Abstract
The effects of water content of three-phase emulsions and engine speed on the combustion and emission characteristics of diesel engines were investigated in this study. The results show that a larger water content of water-in oil (W/O) and oil-in-water-in-oil (O/W/O) emulsion caused a higher brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc) value and a lower O2, as well as a lower NOx emission, but a larger CO emission. The increase in engine speed resulted in an increase of bsfc, exhaust gas temperature, fuel-to-air ratio, CO2 emission and a decrease of NOx, CO emission, and smoke opacity. Because of the physical structural differences, the three-phase O/W/O emulsions were observed to produce a higher exhaust gas temperature, a higher emulsion viscosity and a lower CO emission, in comparison with that of the two-phase W/O emulsion. In addition, the use of W/O emulsions with water content larger than 20% may cause diesel engines to shut down earlier than those running on O/W/O emulsions with the same water content. Hence, it is suggested that the emulsions with water content larger than 20% are not suitable for use as alternative fuel for diesel engines.
Acknowledgment
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of this investigation by the National Science Council of Taiwan, R.O.C. under contract No. NSC 89-2212-E-019-013.