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One of the most promising solutions to address the twin problems of transport related pollution and energy security is to use alternative fuels. Compressed Natural gas (CNG) has been widely used in India to address the menace of pollution from commercial vehicles in cities like Delhi. Hydrogen blended compressed natural gas (HCNG) as a fuel has potential for further reducing harmful emissions and greenhouse gases. Enriching hydrogen in CNG improves combustion characteristic of CNG and reduces carbonyl emissions. Due to growing concerns over un-regulated emissions and their effect on human health, it is imperative to estimate un-regulated emissions from such alternatives for assessing overall impact of such fuels. Presently world over, emission legislations mainly addresses pollutants like CO, HC, NOx, CH4, NH3, PM etc. Relatively higher quantity in exhaust qualifies these pollutants to be monitored and controlled.

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.

Alcohols are preferred choice of alternative fuel for gasoline engines to tackle the problems associated with nation’s energy security and environmental pollution. Ethanol can be used as a sole fuel or gasoline blending component for use in spark ignition engines. BIS Specification 2796: 2013 permitted to blend 10% ethanol in gasoline and the concentration may be further increased in coming years in India. Research on combustion of ethanol blended gasoline on modern gasoline engine is highly desirable. This paper highlights the experimental investigation carried out on the latest generation multipoint fuel injection system passenger car engine fueled with ethanol-gasoline blends in a climatic controlled test cell to study the in-cylinder combustion, performance and emission characteristics. Part load tests at regular speed intervals were conducted using ethanol blends. Combustion duration decreased with increase in engine load and speed for the all test fuels.

In this paper, experimental evaluation was carried out on a 6.0 L heavy duty CNG engine which has been optimized for 18 percent hydrogen blended CNG (HCNG). Optimization test results shows that use of HCNG results in reduced CO, THC & CH4 emissions by 39, 25 & 25 percent respectively and increase in NOx by 32 percent vis-a-vis CNG. After optimization the engine was subjected to endurance test of 600 hours as per 15 mode engine simulated city driving cycle with HCNG. The performance & emission characteristics of the engine were analyzed after completion of every 100 hours as per European Transient Cycle (ETC). Test results indicate that there were no significant changes observed in engine power output over the complete endurance test of 600 hrs with HCNG. Specific fuel consumption (SFC) measurements were consistent at all the 15 modes of engine simulated city driving cycle.

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.

To tackle the problems associated with the volatility of crude oil prices and ever stringent emission norms, oil industries and automobiles manufacturers are experimenting with various alternative fuels to increase its percentage share in the energy mix and to reduce the vehicular emissions. Alcohols are preferred choice of alternative fuels for the gasoline engines as it does not require any major engine modification and new infrastructure for the fuel distribution network. Ethanol as sole fuel or blending component for gasoline for use in spark ignition engines has been investigated many decades. Currently, 10% ethanol is blended in motor gasoline in India and the ethanol concentration may be further increased in future. In order to study the effect of higher blends of ethanol (upto 20%) on engine in-cylinder combustion, performance and emission, investigations were carried out on a latest generation passenger car engine in a climatic controlled test cell.

Depletion of fossil fuel reserves, the unsteadiness of their prices and the increasingly stricter exhaust emission legislation put forward attention of world towards use of alternate fuels. The ever increasing demand for ecologically friendly vehicles can be met by use of clean fuels like Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Hydrogen (H2). Lower carbon to hydrogen ratio of CNG makes it a cleaner fuel, due to this CNG is gaining popularity as an internal combustion (IC) engine fuel in transport sector. Hydrogen fuel for IC engines is also being considered as a future fuel due to its simple carbon less structure. However, several obstacles have to be overcome before widespread utilization of hydrogen as an IC engine fuel can occur in the transport sector. The 18 percent hydrogen enriched CNG fuel referred to as HCNG has the potential to lower emissions and could be considered a first step towards promotion of a Hydrogen economy.