Search Results

The vast stores of biomass available worldwide have the potential to displace significant amounts of petroleum fuels. Fast pyrolysis of biomass is one of several possible paths by which we can convert biomass to higher value products. Pyrolysis oil (PO) derived from wood has been regarded as an alternative fuel to be used in diesel engines. However, the use of PO in a diesel engine requires engine modifications due to the low energy density, high acidity, high viscosity, and low cetane number of PO. Therefore, PO should be blended or emulsified with other fuels that have a high cetane number or used through pilot injection. PO has poor miscibility with light petroleum fuel oils; the most suitable candidate fuels for direct fuel mixing are alcohol fuels. Early mixing with alcohol fuels has the added benefit of significantly improving the storage and handling properties of the PO.

Nowadays, automobile manufacturers are focusing on reducing exhaust-gas emissions because of their harmful effects on humans and the environment, such as global warming due to greenhouse gases. Direct injection combustion is a promising technology that can significantly improve fuel economy compared to conventional port fuel injection spark ignition engines. However, previous studies indicate that relatively high levels of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission were produced with gasoline fuel in a spray-guided-type combustion system as a result of the stratified combustion characteristics. Because a lean-burn engine cannot employ a three-way catalyst, NOx emissions can be an obstacle to commercializing a lean-burn direct injection engine. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel was proposed as an alternative for reducing NOx emission because it has a higher vapor pressure than gasoline and decreases the local rich mixture region as a result of an improved mixing process.

The vast stores of biomass available worldwide have the potential to displace significant amounts of petroleum fuels. Fast pyrolysis of biomass is one of several possible paths by which we can convert biomass to higher value products. Pyrolysis oil (PO) derived from wood has been regarded as an alternative fuel to be used in diesel engines. However, the use of PO in a diesel engine requires engine modifications due to the low energy density, high acidity, high viscosity, high water content, and low cetane number of PO. The easiest way to adopt PO without engine modifications is blending with other fuels that have a high cetane number. However, PO has poor miscibility with light petroleum fuel oils; the most suitable candidate fuels for direct fuel mixing are alcohol fuels. Early mixing with alcohol fuels has the added benefit of significantly improving the storage and handling properties of the PO.