8 Motor fuels Topics covered in this chapter Calorific value Combustion Products of combustion and emissions Hydrocarbon fuels, ‘Alternative sources of energy Catalysts and exhaust after treatment Exhaust gas re-circulation Zero emissions vehicles Most motor fuels and lubricating oils are derived from crude oil that comes from oil wells. Crude oil isa finite resource and various estimates exist about the probable number of years that supplies will last, This, coupled with concern about atmospheric pollution, is a major driving force behind many of the technological changes in vehicle design. Changes in vehicle design and the ever increasing demands from legislators to conserve oil supplies and reduce emissions are challenges that automotive service technicians are expected to mect fon a daily basis. Fuels Calorific value The calorific value of a fuel is the amount of energy that is released by the combustion of 1 kg of the fuel. Two figures for the calorific value of hydrocarbon fuels are normally quoted: these are the higher or gross calorific value, and the lower calorific value. These two values arise from the steam that arises from the combustion of hydrogen. The higher calorific value includes the heat of the steam, whereas the lower calorific value assumes that the heat of the steam is not available to do useful work. The calorific value that is quoted for ‘motor fuels is that which is used in calculations associ- ated with engine and vehicle performance. For example, the calorific value of petrol is approximately 44 MI/kg. The approximate values of the properties of other fuels are given in Table 8.1 ‘Table 8.1 Approximate values of fel properses Diesel Property LpG Petrol oil Methanot ehave deneiy 035084 0m 08 Unblecilorfewe 48 4250 ake (Octane rang Wo 9 105 Chemie! BEC, BKC, BEC, BKC, compeston 9% Hy ISH) HSK Hy 2% Ha OsK5 SOKO; Ne-tueleatio ss es gs Massof COpperkg 3043232. \4 of fuel used (ha) ‘Combustion Fuels for motor vehicles, such as petrol and diesel fue, are principally hydrocarbons. That is, they consist largely of the two elements hydrogen and carbon. The proportions of these elements in the fuel vary, but a reasonably accurate average figure is that motor fuels such as petrol and diesel fuel ate approximately 85% carbon and 15% hydrogen, Products of combustion ‘When considering products of combustion its useful to take account of some simple chemistry relating to the combustion equations for carbon and hydrogen, An adequate supply of oxygen is required to ensure complete combustion and this is obtained from the atmosphere ait. "The relevant combustion equations are: For carbon, C +02 = CO» Because of the relative molecular masses of oxygen and carbon, this may be interpreted as: 1 kg of carbon requires 2.68 kg of oxygen and produces 3.68 kg of carbon dioxide when combustion is complete For hydrogen, 2H; + Os = 24:0. Again, because of the relative molecular masses of H and Os, this may be interpreted as: 1 kg of hydrogenrequires 8 kg of oxygen and produces 9 kg of HO when combustion is complete. Air—tuel ratio Petrol has an approximate composition of 15% hydrogen and 85% carbon. The oxygen for combustion {is contained in the air supply and approximately 15 ke of air contains the amount of oxygen that will ensure complete combustion of 1 kg of petrol. ‘This means thatthe air-fuel ratio for complete combustion of petrol is approximately 15:1; a more precise igure is 14.8:1 Petrol engine combustion ‘Combustion in spark ignition engines such as the petrol engine is initiated by the spark at the sparking plug and. the burning process is aided by factors such as combus- tion chamber design, temperature in the cylinder mixture strength, ete Because petrol is volatile, each element of the fuel is readily supplied with sufficient oxygen from the induced air to ensure complete combustion when the spark occurs. Petrol engine combustion chambers are designed so that the combustion that is initiated by the spark at the sparking plug is able to spread uniformly throughout the combustion chamber. For normal operation of a petrol engine, a range of mixture strengths (ait—fuel ratios) are required from slightly weak mixtures — say, 20 parts of air to 1 part of petrol for economy cruising, to 10 parts of air to 1 part of petrol for cold starting. During normal motoring, a variety of mixture strengths within this range will ‘occur — for example, acceleration requires. approxi- ‘mately 12 parts of air to | part of petrol. These varying conditions plus other factors such as atmospheric condi- tions that affect engine performance lead to variations in combustion efficiency and undesirable combustion products known as exhaust emissions are produced. Exhaust emissions and engine performance are affected by conditions in the combustion chamber. Two effects that are associated with combustion in petrol engines are (1) detonation and (2) pre-ignition. Detonation Detonation is characterized by a knocking and loss of engine performance. The knocking arises after the spark has occurred and itis caused by regions of high pressure that arise when the flame spread throughout the charge in the cylinder is uneven. Uneven flame spread leads to pockets of high pressure and temperature that cause elements of the charge to burn more rapidly than the main body of the charge. Detonation is influenced by engine design factors such as turbulence, heat flow, combustion chamber shape, ete. Quality of the fuel, including octane rating, also has an effect. Detonation Motor fuels 75 ‘may lead to increased emissions of CO and NO, (oxides. of nitrogen), and hydrocarbons result Pre-ignition re-ignition is characterized by a high pitched ‘pinking* sound that is emitted when combustion prior to the spark ‘occurs and it is caused by regions of high temperature. ‘These regions of high temperature may be caused by sparking plug electrodes overheating, sharp or rough edges in the combustion region, carbon deposits, and ‘other factors, In addition to loss of power and mechan- ical damage that may be caused by the high pressures ‘generated by pre-ignition, combustion may be affected and this will cause harmful exhaust emissions. ‘Octane rating TThe octane rating ofa fuel isa measure ofthe fuel's resis. tance to knock. A high octane number indicates a high knock resistance. Octane ratings are determined by stan- dard tests in a single-cylinder, variable compression ratio engine. The research octane number (RON) of a fuel is determined by running the test engine at a steady 600 pm while the compression ratio is ineveased until knock ‘occurs. The motor octane number (MON) is determined by a similar test, but the engine is operated at higher speed. The RON is usually higher than the MON and fuel suppliers often quote the RON on their fuel pumps. ‘An alternative rating that is sometimes used gives a figure which is the average of RON and MON, Factors affecting exhaust emissions During normal operation, the engine of a road vehicle is roquied to operate in a number of quite different modes as follows; Idling — slow running © Coasting © Deceleration ~ overrun braking # Acceleration © Maximum power. ‘These various modes of operation give tise to varia tions in pressure, temperature, and mixture strength in the engine cylinder with the result that exhaust pollutants are produced, Hydrocarbons (HC) These appear in the exhaust as a gas arising from incom- plete combustion due to a lack of oxygen. The answer to this might soem to be to inerease the amount of oxygen to weaken the mixture, However, weakening the mixture ives rise o slow burning; combustion will be incomplete76 A Practical Approach to Motor Vehicle Engineering and Maintenance as the exhaust valve opens and unburnt HC will appear in the exhaust gases, Idling When the engine is idling the quantity of fuel present is small, Some dilution ofthe charge occurs because, owing tovalve overlap and low engine speed, seavengingis poor. The temperature in the eylinders tends to be lower during iting and this leads to poor vaporization of the fuel and HC inthe exhaust. Coasting, overrun braking Under these conditions the throttle valve is normally closed. The result is that no, or very litle, air is drawn into the cylinders. Fuel may be drawn in from the idling system, The closed throttle leads to low compression pressure and very little air; the shortage of oxygen arising from these conditions causes incomplete combustion of any fuel that enters the cylinders and this results in HC gas in the exhaust Acceleration Examination of torque V-specific fuel consumption for the spark ignition engine reveals that maximum torque occurs when the specific fuel consumption is high. Because the best acceleration is likely to occur at the maximum engine torque, a richer mixture is required in order to produce satisfactory acceleration; fuelling systems provide this temporary enrichment of appro- priate increases in mixture strength to meet demands placed on the engine. This leads to a temporary increase in emissions of HC and CO. As the engine speed rises, 0 (2) He (PPM) ‘Theoretical Air-Ful Ratio Alr-Fuel Ratio Leaner combustion speed and temperature increase and this gives rise to increased amounts of NO,. igh-speed, heavy-load running Here the engine will be operating at or near maximum power, Examination of the power versus specific fuel consumption shows that maximumn power is produced at higher specific fuel consumption figures and richer mixtures Ineeased emissions of CO and HC are likely to result Cruising speed — light engine load Under these conditions, where the engine is probably operating in the low specific fuel consumption speed, the mixture strengths likely to be around 10:1 or higher to provide good fuel economy. Other emissions are lower under these conditions European emissions standards EURO 4 Emission limits are given in Table 8.2. In addition to these standards, modem vehicles must be equipped with on-board diagnostics (OBD) that notify the driver of the vehicle that a system malfunction is causing the missions limits to be exceeded. Figure 8.1 shows how the exhaust emissions are affected by air—fuel ratio. Emissions and their causes Oxides of nitrogen (NO,) Oxides of nitrogen are formed when combustion temperatures rise above 1800 K. No, (PPM) Fig. 8.1 Relaconship between ail rao and ‘shause emissionsTable Eniesion ts (fan) CO HC HC NO, NO, Te 610 7 050 030 0250015 Hydrocarbons (HC) Unbumt hydrocarbons arise from: ‘¢ unburnt fuel remaining near the cylinder walls after incomplete combustion being removed during the cexhaust stroke: ‘© incomplete combustion due to incorrect mixture strength, This is produced by incomplete combustion arising from lack of oxygen, Sulphur dioxide (SO2) Some diesel fuels contain small amounts of sulphue, which combines with oxygen during combustion. This leads to the production of sulphur dioxide that can, under certain conditions, combine with steam to produce H)SOs, which is a corrosive substance. Particulate matter (PM) ‘The bulk of particulate matter is soot, which arises from incomplete combustion of carbon. Other particulates arise from lubricating oil on cylinder walls and metallic substances from engine wear. Figure 8.2 gives an indication of the composition of particulate matter. Carbon dioxide (CO2) Whilst CO2 is not treated as a harmful emission, itis thought t© be a major contributor to the greenhouse $0,+H,0 Lusricant Fig. 8.2. Approximate composion of PM Motor fuels 77 effect and efforts are constantly being made to reduce the amount of CO> that is produced. In the UK, the amount of CO that a vehicle produces in a standard test appears in the vehicle specification so that it is possible to make comparisons between vehicles on this score. The figure is presented in grams per kilo- metre — for example, a small economy vehicle may have a CO> figure of 145 y/km and a large saloon car a figure of 240 g/km. Differential car tax rates are applied to provide incentives to users of vehicles that produce smaller amounts of COs Methods of controlling exhaust emissions ‘Two approaches to dealing with exhaust emissions suggest themselves: 1. Design measures to prevent the harmful emissions being produced. In diesel engines, such measures include improved fuel quality, fuel injection in a number of electronically controlled stages, better atomization of fuel as occurs at higher injection pressures such as those used in common rail fuel injection systems, and exhaust gas recirculation, Tn petrol engines the approach is somewhat similar; lean burn engines employing direct petrol injection are a development that has become reasonably well established. Exhaust gas recirculation is widely used, as is variable valve timing to overcome the combustion problems caused by valve overlap at idling speeds. 2. Post combustion — exhaust emission control. In diesel engines this consists of catalytic oxidize CO and HC, reduction catalysts to reduce NO,, and particulate filters to remove particulate matter Petrol engines utilize three-way catalysts and computer-controlled fuelling systems. Other technologies such as evaporative emissions control to eliminate HC emissions escaping from the fuel system are also used. convertors to Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) TThe air that is used to provide the oxygen for combus tion contains approximately 889% nitrogen by mass, When nitrogen is heated above approximately 1800 K (1528°C), in the presence of oxygen, oxides of nitrogen (NO,) are formed. These conditions occur in the combustion chamber when excess oxygen is present, as happens at an air—fuel ratio of approximately 10:1 If the combustion chamber temperature is kept below 1800 K the conditions forthe creation of NO, no longer exist, Exhaust gas recirculation is a method that is used78 A Practical Approach to Motor Vehicle Engineering and Maintenance Electrical I from EOM SOLENOID VALE (EGR) JEG satenot abe return png ‘vacuum chamber vale EGR Valve raised by vacuum ton ome Or ae mies intake L Exhaust ga i CCONTHOL OF ExHAUSTGAS RECICULATION Engine speed —=(T ‘THE VACUUM OPERATED EGR VALVE Tet eae Trrotie site Sensor 3 fxhaus gas recirculation system to keep combustion chamber temperatures below the critical figure. A proportion of exhaust gas is redirected from the exhaust system to the induction system by ‘means of electronically controlled valves. Figure 83 shows the layout of an engine management system, that incorporates exhaust gas recirculation, Catalysts © Platinum. Catalysts are materials that assist ‘chemical reactions but arc not themselves changed in the process. At the correct temperature, in excess of 300 ‘C, platinum isa catalyst that aids the conversion ‘of CO to COs, and HE to H;0 and CO>, In order for the exhaust system catalytic converter to function correctly, the air—fuel ratio is maintained close to the Fuel contr! Electronic conto! unt 3.Way Catalyst a ae Petrol Engine Emission Control chemically correct (stoichiometric) air—fuel ratio by ‘means of exhaust gas sensors and electronic control ‘* Rhodium. Rhodium is a catalyst that reduces NOx to No ‘These metals are added to a ceramic honeycomb structure that exposes the exhaust gases to the maximum area of the catalysing material, Figure 8.4 shows the layout of an emission control system for a petrol engine vehicle. Selective reduction catalysts The power output of diesel engines is controlled by the quantity of fuel that is injected and the engines operate with excess air over much of the operating range. Excess air and high combustion temperatures give rise to NO JO, Sensor rn 00, H Fig. 8.4 A three-way cays mission coneolsstomrea Injection System (Reagen’) Motor fuels 79 . | s a t BN Oxidation Catalyst ‘SCA Diesel Engine Emission Control ‘The selective catalyst reduction system (SCR) shown in Fig. 8.5 is a method that is used in heavy vehicles 10 reduce NO, emissions. Diesel particulate filters (DPFs) Particulate matter that arises from combustion in diesel engines consists mainly of particles of carbon with some absorbed hydrocarbons. Filtration of the exhaust prod. ucts is a technique that is widely used for the removal of particulate matter from the exhaust gases before they are passed into the atmosphere. Various forms of fillering medium are used to trap the PM and, in common with most filtering processes, cleaning of the filter to avoid blockage is required. The cleaning process in DPF’, which consists primarily of controlled burning. to convert the carbon (soot) into carbon dioxide, is known as regeneration. Among the methods of regeneration are: ‘© Passive systems. The heat in the exhaust gas, acting ‘with the materials used in the construction of the particulate filter, produces suflicient temperature to remove the filtered deposits fare not required, ‘© Active systems. Heat is supplied either by injecting fuel into the exhaust stream, or by secondary injection of fuel in the engine. This produces the temperature that is required to burn off the particulate ‘matter that accumulates in the filter ternal sources of heat Bio-fuels It is now (2011) generally accepted that the world’s oil resources are finite and that they are being depleted at a rapid rate, Attention is concentrating on alternative fuels and methods of propulsion for motor vehicles, Aleohols such as methyl aleohol, or methanol as itis commonly known, is produced from vegetable matter. Bio-fuels are said to be environmentally valuable because their produets of combustion are, very roughly, water (HO) and CO. It is argued that the CO from the combustion of these fuels is consumed by the vegetation that is producing the erop that will make the next supply Fig. 65 SCR ayram of fuel ~ this process is referred to as a ‘closed carbon. eyele’ Methanol isnot strictly a hydrocarbon because it contains some oxygen. The calorific value of methanol is approximately 26 M/kg. Methanol has a higher latent hheat value than petrol and it has higher resistance to detonation. Whilst the higher latent heat value and rela tively high ignition temperature of methanol indicate that higher compression ratios can be used, there is fa disadvantage, which is that vaporization at low temperatures is poor and this can lead to poor cold starting ability Liquified petroleum gas (LPG) Petroleum gases such as butane and propane are produced when oil is refined to produce liquid fuels such as derv (diesel) and petrol. Once liquified and stored under pressure, LPG will remain liquid until is exposed to atmospheric pressure, The chemical compo- sition of propane is CyHy and butane is C4Hyo; the rela- tive densities at 15°C are approximately 0.5 and 0.58 respectively, while the calorific value is slightly higher than petrol at approximately 46 Mi/kg. A considerable industry exists to support the conversion of road fuelling from petrol and derv to LPG, Tn some countries, including the UK, favourable tax systems support the use of LPG. Hydrogen Compressed hydrogen may be stored on a vehicle and used in an intemal combustion engine. Among the advantages claimed for this system are (a) no carbon: dioxide emissions and (b) products of combustion that ae primarily water, The main future use of hydrogen 438 propellant for vehicles is thought to be asa source of energy in fuel cells. The electicity produced in the fuel cll is used as a power source for the electic motor that replaces the intemal combustion engine of the vehicle. A simple fuel cell is shown in Fig. 86, The fuel cell consists of two electrodes, an anode and 4 cathode, that are separated by an electrolyte. The hydrogen acts on the anode and oxygen from the80. A Practical Approach to Motor Vehicle Engineering and Maintenance Oxygen 0, Etectical Power Z & (A) i —_ H ——_ Hyerogen Hy We -——_ node cameae \ Electrolyte Membrane atmosphere acts on the cathode, The catalytic action of the anode causes the hydrogen atom to form a proton and an electron; the proton passes through the polymer electrolyte to the cathode and the electron passes through an extemal circuit to the cathode. This action provides an electric current in the external circuit. In the process the hydrogen and oxygen combine 10 produce water, which is the principal emission, Zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) Operation of fuel cells for vehicle propulsion does not involve combustion in an engine and the normal prod. ucts of combustion and associated pollutants are not produced. The main product of the electrochemical processes in the fuel cell is water; consequently, vehi- cles propelled by fuel cells and electric motors are known as zero emissions vehicles. Self-assessment questions |. Conduct some research to satisty yourself about the effect on fuelling requirements that arise when ‘considering the merits and demerits of converting ‘a spark ignition engine to run on alcohol fuel. Pay 2 3 Fig. £6 A simple fel cll particular attention to the calorific value and general effect on engine performance. ‘A motorist who bought a new car from your garage complains that itis using more petrol than he had anticipated. In the first 2000 miles of use the car has Used 59 gallons of petrol. The advertisement for the car gave the fuel consumption as 7.5 litres per 100 km, {@) Calculate the car's petrol consumption in mpg. for the first 2000 miles (©) Convere the mpg figure to ltres!100 km. (©) Make a list of the factors that you would discuss with the customer that might help towards an Understanding of the difference between the advertised figure for petrol consumption and the actual figure. ‘A large commercial vehicle returns an average fuel consumption of 8 mpg and covers 50.000 miles in ayear {@) How many gallons of fuel are used in the year? (©) Calculate the annual cost of fuel at £1.20 per litre ‘The vehicle in question 3 is fitted with a roof deflector that improves fuel consumption to 8.15 mpg. Calculate the annual saving in fuel cost that is Rained by the use of the deflector.