Emission Characteristics of

alternative fuels
Biodiesel:
It is produced from transesterification of vegetable oil in which the
fatty acid triglycerides are reacted with a suitable alcohol
(Methyl, Ethyl, or others) in the presence of a catalyst(KOH,
NaOH) under a controlled temperature(60-70 0C) for a given
length of time.
Combustion:

0.04437 A + 0.01675 B + 0.08432 C + 0.1766

D + 0.0205 E + 9.037 O2 + 33.98 N2 6.42 CO2 + 5.92
H2O + 33.98 N2
Chemical Composition

Emissions:

Reduced CO emission:
A 100% sulphur dioxide reduction is reasonable taking into
account that biodiesel, by its vegetal origin, does not contain
sulphur. The CO emissions for biodiesel combustion in diesel
engines are 40 to 50% lower than those for conventional diesel;
this happens due to the presence of oxygen molecules in the
biodiesel, mainly in the methyl or ethyl ester, helping to obtain
complete combustion.
Reduced Particulate Matter:
High gas temperatures and high temperatures of the combustion
chamber wall contributes to less smoke and particulates. PM
emissions among biodiesels could be due to either their chemical
composition or their physical properties.The oxygen content of
biodiesel is favorable in reducing the PM emission.PM emission
decreases with increasing degree of unsaturation. The reduction

of smoke is due to the dilution of aromatics, which are soot

precursors. PM emission depends on viscosity and surface tension.
Fuels with low cetane value undergo prolonged premixed
combustion phases that are responsible for less soot formation.

Reduced Hydrocarbons:
Since biodiesel is an oxygenated fuel, it promotes combustion and
results in the reduction of unburned hydrocarbon emissions. A
decrease of unburned hydrocarbons due to complete combustion
takes place, because the chains of carbon-hydrogen and oxygen
in esters help the formation of CO2 and water unlike to what
occurs with diesel fuel.
Increased NOX Emission
The possible reasons are:
The shorter ignition delay, caused by biodiesels higher
cetane number, because of advanced combustion timing
which increases peak pressure and temperature and hence
NOX emission.
An increase in flame temperature in either premixed or
diffusion burn, which is caused by reduction in the
concentration of carbonaceous soot a highly effective heat
radiator.
The double bonds present in biodiesel may cause a higher
adiabatic flame temperature, and hence a higher
temperature at the flame front and hence increased NOX
emission.
Unsaturated compounds present in biodiesel may form
higher levels of radicals during pyrolysis and combustion.
Prompt NO is formed by reaction of radical HC species with
nitrogen, ultimately leading to formation of NO.

Ethanol:
Ethanol refers both to ethyl alcohol and to a blend of ethyl alcohol
and gasoline used as a motor vehicle fuel. In the U.S. most
ethanol is used in blends of up to 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline
(E10 or gasohol) to reduce carbon monoxide emissions and
prevent air pollution. E10 is not considered an alternative fuel,
and conventional gasoline engines can run on E10. Although
motor vehicle gasoline engines can run on E10, only flexible fuel
vehicles (FFVs) with specially modified engines can use the more
corrosive E85. The main difference between FFVs and
conventional gasoline vehicles are the materials used in the fuel
management system and modifications to the engine calibration
system.FFV engine parts are modified to resist corrosion, and a
fuel system sensor in the engine analyzes the fuel mixture and
adjusts the fuel injection and ignition accordingly.

CO emission:
The reduction in CO concentration using blended fuels is due to
the fact that ethanol (C2H5OH) has less carbon than gasoline
(C8H18). Another significant reason of this reduction is that the
oxygen content in the blended fuels increases the oxygen-to-fuel
ratio in the fuel-rich regions. The most significant parameter
affecting CO concentration is the relative airfuel ratio () .
Relative airfuel ratio () approaches 1 as the ethanol content of
the blended fuel increases, and consequently combustion
becomes complete.
CO2 Emission:
CO2 concentration increases as the ethanol percentage increases.
CO2emission depends on relative airfuel ratio and CO emission
concentration. As a result of the lean burning associated with
increasing ethanol percentages, the CO2 emission increased
because of the improved combustion.

HC Emissions: Ethanol can significantly reduce HC emissions. The

concentration of HC emission decreases with the increase of the
relative airfuel ratio, the reason for the decrease of HC
concentration is similar to that of CO concentration described
above.

NOX Emission:
As the percentage of ethanol in the blends increases NOX
emission increases. When the combustion process is closer to
stoichiometric, flame temperature increases, therefore, the
NOx emission is increased, particularly by the increase of thermal
NO.

Carbonyl Emissions:
Carbonyl
emissions(acetaldehyde,formaldehayde,propionaldehyde)
increases with increasing ethanol percentage in the ethanol
gasoline blend. Carbonyls are formed primarily from the reaction
of hydrocarbons with OH radicals. Combustion of ethanol tends to
form carbonyl compounds due to its hydroxyl structure. In
addition, the combustion of ethanol with two carbons in structure
can easily form acetaldehyde which contains two carbons as well.
The higher emission of carbonyls can be attributed to the
addition of rich oxygen-containing ethanol.

LPG(Liquified Petroleum Gas):

LPG is a quite niche alternative fuel that can be used in special
spark ignition engines or as an auxiliary fuel in dual fuel
compression ignition engines together with diesel oil. LPG is
recovered directly from oil and gas fields (WLPGA) in which case
no actual refining is needed and also formed as a by-product in
crude oil processing either in distillation phase or after-treatment
(cracking) processes. The use of LPG in transportation is
concentrated in few countries (Korea, Turkey, Russia, and Poland)
and it is mainly used in bi-fuel light duty vehicles. LPG forms
easily a homogenous mixture with air. This combined with the
relatively simple chemical structure of LPG, it burns cleanly and is
well-suited for spark-ignition engines. For compression ignition
(diesel) engines, LPG is not suitable as the sole fuel.
In spark ignition engines, similar compression ratios are typically
used with LPG as with gasoline, even though the octane number
of LPG (112 for propane, 94 for butane) is higher than that of
gasoline. This is due to the fact that the combustion temperature
is higher when LPG is used and this lowers the knock limit
especially at high engine loads. Exceptions to this are the engines

in which LPG is injected in liquid form. In bi-fuel cars, the upper

limit for compression ratio is restricted by gasoline. Efficiency of
LPG engines is similar to gasoline engines. A higher thermal
efficiency and, therefore, improved fuel economy can be obtained
from internal combustion engines running on LPG as opposed to
unleaded gasoline. This is because LPG has a higher octane
number, typically 112 research octane number(RON) for pure
propane, which prevents the occurrence of detonation at high
engine compression ratio. In dual fuel engines under low loads,
when the LPG concentration is lower, the ignition delay of the
pilot fuel increases and some of the homogeneously dispersed
LPG remains unburned, resulting in poor emission performance.
Poor combustion of LPG under low loads because of a dilute LPG
air mixture results in high CO and unburned HC emissions.
However, at high loads, increased admission of LPG can result in
uncontrolled reaction rates near the pilot fuel spray and lead to
knock.

Emission Characteristics:

Hendriksen(2003),Verbeek
2008)

LPG CO emissions are significantly reduced .This may be due to

the better mixing obtained by gaseous fuel dosification and due
to the higher cylinder-to-cylinder uniformity achieved. In some
cases LPG having a slightly greater tendency to produce CO may
be due to its higher combustion chamber surface to volume ratio
and thus a proportionally higher charge cooling and flame
quenching effect.
LPG combustion normally produces higher temperatures due its
slightly superior heating value, its higher burning speed and its
lack of charge cooling effect (obtained with gasoline by its
evaporation). Therefore NOX emission is increased with increasing
proportion of LPG in gasoline.
(HC) emissions were reported as 40% lower, carbon monoxide
(CO) as 60% lower and carbon dioxide (CO2) as substantially
reduced, principally due to the high hydrogen/carbon

ratio(propane,butane) of LPG when compared to gasoline. An

increasing proportion of LPG in gasoline promotes faster burning
velocity of mixture and hence reduce the combustion duration
and subsequently the in-cylinder peak temperature increases.

References:

[1]California Air Resources Board, National Biodiesel Board and A Comprehensive Analysis of
Biodiesel Impacts on Exhaust Emissions, United States Environmental Protection Agency,
EPA420-P-02-001, October 2002