylinder pressure, temperature, and rate of heat release (ROHR) data were in good agreement. The effect of the hydrogen peroxide chain-propagation reaction on the progress of combustion under supercharged conditions was examined for different types of syngas using various initial H₂ concentrations. The effect of the main syngas kinetic mechanism reactions on the combustion progress was analysed in terms of their contribution to the total heat of the reaction. The best results compared with experimental data were obtained in the range of equivalence ratios below about 0.8 for all types of syngas considered in this paper. As the equivalence ratio increased above 0.8, the results deviated from the experiment data. The spatial distribution of the in-cylinder temperature and OH^∗ within this equivalence-ratio range showed the completeness of the combustion. The present CFD model captured the overall combustion process well and could be further developed into a useful tool for syngas-engine combustion simulations.     

预喷正时对柴油机燃烧与排放影响的试验研究

通过台架试验,分析对比柴油机各参数随预喷正时的变化,研究多次喷射预喷正时对柴油机燃烧和排放性能的影响。试验表明,预喷正时决定缸内燃烧的放热始点和放热率,影响缸内的燃烧温度、爆发压力、NOx排放和碳烟的生成,预喷正时为20°时,爆发压力最大;预喷正时为35°时,热效率最高,油耗率和烟度最低;预喷正时为45°时,NOx排放最小。综合分析选择预喷正时40°作为折中优化方案,降低发动机油耗和NOx、碳烟排放,同时提高发动机的热效率。     

A computational study to analyze the effect of equivalence ratio and hydrogen volume fraction on the ultra-lean burning of the syngas-fueled HCCI engine

This computational study investigates the equivalence ratio and hydrogen volume fraction effect on the ultra-lean burning of the syngas-fueled homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine. In this research, low calorific syngas, composed of different compositions of H2, CO, and CO2, is used as a fuel in the HCCI engine that is operated under an overly lean air-fuel mixture. ANSYS Forte CFD package with Gri-Mech 3.0 chemical kinetics was used to analyze the in-cylinder combustion phenomena, and the simulation results were validated with experimental tests in the form of in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate at different equivalence ratios.The results indicate that changing the equivalence ratio produces a negligible change in combustion phasing, while it positively impacts the combustion and thermal efficiency of this syngas-fueled HCCI engine under lean conditions due to the high burning rate in the squish region. Moreover, an increased equivalence ratio increases MPRR due to the rich mixture combustion. The results also represent that the high-volume fraction of H2 in syngas fuel causes an advanced burning phase, improves the combustion performance of the HCCI engine at all equivalence ratio conditions, and causes slightly high NOx emissions.     

An experimental study of mild flameless combustion of methane/hydrogen mixtures

This paper presents an experimental study of mild flameless combustion regime applied to methane/hydrogen mixtures in a laboratory-scale pilot furnace with or without air preheating. Results show that mild flameless combustion regime is achieved from pure methane to pure hydrogen whatever the CH₄/H₂ proportion. The main reaction zone remains lifted from the burner exit, in the mixing layer of fuel and air jets ensuring a large dilution correlated to low NOx emissions whereas CO₂ concentrations obviously decrease with hydrogen proportion. A decrease of NOx emissions is measured for larger quantity of hydrogen due mainly to the decrease of prompt NO formation. Without air preheating, a slight increase of the excess air ratio is required to control CO emissions. For pure hydrogen fuel without air preheating, mild flameless combustion regime leads to operating conditions close to a "zero emission furnace", with ultra-low NOx emissions and without any carbonated species emissions.     

Study of methane enrichment in a biogas fuelled HCCI engine

Biogas has been a promising alternative fuel for IC engines. However, its CO₂ content reduces calorific value and ignitability. The CO₂ fraction of raw biogas can be separated out by various techniques, which are collectively called methane enrichment. The present study explores the effect of methane enrichment on the output parameters of a Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine. A single cylinder CI engine is altered for this purpose. Biogas (CH₄ + CO₂) is supplied along with air. Diethyl Ether (DEE) is used as the secondary fuel to initiate auto-ignition. The effects of injecting DEE at the inlet port and upstream in the intake manifold are also compared. Performance, emission and combustion characteristics such as brake thermal efficiency, equivalence ratio, HC, CO, CO₂, NO_x and smoke emissions, start and duration of combustion, in-cylinder pressure and maximum heat release rate are compared for operation with raw biogas (50% methane) and methane enriched biogas (100% methane) for various biogas flow rates and engine torques. Results show that methane enrichment enhances brake thermal efficiency by up to 2% compared to raw biogas. Methane enrichment advances and speeds up combustion. HC, CO and CO₂ emissions, maximum cylinder pressure and maximum heat release rate are also improved with methane enrichment. Ultra-low NO_x and smoke emissions can be obtained using raw biogas as well as methane enriched biogas. Low biogas flow rates provide better brake thermal efficiency and HC emissions. Manifold injection of DEE enhances brake thermal efficiency by up to 2% compared to port injection by virtue of greater mixture homogeneity.     

Effect of H2 addition on combustion and exhaust emissions in a heavy-duty diesel engine with EGR

The effect of the addition of hydrogen (H₂) on the combustion process and nitric oxide (NO) formation in a H₂-diesel dual fuel engine was numerically investigated. The model developed using AVL FIRE as a platform was validated against the cylinder pressure and heat release rate measured with the addition of up to 6% (vol.) H₂ into the intake mixture of a heavy-duty diesel engine with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). The validated model was applied to further explore the effect of the addition of 6%–18% (vol.) H₂ on the combustion process and formation of NO in H₂-diesel dual fuel engines. When the engine was at N = 1200 rpm and 70% load, the simulation results showed that the addition of H₂ prolonged ignition delay, enhanced premixed combustion, and promoted diffusion combustion of the diesel fuel. The maximum peak cylinder pressure was observed with addition of 12% (vol.) H₂. In comparison, the maximum peak heat release rate was observed with the addition of 16% (vol.) H₂. The addition of H₂ was a crucial factor dominating the increased NO emissions. Meanwhile, the addition of H₂ reduced soot emissions substantially, which may be due to the reduced diesel fuel burned each cycle. Furthermore, proper combination of adding H₂ with EGR can improve combustion performance and reduce NO emissions.     

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.     

Effect of ignition timing and hydrogen fraction on combustion and emission characteristics of natural gas direct-injection engine

An experimental study on the combustion and emission characteristics of a direct-injection spark-ignited engine fueled with natural gas/hydrogen blends under various ignition timings was conducted. The results show that ignition timing has a significant influence on engine performance, combustion and emissions. The interval between the end of fuel injection and ignition timing is a very important parameter for direct-injection natural gas engines. The turbulent flow in the combustion chamber generated by the fuel jet remains high and relative strong mixture stratification is introduced when decreasing the angle interval between the end of fuel injection and ignition timing giving fast burning rates and high thermal efficiencies. The maximum cylinder gas pressure, maximum mean gas temperature, maximum rate of pressure rise and maximum heat release rate increase with the advancing of ignition timing. However, these parameters do not vary much with hydrogen addition under specific ignition timing indicating that a small hydrogen fraction addition of less than 20% in the present experiment has little influence on combustion parameters under specific ignition timing. The exhaust HC emission decreases while the exhaust CO₂ concentration increases with the advancing of ignition timing. In the lean combustion condition, the exhaust CO does not vary much with ignition timing. At the same ignition timing, the exhaust HC decreases with hydrogen addition while the exhaust CO and CO₂ do not vary much with hydrogen addition. The exhaust NOx increases with the advancing of ignition timing and the behavior tends to be more obvious at large ignition advance angle. The brake mean effective pressure and the effective thermal efficiency of natural gas/hydrogen mixture combustion increase compared with those of natural gas combustion when the hydrogen fraction is over 10%. __________ Translated from Transactions of CSICE, 2006, 24(5): 394–401 [译自:内燃机学报]     

Effects of different preheated CO2/O2 jet in cross-flow on combustion instability and emissions in a lean-premixed combustor

To reveal the suppression mechanism of thermoacoustic instability flames under CO₂/O₂ jet in cross flow. Experiments on the effects of different preheated CO₂/O₂ jet in cross-flow (JICF) on combustion instability and NO_x emissions in a lean-premixed combustor were conducted in a model gas turbine combustor. Two variables of the JICF were investigated—the flow rate and the temperature. Results indicate that combustion instability and NOx emissions could be suppressed when the JICF flow rate increases from 1 to 5 L/min. The average pressure amplitude decreases from 18.6 Pa to 1.6 Pa, and the average NOx emission decreases from 26.4 ppm to 12.1 ppm. But the average pressures amplitude and NOx emissions increase as the JICF temperature grows up. The sound pressure and the flame heat release rate exhibits different mode-shifting characteristics. The oscillation frequency of the sound pressure almost unchanged under JICF injection. However, the oscillation frequency of the heat release rate jumps from 95 Hz to 275 Hz under different JICF temperatures. As the CO₂/O₂ JICF flow rate arrived 3 L/min, the oscillation frequency of flame heat release rate jumps from 85 Hz to 265 Hz. The color of the flame fronts and roots were changed by the JICF injection. The average length of flame under CO₂/O₂ JICF cases is shorter than the N₂/O₂ JICF cases. There are three different modes of flames when the CO₂/O₂ JICF flow rate varies, and two different modes of flames when the CO₂/O₂ JICF temperature varies. This article explored the joint effects of different CO₂/O₂ or N₂/O₂ JICF on combustion instability and NOx emissions, which could be instructive to the designing of safely and clean combustors in industrial gas turbines.     

Availability analysis of a syngas fueled spark ignition engine using a multi-zone combustion model

A previously developed and validated zero-dimensional, multi-zone, thermodynamic combustion model for the prediction of spark ignition (SI) engine performance and nitric oxide (NO) emissions has been extended to include second-law analysis. The main characteristic of the model is the division of the burned gas into several distinct zones, in order to account for the temperature and chemical species stratification developed in the burned gas during combustion. Within the framework of the multi-zone model, the various availability components constituting the total availability of each of the multiple zones of the simulation are identified and calculated separately. The model is applied to a multi-cylinder, four-stroke, turbocharged and aftercooled, natural gas (NG) SI gas engine running on synthesis gas (syngas) fuel. The major part of the unburned mixture availability consists of the chemical contribution, ranging from 98% at the inlet valve closing (IVC) event to 83% at the ignition timing of the total availability for the 100% load case, which is due to the presence of the combustible fuel. On the contrary, the multiple burned zones possess mainly thermomechanical availability. Specifically, again for the 100% load case, the total availability of the first burned zone at the exhaust valve opening (EVO) event consists of thermomechanical availability approximately by 90%, with similar percentages for all other burned zones. Two definitions of the combustion exergetic efficiency are used to explore the degree of reversibility of the combustion process in each of the multiple burned zones. It is revealed that the crucial factor determining the thermodynamic perfection of combustion in each burned zone is the level of the temperatures at which combustion occurs in the zone, with minor influence of the whole temperature history of the zone during the complete combustion phase. The availability analysis is extended to various engine loads. The engine in question is supplied with increasingly leaner mixtures as loads rise in order to keep the emitted nitrogen oxides (NO_x) low. Therefore, in-cylinder combustion temperatures are reduced, resulting in increased destruction of availability due to combustion and reduced availability losses due to heat transfer with the cylinder walls, when expressed as percentages of the fuel chemical availability. Specifically, when engine load increases from 40% to 100% of full load, with the relative air–fuel ratio also increasing from 1.56 to 1.83, the destroyed availability due to combustion rises from 14.19% to 15.02% of the fuel chemical availability, while the respective percentage of the cumulative availability loss due to heat transfer decreases from 13.37% to 9.05%.     

Effect of ammonia addition on combustion and emission characteristics of hydrogen-fueled engine under lean-burn condition

Hydrogen (H₂) is a carbon-free fuel with many excellent combustion characteristics, but abnormal combustion is one of the main obstacles to the promotion and application of hydrogen-fueled engines. This experimental study aims to investigate the suppression of the heat release rate (HRR) of a hydrogen-fueled engine through the addition of ammonia (NH₃). The engine was run at 1300 rpm, with manifold absolute pressure (MAP) of 61 kPa and NH₃ addition ratio of 0% and 2.2%, under lean-burn conditions. The results showed that the addition of small amounts of ammonia reduced the combustion rate of the fuel mixture, prolonged the flame development period (CA0-10) and propagation durations (CA10-90) of the engine, and reduced the peak in-cylinder pressure and peak HRR under lean-burn conditions. The addition of ammonia increased the peak indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) and the peak indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) of the engine. The addition of ammonia resulted in increased nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions.     

An experimental study of syngas combustion in a bidirectional swirling flow

The paper reports on the results of an experimental study of methane and syngas combustion as well as their co-firing in a bidirectional swirling flow. The results confirmed that the bidirectional flow structure provides a significant decrease in the lean blow-off equivalence ratio as well as that of emissions of main pollutants. The combustion intensification becomes more evident when using syngas is as fuel. The composition of the used syngas is as follows (by volume): H₂ - 29.42%; CO - 14.32%; CH₄ - 3.8%; N₂ - 49.11%; H₂O - 3.35%. In this case, the lean blow-off is achieved at ? < 0.1, NOx emission is halved, while CxHy and CO emissions become 20 times less compared to pure methane combustion. However, according to experimental results, the co-combustion of syngas (volume fraction V_syn = 15%) and methane is the most appropriate fuel utilization mode. It provides blow-off and emission properties similar to those for combustion of pure syngas, whereas energy consumption for its production is much lower. Moreover, unlike hydrocarbon fuel combustion, that of syngas in a bidirectional swirling flow is characterized by the presence of density stratification. This is accompanied by the flame formation at significantly different locations in the combustion chamber at lean and “ultra-lean” modes of operation. Hydrogen combustion most likely to occur in the core region at near-blow-off modes ? < 0.1, whereas normal ‘operating modes in the range 0.2 = ? ≤ 0.4 result in the formation of a conical flame surface where CH₄ and CO combustion occurs. These new results with respect to the flame structure as well as blow-off and emission properties make it possible to consider bidirectional vortex combustors for application in modern gas turbine power plants in order to meet the strict environmental and energy requirements.     

Combustion,performance and emissions of a diesel engine with H2, CH4 and H2–CH4 addition

Experiments were conducted to investigate the combustion and emission characteristics of a diesel engine with addition of hydrogen or methane for dual-fuel operation, and mixtures of hydrogen–methane for tri-fuel operation. The in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate change slightly at low to medium loads but increase dramatically at high load owing to the high combustion temperature and high quantity of pilot diesel fuel which contribute to better combustion of the gaseous fuels. The performance of the engine with tri-fuel operation at 30% load improves with the increase of hydrogen fraction in methane and is always higher than that with dual-fuel operations. Compared with ULSD–CH₄ operation, hydrogen addition in methane contributes to a reduction of CO/CO₂/HC emissions without penalty on NO_x emission. Dual-fuel and tri-fuel operations suppress particle emission to the similar extent. All the gaseous fuels reduce the geometry mean diameter and total number concentration of diesel particulate. Tri-fuel operation with 30% hydrogen addition in methane is observed to be the best fuel in reducing particulate and NO_x emissions at 70 and 90% loads.     

Premixed hydrogen-air combustion system for fuel cell systems

The advance of efficient hydrogen-air combustion systems has increasingly become of interest in the framework of the development of fuel cell systems, especially for the automotive sector. Therefore, compact modulating systems are required, with the additional demand of low emissions, to be integrated in a fuel cell system. A modulating combustion system based on combustion within inert porous media and an integrated heat exchanger has been developed and investigated. The system is able to handle premixed combustion of lean H₂/air mixtures at a surface load range of 1075 kW/m²-2150 kW/m², and a global equivalence ratio of ?=0.5. The special hydrogen-air mixing concept eliminates the risk of flame flashback and enables operation with very low NO_x emissions.     

Rapidly mixed combustion of hydrogen/oxygen diluted by N2 and CO2 in a tubular flame combustor

In this study hydrogen flames have been attempted in a rapidly mixed tubular flame combustor for the first time, in which fuel and oxidizer are individually and tangentially injected into a cylindrical combustor to avoid flame flash back. Three different cases were designed to examine the effects of fuel and oxidizer feeding method, diluent property, oxygen content and equivalence ratio on the characteristics of hydrogen flame, including the flame structure, lean extinction limit, flame stability and temperature. The results show that by enhancing mixing rate through feeding system, the range of equivalence ratio for steady tubular flame can be much expanded for the N₂ diluted mixture, however, at the oxygen content of 0.21 (hydrogen/air) the steady tubular flame is achieved only up to equivalence ratio of 0.5; by decreasing oxygen content, the lean extinction limit slightly increases, and the upper limit for steady tubular flame establishment increases significantly, resulting in an expanded tubular flame range. For CO₂ diluted mixture, the stoichiometric combustion has been achieved within oxygen content of 0.1 and 0.25, for which the burned gas temperature is uniformly distributed inside the flame front; as oxygen content is below 0.21, a steady tubular flame can be obtained from the lean to rich limits; and the lean extinction limit increases from 0.17 to 0.4 as oxygen content decreases from 0.21 to 0.1, resulting in a shrunk tubular flame range. Laminar burning velocity, temperature and Damköhler number are calculated to examine the differences between N₂ and CO₂ diluted combustion as well as the requirement for hydrogen-fueled tubular flame establishment.     

Experimental study of combustion and emission characteristics of ethanol fuelled port injected homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion engine

The homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is an alternative combustion concept for in reciprocating engines. The HCCI combustion engine offers significant benefits in terms of its high efficiency and ultra low emissions. In this investigation, port injection technique is used for preparing homogeneous charge. The combustion and emission characteristics of a HCCI engine fuelled with ethanol were investigated on a modified two-cylinder, four-stroke engine. The experiment is conducted with varying intake air temperature (120–150 °C) and at different air–fuel ratios, for which stable HCCI combustion is achieved. In-cylinder pressure, heat release analysis and exhaust emission measurements were employed for combustion diagnostics. In this study, effect of intake air temperature on combustion parameters, thermal efficiency, combustion efficiency and emissions in HCCI combustion engine is analyzed and discussed in detail. The experimental results indicate that the air–fuel ratio and intake air temperature have significant effect on the maximum in-cylinder pressure and its position, gas exchange efficiency, thermal efficiency, combustion efficiency, maximum rate of pressure rise and the heat release rate. Results show that for all stable operation points, NO_x emissions are lower than 10 ppm however HC and CO emissions are higher.     

Progress on the studies about NOx emission in PFI-H2ICE

Owing to its brilliant combustion performance and cleanest combustion products, hydrogen has been widely considered as one best alternative fuel for internal combustion engines. However, in the cylinder of hydrogen internal combustion engines, high combustion temperature and oxygen enrichment make NOx is still one but the only combustion pollutant. Therefore, it is particularly important to control NOx emission for hydrogen fuelled engines. Since PFI-H₂ICE (port-fuel-injection hydrogen internal combustion engine) is the normal type of hydrogen fuelled engines, the present article will focus on the studies about NOx emission in PFI-H₂ICE researches. First, the present article reviews the mechanism of NOx generation in PFI-H₂ICE; upon chemical kinetics, the generation of NOx will be summarized and discussed into three major paths which including thermal NO path, NNH–NO path and N₂O–NO path. Then, the researches on the control methods of NOx for PFI-H₂ICE in recent years will be systematically reviewed, the influencing factors to reduce NOx emission will be summarized in some aspects which including combustion component control strategy, injection control strategy, ignition control strategy and engine compression ratio control strategy. To the PFI-H₂ICE operated at lean fuel conditions (like equivalence ratio is less than 0.5) or rich fuel conditions (like equivalence ratio is higher than 1), the technologies and the strategies of EGR (exhaust gas re-circulation) will be reviewed and discussed. It is hoped this literature review would enable researchers to systematically understand the progress of NOx emissions research in PFI-H₂ICE and explore further research directions.     

Reactive structures and NOx emissions of methane/hydrogen mixtures in flameless combustion

Methane/hydrogen combustion represents a concrete solution for the energy scenario to come. Indeed, the addition of hydrogen into the natural gas pipeline is one of the solutions foreseen to reduce CO₂ emissions. Nevertheless, the replacement of methane by hydrogen will enhance the reactivity of the system, increasing NOx emissions. To overcome this issue, non-conventional combustion technologies, such as flameless combustion represent an attractive solution. This study aims to improve our understanding of the behaviour of methane/hydrogen blends under flameless conditions by means of experiments and simulations. Several experimental campaigns were conducted to test fuel flexibility for different methane/hydrogen blends, varying the injector geometries, equivalence ratio and dilution degree. It was found that a progressive addition of hydrogen in methane enhanced the combustion features, reducing the ignition delay time and loosing progressively the flameless behaviour of the furnace. Reducing the air injector diameter or increasing the fuel lance length were found to be efficient techniques to reduce the maximum temperature of the system and NOx emissions in the exhausts, reaching values below 30 ppm for pure hydrogen. MILD conditions were achieved up to 75%H₂ in molar fraction, with no visible flame structures. Additionally, RANS-based simulations were also conducted to shed further light on the effect of adding hydrogen into the fuel blend. A sensitivity study was conducted for three different fuel blends: pure methane, an equimolar blend and pure hydrogen. The effect of chemistry detail, mixing models, radiation modeling and turbulence models on in-flame temperatures and NOx emissions was also studied. In particular, it was found that the usage of detailed chemistry for NOx, coupled with an adjustment of the PaSR model, filled the gap between experiments and predictions. Finally, a brute-force sensitivity revealed that NNH is the most important route for NOx production.     

Experimental investigation of combustion characteristics and NOx emission of a turbocharged hydrogen internal combustion engine

In order to alleviate the contradictions of increasingly prominent environmental pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and oil resource security issues, the search for renewable and clean alternative energy sources is getting more and more attention. Hydrogen energy is known as a future energy source because of its safety, reliability, wide range of resources and non-polluting products. Hydrogen internal combustion engine combines the technical advantages of traditional internal combustion engines and has comprehensive comparative advantages in terms of manufacturing cost, fuel adaptability and reliability. It is one of the practical ways to realize hydrogen energy utilization. In this paper, the combustion characteristics and NOx emission of a turbocharged hydrogen engine were investigated using the test data. The results showed the combustion duration (the crank angle of 10%–90% fuel burned) at 1500 rpm and 2000 rpm was equal and the combustion duration is much bigger than the other loads when the BMEP is 0.27 MPa. The reason is the effect of the turbocharger on the gas exchange process, which will influence the combustion process. The cylinder pressure and pressure rise rate were also investigated and the peak pressure rise rate was lower than 0.25 MPa/°CA at all working conditions. Moreover, the NOx emission changed from 300 ppm to 1200 ppm with engine speed increasing and the maximum value can reach to 7000 ppm when the equivalence ratio is 0.88 at 2500 rpm, maximum brake torque. The NOx emission shows different changing tendencies with different working conditions. Finally, these conclusions can be used to develop controlling strategies to solve the contradictions among power, brake thermal efficiency and NOx emission for the turbocharged hydrogen internal combustion engines.     

Analysis of exhaust waste heat recovery from a dual fuel low temperature combustion engine using an Organic Rankine Cycle

This paper examines the exhaust waste heat recovery potential of a high-efficiency, low-emissions dual fuel low temperature combustion engine using an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). Potential improvements in fuel conversion efficiency (FCE) and specific emissions (NO_x and CO₂) with hot exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and ORC turbocompounding were quantified over a range of injection timings and engine loads. With hot EGR and ORC turbocompounding, FCE improved by an average of 7 percentage points for all injection timings and loads while NO_x and CO₂ emissions recorded an 18 percent (average) decrease. From pinch-point analysis of the ORC evaporator, ORC heat exchanger effectiveness (?), percent EGR, and exhaust manifold pressure were identified as important design parameters. Higher pinch point temperature differences (PPTD) uniformly yielded greater exergy destruction in the ORC evaporator, irrespective of engine operating conditions. Increasing percent EGR yielded higher FCEs and stable engine operation but also increased exergy destruction in the ORC evaporator. It was observed that hot EGR can prevent water condensation in the ORC evaporator, thereby reducing corrosion potential in the exhaust piping. Higher ? values yielded lower PPTD and higher exergy efficiencies while lower ? values decreased post-evaporator exhaust temperatures below water condensation temperatures and reduced exergy efficiencies.