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Reduction of exhaust emissions was investigated in a modern diesel engine equipped with advanced diesel after treatment system using a Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) fuel, a cleaner burning alternative diesel fuel. This fuel has near zero sulfur and aromatics and high cetane number. Some specially prepared GTL fuel samples were used to study the effects of GTL fuel distillation characteristics on exhaust emissions before engine modification. Test results indicated that distillation range of GTL fuels has a significant impact on engine out PM. High cetane number also improved HC and CO emissions, while these fuel properties have little effect on NOx emissions. From these results, it was found that low distillation range and high cetane number GTL fuel can provide a favorable potential in NOx/PM emissions trade-off. In order to improve the tail-pipe emissions in the latest diesel engine system, the engine modifications were carried out for the most favorable GTL fuel sample.

The Diesel Dual Fuel (DDF) vehicle is one of the technologies to convert diesel vehicles for natural gas usage. The purpose of this research was to study the possibility of a DDF vehicle to meet emission standards for diesel vehicles. This research was done for small passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. The exhaust emissions compliance of such vehicles in a New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) mode which was composed of Urban Driving Cycles (UDC) and an Extra Urban Driving Cycle (EUDC) was evaluated. (see APPENDIXFigure A1) In this study, the passenger vehicle engine, compliant with the EURO4 standard, was converted to a DDF engine. Engine bench tests under steady state conditions showed similar result to previous papers. Total hydrocarbon (HC) emission was extremely high, compared to diesel engine. The NEDC mode emissions of the DDF vehicle were estimated based on these engine bench test results.

Considering the popularity of biodiesel fuels for diesel vehicles, the impacts of rapeseed oil methyl ester (RME), which is the most utilized biodiesel fuel in Europe, on tailpipe emissions from a diesel passenger car was investigated. In this study, 30% RME blended diesel fuel (RME30) was used and the comparison of tailpipe emissions between RME30 and a reference diesel fuel was conducted using a test vehicle with the latest engine and aftertreatment system. The results of the investigation reveal that RME30 generates about the same amount of NOx in tailpipe emissions as diesel fuel, and less HC, CO, and PM. These phenomena occurred in spite of attaching catalysts to the test vehicle, and therefore suggesting that the NOx conversion efficiency of the catalysts for RME30 is equal to that for diesel fuel. The injection rate for RME30 was the same as that for diesel fuel.

Reduction of vehicle exhaust emissions is an important contributor to improved air quality. At the same time demand is growing for new transportation fuels that can enhance security and diversity of energy supply. Gas to Liquids (GTL) Fuel has generated much interest from governments and automotive manufacturers. It is a liquid fuel derived from natural gas, and its properties - sulphur free, low polyaromatics and high cetane number - make it desirable for future clean light-duty diesel engines. In this paper, the effects of distillation characteristics and cetane number of experimental GTL test fuels on direct injection (DI) diesel combustion and exhaust emissions were investigated, together with their spray behaviour and mixing characteristics. The test results show that the lower distillation test fuels produce the largest reductions in smoke and PM emissions even at high cetane numbers. This is linked to the enhanced air/fuel mixing of the lighter fuel in a shorter time.

Ethanol blending is one method that can be used to reduce knock in spark ignition engines by decreasing the autoignition reactivity of the fuel and modifying its laminar flame speed. In this paper, the effects of ethanol blending on knock propensity and flame speed of petroleum and low-carbon gasoline fuels is analyzed. To do so, surrogate fuels were formulated for methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) and ethanol-to-gasoline (ETG) based on the fuels’ composition, octane number, and select physical properties; and 0-D and 1-D chemical kinetics simulations were performed to investigate reactivity and laminar flame speed, respectively. Results of MTG and ETG were compared against those of PACE-20, a well-characterized surrogate for regular E10 gasoline. Similarly to PACE-20, blending MTG and ETG with ethanol increases the fuel’s research octane number (RON) and sensitivity.

Previous studies have investigated the impacts of biofuel usage on the performance, drivability and durability of modern diesel engines and exhaust after-treatment systems including test work with different types, concentrations and mixtures of bio fuel components. During this earlier work vehicle fuel filter blocking issues were encountered during a field trial using various types of EN 14214 compliant Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) blended into EN 590 diesel. This paper summarises a subsequent literature review that was carried out looking into potential causes of this filter blocking and further work that was then carried out to expand on the findings. From this, a laboratory study was carried out to assess the increase in fuel filter blocking tendency (FBT) when various FAMEs from mixed sources were blended into EN 590 diesel at different concentrations, including levels above those currently allowed in the European market.