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Hydrocarbon based fossil fuels are being used as the main energy resource, burning of which produces carbon dioxide (CO2) and other emissions harmful to environment. Moreover, CO2 is considered as the main contributor to global warming or greenhouse effect. These are the main drivers behind the ongoing research & development in the area of alternative energy sources. Among various alternatives, Hydrogen is identified as the most promising alternative fuel. Hydrogen is the cleanest fuel having some of the most attractive features such as various methods of production from renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass etc.), from fossil fuels etc. H2 as a fuel can be used in various applications such as spark ignition engine, fuel cells etc. Hydrogen has low ignition energy and ensures easy ignition of the ultra-lean mixture with air.

Majority of light and heavy duty commercial vehicles on road in India use API-CF grade lubricants. Soot accumulation in lubricating oil can result in engine wear and lubricant’s viscosity increase thereby affecting its pumping ability and drain interval. Due to faster lubricant degradation and with emergence of newer engine technologies, there is increasing demand of improving performance of lubricants particularly with respect to soot dispersancy. This paper describes the various engine hardware modifications and optimizations carried out on a commercial BS II, 4-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine in order to develop a flexible engine test procedure for evaluating the lubricant’s dispersancy/anti wear characteristics up to 6% soot levels.

The ever increasing demand of fuels for vehicles can only be met by use of alternate fuels like Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Hydrogen (H2). The 18 percent hydrogen enriched CNG fuel referred to as HCNG has the potential to lower emissions and is considered to be the first step towards promotion of a Hydrogen economy. While, automotive industry matures up with the usage of new engines, lubricant manufacturers are also moving on to the next stage by formulating oils to be used in gas engines such as CNG, HCNG etc. This paper presents the evaluation of gas engine oil on 6-cylinder heavy duty CNG engine using HCNG. The six cylinder engine was chosen due to its importance for urban bus transportation. The engine was optimized for using HCNG fuel. Initial performance of the engine using HCNG was compared vis-à-vis CNG and, thereafter, the engine was subjected to endurance test of 500 hours as per 8 mode engine simulated driving cycle.

The growing transportation sector worldwide has opened up a way forward not only for the scientists & researchers but also for the OEMs to find out the options for fuel efficient automotive vehicles with reduced emissions during their usage. The demand of automotive vehicles has been doubled in last few years and in turn the market for lubricants and transmission fluids are flourishing. Several new formulations of lubricants are getting popularized with major suppliers to achieve the end user expectations in terms of fuel economy benefits, engine life and emissions. The market trend is continuously moving towards the improvement in lubricant formulation to the lower viscosity ranges and in this direction several companies are into development of multi-grade low viscosity range of engine oils (lubricants) which is said to be providing the benefits in terms of fuel economy.

In India, , as per mandate of hon'ble Supreme Court of India for reduction of emission due to vehicles, compressed natural gas (CNG) powered city buses and passengers cars are in use since 2000. Their usage is limited to metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore etc. due to limitation of CNG storage and dispensing infrastructure along with low energy density storage. High energy density liquid form of natural gas storage (LNG) can overcome these difficulties and promising in near future. Simultaneously, there is a need for development of efficient fuel storage system, fuel supply system, engine optimization & calibration, engine lubricant etc. suitable for implementation of LNG for automotive application. In this background, the present work is aimed at the framework of engine testing facility, development of dedicated lubricant and performance of the engine for LNG application.