Effects of Anhydrous and Hydrous Fusel Oil on Combustion and Emissions on a Heavy-Duty Compression-Ignition Engine

Abstract

The efficient application of oxygen-containing clean fuels in engines has always been a research focus. With the increase in ethanol production, the output of fusel as a co-product is also increasing. The application of fusel is also an effective way to lessen the consumption of fossil fuels. Therefore, the influences of fusel on performance and emissions were investigated in the current study on a six-cylinder heavy-duty compression-ignition engine and revolved around the WHSC test cycle. The three test fuels were diesel, F20NW (the volume proportion of anhydrous fusel is 20%, and the rest is pure diesel), and F20WW (the volume proportion of hydrous fusel is 20%). The addition of fusel improved BTE, reduced NOx and soot emissions, and thermal efficiency and emissions were further improved in combination with EGR optimization. In terms of WHSC, the improvement effect of hydrous fusel was the best. The equivalent fuel consumption, NOx, soot, and CO2 emissions of F20WW were reduced by 1.77%, 37.49%, 17.38%, and 1.32%, respectively, with the optimization of EGR compared with pure diesel. The addition of 20% hydrous fusel combined with the introduction of EGR can be directly applied to existing diesel engines and achieve a simultaneous reduction in fuel consumption and emissions.