Ethanol in Dual-Fuel and Blend Fueling Modes for Advanced Combustion in Compression Ignition Engines

The transportation sector is one of the main contributors to global CO2 emissions and is expected to further increase due to the growth of population and life quality standards. Therefore, reduction CO2 emissions is the top priority to prevent the negative impacts of climate change. For these reasons, the automotive sector is facing new challenges, advanced internal combustion engines, electrification of the drive train, replacing fossil fuels can help to meet greenhouse gas emission standards and simultaneously reduce pollutants. In this study, two ethanol fueling modes, dual fuel and blend, are applied in a compression ignition engine to evaluate the effect of different engine calibration parameters on the thermodynamic and emissions. A parametric analysis is conducted for the variables, fuel substitution ratio, injection pattern, fuel injection pressure, and exhaust gas recirculation. The results demonstrate ethanol being a promising alternative to fossil fuels for the globally lower emissions in compliance with the actual advanced engine technologies. Ethanol blend improves the gross-indicated efficiency compared to the dual-fuel and diesel combustion. However, the dual-fuel emitted higher THC and CO emissions than in diesel and blend cases that have comparable levels. Ethanol blends combustion with a high level of ethanol, and EGR employing a multi-injection strategy shows a positive impact on emission reduction while maintaining high efficiency compared to the dual-fuel and diesel combustion. The dual-fuel combustion employing high ethanol, rail pressure, and EGR levels leads to important benefits, minimizing the emissions and noise and maximizing the efficiency.