Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 71 (2017) 523–534

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Effects of alternative fuels on the combustion characteristics and emission MARK

products from diesel engines: A review
⁎
Peng Geng , Erming Cao, Qinming Tan, Lijiang Wei
Merchant Marine College, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T

Keywords: Diesel engines are the main source of rapidly-growing energy consumption worldwide. Diesel consumption is
Alternative fuel responsible for serious air pollution, which includes nitrogen oxides (NOx), hydrocarbon (HC), carbon
Diesel engine monoxide (CO) emissions and some particulate matter (PM) discharged from the combustion chamber. In
Alcohol the past few decades, alternative fuels, such as alcohol, biodiesel, natural gas, and Di Methyl Ether (DME), have
Biodiesel
been used in diesel engines to reduce energy costs and environmental pollution. As a result of alternative fuels
Natural gas
Di Methyl Ether (DME)
directives, an increasing number of diesel engines have adapted dual fuel blends, and an enormous amount of
Performance research is focused on new and inadequately studied combustion and emission profiles. Compared to
Combustion & emission conventional diesel fuel, the application of dual fuels would add new parameters to combustion and emission
profiles for diesel vehicles worldwide. This review aims to reveal (1) Known and anticipated combustion
characteristics and emissions products from dual fuels. (2) Toxic properties and the expected influence on
engine performance. (3) Identifying promising alternative fuels for emissions control in compression
combustion engines. The results presented herein will show a significant reduction of regular gas and PM
emissions by the use of alcohol/diesel dual fuel, while unregulated emissions such as methanol, ethanol,
acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, ketone, have increased compared to those from diesel fuel. PM emissions
decreased significantly with the increase of alternative fuels, such as alcohols, natural gas, biodiesel and
DME, while regular gaseous emissions varied depending on the type alternative fuel and the engine conditions.
As one new and cleaner substitute for diesel engines, DME operation has a longer injection delay, lower
maximum cylinder pressure, a lower ratio of pressure rise, and shorter ignition delay in comparison with diesel
operation–the opposite of alcohol/diesel and dual fuels. This review evaluates the effects of some alternative
fuels (alcohol, biodiesel, natural gas and Di Methyl Ether (DME)) on combustion characteristics and emission
products from diesel engines to meet future emission regulations using alternative fuel.

1. Introduction
Diesel engines have been widely used in the world transportation
sector for commercial and public transportation due to their improved
durability and efficiency. However, nearly 30% of the world's green-
house gas emissions are produced from the transportation sector,
leading to global warming [1,2]. Meanwhile, diesel engines are the
major sources of inhaled air-suspended particulate matters [3,4]. There
are various types of hazardous substances in these inhaled suspended
particles, such as organic carbon, trace elements, elemental carbon and
inorganic ions [5–7]. These chemical components threaten human
health and the ecosystem [8–11]. Numerous studies have provided
evidence that these particulate matter (PM) emissions result in
degenerative disorders [12,13] and diseases [14–17]. Urban environ-
ments receive more than half of the NOx emissions from the diesel
vehicles, creating a ground level ozone layer, acid rain and smog
[18,19]. Thus, Environmental protection focuses on reducing the PM
and NOx emissions from diesel vehicles [20]. To achieve the standard
emission reduction requirements, some vehicles manufacturing com-
munities have already devoted resources to decrease emissions from
their diesel-engine vehicles. In this regard, the use of sustainable and
alternative fuels such as alcohols, natural gas, biodiesel and dimethyl
ether (DME) are considered as effective methods to reduce the NOx,
greenhouse gas and PM emissions [21–23]. In recent studies, re-
searchers suggested that alcohols, natural gas, biodiesel and DME
could be the key alternative fuel technologies to reduce the harmful
pollutant and greenhouse gases released from diesel-powered engines
[24–27].
On the other hand, fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel are
dwindling [28]; studies indicate that the known reservoirs will suffi-

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: penggeng@shmtu.edu.cn (P. Geng).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.12.080
Received 12 October 2015; Received in revised form 22 November 2016; Accepted 12 December 2016
Available online 30 December 2016
1364-0321/ © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
P. Geng et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 71 (2017) 523–534

Nomenclature BTE Brake Thermal Efficiency

BSFC Brake Specific Fuel Consumption
NOx Nitrogen Oxides LHV Low Heat Value
HC Hydrocarbon BMEP Brake Mean Effective Pressure
CO Carbon monoxide BD Biodiesel-Diesel
PM Particulate Matter HCCI Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition
DME Di Methyl Ether PCCI Premixed Charge Compression Ignition
HLB Hydrophile Lipophile Balance E Engine's speed surface
LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas PAH Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon
EGR Exhaust Gas Recirculation

ciently meet the worldwide demand for another 39 years for oil, 61 Biodiesel is produced from renewable energy materials such as
years for natural gas and 216 years for coal [29–31]. The increasing vegetable seeds and wheat, corn and sugar beet [56–58]. The main
global motorization and industrialization is leading to the energy difference between fossil fuels and biodiesel is the oxygen content
dearth. Petroleum oil usage is a considerable challenge and the demand [59,60]. Biodiesel fuels can provide renewable and clean energy; thus,
for alternative fuels is increasing as societies are struggling to ensure they are promising renewable and eco-friendly fuels [61,62].
global energy security. Thus, the alternative fuels have been widely DME is a liquefied gas with similar characteristics to liquefied
used in the internal combustion engine to solve the shortage of fossil petroleum gas (LPG) [63]. DME appears to be an efficient and excellent
fuels, such as the rise of natural gas via shale and fracking. alternative fuel for use in diesel engines, producing fewer smoke
Among these substitute fuels, alcohols, natural gas, biodiesel and emissions, due to its high oxygen content and non C-C bonds in its
DME are considered to be the four most promising and attractive molecular structure [64]. Moreover, the NOx emissions can also be
alternatives, because they may be easily acquired, handled and stored reduced with the proper DME injection design and combustion system
[32–35]. Alcohols can be used in internal combustion engines with [65].
both the blended and the dual-fumigation fuel operational mode The main purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensiveness
[36,37]. In the blended mode, alcohols are mixed with diesel before on the effect of the above four most promising alternative fuels,
being injected into the in-cylinder [38,39]. Fuel additives are required regarding their performance, combustion and emission characteristics
to stabilize the blend. The co-solvents and emulsifier is the fatty alcohol in diesel engines.
with long carbon chains and its normal HLB (HydrophileLipophile
Balance) is from 1.6 to 6. In the dual-fumigation mode, the diesel
engine requires only minor modifications by adding a separate fuel
tank, lines, a low-pressure fuel injector and the necessary controls
[40,41]. However, fuel additives are not required in this case. 2. The physicochemical properties of alternative fuels
Consequently, a large amount of alcohol can be used under every
engine condition [42,43]. 2.1. Alcohols
Natural gas is another potential alternative to fossil fuels for use in
the diesel-fueled vehicles [44–48]. It is the mixture of various hydro- Alcohols such as methanol and ethanol have been widely studied as
carbon molecules such as methane, ethane, butane, propane and inert alternative fuels for blending with conventional diesel fuels because of
diluents like carbon dioxide and molecular nitrogen. However, its their renewable resource base and oxygenated properties, which can
availability varies geographically and throughout the year. In addition, significantly reduce the PM emissions from diesel engines [66].
specific treatment is required during transportation and production According to Table 1, compared to diesel, the alcohols’ vaporization
[49–53]. It can be mixed thoroughly with air to form the homogenous latent heat and self-ignition temperature are much higher and decrease
fuel/air mixture for combustion in the cylinder and significantly with increasing number of carbons whereas their octane number is
reduces the emissions from the engine exhaust [54,55]. much lower and increases with the number of carbons molecules. As an
important parameter for combustion, the higher carbons alcohols with
lower vaporization latent heat were not considered. Compared with
Table 1
other alcohols, methanol and ethanol are much more desirable for
Comparison of properties of diesel fuel, methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol and
pentanol [70–72]. partly replacing diesel because of their lower price and emissions [67].
In recent studies, when the diesel engine operated at the high/full load,
Properties Diesel Methanol Ethanol Propanol Pentanol the soot emission can be significantly reduced by switching to
methanol/ethanol consumption due to their low carbon number [68].
Chemical formula CnH2n or CH3OH C2H5OH C3H7OH C5H11OH
CnH2n+2 Moreover, by the use of methanol/ethanol, the NOx emissions also
(n=13~17) decrease significantly because alcohols tolerate high exhaust-gas re-
Density (kg/m3) 837 791.3 789.4 803.7 814.8 circulation ratios (EGRs) [69].
Oxygen (%) (wt.) 0 49.93 34.73 26.62 18.15
Molecular weight 197.21 32.04 46.07 60.10 88.15
(g/mol)
Table 2
Lower heating 42.65 20.08 26.83 29.82 32.16
Composition and properties of natural gas [128].
value (MJ/kg)
Octane number 45–50 2 11 12 20
Component v/v (%) Component v/v (%)
Boiling point (°C) 210–235 65 79 97 138
Self-ignition 254 385 363 350 300
CH4 91.72 ± 1.7 C5H12 0.03 ± 0.03
temperature
C2H6 5.5 ± 1.6 N2 0.322 ± 0.3
(°C)
C3H8 1.98 ± 0.8 CO2 0.03 ± 0.03
Vaporization 375 1162.64 918.42 727.88 308.05
C4H10 0.44 ± 0.5
latent heat
Density(kg/m3) 0.788 Lower heating value (MJ/kg) 49.5 ± 0.2
(kJ/kg)
Stoichiometric air/fuel ratio 17.20

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2.2. Natural gas
Among the alternative fuels, natural gas is considered to be an
essential energy source for internal combustion engines [73].
Compared with other alternative fuels, there are some distinct and
desirable advantages of natural gas including relatively reduced capital
costs and low green-house gas emissions. The properties of natural gas
are shown in Table 2. Natural gas can be used in diesel engines with a
high compression ratio, due to its high octane number. In recent years,
energy shortage and environmental pollution have drawn increasing
attention from governments worldwide towards natural gas as the
alternative fuel for heavy-duty diesel engines, as well as stationary
engines [74]. It is because that the natural gas is induced into the
intake manifold or the cylinder directly and mixed with fresh air to
form a homogeneous mixtures, which is then ignited by pilot diesel fuel
or the spark plug [75]. Therefore, efficient combustion is achieved and
emissions from the exhaust gas and substantially reduced. Moreover,
natural gas can be applied on the in-use vehicles without significant
modifications, offering important economic and environmental benefits
[76].
2.3. Biodiesel
As a prominent alternative fuel candidate, biodiesel is refined from
various vegetable oils: palm, sunflower, rapeseed, cottonseed, peanut
and soybean. It has been widely used in heavy-duty diesel vehicles and
marine engines [77]. Its properties are presented in Table 3. Biodiesel
can be obtained by reacting vegetable oils with alcohol, and the alkali
catalysts like KOH and NaOH are added through the transesterification
process. The purpose of this process is to reduce the oxygen content
and viscosity of the vegetable oil. Biodiesel contains organic matter
with high molecular weight, such as ether, aldehyde, ketone, phenol
and alcohol [78]. The density of biodiesel is lower than that of water,
and it can be stored for a long duration due to its stability [79]. Its
Sulphur content is far below that of diesel, and there are no aromatic
hydrocarbons included in biodiesel; thus, the emissions from biodiesel
combustion are far less harmful to people's health. Moreover, the
cetane number of biodiesel is higher than that of diesel, improving its
combustion performance [80].
2.4. Dimethyl ether
Dimethyl ether (DME) is a promising diesel alternative, which is
mainly developed from natural gas and coal [81]. It can be applied to
the compression ignition engine with minor modifications to the
engine's configuration. Table 4 shows the key physical properties of
DME and its hydrocarbon components. Limitations in pure DME in
diesel engines include its low density, certain after-effects and its poor
viscosity. Consequently, it is widely used blended with diesel. The high
cylinder pressure in conjunction with the DME-diesel blends’ proper-
ties can sustain the fuel in the liquid state within the engine's supply
system [82]. Moreover, DME can blend with not only diesel, but also
Table 3
Properties of biodiesel and diesel fuel [128].
Property Diesel Biodiesel
Oxygen content (wt%) 0 10.32
Carbon content (wt%) 86 77.0
Hydrogen content (wt%) 14 12.18
Specific gravity at 15 °C 852 896
Gross heating value (MJ/kg) 45.76 40
Flash point (°C) 67 105
Viscosity at 40 °C (cSt) 1.57 2.99
Stoichiometric air/fuel ratio 14.60 12.33
Cetane number 49 53
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 71 (2017) 523–534
biodiesel, LPG, palm methyl ester and other fuels [83]. As shown in
Table 4, the DME's cetane number is higher than that of other specific
hydrocarbon fuels. Consequently, DME is a good alternative fuel for
auto-ignition. Compared with diesel, DME can achieve ultra-low
emissions and has better energy combustion efficiency than diesel
[84]. Due to Sulphur constituents and properties of diesel fuels, there is
a presence of trade-off between NOx and PM emissions, while there is
no such concern in the DME combustion due to its no PM emissions
[85]. Moreover, DME evaporation and atomization are improves which
leads to reduced emissions and lower costs.
3. Application mode
There are two main alternative fuel application modes in compres-
sion-ignition engines: dual fuel combustion mode and blended fuel
combustion mode.
3.1. Dual fuels
Dual fuel combustion offers several advantages and has been
extensively studied [90,91]. The Schematic diagram of dual fuel mode
system is shown in Fig. 1. The pressurized alternative fuels are induced
into the manifold and then mixed with fresh air to form homogeneous
mixtures [92]. These mixtures are ignited by pilot diesel or spark plugs,
when the piston is placed around the top dead center. The amount of
injected alternative fuel varies according to the engine power output,
while the amount of diesel fuel remains constant under the different
operational conditions [93]. Alternative fuels used with the dual fuel
combustion mode include alcohols, natural gas and DME. In previous
studies [94–96], the dual fuel mode performed reasonably well, with
alternative fuels such as natural gas as the primary fuel and diesel as
the pilot fuel. Compared with the conventional diesel engine, the dual
fuel engine produces significantly reduced NOx and PM emissions.
However, there are some difficulties associated with the dual-fuel mode
combination. When the diesel engine operates at low and medium
loads, the fuel combustion efficiency is low. Consequently, the un-
burned HC and CO emissions are significantly increased with the dual
fuel combustion mode [97,98]. Therefore, further research into the
dual-fuel combustion mode is required.
3.2. Blended fuels
The blend-fuel combustion mode is suitable for alternative liquid
fuels such as biodiesel and some alcohols, which can be dissolved in
diesel [101,102]. Meanwhile, some alternative fuels such as methanol
and ethanol can also be blended with diesel using co-solvents and
emulsifiers [103,104]. The Schematic diagram of blending fuel mode
system is shown in Fig. 2. For the blending fuel combustion mode, the
problems encountered in the use of alternative fuels are phase
separation. This, however, can be solved by adding the solvent into
the blended fuels. Moreover, some ignition improver such as methanol
and diethyl ether can also be added into the fuel mixture to compensate
for the fuels’ cetane number. This application can be realized without
major modifications of the diesel engine design and the fuel supply
system, if the concentrations of the alternative fuels in the blended
fuels are low. The use of alternative fuel-diesel blends in compression
combustion engines and their effects on the engine performance,
combustion characteristics and exhaust emissions have been investi-
gated in previous studies. [105–108] In these studies, different
percentages of blended fuels were selected. By adding alternative fuel
into the diesel, soot and NOx emissions are significant reduced.
However, due to the different properties of the alternative fuels, the
CO and HC emissions exhibit no regular variations. Moreover, the
engine performance and the exhaust emissions are affected by the
engine speed and load in the blended-fuel combustion mode.
P. Geng et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 71 (2017) 523–534

Table 4 ratios. Some researchers also found that there is no significant impact
Properties of specific hydrocarbon fuels and DME [86–89]. on BSFC if alcohol fuels are used, while the diesel engine's behavior
improves with EGR, when blends with alcohol content up to 15% are
Property DME Propane Methanol Diesel oil
used [114–116]. For natural gas, the total BSFC variation with BMEP
Cetane number 55–60 5 5 40–55 is calculated directly from the ratios between the diesel engine power
Boiling point (°C) −25.1 −42 64.6 180–360 output and the sum of the fuel mass flow rates. When the engine
Liquid density @ 20 °C, gm/cm3 0.67 0.509 0.79 0.84
operates on the low and medium engine conditions, the total BSFC in
Vapor pressure @20 °C, bar 5.1 8.4 – –
Wobbe index, kJ/m3 46,198 69,560 – – the natural gas-diesel mode is higher than that of the conventional
Sp/ Gravity of gas (vs. Air) 1.69 1.52 – – combustion mode. This is because the fuel/air ratio in the combustion
Calorific value, lower heating value, 6900 11,100 4800 10,200 chamber and the combustion temperature are lower, which leads to a
Kcal/kg reduction in the combustion rate. However, on the high-load engine
Calorific value, lower heating value, 14,200 21,800 – –
condition, the total BSFC for the natural gas-diesel mode becomes
Kcal/nm3
Flammability limits in Air, vol% 3.4–17 2.1–0.4 5.5–36 0.6–7.5 lower than that of the diesel mode. The richer mixture and the high
combustion temperature are the two major factors increasing the
conversion of natural gas to work and the total BSFC decreases
4. Engine performance [117]. For biodiesel, the total BSFC is greater than that of diesel
because of its lower calorific value and higher density. In previous
4.1. Engine brake torque studies, the average of the total BSFC for BD10 (10% biodiesel to 90%
diesel) and BD20 (20% biodiesel to 80% diesel) were about 8% and
To estimate the performance of the diesel engine, it is important to 13% higher than those of diesel fuel. Because of its lower calorific value,
investigate the main performance parameters, i.e. the engine brake more biodiesel was needed to produce the same amount of engine
torque, the brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and the brake specific fuel power compared with diesel fuel [118]. For DME, the total BSFC
consumption (BSFC). The engine brake torque is the turning force increased with the DME increase, when the injection time is fixed. The
produced by the cylinder pressure from the piston's crankshaft. The diesel diffusion-combustion decrease and the DME HCCI combustion
engine's charge, the average effective cylinder pressure and the stroke increase improved the fuel combustion efficiency and enhanced the fuel
length have an effect on the engine torque. When the engine operates conversion efficiency. Moreover, the total BSFC decreased with the
constantly, the engine torque varies according to the alternative fuel, increase of injection time, within certain limits due to the better
due to the generated effective pressure and the fuel's properties. The mixture preparation before ignition combustion. However, a much
BSFC and the BTE are calculated by the following equations: longer injection time leads to a BSFC increase because of the high-
pressure rate and in-cylinder pressure [119].
Fuel consumption
BSFC =
Output power (1)
4.2. Brake thermal efficiency
3600*Brake power
BTE = The effects of the alternative fuels on the diesel engine's perfor-
Fuel consumption*LHV (2)
mance are determined by the relation between the energy input and
In the present studies [110,111], the torque curves are similar for output [124–126]. To evaluate this, the BTE to the engine's speed
the same alternative fuels. The effects of the different types of surface (E) on the maximum-load engine condition is integrated
alternative fuels on the BSFC were shown in Fig. 3. For alcohols, the [127,128]. The diesel engine is assumed to operate under common
engine power curves slightly towards the left and thus there is a slight working conditions.
increase in the maximum brake torque with the increase of alcohol nf
content in the testing fuels [112]. The engine's losses significantly E= ∫ni BTE (n ) dn
(3)
diminish with increasing number of carbons in the alcohols. The same
engine torque increases by approximately 1.5%, with 4% ethanol-diesel where Ei is the value of BTE to engine speed for all the tests and E0 is
fuel blends, for various engine compression ratios [113]. Moreover, the that of the diesel fuel. The effects of different types of alternative fuels
engine's behavior deteriorates at the highest and lowest alcohols/fuel on BTE were shown in Fig. 4. For alcohols, the BTE significantly

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of dual fuel mode system [99,100].

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P. Geng et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 71 (2017) 523–534

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of blending fuel mode system [109] 1. Test engine, 2. Test platform, 3. DC dynamometer, 4. Laminar air flow element, 5. Balance, 6. Diesel fuel line, 7. Inlet
air heat, 8. In-cylinder pressure sensor, 9. Combustion analyzer, 10. Needle-lift sensor, 11. Needle-lift sensor amplifier, 12. Diesel fuel line sensor, 13. Diesel fuel line pressure sensor
amplifier, 14. Encoder, 15. Data acquisition system, 16. Smoke meter, 17. Heated emission sampling line, 18. Emissions sampling system, 19. Emission analyzers rack cabin, 20.
Function gases (O2, H/He, NO).

Fig. 3. Effects of different types of alternative fuels on BSFC [120–123].

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P. Geng et al.
Fig. 4. Effects of different types of alternative fuels on BTE [129–132].
increases with the increase of alcohol content in the test fuels. The
combustion improves due to the presence of oxygen, which leads to a
decrease of heat losses and an increase in combustion efficiency
because of the lower boiling point of alcohols compared to that of
diesel. Moreover, the ignition delay increase leads to an increase in the
release energy rate, and thus the heat losses from the combustion are
reduced, as less time is required for this heat to be transferred from the
cylinder to the coolant. Furthermore, the premixed combustion part
becomes higher by the use of alcohol fuels due to their lower carbon
number, consequently, the percentage of constant volume combustion
increases and the leaner combustion occurs with low heat losses. For
natural gas, the BTE decreases significantly by using dual fuel,
compared with the conventional combustion mode, when the diesel
engine operates on the low and medium load conditions. This is
because the total test-fuel flow rate increases significantly during the
combustion process with the natural gas-diesel mode, reducing the
flame propagation speed and the combustion temperature. However,
on the high load engine condition, the BTE increases by the use of the
dual fuel due to the elevated temperature. For biodiesel, the BTE
decreases with the biodiesel content. For each test fuel, the BTE
increases significantly with the increase of the engine load due to the
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 71 (2017) 523–534
BSFC reduction. The chemical energy of the biodiesel-diesel mixture is
converted to brake mechanical energy with the same efficiency.
However, differences in the brake thermal efficiency between the
biodiesel blends and the diesel fuel at low and medium engine loads
are less than those at high engine loads, because the biodiesel content
increases significantly with the engine load. For DME, the DME HCCI
combustion increase and the diffusion combustion decrease improved
the fuel conversion efficiency and the combustion efficiency. In
previous studies, kinetically-controlled HCCI combustion improved
the BTE which reduced the fuel consumption compared with the
conventional diffusion combustion.
5. Combustion characteristics
Different types of alternative fuels have an effect on the combustion
characteristics, including the calculated heat release rate and the
cylinder pressure. The ignition delay is defined as the crank angle
variation between the injection start and ignition timing. Ignition
timing is determined by locating the zeroing crank angle of cylinder
pressure's second derivative. The accumulated heat release rate is
defined as the crank angle of 90% heat release (CA90), and the
P. Geng et al.
Fig. 5. Effects of different types of alternative fuels on in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate [145–148].
combustion duration is defined as the crank angle variation between
the ignition timing and CA90.
The alternative fuels’ effects on the in-cylinder pressure and the
heat release rate are presented in Fig. 5. For alcohols, there are many
differences in the in-cylinder pressure and the heat release rate
between the diesel fuel mode and the alcohol-diesel mode. Compared
with traditional diesel combustion, compression pressures decrease
significantly with increasing alcohol content in the test fuels [133–
135]. This is because the alcohols’ vaporization latent heat is higher
than that of diesel. Thus when alcohols such as methanol and ethanol
are injected into the intake port, they vaporize and absorb the heat of
the intake air, which leads to a decrease of the in-cylinder temperature
and pressure at the compression stroke. When the diesel engine
operates at low speed and load conditions, the maximum cylinder
pressure slightly changes to low and middle premixed alcohol ratios,
decreasing from high premixed alcohol ratios. The alcohols’ high
vaporization latent heat decreases the in-cylinder temperature and
slows the combustion phase excessively, at high premixed alcohol
ratios, when the test engine operates at low speed and load. For natural
gas, the dual fuel mode with natural gas-diesel generates the lower
combustion pressure peaks, compared to the conventional diesel fuel
mode [136–138]. At low engine loads, the natural gas-diesel mode
reduces the cylinder combustion pressure, due to the greater ignition
delay, the higher specific heat capacity and the leanness of the gas/air
mixture. Heat is not release efficiently in the beginning of the
combustion, due to the accumulated vapor during the ignition delay,
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 71 (2017) 523–534
but improves later on. The premixed fuel/air mixture burns rapidly
after the ignition delay. Moreover, the engine load leads to the
accumulation of much more gaseous fuel in the combustion chamber
and the decrease of the ignition delay. For biodiesel, the addition of
biodiesel accelerates combustion at the beginning for all engine loads
due to the rapid cylinder pressure rise on the pressure traces at the end
of the compression stroke [139–141]. Moreover, the biodiesel blends’
combustion starts earlier than that of diesel fuel. The biodiesel-blended
fuels’ ignition values occur at slightly earlier crank angles because of
their high viscosity, density and bulk modulus. By adding biodiesel, the
heat release rate in the premixed combustion phase is generally
reduced when the diesel engine operates under the low and high load
conditions. This is because the amount of injected fuel was lower due to
the short ignition delay and the low heating value of the biodiesel fuel
blends. For DME, the PCCI combustion heat-release process is relative
complex [142–144]. The earlier direct-injection accelerates combus-
tion in the cylinder. When DME is induced into the intake manifold,
HCCI combustion occurs because of the superior auto-ignition ability
and high cetane number of DME. A negative temperature coefficient,
low temperature reaction and high temperature reaction are observed
with the HCCI combustion mode. Therefore, the features of a staged
combustion event are demonstrated on the PCCI operation with DME
used as the premixing fuel.
P. Geng et al.
6. Emissions
6.1. Regulated emissions
Compared with other types of internal combustion engines, diesel
engines are the main power sources because of their high combustion
efficiency and power performance. Engineering equipment, heavy
automobiles and motor vehicles are widely driven by diesel engines.
However, emissions from diesel engines, such as NOx and PM, are
harmful to peoples’ health and pollute the environment seriously. To
reduce the emissions from diesel engines, techniques such as super-
charge, exhaust after-treatment and application of alternative fuels are
employed. The use of high oxygen-content alternative fuels, such as
certain oxygenates, with diesel fuel has been investigated to reduce
emissions. For alcohols, previous studies indicate that alcohol-diesel
blends can reduce some exhaust emissions without affecting the
engine's performance [149]. Alcohols offer some advantages, such as
lower NOx emissions, lack of sulphur and soot formation, as well as
lower ozone formation potential [150]. However, there are also some
disadvantages in the ignition of the air-fuel mixture, mainly because of
its greater ignition delay, low cetane number and high latent heat of
vaporization [151]. NOx emissions depend on the oxygen concentra-
tion in the combustion zone and the combustion temperature. They can
be reduced significantly by using alcohol fuel due to its high latent heat
of evaporation which leads to the reduction of the combustion
temperature. However, NOx emissions could also be increased due to
the alcohol's high oxygen content. Moreover, the combustion process
time is shortened because the cooling effect of the high latent heat of
vaporization does not significantly reduce the combustion temperature.
In general, there is a correlation between alcohol content in mixtures
and the NOx formation [152,153]. The HC emissions increase sig-
nificantly with alcohol content in the test fuel due to the high amounts
of single hydrogen radicals in the diesel-alcohol fuel in-cylinder charge.
The CO emissions are the products of incomplete combustion, which
occurs under conditions of low combustion temperature and poor in-
cylinder charge mixing. The CO emissions from diesel engine fueled by
alcohol-diesel blends are greater than diesel fuel. For natural gas, the
HC emissions from engine fueled with a natural gas-diesel blend are
greater than diesel fuel [154]. This is because the air-fuel ratio and the
low temperature suppress the turbulent flame propagation from the
ignition zones of the test fuel. In addition, gas-air mixtures is
introduced in the crevices during the compression stroke, where it
remains unburned. Another factor increasing HC emissions in this case
is the overlapping between the exhaust and intake valves to facilitate
scavenging, which leaves part of the air-gas mixture unburned.
Compared with conventional diesel fuel, the CO emissions increase
significantly with the natural gas content under all engine load
conditions [155,156]. The reason is that the natural gas burns
incompletely because of lack of ignition sources as well as the lower
air- fuel equivalence ratio. The NOx emissions are affected by the
combustion temperature, combustion duration and oxygen concentra-
tion [157]. At partial engine loads, because of the lack of oxygen in the
mixture and the lower combustion rate, the NOx emissions decrease
significantly with increasing natural gas content. When the diesel
engine operates on the high load condition, the NOx concentration
significantly increases. This is due to the higher temperature and
pressure peaks and the rapid combustion. For biodiesel, biodiesel-
diesel blends have the higher NOx emissions compared with conven-
tional diesel fuel because of their higher oxygen concentration,
combustion temperature and longer combustion duration [158].
Under full load, the HC emissions increase with biodiesel content
because of its viscosity in the test fuel spray quality, which leads to the
poor combustion in the cylinder. However, a low biodiesel-diesel ratio
produces less HC emissions when the engine operates on a partial load.
This is because the lower viscosity and the biodiesel oxygen content
results in a clean and complete combustion. Compared with the diesel
530
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 71 (2017) 523–534
engine, the CO emissions decrease significantly when the biodiesel
ratio is reduced [159]. Some researchers also found that CO emissions
are lower to those from the diesel fuel mode due to the lower viscosity
and density in biodiesel which could improve the spray formation and
the fuel atomization [160]. For DME, PCCI operation NOx emissions
are slightly lower than those of the diesel fuel operation, and the
decreasing trend follows the DME content increase but disappears
when the DME quantity is higher [161]. There are two major factors
leading to NOx reduction at the beginning of the combustion process.
The first reason is that the ignition delay is shortened due to the higher
in-cylinder pressure and temperature with the premixing DME HCCI
operation. The second is that the oxygen content in the gaseous
mixture is reduced by the gases from the HCCI combustion such as
the internal EGR. Hereafter, the NOx emissions stabilize, because the
DME causes a rapid combustion reaction with high temperature, which
increases the charge temperature. The HC and CO emissions in this
case rise with DME quantity [162]. However, the HC and CO emissions
could be reduced with an earlier injection, which would promote the
oxidation reaction of the HC and CO emissions [163].
6.2. Unregulated emissions
Unregulated emissions, such as aldehydes, unburned alcohols and
benzene emissions, are intermediate products of oxygenated com-
pounds and hydrocarbons in alternative fuels such as alcohols,
biodiesel and natural gas. Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are the
two major abundant aldehydes released by the engine exhaust. In
previous studies, aldehyde emissions increased first and then decreased
with increasing engine load. When the diesel engine operates on the
low and medium engine conditions, the aldehyde emissions of biodiesel
and alcohol fuel blends are higher to those produced by diesel fuel. The
natural explanation is that biodiesel contains some short chain
chemicals, which form the short chain aldehydes, namely acetaldehyde
and formaldehyde in the cylinder. Aldehyde emissions increase with
alcohols content. The aldehyde emissions from the diesel engine
exhaust are mainly produced from the incomplete combustion of
hydrocarbons such as methanol and ethanol. The increase of alcohols
leads to the reduction of the combustion temperature, and thus the
formation of the intermediate combustion products like aldehydes is
enhanced [164,165]. The unburned alcohol emissions such as metha-
nol and ethanol decrease significantly with increasing load because of
the higher combustion temperature. Using alcohol fuels, the cylinder
combustion is delayed because of their lower cetane number and higher
latent heat of evaporation when compared with diesel. Thus, the
unburned alcohols increase due to the combustion of the fuel blends
in the late expansion stroke. Moreover, benzene emission becomes a
major concern in this case because of its high mutagenicity, carcino-
genicity and teratogenicity. The benzene emissions decrease with
increasing engine load because of the higher combustion temperature
at higher engine load. Benzene emission from biodiesel combustion is
lower than that from diesel combustion because of the characteristics
of non-light-aromatics. However, when the engine operates on the low
load condition, benzene emission increases with alcohol contents in the
blended fuels, because of the lower combustion temperature. On the
other hand, the higher oxygen content of alcohols improves the engine
combustion efficiency and thus leads to the decreasing benzene
formation.
6.3. PM emissions
Diesel engine is one of the main sources of particulate matter (PM)
emissions because of its characteristics of diffusive combustion. PM
emissions are harmful to human health and lead to many diseases such
as cancer, lung diseases and elevated blood pressure with the corre-
sponding complications [166–168]. The use of alternative fuels, such
as alcohols, natural gas and biodiesel, is widely gaining more and more
P. Geng et al.
attention. For alcohols, PM emissions decreased significantly with the
increase of the alcohols content in the test fuels. There are several
reasons leading to the reduction of PM emissions from alcohol/diesel
fuels. Firstly, PM emissions are hardly ever produced in the combus-
tion process of alcohols. Thus, the PM emissions’ formation is inhibited
because of the reduction of diesel fuel burning in the diffusive
combustion. Secondly, there are less unsaturated micro-molecules
such as C2H2 formed in the oxidation with high temperature and
alcohol. In general, the unsaturated micro-molecule is the precursor of
the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) [169]. In addition, alcohols
could decrease of the intake air's temperature because of their high
latent heat of vaporization increasing the excess air coefficient
[170,171]. Finally, the ignition delay is prolonged because of the
formation of a homogenous air/alcohols mixture [172,173].
Consequently, more diesel burns in the premixed combustion. All of
these factors reduce PM emissions in the combustion process. For
natural gas, in the conventional diesel combustion, the PM emissions
are at low levels, when the diesel engine operates on the low and
medium conditions, while increases significantly at high load, due to
the increase of the diesel fuel injected mass. However, in natural gas-
diesel combustion, the PM emissions remain low at all engine loads
because the carbon/hydrogen ratio in natural gas is low and the
premixed; homogeneous mixture is well inside the cylinder before
the ignition. For biodiesel, the PM emissions from biodiesel fuel
exhaust are lower than those from diesel combustion. PM emissions
are formed from the incomplete burning of hydrocarbons and carbon
particles in the diesel fuel. Moreover, the biodiesel's high oxygen
content could be contributing to the reduction of PM emissions. For
DME, the PM emissions decrease significantly with increasing DME
quantity. The peak diffusive phase value decreases significantly. The
DME quantity increase creates a mixture with higher homogeneity;
thus, the PM emissions become less. Notably, the DME fuel cannot
produce the PM emissions and thus it is positive to reduce the PM
emissions.
7. Conclusions
In this review paper, the combustion characteristics and emission
products of four potential alternative fuels are presented. Compared to
conventional diesel fuel, the application of dual fuels can add new
parameters to the combustion and emission profiles. The known and
anticipated combustion characteristics and emissions products from
the dual fuels, their toxic properties and the expected influence on the
engine's performance are revealed. According to the summary and
analysis of the previous references, the following conclusions can be
drawn from this review.
1. There is a significant reduction of regular gas and PM emissions by
the use of an alcohol/diesel dual fuel. However, unregulated emis-
sions such as methanol, ethanol, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde and
ketone are increased compared to diesel fuel.
2. The PM emissions decrease significantly with increasing alternative
fuel quantity, whereas the regular gaseous emissions vary according
to the type of the alternative fuel and the engine conditions.
3. A new clean substitute for the diesel engine is the DME, which offers
a longer injection delay, lower maximum cylinder pressure, lower
pressure rise ratio and shorter ignition delay. These properties are
opposite to those provided by using an alcohol/diesel dual fuel.
4. In essence, alcohols, natural gas, biodiesel and DME as alternative
fuels have great potential in the energy shortage world.
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