Effects of butanol-gasoline blends on SI engine performance, fuel consumption, and emission characteristics at partial engine speeds

The effects of using butanol-gasoline-blended fuels on performance, fuel consumption, and emission characteristics of a four-cylinder spark-ignition engine were experimentally investigated. The butanol-blending fraction was varied from 10 to 50% by volume. The engine speeds were tested at 2250 and 4250 rpm, while the throttle positions were set at 30% and 70%. The engine performance, specific fuel consumption, and emission properties have been carried out and compared. The results show that, at high throttle position, the flame propagation speed of combustion process as using the butanol-gasoline blends decreases as increasing the butanol-blending fraction and this becomes more obvious with the increase of engine speed. The engine brake torque and power are improved, as the butanol-blending fraction is less than 30% at low open throttle position, while those are gradually decayed as increasing throttle opening level. A significant reduction is observed in specific fuel consumption, as the butanol-blending fraction is less than 30% for all the tests. The emissions of CO, HC, and CO2 in the case of using butanol-gasoline blends are much better than those in the case of using pure gasoline. However, NOx emission is worse than that of the pure gasoline for all the test blends.