Effect of DMC blend ratio on emission characteristics for diesel engine generator fueled with DMC/diesel blended fuel

Abstract

Energy shortage and environmental problems are two dominant subjects. The diesel engine is well-known for its high thermal efficiency but severe emission problems. For the urgent fossil fuel resources, the substantial surrogate fuel, dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is attracting attention for its high oxygen content. Its application in diesel engines has won increasing focus. However, it is difficult to fuel diesel engines directly with DMC due to its low cetane number and high latent vaporization heat. In this study, the DMC/diesel blend with 5%, 10%, 15% DMC by volume are prepared to investigate the emission characteristics. Since the combustion process is strongly influenced by the addition of low boiling point DMC boosts the atomization and liquid fuel mixture, the emissions of hydrocarbons and particulate matter are significantly reduced by the DMC addiction especially on the high-load conditions. Also, the nitrogen oxide emission has slight reduction on the high-load conditions. The scope for balancing NOx and PM emissions exists.