Stability of dual (diesel-alcohol) and triplicate (diesel-alcohols-ethers) fuel blends

ABSTRACT

Blending alcohols and ethers with diesel can lower engine emissions. Because alcohols and ethers are derived from natural feedstocks, they can substitute for the depleting stock of fossil fuels. However, phase separation in these blends can cause engine damage. The stability of blends is dependent on the temperature and initial concentration of the alcohols/ethers. Experiments are done for stability analysis of dual fuel blends of diesel-alcohols/ethers and triplicate blends of diesel-alcohols-ethers. The results are presented for a temperature range of −5 to +35°C with different initial concentrations of alcohols and ethers in diesel. An increase in temperature and a decrease in initial concentration of blended fuels increase stability. Adding ethers to diesel-alcohol blends increases their mutual solubility. Further, experiments are conducted using 1-butanol as an additive. It increases the volume fraction of alcohols/ethers in the fuel blend that can remain stable for a longer duration. The stable fuel blends are tested on a diesel engine which operated smoothly with no leakages. Both dual and triplicate fuel blends reduce NO_x emissions, however, at the cost of an increase in brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC). However, triplicate fuel blends of diesel-alcohols-ethers show lower BSFC in comparison to their diesel-alcohol counterparts.

KEYWORDS:

• Stability
• fuel blend
• diesel engine
• emissions

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.