Technical Note: Combustion characteristics and hydrocarbon emissions of a spark ignition engine fuelled with gasoline-oxygenate blends

Abstract

Combustion characteristics and hydrocarbon emissions in a spark ignition engine operating on oxygenated fuel blends are studied, and the mass fraction burned and engine hydrocarbon emissions are analysed. Calculation results, based on the recorded pressure diagram, show that the flame development and rapid burn angles of gasoline-ether blends generally decrease and the maximum cylinder pressure increases as compared with those of gasoline. The flame development angle and rapid burn angle decrease when the fraction of alcohol fuels in gasoline is small, whereas they increase when the fraction of alcohol fuels is large. The experimental results show that engine exhaust hydrocarbon emissions can be reduced by blending oxygenated fuels in gasoline rather than operating on neat gasoline. Operating on gasoline-ether blends rather than on gasoline-alcohol fuel blends and neat gasoline greatly reduces hydrocarbon emissions.