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The MS wus received on 18 July 1991 and was accepted for publication un
18 September 1992.
DO2291 0 IMechE 1993
0954-4070/93 $3.W
.05
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44
Kind of fuel
Carbon
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Sulphur
Methanol
Gasoline
Diesel oil
37.5
85.0
87.0
12.5
15.0
12.5
50
0.5
Shortcomings
1. Poor self-ignition properties (long ignition delay)
2. Poor miscibility with mineral fuels (especially with
diesel oil) in the presence of water
3. Difficult starting of cold engine
4. Corrosion and chemical degradation of materials
5. Evaporation in fuel lines (vapour locks)
6. Poor lubrication properties resulting from low viscosity
7. Degradation of oil lubrication properties
By analysing the properties of methanol it can be concluded that methanol is a good fuel for IC engines, especially SI engines. Its application to SI engines presents
important problems:
1. The combustion system of conventional engines need
to be modified.
2. Fuel additives are required when neat methanol is
used.
3. Some properties of methanol give it potential advantages as an automotive fuel, that is improved
engine performance.
3 METHANOL FUELENGINE CONCEPTS
ProDertv
Density (20C)
Lower calorific value
Lower calorific value of stoichiometric mixture with air
Stoichiometric air-fuel ratio
Heat of vaporization
Boiling temperature
Ignition temperature
Vapour pressure (20C)
Lean boundary air-fuel
equivalence ratio
Viscosity (20C)
Octane number
MON
RON
Cetane number
Maximum flame velocity
Part D: Journal of Automobile Engineering
Methanol
79 1
19.5
15.78
3175
kg air/kg fuel
kJ/kg
"C
K
kPa
-
CP
6.4
1104
65
743
37
1.9
0.6
92
110
3
55
Gasoline
740
44.0
32.5
3439
Diesel
oil
840
42.5
35.7
3475
1.16
14.6
250
170-320
493
0.975
0.42
3.3
14.9
330
30-225
773
60-90
84
92
14
40
45-55
-
Q IMechE 1993
Necessary modification
Carburettor
Injection system
Gas carburettor
According to many authorities [for example see references (3) and (6)], the introduction of methanol as
automotive fuel should take place in two steps. The first
involves the use of methanol together with gasoline, the
second one, neat methanol. The first involves the use of
methanol together with gasoline, the second one, neat
methanol. The first is useful because it enables the
favourable features of methanol to be utilized while
omitting the shortcomings of its application as a
straight fuel. The concepts of SI engines fuelled with
methanol and gasoline and corresponding engine modifications are shown in Table 4.
3.2.2 Fuelling with gasoline-methanol blends (methanol
fuel)
Problems related to fuelling engines with gasolinemethanol blends (methanol fuels) are shown in Table 5.
The most important is the problem of phase separation,
which can be solved with solubility improvers added to
methanol fuel. Many experiments have been performed
in the United States and European countries [for
Table 4 Fuel system and engine modifications for methanol-
45
example see references (3) and (5)] from which the following results may be drawn:
(W.
Ignition improvers were necessary in all cases as coldstarting aids, especially in cold climates. In order to
avoid phase separation of methanol-gasoline blends,
additives were also added.
3.2.3 Dual fuelling
gasoline application
Fuel systems:
Fuelling with blends
(+solubility improver) ---+
Carburettor system
or
Injection system
Two separate carburettors
(stratified charge)
Engine modifications:
Tuning of carburettor
Adaptation of cold start-up and warm-up settings
Modification of carburettor fuel system to avoid vapour locks
Changing materials in fuel system
Table 5 Problems related to application of methanolgasoline blends and possible solutions (4)
Problems
Stability of blend
(phase separation)
From a comparison of engines fuelled with neat methanol, methanol blends and neat gasoline, the following
conclusions may be drawn (3, 5, 7). In the case of the
methanol-fuelled engine, in the whole range of speed
and load:
Solutions
Additives preventing phase
separation (solubility improvers)
Dry handling
Insufficient resistance of
structural materials to
methanol corrosion
Anti-corrosive additives
Adaptation of components of
gasoline
8 IMechE 1993
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Operation
limit
1.1
1.2
1.3
Air-fuel excess ratio I
1.4
1.0
1.5
Methanol
# CR = 14.0
* 1 x
0.35
r 0.30
*\
<\
&
0.2
0.20
0.8
1 .0
1 .2
1.4
Fig. 4
47
Fig. 5 Engine-out and catalyst-out formaldehyde emission and catalyst efliciency versus vehicle mileage accumulation. Aldehyde emission is
measured according to the Japanese eleven-stage test (12)
+ OH .+ CH,OH + H,O
CH,OH + 0, + CHOH + HO,
CH,OH
Not all unburned methanol can be converted to formaldehyde. According to reference (12), at most only about
4 per cent of the feed methanol can be converted to
formaldehyde. However, the peak values of formaldehyde formed during methanol oxidation increase for
deactivated catalyst in comparison with new catalyst.
The highest methanol oxidation activity and lowest
formaldehyde yield are shown by platinum and pallaJapanese 11-mode test
5.6
6.0
6.4
6.8
1.2
Engine-out NO,
gitest
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2000 rimin
Fuel temperature 20C
I O T A aTDC fuel injection
Crank angle
I
-40
-20
TDC
20
40
Crank angle
deg
60
80
Fig. 7 Rate of heat release at varied excess air factor and fuel
temperature versus crank angle, at n = 2000 r/min
(13)
dium catalysts for stoichiometric or slightly rich mixtures. The emission of formaldehyde increases for both
rich or lean mixtures.
3.6 Influence of injection timing on combustion and heat
release rate
In the case of a timed injection of methanol, combustion processes may undergo a two-stage combustion
if the injection is sufficiently early before TDC (top dead
centre). In this case Kajitani et al. (13) observed burning
of individual droplets in the engine cylinder. They suggested that this phenomenon was caused by the higher
latent heat of evaporation of methanol in comparison
with gasoline, resulting in a longer period of evaporation and ignition of droplets. Due to two-stage combustion, two spikes of heat release rate were observed
(Fig. 7). In the first stage, reaction kinetics controlled
the combustion: premixed mixture burnt rapidly and a
high heat release rate was observed. In the second stage,
the diffusion process controlled the combustion: the
burning rate was controlled by the evaporation rate of
the methanol droplets. The earlier the injection, the
more time for fuel vaporization, resulting in elimination
of the second stage of the combustion process (13).
Leaning the mixture also eliminated the second stage of
combustion. Analogously, exhaust gas recirculation
(EGR) influenced combustion: for rich mixtures an
increase in the EGR ratio could eliminate the second
stage of combustion (Fig. 8). For lean mixtures,
however, there is no second spike and an increase in the
EGR ratio caused only a decrease in the maximum
pressure and flattened the curve of the heat release rate.
dee
I
I
I
\
I
\
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49
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SO00
4000
1000
-120
-40
0
40
Crankshaft position
-80
80
120
deg
Fig. 13 Cylinder
(Fig. 13). The deposit level on surfaces of the combustion chamber or the spark plug heat range influences
the frequency of surface ignition.
According to Haight and Malte (17), the preignition
temperature depends on the fuel-air equivalence ratio
and spark advance and not on the intake temperature
of fresh gases. Preignition was also observed in an SI
engine fuelled by methanol-gasoline blend (M85) (18).
These results refer to four-stroke engines. However,
abnormal combustion has also been observed in a twostroke SI engine (19).
4 REMARKS ON FUELLING OF IC ENGINES
WITH REFORMED METHANOL
2H,
+ CO
rn
Methanol tank
3. The combustion period of methanol fuel (or methanol fraction in the fuel) is shorter due to greater
flame speed (25) and takes place closer to TDC,
which makes the thermodynamic cycle more similar
to the Otto cycle.
4. The coefficient of molecular conversion of the charge
during combustion for alcohol fuels is higher in comparison with petroleum fuels (due to the presence of
atomic oxygen and the greater amount of hydrogen
in the molecule). As a result of this, the work done by
the expanding gases in the cylinder is greater.
In general, from reviewed work it may be concluded
that under the condition of equal fuel energy consumption (energy supplied to the engine with fuel) the higher
the fraction of methanol in petroleum fuel, the higher
the engine efficiency.
5.1.2 Performance and emission of the methanol engine
Cooler
m T
Methanol
Reformed gas
(2H2 + C O )
Fuel injection
Emission of NO, from a methanol-fuelled engine is generally lower than when petroleum fuel is used because
the maximum temperature of the thermodynamic cycle
is lower. These emissions can be lowered even further,
0 IMechE 1993
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Feedstock
Fuel
$/gal
Petroleum
($30/barrel)
Coal
Gasoline
0.80-1.00
Gasoline
1.80-2.60
Natural gas
Methanol
0.50-0.80
Methanol
0.40-0.80
Coal
Methanol
0.80-1.30
Wood
Methanol
0.80-1.35
cost
$/million Btu
(million kJ)
7.00-9.00
(6.64-8.53)
15.70-22.60
(14.88-21.42)
9.10-14.50
(8.63-13.74)
7.30-14.50
(6.92-13.74)
14.50-23.60
(13.74-22.37)
14.50-24.50
(1 3.74-23.22)
There are two main arguments for introducing methanol to the market as a transportation fuel, especially
for cars :
(a) better utilization of the world energy resources and
(b) environmental protection due to lower emissions of
pollutants.
In the case of production of methanol from biomass or
wood there is additional advantage concerning C O ,
emission: its circulation is closed, that is CO, produced
during the combustion processes and emitted by the
engine to the atmosphere is next absorbed by plants.
Thus the use of biofuels may prevent the greenhouse
effect. For these reason the introduction of methanol to
the field of transportation is worthy of consideration.
However, air pollution from methanol production
should be taken into consideration. Thermochemical
conversion during methanol production from coal and
biomass is a threat to air quality (especially in the case
of coal, when trace metals are emitted). Methanol production from natural gas is the cleanest.
5.2.2 Strategy of market penetration by methanol fuel
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52
2.
3.
4.
5.
engines)
2. Investigation of abnormal combustion, especially
when lean mixtures are applied
3. Application of high-energy spark plugs (plasma
plugs), especially to lean mixture engines
4. Fuelling with gaseous methanol, reformed methanol
and hydrogen-enriched methanol
5. Improving additives to gasoline-methanol blends to
avoid phase separation in the presence of water
6. In the area of catalysts :
(a) Optimization of catalysts, especially for neutralization of aldehydes
(b) Determination of the limit of the quantity of
NO, concentration that may be converted to
formaldehyde
REFERENCES
1 Kowalewicz, A. Combustion systems of high-speed piston I.C.
engines, 1984 (Elsevier, Amsterdam).
2 Sperling, D. New transportation fuels. A strategic approach to tech-
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