Performances and Emissions of New Glycol Ether Blends in Diesel Fuel Used As Oxygenated Fuel for Diesel Engines

Abstract

In the paper, an investigation was conducted on the combustion performance and emission characteristics of a single cylinder diesel engine burning diesel fuel containing a new oxygenate blend of propylene glycol monomethyl ether (PGMME) and ethylene glycol dimethyl ether (EGDME) in a proportion of 1.6∶1 by volume. When diesel fuel was added with 15–25% by volume of the oxygenate blend, the largest decrease in smoke opacity was observed to be as great as 90.3%, and the maximal reduction in carbon monoxide (CO) emissions amounted to 66.7%. Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions did not change noticeably. Hydrocarbon (HC) emissions increased more than double, but the level was still too low to take into consideration. The engine in-cylinder peak pressure and ignition delay did not alter. The in-cylinder peak pressure descended, and the peak heat release rate decreased in the premixing combustion, whereas it increased during diffusion combustion.