STUDY ON THE NITROGEN OXIDES EMISSIONS GENERATED BY THE DIRECT INJECTION DIESEL ENGINES RUNNING WITH BIODIESEL PhD. Doru COȘOFREȚ 1, Dr. Gheorghe SAMOILESCU 2, Dr. Octavian TĂRĂBUȚĂ 2 1 Military Technical Academy, Bucharest, Romania, doru.cosofret@anmb.ro 2 Mircea cel Bătrân Naval Academy, Constanta, Romania. Abstract: Currently, research results on the use of mixtures of biofuels with fossil fuels to power diesel engines are controversial in terms of reducing emissions of NO in the exhaust gases of diesel engines. This diversity on the results is due to possibly different type of biodiesel used, the type of engine on which the tests were carried out and the methods and conditions for obtaining these results. Therefore research on biodiesel mixed with diesel is still a matter of study. In this regard, we conducted a laboratory study on a 4-stroke diesel engine naturally aspirated, using different mixtures (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40 and 50%) of diesel with biodiesel made from rapeseed oil. The study results revealed that the NO emissions of the mixtures used are lower than the same emissions produced when the engine is powered with diesel. Also, the emissions of NO do not have a significant drop in the case of mixtures compared with the diesel fuel. Keywords: biodiesel, diesel, NO emissions. 1. Introduction Nitrogen oxides are those pollutants products of fossil fuel combustion that occur due to chemical reactions of nitrogen (within the fuel and the atmosphere) and oxygen at high combustion temperatures during the combustion of gases. These pollutants products pose a particular interest for the study because they "are considered the main culprits for petrochemical mist above the cities and acid rain (and thereby creating a higher acidity of the soil)" [1]. The transport sector is one of the leading suppliers of emissions of nitrogen oxides from the exhaust gases of the propulsion engines and diesel-generators (for shipping). To promote the use of renewable energy in the transport sector, EU imposed that 20% of biofuels to be mixed with fossil fuels until 2020 [2]. This has led to further research on the effects of biodiesel mixed with diesel on the exhaust emissions from the exhaust of diesel engines. The majority of studies reported in the literature showed that the use of biodiesel as fuel for engines led to an increase in emissions of NO as compared to the diesel engine supply [3, 4]. The reason for the increase in emissions of NO is the earlier initiating of the combustion process in the engine when fueled with biodiesel, due to increased advances of injection due to the physical properties of biodiesel that are higher than diesel s, such as viscosity, density, and the higher oxygen content of the biofuel composition [5]. Due to the increased advance of injection into the combustion chamber, a larger quantity of biodiesel is injected to diesel fuel and therefore the ignition occurs earlier, leading to higher combustion temperatures peaks relative to pure diesel. A smaller number of researchers have reported a reduction in emissions of NO when biodiesel is used as fuel [4, 6, 7, 8]. 67
An analysis of studies on the effects of biodiesel on exhaust emissions from diesel engines was made by Xue [3]. The results of the analysis show that 65% of the research papers indicate an increase in emissions of NO for an engine supplied with biodiesel versus pure diesel supply and only 29% indicated a decrease of these. The remaining 6% of analyzed research indicate no difference between NO emissions for biodiesel supply and diesel supply. Therefore, the study of the effects of using biodiesel on NO emissions produced by diesel engines remains a topical issue. Material and method The study on the effects of biodiesel on NO emissions was conducted on the Gunt CT159 Modular stand with a single cylinder engine of 2 kw, a HM 365 universal load and braking drive, which was connected to a computer with a program of data collection created for the platform and performed on the LabView core. (Fig.1) The MGT 5 type gas analyzer, together with the printer, was attached to the stand exhaust. Fig. 1. Gunt CT159 Modular stand The engine characteristics on which the tests were carried out are shown in Table 1. The concentrations of NO could be determined by means of MGT 5 type gas analyzer. In order to carry out the tests, FIX 51 diesel was used (containing at least 5% biodiesel) and rapeseed biodiesel, which were supplied by Rompetrol Midia Năvodari refinery. The main characteristics of the fuels used for the tests are shown in Table 2. In order to carry out the laboratory tests, mixtures of biodiesel and diesel, in concentrations of 10, 15, 20; 25; 30; 40 and 50% were used. The resulting fuels were marked for identification, depending on the feedstock used, as follows: M (100% diesel - Euro-Diesel, Type 5); B10; B15; B20; B25; B30; B40 and B50 (biodiesel mixed with diesel). Mixtures with a proportion of biodiesel of more than 50% were not used in tests because, according to the specialty literature, diesel engines have to withstand changes of the fuel system. The tests were performed on the engine from the stand which was sequentially charged both with diesel and with mixtures obtained while there was no load on the engine (2Nm), but also when the engine had various loads: 3Nm, 4Nm, 5Nm, 7Nm and 8Nm. 68
Table 1. Characteristics of the engine Engine type Hatz 1B20-6 Manufacturer GUNT Germany Duty cycle 4 stroke Diesel Speed of 2500[1/min] Power 2[kW] Number of cylinders 1 cylinder Aspiration type Natural aspiration Cooling type Air cooling Injection type Direct injection Maximum torque 8 Nm/2500l/min Cylinder bore 69 [mm] Piston stroke 62 [mm] Compression ratio 21:1 Table 2. Characteristics of the fuel Diesel Fuel type / Chemical EFIX properties 51 Biodiesel Density at 15 o C (ISO 842,7 879.30 3675) [Kg/m 3 ] Viscosity at 40 o C (ISO 3,1294 5,13 3104) [mm 2 /s] Cetane number 51,5 60,1 Carbon concentration [%] 85.7 77 Hydrogen concentration 13.3 12 [%] Oxygen concentration [%] 0.923 11 Sulphur concentration 0.077 0.0024 (ISO 8754) [%] Methyl esters content of 5.6 100 fatty acids [%] The real load points used to demonstrate the compliance must be of ± 5% of the rated output, in the selected duty point, apart from the case when the point of loading represents 100%, where the range can be between 0 and 5%. For example, at the point of loading of 75%, the acceptable range is 70% -80% of the rated output [9]. Results și intepretation The thermal mechanism of nitrogen monoxide formation is initiated when the combustion temperature exceeds 2000 K. At temperatures less than 1700 K, the amount of NO formed is insignificant [1]. Fig. 2. NO variation of concentration depending on load for Diesel, B10,B15,B20, B25 69
Fig. 3. NO variation of concentration depending on load for Diesel, B30, B 40, and B50 Therefore, the formation of NO emissions in the cylinder is affected by the oxygen content of the combustion temperature and the reaction time. In Figure 2 and 3 we presented the changes in emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO) depending on load, emissions have being determined by measuring both the operation of the engine with diesel fuel and operation with different mixtures of biodiesel diesel. From the two figures one can see an increase over the entire range of loads of all levels of NO. Also, the NO emissions of pure diesel supply, for heavy loads (over 50%), have slightly higher values than the engine powered with diesel and biodiesel blends. Emissions of NO B30 and B20 mixtures when compared to the emissions of NO gas oil are the lowest at full load, namely 11% and 9%. The main reason for the reduction of NO is explained by the higher saturation and higher chain length of biodiesel versus diesel and by higher cetanic index of biodiesel compared to diesel [10]. 2. Conclusions The purpose of the determinations was to highlight the effect of NO emissions in the exhaust gases depending on load, for a mono-cylinder diesel engine that was fed with different concentrations of biodiesel (10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% 30%, 40% and 50%) in diesel fuel. For the laboratory tests used in the manufacture of biodiesel, rapeseed oil was used, which is the main type currently available on the European market (85%). After testing the following conclusions were revealed: NO emissions increase with load, both for diesel and for mixtures of diesel with biodiesel. NO emissions for diesel powered engine, heavy load (over 50%), have slightly higher values than in the case of supply of diesel and biodiesel mixtures. When supplied with B20 and B30 mixtures, engine emissions of NO are lowest in relation to the emissions of NO for pure diesel, namely 9% and 11%. 70
The results obtained from the tests carried out are consistent with the results presented in the literature. Mixing biodiesel with diesel fuel is a method of reducing emissions of NO contained in the exhaust gases of diesel engines. References [1]. Trifan A., OLaru N. Instalații energetice cu motoare de ardere interna. Tehnologii de reducere a mediului marin. Ed. Academiei Navale Mircea cel Batrin, Constanta, 2010. ISBN 978-973-1870-76-2. [2]. ***. Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC. http://eurlex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/all/?uri=celex%3a32009l0028. [3]. Xue J., Grift T.E. și Hansen A.C. Effect of biodiesel on engine performances and emissions. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2011, pp. 1098 1116, Vol.15. [4]. Sharma S.K., Ankur Dixit, Priyanka Goyal, S. Maheshwari. A Techical Review of Biodiesel Fuel Emissions and Performance on Industrial and Automobiles Application.. International Journal Of Modern Engineering Research (IJMER), 2014, pp. 26-32, Vol. 4 (1).http://docslide.us/engineering/a-technical-review-of-biodiesel-fuel-emissions-andperformance-on-industrial-and-automobiles-application.html ISSN:2249 6645 [5]. Nantha Gopa K.l, Arindam Pal, Sumit Sharma, Charan Samanchi. Investigation of emissions and combustion. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 2014, 281 287, Vol 53. [6]. Utlu, Z. și Kocak, M.S. The effect of biodiesel fuel obtained from waste fr ying oil on direct injection diesel engine performance and exhaust emissions. Renew. Energy, 2008, pp.1936 1941, Vol. 33. [7]. Qi, D.H., Geng, L.M., et al. Combustion and performance evaluation of a diesel engine fueled with biodiesel produced from soybean crude oil. Renew. Energy, 2009, pp. 2706 2713, Vol. 34. [8]. Armas, O., Yehliu, K. și Boehman, A.L. Effect of alternative fuels on exhaust emissions during diesel engine operation with matched combustion phasing. Fuel, 2010, pp. 438 456,Vol. 89. [9]. ***. Resolution MEPC.177(58), Amendments to the Technical Code on Control of Emission of Nitrogen Oxides from Marine Diesel Engines (NOx Technical Code 2008). IMO, Londra, 2008. [10]. Pala-En, N., et al. On-road measurement of NOx and CO2 emissions from biodiesel produced from different feedstocks. Journal Environement Protection, 2013, pp. 74 82, Vol. 4. 71