Improving Diesel Engine Efficiency and Emissions Using Fuel Additives

Abstract

Diesel engine is widely used in the different applications of the modern life. Diesel fuel quality is an important indicator of the engine efficiency and exhaust emissions. However, the low cetane number of the commercial diesel resulting from improper refining processes lead to significant reduction in the engine efficiency. Hence, the aim of this study is to use diethyl ether to improve the fuel quality for better engine performance at lower engine emissions. Diethyl ether has been used at 5% percentage with commercial diesel, and the cetane number of the fuel was measured. Engine test was conducted at increasing speed to evaluate the engine performance and emissions. The study results show an improvement in the fuel cetane number from 49 to 51 with 5% diethyl ether. Furthermore, significant increase in engine power by about 10% has been recorded for the whole engine speed with slightly lower specific fuel consumption at low and medium engine speeds. Moreover, noticeable reduction in NOx emissions and CO emissions has been observed compared to commercial diesel. Therefore, it can be concluded that the utilization of diethyl ether as a fuel additive with commercial diesel can be considered for improving engine efficiency and control exhaust emissions.