Reduction and thermodynamic treatment of NOx emissions in a spark ignition engine using isooctane and an oxygenated fuel (ethanol)

Abstract

Abstract This research aims to study the effect of various blends of an alternative fuel environment (ethanol, isooctane) on the performance of a spark ignition gasoline engine. The blends were obtained from two additives: ethanol and isooctane. The tests were carried out on an engine test bench following DIN 70020. The results show that the petrol additives achieve excellent ecological results. On the other hand, the engine performance was slightly reduced compared with that obtained with pure fuel. We noted a variation in engine performance for the E10 (10% ethanol + 90% pure petrol) and I10 (10% isooctane + 90% pure petrol) blends, namely a reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions of 7.5% for E10 and 5% for I10 compared with pure petrol. However, using E10 and I10 blends did not increase the specific fuel consumption. Thus, the increase in the octane rating resulted in a decrease in NOx emissions. The use of 96 octane fuels, which corresponds to I40 (40% isooctane + 60% petrol), is expected even though there is an 8% decrease in engine torque and a 5% decrease in power. We also noted that the blend (20% isooctane + 80% ethanol) led to a significant increase in NOx emissions, a significant increase in specific fuel consumption and a drop in performance (engine torque and power).