Performance, emissions and end-gas autoignition characteristics of PREMIER combustion in a pilot fuel-ignited dual-fuel biogas engine with various CO2 ratios

Biogas, a renewable and alternative energy, has recently gained attention as an environmentally friendly fuel for power generation in internal combustion (IC) engines. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the carbon dioxide (CO2) to methane (CH4) ratio in a dual-fuel gas engine. It is known that gaseous fuel combustion at high loads is accompanied by knocking if an appropriate combustion controlling strategy is not applied. Therefore, premixed mixture ignition in the end-gas region (PREMIER) combustion was proposed under high load conditions. Experiments were carried out using a dual-fuel gas engine under supercharged conditions, with an intake pressure of 200 kPa. Simulated biogas consisting of CH4 and CO2 was used as a primary fuel and diesel was used as a pilot fuel. The pilot fuel injection timing was varied during the experiments. The indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) and thermal efficiency increased as injection timing was advanced. With the addition of CO2, the thermal efficiency of PREMIER combustion was slightly increased, although the IMEP was slightly decreased. The unburned gas temperature for PREMIER combustion increases as a function of the CO2 content of the mixture. Due to compression by flame propagation, high unburned gas temperatures in dual-fuel gas engines are important for achieving autoignition inside the end-gas region under PREMIER combustion conditions.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effect of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) ratio in dual-fuel gas engine PREMIER combustion, focusing on the impact of pilot fuel injection timing on engine efficiency and IMEP. The results show that advancing the injection timing can increase engine efficiency while slightly decreasing IMEP.