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Gasoline-like fuels have been recently identified as good candidates to reduce NOX and particulate emissions when used in compression-ignition (CI) engines. In this context, straight-run naphtha, a refinery stream directly derived from the atmospheric crude oil distillation process, was identified as a highly valuable fuel. In addition, thanks to its higher H/C ratio and energy content (LHV) compared to diesel, CO2 benefits are also expected when using naphtha in such engines. In a previous study, wide ranges of Cetane Number naphtha fuels (CN 20 to 35) were evaluated to optimize CI combustion, with different bowls and nozzle designs. CN 35 naphtha fuel has been selected for its better robustness and lower HC and CO emissions. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the potential of CN 35 naphtha fuel on a light duty single-cylinder compression-ignition engine as well as the minimum required hardware modifications needed to properly run this fuel.

Recent work has demonstrated the potential of gasoline-like fuels to reduce NOx and particulate emissions when used in compression ignition engines. In this context, low research octane number (RON) gasoline, a refinery stream derived from the atmospheric crude oil distillation process, has been identified as a highly valuable fuel. In addition, thanks to its higher H/C ratio and energy content compared to diesel, CO2 benefits are also expected when used in such engines. In previous studies, different cetane number (CN) fuels have been evaluated and a CN 35 fuel has been selected. The assessment and the choice of the required engine hardware adapted to this fuel, such as the compression ratio, bowl pattern and nozzle design have been performed on a single cylinder compression-ignition engine.

Fuels from crude oil are the main energy vector used in the worldwide transport sector. But conventional fuel and engine technologies are often criticized, especially Diesel engines with the recent “Diesel gate”. Engine and fuel co-research is one of the main leverage to reduce both CO2 footprint and criteria pollutants in the transport sector. Compression ignition engines with gasoline-like fuels are a promising way for both NOx and particulate emissions abatement while keeping lower tailpipe CO2 emissions from both combustion process, physical and chemical properties of the low RON gasoline. To introduce a new fuel/engine technology, investigation of pollutants and After-Treatment Systems (ATS) is mandatory. Previous work [1] already studied soot behavior to define the rules for the design of the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) when used with a low RON gasoline in a compression ignition engine.

Reducing the CO2 footprint, limiting the pollutant emissions and rebalancing the ongoing shift demand toward middle-distillate fuels are major concerns for vehicle manufacturers and oil refiners. In this context, gasoline-like fuels have been recently identified as good candidates. Straight run naphtha, a refinery stream derived from the atmospheric crude oil distillation process, allows for a reduction of both NOx and particulate emissions when used in compression-ignition engines. CO2 benefits are also expected thanks to naphtha’s higher H/C ratio and energy content compared to diesel. In previous studies, wide ranges of Cetane Number (CN) naphtha fuels have been evaluated and CN 35 naphtha fuel has been selected. The assessment and the choice of the required engine hardware adapted to this fuel, such as the compression ratio, bowl pattern, nozzle design and air-path technology, have been performed on a light-duty single cylinder compression-ignition engine.

A practical Gasoline Compression Ignition (GCI) concept is presented that works on standard European 95 RON E10 gasoline over the whole speed/load range. A spark is employed to assist the gasoline autoignition at low loads; this avoids the requirement of a complex cam profile to control the local mixture temperature for reliable autoignition. The combustion phasing is controlled by the injection pattern and timing, and a sufficient degree of stratification is needed to control the maximum rate of pressure rise and prevent knock. With active control of the swirl level, the combustion system is found to be relatively robust against variability in charge motion, and subtle differences in fuel reactivity. Results show that the new concept can achieve very low fuel consumption over a significant portion of the speed/load map, equivalent to diesel efficiency. The efficiency is worse than an equivalent diesel engine only at low load where the combustion assistance operates.

Hydrogen may be used to feed a fuel cell or directly an internal combustion engine as an alternative to current fossil fuels. The latter option offers the advantages of already existing hydrocarbon fuel engines - autonomy, pre-existing and proven technology, lifetime, controlled cost, existing industrial tools and short time to market - with a very low carbon footprint and high tolerance to low purity hydrogen. Hydrogen is expected to be relevant for light and heavy duty applications as well as for off road applications, but currently most of research focus on small engine and especially spark ignition engine which is easily adaptable. This guided us to select modern high-efficient gasoline-based engines to start the investigation of hydrogen internal combustion engine development. This study aims to access the properties and limitations of hydrogen combustion on a high-efficiency spark ignited single cylinder engine with the support of the 3D-CFD computation.