International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IJMME-IJENS Vol:13 No:05
Effect of Methanol – Gasoline Blends on S.I.
Engines Performance and Pollution
Sahib Shihab Ahmed
Assistant Lecturer
College of Engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq
sihebshehab_1985@yahoo.com or sahib.aldulaimi@uokufa.edu.iq
Abstract_ This study discusses the performance and exhaust
emissions of a vehicle fueled with low content alcohol (methanol)
blends and pure gasoline. In this study, experiments have been
done to measure the performance and emissions of a 4-stroke S.I.
Engine, one by using the commercial imported gasoline, another
by using the gasoline-methanol blends. The engine is run at
different loads and methanol blending percentages . It is found
that increasing the blending percentage reduces the emitted
concentration of carbon oxides and HC . However it is found that
break power and break thermal efficiency are increased with
increasing methanol blending percentage due to higher cylinder
temperatures. The results showed that use of 10% volume of
methanol blending with the gasoline appears to be a good option
for replacing any oxygenate additives in the gasoline, where the
CO, CO2, and HC are minimum and the fuel consumption of the
blend is lower than of the commercial gasoline.
Index Term-- gasoline engine, methanol blending, pollution
I. INTRODUCTION
The combustion engines derive their name from the fact that
the transformation of the energy from chemical (that is to say
contained into the fuel that is being burned) to mechanical-and
therefore available to the motor shaft to operate various
devices (cars, trucks, alternators, dynamos, etc.) . [1]
Internal combustion engines have been in use for more than a
century and have undergone tremendous changes in design,
materials used and operating characteristics. Never ones
during their long history of development have they lost their
importance as the planet most widely used prime movers. In
the past few decades, research efforts have been focused
largely on better spark ignition engine, from the perspective of
reducing the pollutant emissions without sacrificing
performance and fuel economy. Another driving force behind
the need to design engines amenable to operate on non-
conventional fuels is the rapid depletion rate of currently used
fossil fuels.[2]. The importance of environment and energy is
emphasized in various sectors. Increase in stringent emission
regulations and anticipated depletion of worldwide petroleum
reserves in future provide a strong encouragement to carry out
research on alternate fuels . Among the various alternate fuels,
like methanol ,hydrogen , ethanol...ect.[3]. Considering
pollution problems today, investigations have been
concentrated on lowering the concentration of toxic
components in combustion products. In many areas of the
world, there has been tremendous progress in reducing and
eliminating the use of lead and methyl tertiary butyl ether
(MTBE) in gasoline. There is now virtually universal
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acceptance of the need to eliminate lead and MTBE from
gasoline. Numerous researchers in many countries have
definitively established its adverse neurological effects,
especially on children. When lead is phased out of gasoline,
the population’s exposure to lead drops in a predictable
manner [4]. Bahattin M.C. [5] studied the effect of pure
methanol at high CR on performance and emission was
experimentally investigated in a single cylinder engine with
low efficiency. For this purpose, the engine’s CR was raised
from 6/1 to 10/1 and it was tested at different compression
ratios with methanol and gasoline. The results showed that
there are positive and negative effects of both increasing CR
and pure methanol on engine behaviour. By using methanol at
the same CR, the power slightly decreased, and CO, CO2 and
NOx emissions also decreased. The brake thermal efficiency
increased. On the other hand, HC emissions increased. When
CR was increased with the same fuel (methanol), the power
and the brake thermal efficiency increased, and SFC
decreased. Moreover, CO decreased and CO2, NOx and HC
increased. The negative effects of both increasing CR and pure
methanol on the engine behaviour were decreased by using
methanol at a high CR (10/1). But, both increasing CR and
methanol increased only HC emissions. Ozsezen A.N. [6]
This study discusses the performance and exhaust emissions
of a vehicle fueled with low content alcohol (ethanol and
methanol) blends and pure gasoline. The vehicle tests were
performed at wide-open throttle and at vehicle speeds of 40
km h_1, 60 km h_1, 80 km h_1 and 100 km h_1 by using an
eddy current chassis dynamometer. The test results obtained
with the use of alcoholegasoline blends (5 and 10 percent
alcohol by volume) were compared to pure gasoline test
results. The test results indicated that when the vehicle was
fueled with alcoholegasoline blends, the peak wheel power
and fuel consumption slightly increased. And also, in general,
alcoholegasoline blends provided higher combustion
efficiency compared to pure gasoline use. In exhaust emission
results, a stable trend was not seen, especially for CO
emission. But, on average, alcohole gasoline blends exhibited
decreasing HC emissions. In 100 km h_1 vehicle speed test,
the alcohole gasoline blends provided lower vehicle
performance and lower NOx emission values compared to
pure gasoline. At all vehicle speeds, minimum CO2 emission
was obtained when 5% methanol was added in gasoline. The
low content alcohol blends did not reveal any starting
problem, or irregular operation on the engine. Tiegang Hu [7]
Used A three-cylinder, with a bore of 68.5 mm port fuel
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 International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IJMME-IJENS Vol:13 No:05 51
injection, engine was adopted to study the combustion and methanol blending on the emissions levels of ( CO , CO2
emission charac-teristics of a methanol/gasoline-fueled engine and HC) at differed loads and explore the effect of using
during cold start and warm up. The cylinder pressure analysis methanol blending on the performance (Thermal efficiency,
indicates that engine combustion is improved with the brake mean effect pressure and consumption fuel) at differed
methanol addition into gasoline. With the increase of the loads.
methanol fraction, the flame developing period and the fast II. EXPERIMENT RIG
burning period are shortened and the indicated mean effective This part describes the experimental equipment and measuring
pressures become higher during the first 50 cycles. instruments used to investigate experimentally the effect of
Meanwhile, a novel quasi-instantaneous measurement system methanol blending on spark ignition engine performance and
was designed to measure engine emissions during this process. pollutants concentration. A TD110-TD115 single cylinder
With the increase of the methanol fraction (below 30%), the spark ignition engine. The methanol is added to the gasoline
unburned hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide (CO) are by volume replacement ratio of methanol:
decreased obviously. The measured results show that the (0%,3%,5%,7%,10%). The experimental rig consists of the
hydrocarbon is reduced about 40% at 5 °C and 30% at 15 °C engine test unit, the gas analysis unit. Fig (1) show the
during the cold-start and warm-up period; CO is reduced experimental rig photographically. The exhaust gas
nearly 70% when the engine is fueled with M30 (30% constituents (CO, CO2, HC) are measured in this research by
methanol in volume), and a higher difference in the exhaust non-dispersive infrared analyzer NDIR, for HC by flame
gas temperature of about 140 °C is achieved at 200 s after ionization detector FID show in Fig (2).
starting than fueled with gasoline.
Abu-Zaid M. [8] carried out an experimental study of the III. ENGINE PERFORANCE CALCULATION
effect methanol addition to gasoline on the performance of The engine power is determined by measuring the value of
spark ignition engines. The performance tests were carried the rotation speed, thus the brake power developed by the
out, at wide open throttle and variable speed conditions, over engine is calculated using the following relation [1];
the range of 1000 to 2500 rpm, using various blends of T . N .2. pi
methanol-gasoline fuel. It was found that methanol has a
p ……………………….1
60000
significant effect on the performance of the gasoline engine. To determine the efficiency (which is the thermal energy
The best engine performance (within the range studied) for obtained from the fuel converted into mechanical energy),
maximum power output, and minimum brake specific fuel together with the engine power output, the fuel flow must be
consumption, occurs when a mixture of 15 volume percent measured[1].
methanol and 85% gasoline blend is used. The addition of P  3600
methanol to gasoline increases the octane number, thus  th  100% .................................2
 .c . Hi
engines fueled with methanol-gasoline blend can operate at
higher compression ratios. The specific fuel consumption can be determined from the
Mallikarjun M.V. [9] In the present day scenario emissions following relationship[1]:
associated with the exhaust of automobiles resulting in global
warming is a major menace to the entire world and also  .c
sfc  1000 ………………………….3
detrimental to health. Here an experimental attempt has been P
made to know the level of variation of exhaust emissions
(Carbon monoxide, Hydrocarbons, Nitrusoxides) in S.I. four
cylinder engine by adding methanol in various percentages in
gasoline and also by doing slight modifications with the
various subsystems of the engine under different load
conditions. For various percentages of methanol blends (0-
15%) pertaining to performance of engine it is observed that
there is an increase of octane rating of gasoline along with
increase in brake thermal efficiency, indicated thermal
efficiency and reduction in knocking. On the other hand
exhaust emissions CO and HC are considerably decreased but
CO2 and Nox simultaneously slightly increasing. It is notable
that for these methanol blends combustion temperature is
found to be high and exhaust gas temperature decreasing
gradually.

The present experimental work is concerned with the study the

performance and emissions of a single cylinder air cooled four
stroke spark ignition engine operated with methanol blended Fig. 1. photograph of the component part of the Experimental Rig
gasoline fuel. The present work are explore the effect of using

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 International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IJMME-IJENS Vol:13 No:05
Fig. 2. photograph of the gas analysis unit
52
CO reduces. This is due to the batter combustion of gasoline
when methanol used as an additive. The concentration of CO
decreases with the increase in percentage of methanol in the
fuel. This may be attributed to the presence of O2 in methanol,
which provides sufficient oxygen for the conversion of carbon
monoxide (CO) to carbon dioxide (CO2). It is observed that
hydro carbon (HC) decreases with increasing load for all the
percentage of methanol. If percentage of additive of methanol
increases, HC reduces. The hydrocarbon emissions are
inversely proportional to the percentage of methanol added in
the fuel. The petrol fuel operation showed the slightly higher
concentrations of HC in the exhaust at all loads. Since
methanol is an oxygenated fuel, it improves the combustion
efficiency and hence reduces the concentration of hydrocarbon
emissions (HC) in the engine exhaust.

P (KW)
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4
The experimental results of the effect of methanol addition to 3.5
gasoline fuel on the performance and emissions of a spark 3
100% G + 0% M
ignition engine have been presented and discussed. It must be

P (KW)
2.5
97% G + 3% M
mentioned here that the methanol blending is based on volume 2
1.5 95% G + 5% M
replacement ratio. The experimental program is limited to a 1 93% G + 7% M
torque range from 0-10 (N.m) and a methanol blending range 0.5 90% G + 10% M
from 0%-10% . 0
Figures (3 to 5) show the effect of the load at different 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
T (N.M)
methanol blending ratio on the brake power, brake thermal
efficiency and specific fuel consumption, respectively . Fig. 3. Effect of load on brake power with different methanol blending ratios.
The brake power increases as the percentage of methanol
addition increases for constant load. This is due to the high
combustion efficiency . The thermal efficiency increases as η
the percentage of methanol addition increases for constant 30
load. This due to the improvement of combustion process The
25
thermal efficiency is higher for various additives because of
20 100% G + 0% M
improve combustion efficiency. The brake thermal efficiency
η (%)

97% G + 3% M
is based on B.P and calorific value of the engine . Brake 15
thermal efficiency gradually increases with increase in 95% G + 5% M
10
percentage of additives.. 93% G + 7% M
5
The specific fuel consumption decreases as the percentage of 90% G + 10% M
0
methanol addition increases for constant load . The variation 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
of SFC with load for different percentage of additives of T (N.M)
methanol with the gasoline. The additive of methanol shows
lower SFC compare to gasoline because of it has oxygen Fig. 4. Effect of load on the thermal efficiency with different methanol
content so complete combustion takes place in combustion blending ratios.
chamber. However SFC is lower for all the other additives.
s.f.c
The SFC decreases with the increasing loads. It is inversely
500
proportional to the thermal efficiency of the engine.
450
Figures (6 to 8 ) show the variations of exhaust pollutants, 400
namely, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and HC
s.f.c (g/kwh)

350
90% G + 10% M
300
respectively with methanol blending ratio at different loads . 250 100% G + 0% M
The results show that the concentration of carbon dioxide 200 97% G + 3% M
and carbon monoxide decreases with increases methanol 150 95% G + 5% M
100
blending ratios. This is due to the reduction in carbon atoms 50
93% G + 7% M

concentration in the blended fuel and the high molecular 0

0 2 4 6 8 10 12
diffusivity and high flammability limits which improve
T (N.M)
mixing process and hence combustion efficiency. It is
observed that CO increases with increasing load for all the Fig. 5. Effect of load on the brake SFC with different methanol blending
percentage of methanol. If percentage of additive increases ratios.

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 International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IJMME-IJENS Vol:13 No:05 53
1. The blending ratio of 7% and 10% by volume of
CO % methanol gives the maximum improvement in engine
efficiency .
6 2. The combustion process is improved by added
5
methanol.
3. The brake power increase as methanol blending
4 100% G + 0% M increase .
CO %

3 97% G + 3% M 4. The blending ratio of 10% methanol gives the

95% G + 5% M maximum reduction in S.F.C.
2 5. The concentrations of carbon dioxide and carbon
93% G + 7% M
1 monoxide decreases as methanol blending increase.
90% G + 10% M 6. The blending ratio of 7% methanol gives the
0
maximum reduction in HC.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
T (N.M) REFERENCE
[1] (( Internal Combustion Engine Test Bed )) , Instruction Manual,
Fig. 6. Effect of methanol blended on the CO with different load . Didacta Company 2001, Italy www.didacta.com.
[2] Al-Dawoodi Mohamed Fadhil , ((Modeling of a four stroke diesel
engine operated with hydrogen blended fuel)) ,M.Sc. thesis,
University of Babylon, Iraq,2006.
C02 % [3] Saravanan N. and Nagarajan G. ,(( Performance and emission
study in manifold hydrogen injection with diesel as an ignition
14 source for different start of injection )) ,Renewable energy,
12 Vol.34,No.1, pp. 328-334 , India,2009.
[4] Aimen Rashad Noor. ,(( Annajaf City Naphtha as a Commercial
10 100% G + 0% M Alternative Fuel for S.I. Engines in Iraq)), IJMME, Vol .12,No.4
CO2 %

8 ,2012.
97% G + 3% M
[5] M. Bahattin Celik ,Bulent Ozdalyan, Faruk Alkan, (( The use of
6
95% G + 5% M pure methanol as fuel at high compression ratio in a single
4 93% G + 7% M cylinder gasoline engine )),Fuel ,90 (1), 1591–1598, 2011.
[6] Ahmet Necati Ozsezen , Mustafa Canakci, (( Performance and
2 90% G + 10% M combustion characteristics of alcohole gasoline blends at wide-
0 open throttle )), Energy, 36 (3) 2747-2752, 2011.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 [7] Tiegang Hu, Yanjv Wei, Shenghua Liu, (( Improvement of Spark-
T (N.M)
Ignition (SI) Engine Combustion and Emission during Cold Start,
Fueled with Methanol/Gasoline Blends )), Energy & Fuels , 21(1),
Fig. 7. Effect of methanol blended on the CO2 with different load . 171-175,2007.
[8] M. Abu-Zaid, O. Badran, and J. Yamin , (( Effect of Methanol
Addition on the Performance of Spark Ignition Engines )), Energy
& Fuels, 18(1) , 312-315,2004.
[9] M.V. Mallikarjun and Venkata Ramesh Mamilla , ((Experimental
Study of Exhaust Emissions & Performance Analysis of Multi
Cylinder S.I.Engine When Methanol Used as an Additive )) ,
International Journal of Electronic Engineering .Vol. 1, N. 3 pp.
HC % 201- 212, India, 2009.
600

500 NOMENCLATURE
Symbol Description Units
400 100% G + 0% M P Power kW
HC %

97% G + 3% M T Torque N.m

300
N The rotation speed of engine Rpm
95% G + 5% M
200 C Fuel flow rate (liters/h)
93% G + 7% M η Effective efficiency -
100
90% G + 10% M ρ Density kg/liter
0 SFC The specific fuel consumption g/kW.h
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Hi Fuel calorific value kJ/g
T (N.M)

Fig. 8. Effect of methanol blended on the HC with different load .

IIV. CONCLUSION
The following conclusions can be drawn from the percent
work:-

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