Study on Combustion Process and Emissions of a Single-Cylinder Diesel Engine Fueled with DMC/Diesel Blend

Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) has advantages of solubility in diesel and high oxygen content. Its application in diesel engines has won increasing popular focus. A DMC/diesel blend with 10% DMC by volume (D10) is prepared to investigate its combustion process and emissions. Although the volumetric energy density drops slightly with the addition of DMC, minor adjustments of the injection parameters would achieve the output power of the original engine. The heat release process is more concentrated because the addition of low boiling point DMC boosts the atomization and mixing with air of the blended fuel. Hence the indicated thermal efficiency of D10 increases remarkably as compared with reference diesel. The emissions of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide are apparently reduced for D10. Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions increase owing to the addition of oxygenated fuel DMC, but this is reduced by the decline in engine load. The oxygen from the D10 blend plays a role in reducing particulate matter (PM) emissions. There is a scope for balancing the NOx and PM emissions.