Effect of Ethanol on IC engine Characteristics

Stringent emission legislation all over the world has led to the search for alternative fuels for internal combustion engines. The major pollutants from a diesel engine are Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), smoke and particulate matter. The concentration is very much focused on compression ignition engines because they have been recognized as the most ideal power plants in transportation, industrial and agricultural sectors, due to their high fuel efficiency. The difficulty in meeting the increasingly stringent limitations on particulate and NOx emissions has stimulated interest in ethanol-fueled compression ignition engines because ethanol diffusion flames produce virtually no soot. Unfortunately, ethanol does not have same ignition characteristics as the diesel under the conditions involved in a diesel engine. For example the ignition delay for ethanol is longer than that of diesel. Therefore, in order to make use of ethanol in a diesel engine, either a system to improve the ignition quality of ethanol or a system of some ignition aids is necessary. In the present work, the difficulties in ignition of ethanol were overcome by introducing ‘Spark Ignition’ and ‘High Pressure Port Fuel Injection’ techniques. Experimental investigations were performed on four stroke high compression spark ignition engine (high pressure port fuel injection system) with rectified spirit (95%ethanol + 5%water) as a fuel; as it yields benefits on several fronts, such as fuel efficiency, exhaust emission reduction and better power output. In this investigation port fuel injection system was adapted to improve the fuel distribution system and allows greater flexibility in the intake manifold design, which can contribute to engine volumetric efficiency.