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 Critical Review of the Effects of Diesel Fuel Composition
and Properties on Engine Performance and Pollutant
Emissions
by

Theodoros C. Zannis* and Elias A. Yfantis

Laboratory of Marine Internal Combustion Engines, Section of Naval Architecture & Marine

Engineering, Hellenic Naval Academy, End of Hatzikiriakou Ave. 18539 Piraeus Greece

Dimitrios T. Hountalas

Laboratory of Internal Combustion Engines, Thermal Engineering Section, National

Technical University of Athens, Heroon Polytechniou 9, Zografou Campus, Greece

Roussos G. Papagiannakis

Thermodynamic & Propulsion Systems Section, Hellenic Air Force Academy,

Dekelia Air Force Base, MP 1010 Dekelia, Attiki, Greece

Yiannis A. Levendis

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston USA

To be considered for publication in the book “Diesel Fuels: Characteristics, Performances

and Environmental Impacts”, Nova Publishers

*
Corresponding author: Dr. Theodoros Zannis, tel.: +302104581663, fax: +302104581334, E-mail:
tczannis@gmail.com

1
 Abstract: During recent years, the exacerbation of greenhouse effect in conjunction with

the continuous increase of world fleet of vehicles and the crude oil prices stirred interest

towards the improvement of vehicle mileage and the reduction of engine-emitted pollutants.

It is well known that diesel engines indicate the highest fuel economy and thus, the highest

CO2 reduction potential compared to all other thermal engines due to their higher thermal

efficiency. However, diesel engine particulate and NOx emissions are higher compared to

modern spark-ignited engines. For this reason, the reduction of pollutant emissions and

specifically, PM and NOx emissions without increase of specific fuel consumption or without

improvement of fuel economy is a difficult task which necessitates the implementation of

immediate and drastic measures. A direct mean for the reduction of diesel-emitted pollutants

without simultaneous deterioration of fuel economy is the reformulation of conventional

diesel fuel. One promising path for improving the behavior of diesel oil is the blending with

synthetically or biologically renewable oxygenated fuels. However, since the characteristics

of the initial conventional fuels affect directly the behavior of the resulting mixtures, it is of

utmost importance the optimization of the chemical composition and properties of the initial

conventional fuel. A vast number of experimental and theoretical studies has been conducted

in the past, which examined the effect of chemical synthesis and physical and chemical

properties of diesel oil on diesel engine exhaust emissions. The most important fuel

characteristics examined in these studies was the aromatic content and structure, the sulphur

content, the hydrocarbon molecular structure, the cetane number, the heating value, the

density, the viscosity and the distillation temperatures. The effects of the aforementioned fuel

properties on diesel-emitted pollutants were evaluated in various types of diesel engines

(direct and indirect injection) and diesel vehicles under different operating conditions

2
(steady-state and transient). It was shown that the effects of fuel properties on pollutant

emissions depend on the engine type and the operating conditions. In addition, it was

revealed that it is extremely difficult to distinguish the individual effects of each fuel property

on diesel exhaust emissions since many of them are statistically interrelated. Moreover, the

impact of fuel properties such as compressibility factor and surface tension on diesel engine

performance characteristics and pollutant emissions has not been thoroughly examined. For

this reason, the purpose of the present study is the examination of the effects of fuel chemical

composition and properties on diesel engine performance parameters and pollutant emissions.

Towards this aim, theoretical and experimental results from four European research programs

in which our research group has participated during the past years in conjunction with

corresponding results obtained from the literature. During the aforementioned research

programs, it was examined both theoretically and experimentally the influence of fuel

aromatic content and structure as well as of the fuel physical properties on various types of

diesel engines under diverse operating conditions. In contrast to other studies, the present

study focuses on the investigation of the effects of fuel characteristics not only on legislated

diesel-emitted pollutants but also on fuel injection system, on combustion process and on

pollutant formation inside combustion chamber. In addition, it is investigated the background

and the procedure of various statistical approaches, which have been used in the literature to

identify possible correlations between fuel properties and exhaust emissions. The conclusions

of these statistical evaluations will be compared against statistical methods used by our

research group to statistically correlate diesel-emitted pollutants and fuel characteristics. The

ultimate goal of this review study is the consolidation of existing knowledge in this particular

3
field and the identification of the influence of each one of the characteristics of conventional

diesel oils on engine performance parameters and pollutant emissions.

Keywords: diesel engine, fuel, performance, pollutant emissions

1. INTRODUCTION
Reduction of engine out emissions and brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc) are major

research aspects to engine development in light of increasing concern about environmental

protection and preservation of fossil fuel reserves [1-5]. Nowadays, several techniques such

as management of injection process, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and after-treatment

have been used to effect a considerable reduction of diesel-derived pollutants. However,

strategies for emission control are often accompanied by fuel consumption or cost penalties

[1,2]. To be compliant with future stringent exhaust gas regulations, the development of

modern diesel engines requires not only a further improvement of the combustion and

injection process but also adequate reformulation of diesel fuels [3-8]. One promising

technique for the reduction of gaseous and particulate emissions is the optimization of the

chemical composition and the physical properties of conventional diesel fuels [5-7]. Using

this technique, significant improvements can be achieved in the environmental behavior not

only of new diesel engines but also of existing fleet of diesel vehicles [3-92].

Fundamental studies [93-115] have revealed the profound interconnection between fuel

molecular structure and the generating mechanism of soot during diesel combustion.

Specifically, studies of soot formation in laminar diffusion flames have shown that the

sooting tendency of numerous hydrocarbon compounds varies widely and is strongly affected

by the different configurations of carbon atom bonds [94,95,97]. For example, fuels with

4
polycyclic compounds (aromatic rings) and triple-bonded carbon atoms form soot readily,

whereas blends with straight chain hydrocarbons containing single-bonded carbon atoms are

rather opposed to the formation of soot [93-116].

The most widely discussed aspect of a fuel’s molecular structure effects on soot

formation is the general ranking of sooting tendencies. Based on data obtained from flames

on a Bunsen burner, Street and Thomas in a pioneer investigation [101] reported that the

sooting tendencies of hydrocarbons rank; acetylene < alkenes < isoalkanes < n-alkanes <

alkylbenzenes < naphthalenes. Takahashi and Glassman [103] concluded that soot emissions

in premixed flames arise from a competition between fuel pyrolysis and oxidative attack.

They correlated the sooting limits of premixed flames for a wide range of fuels by accounting

for C-C bonds and flame temperatures and found that the structure of the fuel molecule was

not very important, as all fuels break down to the same essential species, such as acetylene,

which build into soot. Thus, fuel pyrolysis controls the sooting tendency. However, in the

case of aromatic fuels, an additional fast and direct route may produce soot through

condensation of aromatic rings into graphite-like structures, particularly at temperatures

below 1800 K [104-106].

The generation of particulate matter in fuel-rich combustion is typically modeled through

the formation of small aromatic species, such as benzene, that grow to high molecular mass

aromatics including PAH. However, most flame studies of soot formation chemistry have

used methane, ethylene or acetylene as the fuel. These C1-C2 fuels lack most of the structural

features that are characteristic of liquid fuel hydrocarbons: alkyl carbon-carbon bonds, alkyl

rings, allylic bonds and benzenoid rings. Thus their flames provide an incomplete picture of

fuel decomposition and of the chemistry of the formation of aromatics. A recent, detailed

5
review by McEnally et al., [107] on the combustion chemistry of larger, more complex

hydrocarbons investigated the effects of these characteristic structures on the fuel

decomposition and aromatic formation chemistry. The general, widely accepted, picture of

soot formation in flames has been outlined in another review article by Frenklach [108].

According to Glassman [109], in premixed flames original fuel structures break down to

acetylene and soot is formed in the high-temperature post-flame zone. Such, a mechanism

may comprise elementary reactions involving a sequence of H-atom abstraction and

acetylene addition reactions (HACA mechanism [108]) and formation of intermediates, such

as vinyl, butadienyl, vinyl acetylene and phenyl acetylene radicals. In recent years, in

addition to the HACA mechanism, the importance of resonantly stabilized radicals in soot

formation has also been established. These, relatively un-reactive radicals, such as propargyl

(C3H3-) formed by the combination of vinyl and methyl radicals with subsequent hydrogen

abstraction, may be building blocks of aromatic rings particularly in the combustion of

aliphatic fuels [93,110]. In the case of aromatic fuels the aromatic benzene ring is already

present in the oxidation zone and is mainly oxidized to cylcopentadienyl radicals (c-C5H5-)

[111]. As a consequence, a large amount of cyclopentadienyl radicals is immediately

available for recombination reactions, leading to multi-ring aromatic formation. According to

D’ Anna and Violi [111] cyclopentadienyl self-combination is the dominant route in the

multi-ring aromatic formation process in aromatic fuel flames. McEnally et al. [107] suggest

two more, important reactions that form two ring aromatic hydrocarbons, i.e. acetylene

addition to 2-ethynylphenyl and propargyl addition to benzyl radicals. As the building blocks

for large aromatic species formation are the main products of benzene oxidation, PAH are

formed in the main oxidation zone of the flame [93,111]. The larger PAH compounds

6
coagulate to form the first soot nuclei (soot inception), which are a few nanometers in size.

These particles are initially transparent to visible radiation and exhibit spectroscopic

properties typical of PAH with few condensed aromatic rings. These compounds are formed

at a high rate in fuel-rich flames just downstream of the flame front and their concentration

accounts for the total amount of soot formed in slightly sooting conditions. These nuclei

continue to grow via surface reactions with acetylene, PAH and other hydrocarbons present

in the flame. Coagulation of growing soot particles leads to a decreasing number density

while in total, particle mass remains constant [112].

Over the years, a number of studies have concentrated mainly on the effect of fuel

aromatic content on engine exhaust emissions, because commercial diesel fuels contain

around 20-30% aromatic compounds, but no definite overall trend has been found [3-7,9-

16,26-29,35-37,40,41,43,97]. These studies revealed that it is quite difficult to relate directly

certain fuel characteristics with observed experimental findings in terms of engine

performance characteristics and pollutant emissions due to the fact that the variation of fuel

aromatic fraction is accompanied by changes of fuel physicochemical properties. For

example, a decrease of cetane number and a corresponding increase in density and viscosity

are normally observed when the aromatic content is increased.

According to the literature [3-92], diesel fuel composition and properties affect in a

different way each one of the gaseous and particulate emissions. For example, it has been

reported that CO and HC emissions depend on cetane number; NOx emissions are mainly

controlled by fuel density; whereas polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and soot are directly

related to the fuel aromatic content. Diesel oil composition in single-, double- and triple-

bonded hydrocarbons as well as in aromatic rings affects directly its physical and chemical

7
properties and thus formulates its tendency to form gaseous and particulate emissions when

burned in diesel engines. In general, there is an interrelation between the molecular structure

(paraffins, olefins, napthenes and aromatic hydrocarbons), the chemical properties (cetane

number, ignition point etc.) and the physical properties (density, viscosity, surface tension

etc) of a diesel fuel. Consequently, it is quite difficult – if not impossible – to ascribe the

variations observed in diesel engine performance and exhaust emissions to the change of a

single fuel parameter, when a diesel fuel is replaced with another.

Several theoretical and experimental investigations have been conducted to examine the

effect of the physical and chemical properties of conventional fuels on diesel pollutants,

which were emitted from various types of diesel engines, in test-cell installation or in

vehicles [3-92]. The examination of these studies derived the following general findings

concerning the effect of diesel fuel properties on pollutant emissions:

1. Reduction of sulphur content and aromatic content (especially of PAHs) resulted in a

noticeable decrease of particulate emissions (PM).

2. NOx emissions experienced low sensitivity to the variation of diesel fuel properties.

According to the literature [3-92], the effects of diesel fuel effects on engine performance

characteristics and exhaust emissions vary significantly with the type of engine used in the

experiments, with the experimental procedure followed, and with the method used for the

preparation of the test fuels. Furthermore, in previous studies [5-7,9-14,23,24,37,39,44],

different methods were employed to statistically correlate diesel emitted pollutants and fuel

chemical and physical properties.

For this reason, an extensive review of already published theoretical and experimental

data concerning the effects of conventional fuel synthesis and properties on diesel engine

8
performance characteristics and pollutant emissions is conducted herein. The main body of

the present study is comprised of theoretical and experimental results, which were produced

from our research team under three major European research programs during the last fifteen

years. In addition, results obtained from a large research program conducted in Europe, which

aimed to identify the effects of diesel fuel composition and properties on engine performance

and pollutant emissions are also included in this study. During these research projects, the

influence of variable aromatic content and structure and the influence of fuel physical

properties on diesel engine combustion characteristics and pollutant emissions were

examined both theoretically and experimentally in various types of diesel engines and diesel-

powered vehicles under diverse operating conditions. Emphasis is given to comprehend the

influence of diesel properties on fuel injection process, combustion characteristics and in-

cylinder pollutant formation. In addition, various statistical methods are presented, which

were employed to correlate the measured emitted pollutants with fuel properties. The main

scope of the present study is to assemble existing knowledge in this field and help clarify the

influence of individual conventional diesel fuel characteristics on engine performance and

pollutant emissions.

9
2. DESCRIPTION OF FUEL PROPERTIES
2.1 Fuel Properties of the “EPEFE” Program
The European Program on Emissions, Fuels and Engine Technologies (“EPEFE”), which

was conducted of ACEA (Association des Constructeurs Européens d’ Automobiles) and

EUROPIA (European Petroleum Industry Association) between 1993 and 1995, provides

important information towards the understanding of the effects of diesel fuel properties (i.e.

aromatic content, sulphur content, cetane number, density, distillation temperature etc) on

diesel engines performance and pollutant emissions [13,23,24]. The objective of the program

was to produce a core fuel matrix in which the following fuel parameters were de-correlated;

(in order of priority) i) density and poly-aromatics (i.e. di- + tri-aromatics), ii) cetane number

and iii) back-end distillation. In Table 1 is shown the original fuel matrix requirements of the

“EPEFE” program.

Table 1. Original fuel matrix requirements of “EPEFE” diesel fuels [13,23,24]

Fuel 1 2 3 4 5 6
Density low low high high low low
Poly - aromatics low high low high low low
Cetane number 50±1 50±1 50±1 50±1 55 58

It was agreed that all six fuels would be blended to constant sulphur content (as close as

possible to 500 ppm maximum) and should have the same back-end volatility characteristics

(as expressed by T95%v/v) as practically possible. Fuels 5 and 6 would be prepared by

treating Fuel 1 with increasing levels of ignition improver to allow a change in cetane number

without altering any of the other fuel parameters. It was agreed that the densities of the fuels

should satisfy the following criteria; minimum 820 kg/m³ and maximum 860 kg/m³ with a

10
spread (low to high) of at least 30 kg/m³. A poly-aromatics (di- + tri-aromatics) spread of at

least 6%m/m was targeted.

2.1.1 Preliminary assessment by the blending sub-group

In conventional fuels, density and poly-aromatics are highly correlated: a preliminary

study confirmed that Fuels 2 and 3 would be difficult to produce and would limit the

achievable spreads in density and poly-aromatics to ca. 27 kg/m3 and 5.2 %m/m,

respectively.

It was believed that a T95 of 345 – 350°C was feasible across the matrix, with a

candidate Fuel 7 having an increased T95 of ca. 370°C (EN590 specification maximum). An

additional Fuel 8 (decorrelation of di- and tri-aromatics) would be prepared to match Fuel 2

but with the di- to tri-aromatics ratio as high as possible. This fuel proved to be challenging

to prepare since it is difficult to selectively increase di-aromatic content without

simultaneously increasing tri-aromatic content.

A base cetane number of 50±1 across the matrix appeared to be feasible though it was

proposed that Fuel 4 rather than Fuel 1 should be treated with ignition improver at two

increasing levels to produce Fuels 5 and 6. This was because of predicted quantity limitations

on producing Fuel 1. Meeting the sulphur target of 500 ppm maximum added an increased

difficulty to formulating the fuels. Initial studies showed that in order to meet the other target

values as closely as possible, the resulting minimum sulphur content achievable across the

matrix was typically ca. 650 ppm. Clearly a majority of candidate blending components had

to be low sulphur (<500 ppm) materials which would in turn restrict the poly-aromatics

spread achievable; low sulphur components generally have low poly-aromatic contents. It

11
was agreed that modifications were required to make this eight fuel matrix acceptable and

that three extra fuels should be added to achieve the following:

 Increase poly-aromatics spread.

 Keep sulphur below 500 ppm.

 Include a fuel with a low T95 (ca. 320-325°C).

 Include a low density/low poly-aromatics fuel with a natural cetane number of ca. 58.

 Include a fuel with low density/low poly-aromatics/low T95 and ignition improved to

ca. 58 CN.

2.1.2 Fuel formulation

There were 24 candidate fuel components available at the outset. No individual oil

company could have supplied the full range required to blend all 11 fuels. All of these

components were typical refinery streams found in commercial use. Since the availability of

each of the components varied widely, it was necessary to formulate each fuel not only to

meet the target properties, but also to maintain certain quantity constraints in order to be able

to produce the required quantity of all 11 fuels. It was agreed that the final blends would not

be treated with any additives other than an ignition improver as required in Fuels 8, 9 and 11.

The selected formulations required a total of 16 different components to prepare the 11 fuels.

These comprised as follows:

 2 kerosenes

 1 straight run high sulphur light gas oil

 5 hydrotreated gas oils

 4 hydrocracked gas oils

12
  3 catalytically cracked gas oils

 1 highly aromatic, narrow cut refinery stream

The subtle differences necessary between the components were achieved via differences

in crudes and individual refining schemes and plant severities. The target requirements of the

diesel fuel matrix were successfully met in the 11 fuels which were produced. The actual

values vs. the target values are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Targeted and actual values of main fuel properties of “EPEFE” research program
[13,23,24]
EPD-X-94 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Density Target 828 828 855 855 828 855 828 855 855 828 828
(kg/m3)
Actual 829.2 828.8 857.0 855.1 828.8 855.5 826.9 855.1 855.4 826.6 827.0
Polyaromatics Target 1-2 7-8 1-2 7-8 4-5 7-8 7-8 7-8 7-8 1-2 1-2
(%wt.)
Actual 1.0 7.7 1.1 7.4 7.1* 7.6 1.0 7.3 8.0 1.1 0.9
o
T95 ( C) Target 345 - 345 - 345 - 345 - 345 - 370 320 - 345 - 345 - 345 - 320 -
350 350 350 350 350 325 350 350 350 325
Actual 344 349 348 344 346 371 326 345 344 347 329
CN (± 1) Target 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 54 58 58 58
Actual 51 50.2 50 50.3 50.6 50.2 49.5 54.8 59.1 58 57.1
S (± 50) Target 450 450 450 450 450 450 450 450 450 450 450
(ppm)
Actual 404 416 415 442 402 440 432 420 424 469 447

As mentioned before the main object of that project was to investigate the effects of fuel

properties and vehicle technology on the exhaust emissions from European light-duty and

heavy-duty diesel vehicles. Thus it was conducted in two separate sub-projects which

investigated the effect of diesel fuel properties on exhaust emissions from either light-duty or

heavy-duty diesel vehicles.

For each sub-project, emissions measurements had been taken from a set of vehicles or

engines over a specially blended fuel matrix. During the project a large number of engines of

13
varying technologies were used for each of the two aforementioned sub-projects (i.e. 19 light-

duty diesel vehicles and 5 heavy-duty diesel engines). The diesel matrix (see Table 4) aimed

to test the effects of density, cetane number, T95 and poly-aromatics on emissions. Because

of the many imposed constraints and the interdependencies between these four parameters, it

was impossible to build an overall orthogonal design matrix spanning all of the parameter

ranges of interest in a collective way. Thus, an 11-fuel matrix was constructed as a series of

orthogonal sub-matrices, as depicted in Figure 1.

The 2x2 sub-matrix formed by fuels 1, 2, 3, and 4 allowed the individual and joint effects

of poly-aromatics (1% to 8%) and density (0.828 and 0.855 kg/l) to be estimated at fixed

levels of cetane number (50) and T95 (345oC). Fuel 5 was added so that the effect of

removing tri-aromatics could be tested by comparing its emissions with those from fuel 2.

The 2x2 sub-matrix formed by fuels 1, 7, 10 and 11 allowed the individual and joint effects

of T95 (325 to 345oC) and cetane number (50 to 58) to be estimated at low density (0.828

kg/l) and low poly-aromatics (about 1%). Fuels 4, 8 and 9 form a 3-fuel set which tests the

effect of cetane number in high-density (0.855 kg/l) high-polyaromatic (8%) fuels.

Fuels 4 and 6 form a 2-fuel set for testing the effect of T95 (345 to 370oC), again in high-

density and high-polyaromatic fuels. The various sub-matrices possess desirable

orthogonality properties and allow the subsequent data to be analyzed in a very simple way.

The results can thus be summarized in the form of simple tables, graphs and local models

which are easily understood.

14
 9
 
5 Triaromatic 8

2 4 T95 6

Polyaromatic

11 10

Cetane

7 1 3
T95 Density

Density

0.828 0.828 0.855 0.855

T95

325 C 345 C 345 C 370 C

Figure 1. Schematic view of the methodology used to statistically analyze the fuel properties of
“EPEFE” program [13,23,24].(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE
paper 2008-01-00838)
Most fuel effects are estimated by comparing emissions either from a pair of single fuels,

or from the means of two pairs of fuels. Comparisons based on such small subsets of the data

are much less precise than those based on (say) factorial or D-optimal designs, where all the

data is used in each comparison. Moreover, fuel effects estimated from the diesel matrix in

Figure 1 are local estimates valid only at the fixed values chosen for the other parameters. In

view of these difficulties, it was decided to use a number of modeling approaches to ensure

that any conclusions would be robust. Three approaches were used in relating emissions to

fuel properties:

15
 1. Fitting a global linear model in density, cetane number, T95 and poly-aromatics to

each vehicle/engine individually and to the average emissions across vehicles/engines.

2. Finding the "best" linear model for each vehicle/engine and for the fleet average using

stepwise regression. The best linear model was found by backwards stepwise

regression. Terms which were not significant at the 5% level, were removed from the

model.

3. Fitting local 2-variable linear models to each of the various sub-matrices (the other 2

variables being fixed).

Each emission was analyzed separately and, in each case, the mean of each pair of back-

to-back results was taken as the response variable. Again, actual rather than target fuel

properties were used. In the light-duty case separate analysis of ECE, EUDC and composite

results were conducted. For each statistical model, tables with the statistical parameter

estimated according with the standard errors, t- and P-values had been produced.

All the parameters estimated by the aforementioned statistical approaches were generally

in good agreement with one another. The light-duty model also gave predictions in good

agreement with the emissions actually observed from two additional fuels outside the test

matrix. The global heavy-duty diesel emissions models showed significant lack of fit for

some emissions, whilst analysis of the first 2x2 sub-matrix (fuels 1-4) revealed interactions

between density and poly-aromatics in the light-duty diesel data. When constructing the

diesel matrix, the design parameters density, cetane number, T95 and poly-aromatics were

assigned target values and other fuel properties, such as sulphur, were kept constant.

However, in order to blend fuels to these predetermined targets, certain other fuel

parameters had to be varied, many reflecting the composition of the fuel. These included the

16
fractions of napthenes, total aromatics, mono-, di- and tri-aromatics and N-paraffins as well

as T10 and viscosity. Inevitably the values of these parameters are highly intercorrelated

within the fuel matrix by using Partial Least Square (PLS) technique. Furthermore,

exploratory analysis (i.e. a combination of PCA and PLS techniques) was used to investigate

the effects of both fuel properties and vehicle technology on the emissions for the various

combinations of vehicle and fuel types. This allowed an assessment to be made of the relative

importance of each of the variables.

2.2 Fuel Properties of the “JOULE-II” Program

This program aimed to address the following issues relating to the influence of diesel fuel

properties on particulate formation and emissions of other pollutants in diesel engines:

 The influence of fuel aromatic content, specifically the bi- and tri-cyclic aromatic

components.

 Distinction of the influence of fuel physical properties, notably density, from that of

chemical properties which correlate with the physical properties.

 The development and application of chemical and physical models to provide

increased understanding of the influence of fuel properties and engine characteristics.

On the base of existing knowledge on fuel effects on emissions, it was decided to

investigate the effects on the following fuel properties on particulate formation:

 Density.

 Mono-aromatics.

 Di-aromatics.

 Tri-aromatics.

17
  Detergent additives.

It was decided to prepare these fuels with the following constraints:

 Keep constant the total aromatic content.

 Keep the sulphur content at a constant level, below 0.05%.

 Keep the cetane number within a narrow range of 52±2.

In order to satisfy the previous constrains it was decided to produce these fuels

synthetically using base components that were mixed at various analogies. The main

components were:

 The source of aromatics was a Light Light Cycle Oil (LLCO). This is an aromatic

effluent produced in refineries from catalytic cracking. After distillation this was

divided into two components C1 and C2 the first containing only mono-aromatics and

the second containing mono- and di- aromatics.

 Non aromatic components C3 and C4 with high cetane numbers from a petrochemical

plant.

 Finally other pure components were used to control the other properties of the

synthetic fuels and were used in small quantities, phenanthrene was used to adjust the

tri-aromatic content, di-benzothiopene to adjust the sulphur level and diglyme to

adjust the oxygen content. The properties of these components are shown in Table 3.

18
 Table 3. Properties of fuel components of “JOULE-II” program [9,10]
C1 Distillation cut from LLCO (<200 oC) high in mono-
aromatic, very low in di-aromatic
C2 Distillation cut from LLCO (>200 oC) containing mono-
and di-aromatic
C3 Petrochemical stream, narrow range in distillation, fully
dearomatised, no sulphur, high in cetane (68)
C4 Same as C3 with lower cetane number (55)
Phenanthrene Pure phenanthrene, tri-aromatic booster
Benzothiopene Pure benzothiopene, sulphur booster
α-methylnaphthalene Pure α-methylnaphtalene, di-aromatic booster
The main properties of the fuels used in the present investigation are given in Table 4. At

this point it should be clarified that the cetane number of the fuels was adjusted using a high

cetane number component which was a Fisher Tropsch solvent having a cetane number up to

90.

Table 4. Description of physical and chemical properties of the fuels, which were prepared and
used in the “JOULE - II” research program [9,10]
Reference Fuel Base N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N7
Monoaromatics (%wt.) 25.3 24.6 21.6 20.9 20.6 17.2 22.1
Diaromatics (%wt.) 0.9 2.9 4.2 3.6 4.6 9.5 4.4
Triaromatics (%wt.) 0.1 0.2 0.1 1.0 0.1 0.1 0.1
Total Aromatics (%wt.) 26.3 27.7 25.9 25.5 25.3 26.8 26.6
Paraffins (%wt.) 41.6 37.6 43.8 40.5 55.3 52.7 41.9
Naphtenics (%wt.) 27 29.5 33.4 34.2 22.8 22.2 33.4
Carbon (%wt.) 86.3 86.2 86.3 85.9 85.8 86.6 86.4
Hydrogen (%wt.) 13.6 13.6 13.6 13.6 13.7 13.4 13.5
C/H mass ratio 6.35 6.35 6.35 6.32 6.26 6.46 6.4
Cetane number 53.0 52.1 51.8 52.7 49.4 51.4 52.4
Density at 15oC (kg/m3) 0.8161 0.8261 0.8287 0.8301 0.8129 0.8292 0.8290
Viscosity at 40oC
2 1.719 2.011 2.148 2.123 1.680 2.110 2.138
(mm /s)
Surface tension at 20oC
27.7 28.4 28.5 28.4 26.6 27.6 28.5
(mN/m)
Net heating value 42.52 42.77 42.77 42.72 43.01 42.87 42.94
(MJ/kg)
IBP (oC) ASTM D86 98 152 196 189 194 205 193
T50 (oC) ASTM D86 252 252 253 251 219 248 251
FBP (oC) ASTM D86 309 304 309 307 305 305 307

19
2.3 Fuel Properties of the “JOULE-III” Program
Thirteen test fuels having different aromatic content were prepared in an oil refinery in

Finland under a EU-funded research program [5,6,11,40]. The objective of this program was

the examination of the effect of fuel aromatic content on diesel emitted pollutants aiming

ultimately to the determination of a low aromatic content (“aromatic threshold”) in the fuel

sooting tendency. A detail description of the test fuels is given in Table 5. Fuel preparation

was conducted according to the following constraints:

 to keep the sulphur content as low as possible (<50 ppm).

 to preserve distillation the curve within narrowed boundaries.

 to allow no significant variations in the physical properties of the fuel.

Fuel D1 is a synthetic fuel, high in paraffins (95%wt.) with an aromatic content near zero

(<1%wt.) whereas ‘reference’ fuel D0 is a low-sulphur European diesel fuel for road vehicles

used as a reference for the engine tests. Various amounts of diesel fuel, toluene (a single-

aromatic compound) and methylnaphthalene (a two-ring aromatic compound) were added to

fuel D1 to derive fuels D2 to D12. Having in mind the salient features of Table 5, test fuels

are classified as follows:

 The test fuels D1, D3, D5, D4, D8, D9, D10 and reference fuel D0 indicate a

progressively increasing aromatic fraction. As a result, the effect of total aromatics on

engine performance characteristics and pollutant emissions can be examined.

According to Table 5, the aromatic content of test fuels increases progressively from

below 1% for D1 up to 26.8% for reference fuel D0.

20
 Test fuels D1, D3, D5, D6, D8, D9 and D10 comprise a series of increasing

monoaromatic content from <1% up to 12.2%wt. Considering this, the effect of

monoaromatic content on engine pollutants is investigated.

 According to Table 5, fuels D4 and D5 have the same aromatic content and almost

negligible triaromatics, while the diaromatics of fuel D4 are substituted by

monoaromatics in fuel D5. Thus, the effect of the type of aromatic structure on

measured emissions can be examined by comparing the results obtained for test fuels

D4 and D5.

21
 Table 5. Chemical composition and properties of conventional diesel fuels of “JOULE-III”
program [5,11,40]
Reference Fuel D0 D1 D3 D4 D5 D6 D8 D9 D10 D12
Blending Road Base Base+ Base+ Base+ Base+ Base+ Base+ Base+ Base+
Information vehicle Fuel diesel napthenics diesel diesel diesel diesel diesel diesel+
diesel napthenics
Monoaromatics 22.2 <1.0 2.3 <1.0 4.4 6.1 7.5 9.4 12.2 10.1
(%wt.)
Diaromatics 4.2 <0.1 0.4 5.4 0.6 1.0 1.3 1.6 1.8 4.2
(%wt.)
Triaromatics 0.34 <0.02 0.03 <0.02 0.06 0.09 1.1 0.13 0.14 0.13
(%wt.)
Total aromatics 26.8 <1.0 2.6 5.7 5.0 7.1 8.8 11.0 14.0 14.3
(%wt.)
Paraffinics 47.1 95.0 89.1 89.9 82.9 77.2 71.7 58.9 60.6 58.5
(%wt.)
Naphtenics 24.5 4.5 8.1 5 11.7 14.9 17.9 28.4 24.5 26.4
(%wt.)
Carbon (%wt.) 86.3 84.7 84.7 84.7 84.2 83.6 84.4 85.3 85.6 84.6
Hydrogen 13.8 15.7 15.5 15.2 15.2 14.9 14.9 14.8 14.7 14.5
(%wt.)
C/H mass ratio 6.25 5.39 5.47 5.57 5.54 5.61 5.67 5.76 5.82 5.84
Cetane number 52.5 64.05 64.5 60.8 62.25 62.05 61.1 60.25 59.95 57.95
o
Density, 15 C 833.7 779.6 785.8 789.1 792 798.2 804.4 810.5 816.4 815.2
(kg/m3)
Viscosity, 40 2.72 2.49 2.58 2.44 2.63 2.72 2.81 2.92 2.99 2.85
o
C, (mm2/s)
Specific Energy 42.74 43.88 43.695 43.61 43.565 43.5 44.075 43.405 43.855 43.13
(net) (MJ/kg)
IBP (oC) 176 191.1 190.1 194.4 192.9 190.8 193.8 193.2 194 191.6
o
T50 ( C) 268 254.8 258.6 251.9 262.6 266.2 269.1 272.1 276.3 270.1
o
FBP ( C) 361 354.2 353.7 353.6 355.8 352.7 356.4 354.5 355.3 357

2.3.1 Multivariable statistical analysis of fuel properties of “JOULE-II” program

As evidenced, strong interrelations exist between some fuel properties. Hence, it is quite

difficult to ascribe the differences observed in diesel engine performance characteristics and

emitted pollutants to one or more fuel characteristics. This is attributed to the fact that the

variation of one fuel characteristic results in the variation of one or more fuel properties,

22
which are directly or indirectly dependent from it. Hence, a multivariable statistical analysis

is conducted to determine the correlation coefficients between fuel composition

characteristics and its physicochemical properties. The results of this multivariable analysis

are presented in Table 6, where the Pearson product moment correlation for each pair of fuel

properties is given. Pearson coefficients, P, reflect the statistical significance of the estimated

correlations whereas correlation coefficients R2 vary between -1 and +1 and they correspond

to the degree of linear correlation between fuel characteristics. Pearson coefficient P values,

which are lower than 5%, indicate statistical significant non zero correlations at 95% degree

of confidence. All the pairs of independent fuel variables (identified as those with P values

higher than 0.05) are given in Table 7. Pearson moment correlation value P is used as

criterion of statistical independence between fuel properties instead of using a predefined

minimum value for the correlation coefficient.

23
 Table 6. Correlation coefficients of fuel characteristics of “JOULE III” research program [5]

Triaromatics (%wt.)
Napthenics (%wt.)

Paraffinics (%wt.)

Viscosity (mm2/s)
Net heating value
Density (kg/m3)

Monoaromatics

Total aromatics
Cetane number

C/H mass ratio

Diaromatics

FBP (oC)
T50 (oC)

IBP (oC)
(kJ/kg)
(%wt.)

(%wt.)

(%wt.)
Cetane number 1

*-0.92
C/H mass ratio 1
**0.00
-0.86 0.99
Density (kg/m3) 1
0.00 0.00
-0.70 0.46 0.32
Diaromatics (%wt.) 1
0.04 0.21 0.39
-0.62 0.85 0.92 -0.07
T50 (oC) 1
0.08 0.01 0.00 0.87
-0.57 0.51 0.54 0.16 0.48
FBP (oC) 1
0.11 0.16 0.13 0.67 0.19
Net heating value 0.62 -0.47 -0.40 -0.49 -0.21 0.14
1
(MJ/kg) 0.07 0.20 0.29 0.18 0.60 0.72
-0.52 0.44 0.39 0.48 0.24 0.33 0.06
IBP (oC) 1
0.15 0.24 0.30 0.19 0.54 0.39 0.88
Monoaromatics -0.75 0.93 0.97 0.12 0.98 0.53 -0.31 0.30
1
(%wt.) 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.76 0.00 0.14 0.42 0.44
-0.77 0.92 0.96 0.16 0.94 0.51 -0.45 0.25 0.96
Napthenics (%wt.) 1
0.02 0.00 0.00 0.69 0.00 0.16 0.22 0.52 0.00
0.83 -0.96 -0.98 -0.24 -0.93 0.53 0.45 0.31 -0.97 -0.99
Paraffinics (%wt.) 1
0.01 0.00 0.00 0.53 0.00 0.14 0.23 0.41 0.00 0.00
Total aromatics -0.92 0.99 0.99 0.45 0.86 0.54 -0.45 0.43 0.94 0.92 -0.96
1
(%wt.) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.22 0.00 0.14 0.23 0.25 0.00 0.00 0.00
-0.17 0.21 0.29 -0.09 0.34 0.48 0.44 0.36 0.28 0.23 -0.25 0.21
Triaromatics (%wt.) 1
0.67 0.58 0.46 0.81 0.38 0.19 0.24 0.35 0.48 0.56 0.52 0.58
-0.65 0.88 0.94 -0.01 0.99 0.48 -0.22 0.26 0.99 0.96 -0.95 0.88 0.32
Viscosity (mm2/s) 1
0.06 0.00 0.00 0.98 0.00 0.20 0.58 0.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.40

*Values in bold indicate correlation coefficients R2.

**Values with normal characters indicate Pearson moment coefficients.

24
 Table 7. Statistically independent fuel property pairs of “JOULE-III” research program [5]
Correlatio P Correlatio P
Property 1 Property 2 n valu Property 1 Property 2 n valu
coefficient e coefficient e
Cetane number T50 -0.62 0.08 >> IBP 0.24 0.54
>> FBP -0.57 0.11 >> Triaromatics 0.34 0.38
Net heating Net heating
>> 0.62 0.07 FBP -0.14 0.71
value value
>> IBP -0.52 0.15 >> IBP 0.33 0.39
>> Triaromatics -0.17 0.67 >> Monoaromatics 0.53 0.14
>> Viscosity -0.65 0.06 >> Napthenics 0.51 0.16
C/H mass ratio Diaromatics 0.46 0.21 >> Paraffinics -0.53 0.14
>> FBP 0.51 0.16 >> Total aromatics 0.54 0.14
Net heating
>> -0.47 0.20 >> Triaromatics 0.48 0.19
value
>> IBP 0.44 0.24 >> Viscosity 0.48 0.19
Net heating
>> Triaromatics 0.22 0.58 IBP 0.06 0.88
value
Density Diaromatics 0.32 0.40 >> Monoaromatics -0.31 0.42
>> FBP 0.54 0.13 >> Napthenics -0.45 0.22
Net heating
>> -0.40 0.29 >> Paraffinics 0.45 0.23
value
>> IBP 0.39 0.30 >> Total aromatics -0.45 0.23
>> Triaromatics 0.29 0.46 >> Triaromatics 0.44 0.24
Diaromatics T50 -0.07 0.87 >> Viscosity -0.21 0.58
>> FBP 0.16 0.67 IBP Monoaromatics 0.30 0.44
Net heating
>> -0.49 0.18 >> Napthenics 0.25 0.52
value
>> IBP 0.48 0.19 >> Paraffinics -0.32 0.41
>> Monoaromatics 0.12 0.76 >> Total aromatics 0.43 0.25
>> Napthenics 0.16 0.69 >> Triaromatics 0.36 0.35
>> Paraffinics -0.24 0.53 >> Viscosity 0.26 0.50
>> Total aromatics 0.45 0.22 Triaromatics Monoaromatics 0.28 0.47
>> Triaromatics -0.09 0.81 >> Napthenics 0.23 0.56
>> Viscosity -0.01 0.98 >> Paraffinics -0.25 0.52
T50 FBP 0.48 0.19 >> Total aromatics 0.21 0.58
Net heating
>> -0.21 0.60 >> Viscosity 0.32 0.40
value

Independent fuel property pairs facilitate the examination of the statistical interrelation

between measured diesel emitted pollutants and fuel characteristics.

25
2.4 Fuel Properties of the “NEDENEF” Program
The fuels of this program were developed to identify diesel fuel formulations to be used

in future diesel engines. The main objective of this program was to specify the “optimum”

fuel physical properties for further decreasing diesel exhaust emissions without affecting

negatively or if possible, decreasing further bsfc in modern diesel engines [7,12].

Hence, seven test fuels with different molecular type were prepared to study the effect of

fuel density, viscosity and compressibility factor on DI diesel engine performance and

pollutant emissions. Initially, the specifications of a reference fuel named as “base” DS1 were

selected. This fuel mixture would be used for the preparation of the other test fuels. The

characteristics of the “base” fuel, which was selected to be a Finnish summer - grade city

diesel oil, were the following:

Table 8. Design specifications of “base” fuel DI1 from “NEDENEF” research program [7,12]
Density 820 – 840 kg/m3
Viscosity 2 – 4 mm2/s
Cetane number around 55
Total aromatic content around 20%wt
Polyaromatic content less than 5%wt
Sulfur content around 20 ppm
T50 around 265 oC
T95 around 360 oC

Then, a series of six conventional diesel fuels was prepared with values of density

ranging from 800 to 850 kg/m3, viscosity varying between 1.5 and 5 mm2/s and

compressibility factor ranging between 6.6 and 7.05 x 10-5 bar-1. The composition, the

chemical and physical properties of the test fuels are shown in Table 9. At this point it is

26
necessary to address the basic differences in chemical synthesis and physical properties

between fuels DS2 – DS3 and DS4 – DS5:

1. According to the initial planning of the research program, fuels DS2 and DS3 are

called “Density Fuels” because they were prepared in order to have different densities

while all other fuel parameters were to be kept to be constant. However, as evidenced

from Table 9, the increase of density is accompanied by a significant increase of fuel

viscosity (almost 75%), increase of cetane number and decrease of compressibility

factor. This is attributed mainly to the partial replacement of fuel paraffinic content of

fuel DS2 by napthenics and secondarily, to the increase of distillation temperature due

to the addition of a high distillation temperature additive.

2. Fuels DS4 and DS5 were initially named “Viscosity Fuels” because they were

prepared to have different viscosities with all other properties were to be kept

constant. However, in this case also, the drastic increase of viscosity (almost 170%)

was accompanied by increase of density, increase of cetane number and decrease of

compressibility factor. In this case, such changes can be ascribed mainly to the

increase of distillation temperature and to the partial replacement of paraffines by

napthenics.

Hence, both fuel pairs DS2 – DS3 and DS4 – DS5 can be used to examine the combined

effect of fuel density, viscosity and compressibility factor mainly due to the increase of

distillation temperature on diesel engine performance characteristics and pollutant emissions

utilizing pertinent measurements from Lister LV1 engine. According to research program

planning, fuels DS6 and DS7 were prepared to examine the effect of variable compressibility

factor on diesel engine performance and exhaust emissions. For this reason, they were

27
initially named “Compressibility Fuels”. However their compressibility and density values

are almost the same. The transition from fuel DS6 to DS7 is accompanied by reduction of

fuel viscosity due to small decrease of distillation temperatures. Thus, the examination of

experimental findings for fuel pair DS6 – DS7 will assist to the comprehension of the effect

of fuel viscosity on diesel engine performance and exhaust emissions.

Table 9. Salient features of test fuels DS1 – DS7 of the “NEDENEF” program [7,12]
DS1
Fuel DS2 DS3 DS4 DS5 DS6 DS7
“Base”
Recipe Finnish Paraffinics + Napthenics + Base fuel + High Base fuel + Base fuel +
City Low High Low distillation Paraffinic Napthenic
diesel distillation distillation distillation temperature compound compound
summer temperature temperature temperature fuel
grade additive additive additive
Monoaromatics
19.9 15.3 14.6 15.7 14.4 14.8 14.4
(%wt.)
Diaromatics
2.2 1.1 1.3 0.7 1.3 1.7 1.7
(%wt.)
Polyaromatics
2.4 1.2 1.5 0.8 1.7 1.8 1.9
(%wt.)
Total Aromatics
22.3 16.5 16.0 16.5 16.1 16.6 16.3
(%wt.)
Paraffines
40.1 53.0 33.5 40.7 37.5 46.2 40.8
(%wt.)
Naphtenics
40.1 32.2 52.7 45.3 48.6 39.1 44.6
(%wt.)
Aromatics
19.8 14.8 13.8 14.0 13.9 14.7 14.6
(%wt.)
Density, 15oC,
833.7 817.2 839.3 818.8 837.7 827.7 830.0
(kg/m3)
T5 (oC) 208.0 208.7 219.9 194.1 227.2 210.8 210.5
T50 (oC) 270.2 246.0 299.1 223.2 319.4 273.4 261.3
T95 (oC]) 347.9 311.8 347.2 301.1 380.2 340.5 344.1
Cetane
53.3 53.3 56.1 50.9 57.5 54.8 54.7
Number
Viscosity, 40oC,
2.94 2.22 3.88 1.80 4.81 2.97 2.74
(mm2/s)
Surface Tension,
28.0 28.1 29.4 28.1 29.7 28.8 28.9
20oC, (mN/m)
Net Heating
43.03 43.41 43.00 42.92 43.22 43.31 43.22
Value (MJ/kg)
Compressibility,
60 bar, 20oC 6.81 7.04 6.62 7.04 6.60 6.81 6.80
(x10-5 bar-1)
C/H Ratio 6.1 6.0 6.14 6.14 6.14 6.04 6.07

28
2.4.1 Multivariate statistical analysis of fuel characteristics of “NEDENEF” program

As evidenced from Table 9, there is an interrelation between the chemical and physical

properties of a conventional diesel fuel, which becomes very strong between certain

parameters. Hence, when a fuel is replaced with another, it is quite difficult to attribute the

changes observed in diesel engine performance and pollutant emissions to a single property

only. This is ascribed to the fact that the change of one fuel parameter results in the change of

one or more properties. Thus, a statistical analysis is necessary to determine which fuel

properties are statistically intertwined. A multivariable statistical analysis was conducted to

specify the correlation coefficients between all possible pairs of fuel parameters. According

to this analysis, fuel property pairs with correlation coefficient higher or equal to 75% are

characterized as statistically related whereas values of correlation coefficient lower than 75%

indicate that the statistical relation between fuel parameters is statistically unimportant.

Results from this multivariable statistical analysis are presented in Table 10 [7,12].

29
Table 10. Multivariable statistical analysis of diesel fuel properties of the “NEDENEF” program
[7,12]

Viscosity (mm2/s)
Aromatics (%wt.)

Compressibility
Mononapthenes

Density (kg/m3)
Monoaromatics

Total aromatics

Surface tension
Tetranapthenes

Cetane number

C/H mass ratio

Polyaromatics

Heating value
Trinapthenes
Triaromatics

Dinapthenes
Diaromatics

(x10-5 bar-1)
Napthenics
Paraffinics

T50 (oC)

T95 (oC)

(MJ/kg)
(mN/m)
T5 (oC)
(%wt.)

(%wt.)

(%wt.)

(%wt.)

(%wt.)

(%wt.)

(%wt.)

(%wt.)

(%wt.)

(%wt.)

(%wt.)
Monoaromatics
1
(%wt.)
Diaromatics
*0.54 1
(%wt.)
Triaromatics
-0.10 0.29 1
(%wt.)
Polyaromatics
0.49 0.98 0.48 1
(%wt.)
Total aromatics
0.98 0.69 0.02 0.65 1
(%wt.)
Paraffinics
0.00 -0.09 -0.45 -0.20 -0.03 1
(%wt.)
Napthenics
-0.30 -0.15 0.42 -0.03 -0.28 -0.95 1
(%wt.)
Aromatics
0.96 0.75 0.01 0.69 0.99 0.06 -0.37 1
(%wt.)
Mononapthenes
0.04 -0.24 -0.24 -0.26 -0.01 -0.12 0.13 -0.06 1
(%wt.)
Dinapthenes
-0.22 0.23 0.76 0.38 -0.12 -0.87 0.86 -0.16 -0.18 1
(%wt.)
Trinapthenes
-0.27 -0.07 0.22 0.00 -0.25 -0.67 0.71 -0.29 -0.53 0.69 1
(%wt.)
Tetranapthenes
-0.36 -0.18 0.49 -0.05 -0.33 -0.70 0.77 -0.39 -0.49 0.79 0.93 1
(%wt.)
Density (kg/m3) 0.02 0.49 0.73 0.62 0.15 -0.79 0.70 0.12 -0.36 0.94 0.68 0.72 1

o
T5 ( C) -0.34 0.24 0.83 0.39 -0.21 -0.37 0.41 -0.19 -0.66 0.76 0.58 0.73 0.78 1

T50 (oC) -0.21 0.33 0.80 0.48 -0.08 -0.54 0.53 -0.08 -0.57 0.80 0..2 0.75 0.89 0.96 1

T95 (oC) -0.07 0.51 0.93 0.67 0.09 -0.53 0.47 0.09 -0.35 0.85 0.38 0.54 0.89 0.88 0.94 1

Cetane number -0.43 0.26 0.81 0.41 -0.29 -0.40 0.46 -0.27 -0.57 0.80 0.57 0.70 0.79 0.98 0.95 0.89 1
Viscosity
-0.24 0.22 0.90 0.39 -0.12 -0.58 0.59 -0.15 -0.48 0.88 0.60 0.78 0.87 0.95 0.99 0.93 0.94 1
(mm2/s)
Surface tension
-0.64 -0.02 0.72 0.13 -0.53 -0.58 0.71 -0.55 -0.30 0.87 0.64 0.79 0.74 0.86 0.85 0.77 0.91 0.87 1
(mN/m)
Heating value
-0.36 0.12 0.12 0.11 -0.28 0.73 -0.63 -0.17 -0.44 -0.31 -0.34 -0.27 -0.26 0.30 0.10 0.10 0.30 0.05 0.08 1
(MJ/kg)
Compressibility
0.20 -0.38 -0.79 -0.52 0.06 0.73 -0.70 0.08 0.40 -0.96 -0.69 -0.77 -0.97 -0.87 -0.95 -0.92 -0.90 -0.94 -0.87 0.10 1
(x10-5 bar-1)
C/H mass ratio 0.04 -0.19 0.39 -0.07 0.02 -0.91 0.88 -0.11 0.31 0.69 0.49 0.59 0.55 0.18 0.35 0.34 0.18 0.45 0.41 -0.83 -0.49 1

*Values indicate correlation coefficients R2.

30
3. EXPERIMENTAL INSTALLATIONS
Some from the engine tests of the research programs “JOULE-II”, “JOULE-III” and

“NEDENEF” were conducted in the experimental facilities located at the authors’ NTUA

laboratory [10-12]. During “JOULE - II” program engine tests with diesel oils were carried

out in two single-cylinder diesel engines: A direct injection (Lister LV1) and a indirect

injection (Ricardo E-6). The engine tests of “JOULE-III” program were conducted in the

same set of engines whereas the experimental measurements with the fuels of “NEDENEF”

program were carried out in two single-cylinder DI diesel engines (Lister LV1 and

Ricardo/Cussons ‘Hydra’).

3.1 Installation of Lister LV1 engine

A representative outline of the experimental apparatus of Lister LV1 engine is presented

in Fig. 2. It is a single-cylinder four-stroke, naturally aspirated, air-cooled engine with a

“bowl-in-piston” combustion chamber having a bore of 85.73 mm, a stroke of 82.55 mm and

a connecting rod length of 188.5 mm. The compression ratio is 18:1 and the nominal

operating speed range is 1000-3000 rpm. Fuel is injected inside the cylinder through a three-

hole injector nozzle (hole diameter of 230 μm) located near the centre of the combustion

chamber having an opening pressure of 180 bar. The engine is coupled to a Heenan & Froude

hydraulic dynamometer [5-7,10-12].

31
 Figure 2. Schematic view of the experimental installation of Lister LV1 engine [5-7]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

3.2 Installation of “Ricardo/Cussons Hydra” engine

This is a single-cylinder, four-stroke, water cooled, high speed, experimental standard

engine with fully automated test bed, which is coupled to a ‘McClure’ DC dynamometer.

Ricardo ‘Hydra’ engine has the ability to operate on the Otto (spark-ignition) or DI diesel or

IDI diesel, four-stroke principle, by changing various parts of the crank gear mechanism,

cylinder and head. In our experiments was used as a naturally aspirated, DI diesel engine,

which can operate in a rotational speed range of 1000–4500 rpm. The engine cylinder bore is

0.08026 m, the piston stroke 0.08890 m and the compression ratio 19.8:1. It has a re-entrant

bowl-in-piston combustion chamber, with an injector nozzle having four holes, 0.25 mm

diameter each, drilled symmetrically around its tip, forming a spray cone angle of 160o. The

diesel fuel injection pump is fitted with an 11 mm diameter plunger. A ‘Bosch’ injector body

is used, which opens at a pressure of 250 bar. A range of 0 up to 40oCA advance (static) is

32
provided. For fuel consumption measurements, a glass burette of known volume was used

with the time measured for its complete evacuation of the fuel sample feeding the engine. A

schematic view of the experimental installation of Ricardo/Cussons ‘Hydra’ engine is shown

in Fig. 3 [8,12]. Details concerning the monitoring devices used to measure fuel consumption

and pollutant emissions as well as to record cylinder and injection pressure signals can be

found in references [5-13].

Figure 3. Schematic view of the experimental installation of “Ricardo/Cussons Hydra” engine

[8,12]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

33
3.3 Description of diesel engines and vehicles used in EPEFE program
During the specific project an extended experimental investigation had been conducted

on light duty and high duty compression ignition engines fuelling with various advanced

diesel fuels. The set of test vehicles/engines were selected in order to reflect the wide range in

vehicle sizes/engine displacements available in Europe. These vehicles/engines were

equipped with prototype emission technologies presently under development. All light duty

diesel vehicles exceeded the requirements of the 1996 European emission standards while the

heavy duty engines used exceeded the emissions standards of the EURO-2. Thus, most of the

test vehicles used in the specific project were prototypes, despite sometimes using existing

vehicle frame and body shapes. Some of the test vehicles had been selected from individual

company internal development fleets, while others had been specifically built for this project

and incorporate the most advanced emission control systems developed by those car

manufacturers within their own individual emission reduction programs. It must be stated

here that the specific project examined 11 diesel fuels in 19 light duty vehicles and 5 heavy

duty engines, respectively. More than 2000 emission tests were run and over 500000 data

points were generated [13,23,24].]

3.3.1 Heavy – duty diesel engines

The heavy duty engines tested in the program were chosen such that a wide range of

engine size and technology meeting the 1996 emission standards were represented. This was

emphasized in order to cover the large variation of engine application in commercial vehicles

as well. Most of the test engines were prototypes not being in serial production at the start of

this program. In order to cover the full range of commercial vehicle, the main operating

34
characteristics of the selected heavy duty diesel engines used are between the following

limits:

 engine displacement volume from 2.8 to 10.964 litres.

 rated maximum power from 84.5 to 250 kW

 rated speed from 3600 to 1900 rpm

 rated maximum torque from 253 to 1600 Nm

The selected engines represent advanced and optimized combustion control technologies

in their different classes of engine application. All engines are direct injection, turbocharged

equipped with charge air intercooler. The level of emissions is controlled as engine-out

emissions and therefore by the combustion optimization. No after treatment devices were

used, as the high load factor of the ECE R49 13-mode cycle does not permit the application

of oxidation catalysts with the present sulphur content in diesel fuel. Table 11 presents the

main important characteristics of the selected heavy duty diesel engines.

Table 11. Main specifications of the selected heavy duty diesel engines of the “EPEFE” program
[13,23,24]

HD Diesel Engine Code V W X Y Z

Engine type DI DI DI DI DI
Cylinder 6 4 6 6 6
3
Displ. Volume (cm ) 8650 2799 6900 10964 6200
Bore (mm) 118 94.4 108 128 102
Stroke (mm) 132 100 125 142 126
Max. Power (kW) 222 84.5 162 250 125
Max. Torque (Nm) 1150 253 820 1600 630
Mean Piston Speed (m/s) 10.12 12 10 8.99 10.5
Compression Ratio 16 19 18 17.25 17.5

35
3.3.2 Light – duty diesel engines

The set of light duty test vehicles was selected in order to reflect the wide range in

vehicle sizes/engine displacements available in Europe. These vehicles were equipped with

prototype emission technologies exceeded thus the requirements of the 1996 European

emission standards [13,23,24]. As shown in Table 12 the light duty diesel test fleet covered a

range of vehicle size, engine capacity, power output that was deliberately chosen to reflect

the range of technologies anticipated to meet predicted emission requirements beyond 1996.

Specifically the main technological characteristics of the light duty diesel engines used in the

specific investigation were combinations of:

 Indirect (IDI) or Direct (DI) Injection diesel engines.

 Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR).

 Naturally aspirated (NA) or turbocharged (TC) engines. Some of the turbocharged

engines were fitted with air intercooling system.

 Engine displacement volumes between 1488 cm3 and 2497 cm3.

 Passenger car (PC) and light duty truck (LDT) with a reference mass ranging from

1130 kg up to 2040 kg.

36
 Table 12. Main specifications of the selected light duty diesel engines [13,23,24]
Vehicle Vehicle Displ. Max. Max. Compre Aspira Combu
Code Type Volume Power Torque ssion tion stion
(cm3) (kW) (Nm) Ratio Type Interco Type
oler

A PC 1488 49 132 22 TC NO IDI

B PC 1488 49 132 22 TC NO IDI
C PC 1753 43 109 21.5 NA NO IDI
D PC 1753 43 109 21.5 NA NO IDI
E PC 1753 65 178 21.5 TC YES IDI
F PC 1753 65 178 21.5 TC YES IDI
G PC 1930 66 186 19.2 TC YES IDI
H PC 1870 66 175 20.5 TC YES IDI
J PC 1896 66 200 22.5 TC YES IDI
K PC 2445 94.4 285 21.5 TC YES IDI
L PC 2445 94.4 285 21.5 TC YES IDI
M PC 2188 61.3 142 20 NA NO IDI
N PC 2497 83 170 22 NA NO IDI
P PC 1930 68 200 20 TC YES DI
Q PC 1896 66 202 19.5 TC YES DI
R PC 2000 63 170 19.5 TC NO DI
S PC 2000 77 210 19.5 TC YES DI
T LDT 2068 47 125 21.5 NA NO IDI
U LDT 2496 63 200 18.3 TC NO DI

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Effect of aromatic content and structure
In this section the influence of fuel aromatic content and type on diesel engine

performance and pollutant emissions is discussed. Specifically, the repercussions on diesel

combustion and performance characteristics and on emitted pollutants from the variation of

fuel total aromatic and monoaromatic content as well as from the replacement of diaromatics

with monoaromatics are presented.

37
4.1.1 Effect of fuel aromatics on in-cylinder combustion characteristics and pollutant
formation

A phenomenological multi-zone model was properly modified to account for the

variations in diesel fuel composition and properties and then, it was used to examine mainly

the influence of fuel aromatics on DI diesel engine combustion characteristics and in-cylinder

pollutant formation. Simulations were made for Lister LV1 engine at 2500 rpm and at 80% of

full engine load for “JOULE – III” test fuels D1 (<1.0%wt. aromatics) and “reference” fuel

D0 (26.8%wt. aromatics, see Table 5. Figures 4-5 show the distribution of fuel/air

equivalence ratio and temperature inside the fuel jet for test fuels D1 and D0. As shown there

is a wide distribution of fuel inside the jet. Areas close to the jet axis and upstream of the

swirl are richer in fuel, the same stands for areas close to the combustion chamber walls. This

reveals a local lack of oxygen. Also comparing the graphs there is a different distribution

between the two fuels even though the operating conditions of the engine are practically the

same. This difference is caused by the small differences in injection timing, injection rate and

ignition delay. Clearly for fuel D0 we have locally richer composition explaining the higher

soot at the engine exhaust. The higher values of fuel/air equivalence ratio, which are observed

for fuel D0 compared to fuel D1, can be ascribed to its higher C/H mass ratio, which resulted

from its high aromatic content. In Fig. 5 the computed local temperature distribution is

displayed. As expected the higher values are at the jet periphery and downwards of the swirl

motion where combustion is more intense.

In Figs. 6-7 the local concentration of NO and soot concentration inside the fuel jet are

given. As observed, NO initiates at the jet periphery downwards of the swirl motion. The

differences between fuels D1 and D0 are due to the differences in temperature and local

38
equivalence and not to the difference in total aromatic content. From these it is clear that the

local concentration increases with fuel’s total aromatic content. This picture cannot be

observed at the engine exhaust since the final soot value depends strongly on the oxidation

mechanism which is greatly affected by the combustion and mixing mechanism inside the

engine cylinder. Both mechanisms are affected by the injection characteristics, the injection

timing, the ignition delay etc. Hence, we describe below the method followed to distinguish

for the actual effect of the total aromatic content on soot formation using the simulation

model to account for the previously mentioned differences in the combustion mechanism that

affect soot formation.

4.1.1.1 Determination of the effect of fuel total aromatic content on soot formation

To examine the relation between total aromatic content and soot the following procedure

was followed: A soot model based on the two mechanisms of formation and combustion was

used. Even though this approach is rather simple compared to existing detailed chemical

models it has the benefit of simplicity while it accounts for the basic parameters affecting the

formation and oxidation of soot. The two equations governing the formation and oxidation of

soot are the following:

dmsf
 Af m f ,ev P 0.5 exp   Esf /  RmolT   (1)
dt

dmsb  PO  1.8
 Ab ms  2  P exp   Esb /  RmolT   (2)
dt  P 

Test runs were made for all fuels using the measured values for fuelling rate, engine load,

dynamic injection timing and ignition delay. Using this procedure the variation of the

previous values that affect soot were considered. The effect of fuel composition, in this case

39
the total aromatic content, is accounted for through the value of the proportionality

coefficient Af, which is assumed to be a function of fuel composition. Then an iterative

procedure was followed to estimate Af in order to match the measured soot tailpipe values.

Following this procedure the variation of soot formation coefficient Af with total aromatic

content was obtained and it is shown in Fig. 8 [11]. During this procedure, the soot oxidation

coefficient Ab remained unchanged.

Fuel D1 – <1.0%wt. aromatics Fuel D0 – 26.8%wt. aromatics

(a) (b)
Figure 4. Top view of fuel/air equivalence ratio (φ) distributions inside the fuel jet of a diesel
fuel with aromatic content <1.0 by mass (left column) and a diesel fuel, which contains 26.8% by
mass aromatics (right column). Simulations conducted at 2500 rpm and at 80% load (BMEP = 4
bar) of a DI diesel engine (Lister LV1) (5oATDC, SOI: -12oCA ΒTDC). Results are given after
wall impingement [11]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

40
 Fuel D1 – <1.0%wt. aromatics Fuel D0 – 26.8%wt. aromatics
(a) (b)
Figure 5. Top view of temperature (in K) distributions inside the fuel jet of a diesel fuel with
aromatic content <1.0 by mass (left column) and a diesel fuel, which contains 26.8% by mass
aromatics (right column). Simulations conducted at 2500 rpm and at 80% load (BMEP = 4 bar)
of a DI diesel engine (Lister LV1) (5o ATDC, SOI: -12 oCA ΒTDC). Results are given after wall
impingement [11]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

Fuel D1 – <1.0%wt. aromatics Fuel D0 – 26.8%wt. aromatics

(a) (b)
Figure 6. Top view of NO (in ppm) distributions inside the fuel jet of a diesel fuel with aromatic
content <1.0 by mass (left column) and a diesel fuel, which contains 26.8% by mass aromatics
(right column). Simulations conducted at 2500 rpm and at 80% load (BMEP = 4 bar) of a DI
diesel engine (Lister LV1) (5o ATDC, SOI: -12oCA ΒTDC). Results are given after wall
impingement [11]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

41
 Fuel D1 – <1.0%wt. aromatics Fuel D0 – 26.8%wt. aromatics
(a) (b)
Figure 7. Top view of soot (in mg/l) distributions inside the fuel jet of a diesel fuel with aromatic
content <1.0 by mass (left column) and a diesel fuel, which contains 26.8% by mass aromatics
(right column). Simulations conducted at 2500 rpm and at 80% load (BMEP = 4 bar) of a DI
diesel engine (Lister LV1) (5oATDC, SOI: -12oCA BTDC). Results are given after wall
impingement [11]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

Figure 8. Variation of soot formation coefficient, Af with fuel aromatic content. Calculations
were made for a single-cylinder DI diesel engine (Lister LV1) at 2500 rpm and at 80% of full
load. [11]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

42
 As observed, soot emissions are increased with increasing percentage of fuel aromatic

content. It must be highlighted that the effect of total aromatic content on soot emissions is

significant for values up to 14-15 %, from this point on and up to 27% the effect is very

small. Thus, an aromatic content threshold appears to exist around a value of 14-15% [5,11].

4.1.2 Effect of total aromatic content on engine performance and emissions

In processing the measured engine data, the effect of total aromatic content on engine

performance and emissions is examined. In Fig. 9, the effect of total aromatic content on the

percentage change of measured peak cylinder pressure and ignition delay is given.

As observed, ignition delay increases rapidly for values of total aromatics up to 14%,

whereas, for higher aromatic contents, the variation of ignition delay is insignificant. This is

the result of the decrease of fuel cetane number with total aromatic fraction. On the other

hand, the increase in total aromatic content seems to have no significant impact on peak

cylinder pressure since its value reveals a small increase within the range of 6% with total

aromatics.

43
 8
 

Peak pressure (% change)

2500 rpm - 40% load
6

4 R2 = 0.98

100
Ignition delay (% change)

80

R2 = 0.95
60

40

20

0
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28
Total aromatic content (%wt.)
Figure 9. Effect of total aromatic content on the percentage change (with respect to the value of
fuel D1) of peak cylinder pressure and ignition delay. Experimental results were obtained from
Lister LV1 engine at 2500 rpm and at 40% of full load using test fuels D1, D3, D5, D4, D8, D9,
D10 from research program “JOULE-III” [5,11]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

In Fig. 10 the variation of relative changes of measured soot opacity and NOx emissions

with total aromatic content is given. Values are presented for 40% load only, since for all

other operating conditions results are similar. As revealed, both gaseous and particulate

emissions correlate well with fuel aromatic content. A non-linear increase in exhaust soot

with total aromatic content is identified that is more abrupt for values of aromatics up to 14-

15%, whereas, for higher values, exhaust smoke increases only slightly. This finding is in

accordance with observations made by the other researchers [3,4]. Exhaust soot increases

despite the increase in the premixed burning fuel. This increase reveals a higher sooting

44
tendency of fuels with high aromatic content. There appears to be a threshold at about 14%,

where a further increase in aromatic content seems to have no significant effect on soot

emissions. As far as NOx emissions are concerned, a slight increase with increasing total

aromatic content is observed. This can be attributed to the more intense premixed combustion

as a result of the decrease of cetane number.

  60
Soot opacity (% change)

50

40 R2 = 0.88

30

20

10

0
60

50
2500 rpm - 40% load
NO (% change)

40

30

20 R2 = 0.87
10

-10

-20
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28
Total aromatic content (%wt.)
Figure 10. Effect of total aromatic content on the percentage change (with respect to the value of
fuel D1) of soot and NO emissions. Experimental results were obtained from Lister LV1 engine
at 2500 rpm and at 40% of full load using test fuels D1, D3, D5, D4, D8, D9, D10 from research
program “JOULE-III” [5,11]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

The variation of the percentage changes of carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons

with total aromatic content at 2500 rpm and at 40% load is presented in Fig. 11. A small

increase of CO emissions with total aromatic content is observed possibly due to the increase

45
in the fuel C/H mass ratio. This results in a higher amount of elemental carbon released in the

flame region, thus favoring the formation of carbon monoxide. Finally, for HC emissions an

increase with total aromatics is observed which is steeper for aromatic contents up to 14-15%

(about 45%) whereas, for higher values the rate of increase is confined significantly. One

reason for the increase in HC emissions with total aromatics could be the retardation of

combustion initiation, which is possibly the result of an over mixing of fuel with air.
20
 
2500 rpm - 40% load
15
CO (% change)

10
R2 = 0.79
5

-5

-10
60

R2 = 0.95
40
HC (% change)

20

-20

-40
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28
Total aromatic content (%wt.)
Figure 11. Effect of total aromatic content on the percentage change (with respect to the value of
fuel D1) of CO and HC emissions. Experimental results were obtained from Lister LV1 engine
at 2500 rpm and at 40% of full load using test fuels D1, D3, D5, D4, D8, D9, D10 from research
program “JOULE-III” [5,11]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

46
 It was necessary to address the question of applicability of the aforementioned findings to

modern automotive diesel engines, which are usually equipped with high-injection pressure

common-rail systems. As recognized, the effect of fuel composition on engine performance

characteristics is negligible, whereas the corresponding effect on pollutant emissions weakens

at high injection pressures.

Earlier studies have shown that the increase in soot in the case the fuel containing

aromatics is attributed to the restriction of pyrolysis, which results to soot formation through

incomplete oxidization due to direct polymerization from the aromatics. On the other hand,

the increase in NOx concentration is ascribed to the higher adiabatic temperatures typically

observed for fuels with ring structures.

Consequently, the burning of the test fuels used herein under extremely high injection

pressures in modern diesel engines is expected to result only in an increase in soot and NOx

concentration. This observation is consistent with the findings of Kidoguchi et al [29,30],

which showed that the increase in fuel aromatic content in common-rail diesel engines results

in an increase in smoke density and NOx emissions at high loads, whereas it has no effect on

combustion characteristics and specific fuel consumption.

4.1.3 Effect of monoaromatic content on emissions

Test fuels D1, D3, D5, D6, D8, D9 and D10 indicate a progressively increasing

monoaromatic content revealing its impact on gaseous and particulate emissions. In Fig. 12,

the effect of monoaromatic content on the percentage change of measured tailpipe soot

opacity and nitrogen oxides at 2500 rpm and at 40% load is illustrated. An increase in soot is

observed with increasing monoaromatic content. In this case, the correlation between

47
measured values and monoaromatics is higher compared with total aromatic content, thus

revealing a more profound interrelation between single-ring fuel content and exhaust soot.

The increase of smoke emissions can be attributed to the progressive decrease of

paraffinic fractions and the corresponding increase in the naphthenic fractions. According to

the literature napthenes indicate a higher sooting tendency as compared with saturated

hydrocarbons [31,36,96]. The effect of monoaromatic content on NOx emissions is similar to

the one observed for total aromatic content.

  60
Soot opacity (% change)

R2 = 0.96
40

20

-20

-40

-60
60
2500 rpm - 40% load
40
NO (% change)

R 2 = 0.82
20

-20

-40

-60
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Monoaromatics (%wt.)
Figure 12. Effect of monoaromatic content on the percentage change (with respect to the value
of fuel D1) of soot and NO emissions. Experimental results were obtained from Lister LV1
engine at 2500 rpm and at 40% of full load using test fuels D1, D3, D5, D6, D8, D9 and D10
from research program “JOULE-III” [5,11]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

48
 In Fig. 13, the effect of monoaromatic content on the relative change of carbon monoxide

and total unburnt hydrocarbons is shown at 2500 rpm and at 40% load is presented. The

results are similar to the previous ones. Carbon monoxide increases slightly with

monoaromatics possibly due to the increase in C/H mass ratio.

  20

2500 rpm - 40% load

15
CO (% change)

10
R 2 = 0.83
5

-5

-10
60

R 2 = 0.96
HC (% change)

40

20

-20
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Monoaromatics (%wt.)
Figure 13. Effect of monoaromatic content on the percentage change (with respect to the value
of fuel D1) of CO and HC emissions. Experimental results were obtained from Lister LV1
engine at 2500 rpm and at 40% of full load using test fuels D1, D3, D5, D6, D8, D9 and D10
from research program “JOULE-III” [5,11]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

4.1.4 Effect of number of aromatic rings on emissions

The effect of the number of aromatic rings inside the fuel molecule on measured gaseous

and particulate emissions is given in Figs. 14-15 considering fuels D4 and D5. The two test

fuels have the same aromatic content but a different percentage of diaromatics. Practically,

49
fuel D4 results from fuel D5 by replacing the monoaromatics by an equivalent amount of

diaromatics. Relative changes of measured CO and HC emissions for test fuels D4 and D5

are presented in Fig. 14 as function of load at 2500 rpm. As revealed, the substitution of

monoaromatics with diaromatics is accompanied by an increase in both CO and HC

emissions for all operating conditions examined. The increase in carbon monoxide emissions

can be partially attributed to more available fuel-bound carbon from methylnaphthalene, a

compound with two aromatic rings, which contributes to the formation of CO. Unburned

hydrocarbon emissions increase with the replacement of monoaromatics by diaromatics with

a relative variation ranging from 5% to 15%.

  20
2500 rpm
16 D4/D5
CO (% change)

D4 - 5.4%wt. Diaromatics &

12
5.7%wt. total aromatics
D5 - 4.4%wt. Monoaromatics &
8 5.0%wt. total aromatics

0
20 20 40 60 80

16
HC (% change)

12

0
20 40 60 80
Engine load (%)
Figure 14. Influence of the number of aromatic rings on the relative change (with respect to the
values of fuel D1) of CO and HC emissions. Experimental results were obtained from Lister
LV1 engine at 2500 rpm during the “JOULE-III” program [5,11]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

50
 The effect of the aromatic ring structure on the fuel consumption, exhaust smokiness and

nitrogen oxides is assessed comparing the bsfc/NOx and soot/NOx trade-offs of fuels D4 and

D5 as shown in Fig. 15. The substitution of monoaromatic content with diaromatics results in

an improvement of bsfc/NOx trade-off, whereas there is a worsening in the soot/NOx trade-

off following the introduction of diaromatics. The bsfc/NO trade-off curve of D4 is actually

shifted towards lower NOx emissions without noticeable reductions in bsfc. The deterioration

of soot/NOx trade-off curve for test fuel D4 is ascribed to the increase in soot caused by the

increase in the percentage of double aromatic rings in the fuel molecule. Consequently,

exhaust smoke increases and nitrogen oxides are slightly reduced with the increase in

diaromatics leading to a slight improvement of the bsfc/NOx trade-off and worsening of the

soot/NOx trade-off.

51
   400
375 20% 2500 rpm
350 D4 - 5.4%wt. Diaromatics

bsfc (g/PSh)
325
D5 - 4.4%wt. Monoaromatics
300 Total aromatic content:
275 D4 = 5.7%wt. & D5 = 5%wt.
40%
250
225 60%
80%
200
175
50

40
Soot opacity (%)

80%
30

20
60%
40%
10
20%

0
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
NO (ppm)
Figure 15. Bsfc/NOx and Soot/NOx trade-off curves for fuels D4 and D5. Experimental results
were obtained from Lister LV1 engine at 2500 rpm during the “JOULE-III” program [5,11]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

4.2 Effect of chemical and physical properties

In this section the effects of fuel composition, chemical and physical properties on diesel

engine performance characteristics and pollutant emissions are examined. Specifically, the

influence of fuel characteristics such as cetane number, density, viscosity and compressibility

factor on diesel engine combustion and performance characteristics as well as soot, NO, HC

and CO emissions is elaborated.

4.2.1 Effect of fuel physical properties on injection process – Results from “NEDENEF”
program

The combined effect of increasing fuel density and viscosity on measured injection

pressure profile is given in Figures 16(a)-(c), where pertinent results for test fuels DS4 &

52
DS5 are presented at 2500 rpm and at 20%, 60% and 80% load. At 60% and 80% of full load,

the significant increase of viscosity (75%) mainly results in an abrupt injection pressure rise

leading to an increase of peak injection pressure. At low load, the effect of fuel properties on

injection pressure is rather imperceptible. This can be attributed to the fact that the effect of

viscosity on injection pressure is intensified with increasing engine load.

Figures 17(a)-(c) depict the effect of fuel density on predicted pump chamber pressure,

injection pressure and fuel injection rate. Simulations were made for a BR 500 engine series

heavy-duty diesel engine at 1130 rpm and at full load. As observed, the effect of fuel density

on injection pressure is insignificant whereas, the increase of density by 20% results in a

small increase of injection duration. Oppositely, as observed in Figs. 18(a)-(c) the increase of

fuel compressibility factor results in an increase of pump chamber and injection pressure and

in a small increase of injection duration.

53
 300 300
Lister LV1 Lister LV1
260 2500 rpm 260 2500 rpm
Injection Pressure (bar)

Injection Pressure (bar)

20% load 60% load
220 DS5 220 DS5
DS4 DS4
180 180

140 140

100 100

60 60

20 20
150 160 170 180 190 200 210 150 160 170 180 190 200 210
Crank Angle (deg) Crank Angle (deg)
(a) (b)
300
Lister LV1
260 2500 rpm
Injection Pressure (bar)

80% load
220 DS5
DS4
180

140

100

60

20
150 160 170 180 190 200 210
Crank Angle (deg)

(c)
Figure 16. Combined effect of fuel density, viscosity and compressibility on injection pressure
histories. Experimental results from Lister LV1 engine are given for test fuels DS4 & DS5 at
2500 rpm and (a) at 20%, (b) at 60% and (c) at 80% of full load [7,12]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

54
 (a) (b)

(c)
Figure 17. Effect of fuel density on (a) pump chamber pressure, (b) injection pressure and (c)
fuel injection rate. Predictions were made for a heavy-duty diesel engine equipped with a high
pressure PLN system (EURO 4 – BR 500 series engine) at 1130 rpm and at full load [7]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

55
 (a) (b)

(c)
Figure 18. Effect of fuel compressibility on (a) pump chamber pressure, (b) injection pressure
and (c) fuel injection rate. Predictions were made for a heavy-duty diesel engine equipped with
a high pressure PLN system (EURO 4 – BR 500 series engine) at 1130 rpm and at full load [7].
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

56
4.2.2 Effect on fuel properties on bsfc and pollutant emissions – Results from
“NEDENEF” program

In Figures 19 (a)-(e) the percentage changes of bsfc, soot, NO, CO and HC emissions are

shown for fuel pairs DS2 - DS3, DS4 – DS5 and DS6 – DS7. Observing relative changes for

test fuels DS2 - DS3 and DS4 – DS5, it can be remarked that the partial replacement of

paraffines by napthenes and the increase of distillation temperature (increase of density and

viscosity and decrease of compressibility factor) results overall in:

 Decrease of bsfc.

 Increase of soot, especially at 20% of full load.

 Increase of NO emissions.

 Reduction of HC emissions.

Aforementioned variations of bsfc and pollutant emissions are inversed when the fuel

DS6 is replaced by DS7 due to reduction of viscosity as a result of the decrease of distillation

temperature. As observed from Figure 19 (d), a clear trend between CO emissions and fuel

physical properties cannot be determined [7,12].

57
 4 160
Lister LV1 - 2500 rpm
3 Fuels DS7/DS6
120

Soot (% relative change)

bsfc (% relative change)

Fuels DS5/DS4
2
Fuels DS3/DS2
80
1

0 40

-1
0
-2
-40
-3

-4 -80
20 60 80 20 60 80
Engine Load (%) Engine Load (%)
(a) (b)
15 15

10 10
NO (% relative change)

CO (% relative change)
5 5

0 0

-5 -5

-10 -10

-15 -15
20 60 80 20 60 80
Engine Load (%) Engine Load (%)
(c) (d)
20

15
HC (% relative change)

10

-5

-10

-15

-20
20 60 80
Engine Load (%)
(e)
Figure 19. Percentage change of (a) bsfc, (b) soot, (c) NO, (d) CO and (e) HC emissions between
fuel pairs DS2 – DS3, DS4 – DS5 and DS6 – DS7. Experimental results are given for Lister LV1
engine at 2500 rpm and at 20%, 60% and 80% of full load [7,12]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

58
4.2.3 Effect of fuel chemical composition and properties on diesel engine performance
and pollutant emissions – Results of “EPEFE” program

The data analysis included both pair wise comparisons between individual fuels, and

regression analyses using the full 11 fuel matrix. A thorough comparison was made between

the different approaches and it was concluded that the regression of the full 11 fuel matrix

provided a reliable means of estimating the fuel behavior within the range of density, poly-

aromatics, cetane number and T95 covered by the specific project’s fuel matrix. In addition,

as a further validation of the regression equations used in the specific study, predictions were

made of the emission performance of the quality check fuel and a Swedish Class 1 fuel. The

regression equations successfully described the performances of fuels of the project. The

prediction was extremely accurate for light duty diesel vehicles. For heavy duty diesel

engines, while the predictions were good for CO and PM, the NOx and HC predictions

showed some statistically significant differences with actual measurements especially for

some individual engines. These predictions were, accurate enough for the set of test engines

[13,23,24].

4.2.3.1 Results from light-duty diesel engines

For the combined ECE/EUDC cycle the effects, on a percentage basis, of the change of

the fuel properties on exhaust emissions are shown in Table 13. In Figure 20 is shown the

effect of changing of fuel properties on the exhaust emissions observed during the operation

of a light duty diesel vehicle running a combined ECE/EUDC cycle. Examining this figure it

is revealed that the decrease of the fuel density (855 - 828 kg/m3) results to a considerable

decrease of the emitted concentrations of the carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbons

(HC) and soot emissions.

59
Table 13. The effect of diesel fuel properties on exhaust emissions observed of a light duty diesel
engine [13,23,24]
CO (g/km) HC (g/km) NOX (g/km) PM (g/km) CO2 (g/km)
Density -0.082, -0.018, +0.008, -0.012, -1.586,
855  828 kg/m3 -17.1 % -18.9 % +1.4 % -19.4 % -0.9 %
Poly-aromatics +0.018, +0.005, -0.019, -0.003, -1.96,
81% +4.0 % +5.5 % -3.4 % -5.2 % -1.08 %
Cetane Number -0.127, -0.026, -0.001, +0.003, -0.66,
50  58 -25.3 % -26.3 % -0.18 % +5.2 % -0.37 %
T-95 -0.008, +0.0017, +0.026, -0.004, +2.88,
370  325 °C -1.8 % +3.4 % +4.6 % -6.9 % +1.59 %

On the other hand NOx and CO2 emissions seem not to be affected seriously by the

change of fuel density. The reduction of poly-aromatics leads to a slight increase of CO and

HC emissions while it seems to affect positively (i.e. reduction) for the NOx, soot and CO2

emissions. The increase of the cetane number (i.e. 50  58) has a positive effect (i.e.

decrease) on CO, HC, NOx and CO2 while it seems to have a negative effect (slight increase)

on soot emissions. This effect becomes more evident for CO and HC emissions since the

relative reduction- on percentage basis- is about 25%. As far as the reduction of the

distillation temperature it seems to have a negligible effect on both CO and CO2 emissions

while it affects positively (reduction) the emitted soot and simultaneously leads to a slight

increase of HC and NOx emissions. Figure 21 shows the effect of the simultaneously

changing of the four tested fuel properties over the range described as: Density from 855 to

828 kg/m3, Poly-aromatics from 8 to 1% m/m, cetane number from 50 to 58 and T95 from

370 to 325oC. As shown in this figure the simultaneously change of the above mentioned fuel

properties leads to a considerable decrease of CO, HC and soot emissions while it seems to

have a negligible effect on NOx emissions.

60
   10
HC CO NOx PM

% Change -10

-20

Light Duty Diesel Engines

Density
-30 Poly-arom
Cetane Number
Dist. Temperature

-40
Figure 20. The effect (on percentage basis) of each of the diesel fuel properties on each of
exhaust emissions measured from a light duty diesel engine [13]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)
5 HC CO NOx PM

-5

-10
% Change

-15

-20

-25
Light Duty Diesel Engies
-30 Combined Effect of all
Diesel Fuel Parameters

-35

-40

-45
Figure 21. The effect (on percentage basis) of all of the diesel fuel properties examined on each
of exhaust emissions measured from a light duty diesel engine [13]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

61
4.2.3.2 Results from heavy-duty diesel engines

Table 14 shows the change (in absolute and relative values) of CO, HC, NOx, PM and

CO2 emissions, which were the outcome of the corresponding variations of fuel density,

polyaromatic content, cetane number and distillation temperature. The aforementioned

pollutant emissions were measured using the 88/77/EEC13 mode cycle. The percentage

changes of measured pollutant emissions mentioned in Table 14 are presented also in Figure

22. It is revealed that the decrease of the fuel density leads to an increase of the HC and CO

emissions of a HD diesel engine while it results to a slight decrease of NOx and Soot

emissions. The influence seems to be more evident on HC emissions where the recorded

increase is about 15%.

Table 14. The effect of diesel fuel properties on exhaust emissions emitted from heavy duty
diesel engines [13]
CO (g/kWh) HC (g/kWh) NOX (g/kWh) PM (g/kWh) CO2 (g/kWh)
Density kg/m3 +0.0297 +0.0332 -0.245 -0.002 +0.560
855  828 +5.0 % +14.25 % -3.57 % -1.59 % +0.07 %
Poly-aromatics -0.0005 -0.0093 -0.1141 -0.0045 -4.947
81% -0.08 % -4.02 % -1.66 % -3.58 % -0.69 %
Cet. Number -0.061 -0.014 -0.039 0.0 -2.934
50  58 -10.26 % -6.25 % -0.57 % 0.0 % -0.41 %
T95 +0.0392 +0.0306 -0.120 0.0 +3.073
370  325 °C +6.54 % +13.22 % -1.75 % 0.0 % +0.42 %

The reduction of poly-aromatics leads to a slight decrease of HC, NOx and soot

emissions while it seems to have a negligible effect on carbon monoxide. Concerning the

effect of the cetane number, increase on exhaust emissions of a heavy-duty diesel engine it is

revealed that it affects positively (i.e. reduction) only the HC and CO emissions since the

concentrations of NOx and soot emissions do not seem to be changed. A decrease of the

distillation temperature results to an increase of HC and CO emissions, the effect becomes

62
more evident in the case of HC, where an increase of 15% is recorded. Furthermore, the

reduction of the distillation temperature doesn’t affect soot emissions while it results to a

slight decrease of NOx. Figure 23 shows the effect of simultaneously changing the four tested

fuel properties on exhaust emissions for a heavy duty diesel engine. As shown the concurrent

change of the above mentioned fuel properties over the range shown in the first column of the

Table 8 leads to a considerable increase of HC and a slight decrease of NOx and soot

emissions. The effect on CO emissions seems to be negligible.

  15 HC
Heavy Duty Diesel Engines
Density
Poly-arom
10 Cetane Number
Dist. Temperature
CO
5
% Change

NOx PM
-5

-10

-15
Figure 22. The effect (on percentage basis) of each of the diesel fuel properties on each of
exhaust emissions measured from a heavy-duty diesel engine, which was operated using
88/77/EEC13 mode cycle [13]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

63
   20
HC
Heavy Duty Diesel Engies
Combined Effect of all
15 Diesel Fuel Parameters

10
% Change
5
CO
NOx PM
0

-5

-10
Figure 23. The effect (on percentage basis) of all of the diesel fuel properties examined on each
of exhaust emissions measured from a heavy duty diesel engine [13]
(Copyright © SAE International. Reprinted with permission SAE paper 2008-01-00838)

Since emissions of the light duty diesel vehicles (LD) have been measured in (g/km)

according to the ECE/EUDC combined cycle and the heavy duty diesel engines (HD) in

(g/kWh) over the 88/77/EEC13 mode cycle, the results cannot be directly compared in

absolute units. Thus, the comparison of light duty and heavy duty effects is therefore based

on percentage effects. Prudence had to be exercised when comparing the percentage changes

for the two types of vehicles, as their absolute emissions may be of different orders of

magnitude. In each case the starting point is a hypothetical fuel of 855 kg/m3 density, 8%

poly-aromatics, 50 cetane number and 370oC T95. The effects are summarized in the Table

15.

64
 Table 15. The effect of diesel fuel properties on exhaust emissions observed of both light duty
and heavy duty diesel engines [13]
CO HC NOX Soot
Density LD -7.1% -18.9% +1.4% -19.4%
855  828 kg/m3 HD +5.0% +14.3% -3.6% -1.6%
Poly-aromatics LD +4.0% +5.5% -3.4% -5.2%
8  1% m/m HD -0.1 -4.0% -1.7% -3.6%
Cetane Number LD -25.3% -26.3% -0.2% NS +5.2%
50  58 HD -10.3% -6.3% -0.6% -0.1%
T95 LD -1.8% +3.4% +4.6% -6.9%
370  325 deg C HD +6.6% +13.4% -1.7% 0.0%

5. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
5.1 Statistical analysis between measured emissions and fuel properties -
“EPEFE” program
Regression equations were fitted to describe the effects of density, poly-aromatics, cetane

number and T95 for each vehicle and for the vehicle set average. The regression analysis was

performed using a 'full' model, i.e., no attempt has been made to remove from the equation

those terms which are not statistically significant. Consideration should therefore be given to

the statistical significance of the coefficients as well as their magnitude in interpreting the

data. In the present study the general regression equation used for the combined cycle

ECE/EUDC has as follows:

Emission ( g )  A  B  Density  C  Polyaromatics  D  CN  E  T 95 (3)

km

where the regression coefficients (A, B, C, D and E) are given in Table 16 [13,23,24].

65
 Table 16. Regression coefficients for the linear statistical model used for light duty diesel
engines [13]
A B C D E
CO - 1.32507 0.00304 -0.002564 -0.015856 0.000171
HC - 0.29319 0.00068 -0.000731 -0.003273 -0.000038
NOX 1.003973 -0.00031 0.0027263 -0.000088 -0.00058
PM - 0.38799 0.000468 0.0004488 0.0004098 0.000079
CO2 155.5682 0.058753 0.2803220 -0.082247 -0.064053

Regression equations were produced for each engine individually and for the combined

engine set using the same procedure as used for the light duty vehicles. A full linear statistical

model for the heavy duty diesel engines had been adopted by the specific project. The

regression coefficients for the engine set are given in Table 17.

It must be mentioned here that the emissions for the heavy duty diesel engines had been

measured in (g/kWh) following the 88/77/EEC13 mode cycle. For the specific cycle the

effects, on both absolute values and percentage basis variations, of the change of the fuel

properties on exhaust emissions are shown in Table 17.

Table 17. Regression coefficients for the linear statistical model used for the heavy duty diesel
engines [13]

A B C D E
NOX -1.75444 0.00906 0.0163 -0.00493 0.00266
PM 0.06959 0.00006 0.00065 -0.00001 0
HC 1.61466 -0.00123 0.00133 -0.00181 -0.00068
CO 2.24407 -0.00110 0.00007 -0.00768 -0.00087
CO2 776.64 -0.020749 0.70672 -0.36675 -0.06828

66
5.2 Sensitivity analysis between measured soot emissions and fuel properties –
“JOULE-III” program
The overall results of the sensitivity analysis are given in Table 18. The results of this

multiple regression analysis suggest the following: the C/H mass ratio has the greatest effect

on soot emissions (sensitivity 13.8 %), followed by FBP (sensitivity 1.9%), cetane number

(sensitivity –1.1%), IBP (sensitivity –0.8%), monoaromatics (sensitivity 0.53%) and total

aromatics (sensitivity 0.49%). The strong effect of C/H mass ratio on soot emissions is in

accordance with the aforementioned experimental results. The important finding is that the

effect of aromatic content on soot emissions is verified.

Table 18. Sensitivity of soot emissions to fuel properties [5,11]

Property Average Maximum Minimum Number of
Sensitivity (%) sensitivity (%) sensitivity (%) sensitivity
value within
range
C/H ratio 13.79 33.14 4.46 20
FBP 1.89 3.41 0.65 24
Cetane number -1.06 -0.35 -2.31 20
IBP -0.78 -0.22 -1.47 31
Monoaromatics 0.53 1.22 0.16 21
Total aromatics 0.49 1.07 0.15 21

67
5.3 Statistical analysis between measured emissions and fuel properties -
“NEDENEF” program
In a preceding paragraph a multivariable statistical analysis was presented aiming to

determine the fuel property pairs, which are statistically independent. Here a multi-regression

statistical analysis is described, which was conducted to examine whether and in which

degree there is statistical relation between each measured pollutant (soot, NO, CO and HC)

and each one of the statistically independent fuel property pairs. Hence, the following linear

multi-regression model was used [7,12]:

S  a  bP1  cP2 (4)

where S corresponds to the measured value of each pollutant and P1 and P2 correspond

to the two parameters of each fuel property pair. The aforementioned mathematical

expression was deliberately selected because coefficients b and c express the degree of

dependence – sensitivity degree – of each pollutant from fuel properties 1 and 2 respectively

as can be shown from the following relation:

S S
b %  100, c  %   100 (5)
P1 P2

The regression model was applied for measured values of pollutant emissions obtained

from Lister LV1 engine at 2500 rpm and at 80% of full load.

In each case, the application of the statistical model provided results for:

 Coefficients a, b and c of the multiple regression model.

 Pearson product moment coefficients (P-values) of regression model coefficients b

and c. There is statistical relation (at 95% level of confidence) between one pollutant

68
 and one or both fuel properties Pi (i = 1,2) when the P-value of the corresponding

model coefficient b or/and c are lower than 0.05.

 Correlation coefficient R2, which expresses the correlation degree between one fuel

property pair and one measured pollutant.

 Adjusted correlation coefficient R2, which is more suitable for multiple regression

models with different number of independent variables.

A characteristic example from the application of the regression model for the fuels of

“NEDENEF” program is given in Table 19. P-values of coefficients b and c of the regression

model must be taken into account to determine whether the statistical model can be simplified

or not. When the P-value of one of the coefficients b and c is higher or equal to 0.1, then the

corresponding independent variable (fuel parameter) P1 or P2 respectively must be neglected

from the statistical model [7,12].

Table 19. Application example of multiple regression model between two fuel property pairs
and soot emissions for Lister LV1 engine (2500 rpm and 80% of full load) [7,12]
Coefficients P-Value
ln(a) -66.7 0.78
P1 Distillation temperature 50%v/v (T50) b 0.3 0.01
P2 C/H mass ratio c 3.2 0.08
R2 88.0% Adjusted R2 82.0%
ln(a) -611.1 0.33
P1 Distillation temperature 95%v/v (T95) b 0.4 0.02
P2 Heating value c 12.3 0.39
R2 80.9% Adjusted R2 71.4%

69
5.4 Sensitivity analysis between measured pollutants and fuel properties –
“NEDENEF” program
Applying the regression model for all independent fuel property pairs and each one of

four measured pollutants (soot, NO, CO and HC emissions), groups of values were collected

for regression coefficients b and c, which corresponded to fuel parameters indicating high

statistical interconnection with a specific pollutant. For each one of these fuel properties, the

average, the highest and the lowest values of recorded values of pertinent regression

coefficient were calculated providing thus, the average value and the variation range of the

degree of dependence of one measured pollutant from a specific fuel parameter.

Table 20 lists the average values and the variation range of the sensitivity degree of each

pollutant from the fuel properties, with which it is found to be strongly related. When the

average sensitivity degree has negative sign, then the specific fuel parameter affects

negatively the variation of the pollutant. In other words, the increase of this fuel property

results in the decrease of the pollutant and vice versa.

According to the literature [5-7,9-14,23,24,37,39,44], several methods were adopted in

the past to examine potential statistical relation between diesel engine emitted pollutants and

one or more fuel parameters. In most of these investigations, the derived statistical

correlations were misleading concerning the dependence of a measured pollutant from a

certain fuel property because these analyses did not take into account the inherent

interrelation between fuel composition and properties.

Hence, the method of statistical analysis presented here, does not only determine the

group of fuel properties, which are statistically related with measured pollutant emissions but

also estimates the sensitivity degree of each pollutant from these fuel parameters. According

70
to the results of the sensitivity analysis, which were presented in Table 10, pollutant

emissions depend on (in descending order) the following fuel properties:

Soot emissions

1. Viscosity.

2. Cetane Number.

3. Fuel volatility (Distillation temperature 5%, 50% and 95%v/v respectively).

ΝΟ emissions

1. Polyaromatics.

2. C/H Ratio.

3. Total aromatic content.

4. Monoaromatics.

5. Dinapthenics.

6. Tetranapthenics.

CO emissions

1. Monoaromatics.

HC emissions

1. Diaromatics.

2. Polyaromatics.

The results of the statistical analysis for each pollutant are in agreement with the general

observations made above for the effect of fuel properties on diesel emitted pollutants. It must

be clarified that the results of the sensitivity analysis are indicative providing an evaluation of

71
the effect of modern fuel mixtures on diesel engine pollutant emissions more on qualitative

rather than on quantitative basis.

Table 20. Average and variation range of sensitivity degree of measured pollutant emissions
from fuel properties [7,12]
Fuel Property Average Sensitivity Variation Range of Sensitivity
(%) Degree
(%)
Soot (mg/l)
Viscosity (mm2/s) 10.2 9.08 - 12.2
Cetane Number 4.4 4.1 - 4.75
T5 (oC) 0.9 0.88 - 0.98
T50 (oC) 0.4 0.35 - 0.42
T95 (oC) 0.3 0.3 - 0.36
Nitric Oxide (ppm)
Polyaromatics (%wt.) 46.3 35 - 51
C/H Mass Ratio -35.7 30.4 - 38.7
Total Aromatic Content (%wt.) -12.8 12.1 - 13.4
Monoaromatics (%wt.) -11.6 10 - 12.8
Dinapthenics (%wt.) -9.8 8.4 - 10.8
Tetranapthenics (%wt.) -9.6 8 - 10.7
Carbon Monoxide (ppm)
Monoaromatics (%wt.) 20.1 16.4 - 23.15
Total Unburned Hydrocarbons (ppm)
Diaromatics (%wt.) 23.2 17.5 - 31.5
Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons (%wt.) 21.5 19 - 22.9

6. CONCLUSION
In this study, an attempt was made to present and assess the results from four European

research programs (“EPEFE”, “JOULE-II”, “JOULE-III” and “NEDENEF”), which

examined the effects of fuel chemical composition and properties on diesel engine

performance and pollutant emissions. The examination of the experimental results from the

EPEFE research program lead to the derivation of the following conclusions:

Effect of fuel density

The reduction of fuel density results in:

72
  Reduction of NOx emissions in HD engines and a slight increase of NOx in LD

vehicles.

 Curtailment of soot emissions in LD vehicles. No significant effects were observed in

HD engines.

 Reduction of CO and HC emissions in LD vehicles while in HD vehicles are

reordered an opposite effect.

Effect of polyaromatic content

The decrease of fuel polyaromatic content results in:

 Reduction of NOx and soot emissions in both LD vehicles and HD engines.

 Reduction of HC emissions in HD engines.

 Increase of CO and HC emissions in LD vehicles.

Effect of cetane number

The increase of cetane number results in:

 Reduction of NOx emissions from HD engines only.

 Increase of soot emissions in LD vehicles with no significant effect in HD engines.

 Curtailment of HC and CO emissions from both LD vehicles and HD engines.

Effect of distillation temperature

The reduction of distillation temperature results in:

 Increase of HC and CO emissions from HD engines.

 Increase of NOx emissions in LD vehicles while in HD engines it is reordered a

decrease.

 Slight decrease of soot emissions from LD vehicles.

73
 As far as the effect of the engine/vehicle technology on exhaust emissions, some of the

important conclusions of the specific project are listed below as follows:

1. DI and IDI light duty vehicles showed the same trend concerning the effect of fuel

properties on regulated emissions except for the NOx response to cetane number.

2. The lowest sensitivity to fuel property changes was associated with IDI light duty

diesel engines and mechanical injection controls.

3. Vehicles equipped with IDI engines achieved consistently low absolute emission

levels (g/km). Interest with DI Technology for application on LD vehicles is,

however, growing because of its better fuel economy.

4. Opposite responses in terms of NOx emissions to change in fuel density and Cetane

Number were seen for different vehicle models, but the majority of the light duty DI

vehicles behaved in the same direction.

The analysis of the experimental and theoretical results, which were produced and

assessed during the “JOULE-II” research program, lead to the main conclusion that there is

no significant correlation between fuel composition and diesel engine performance

characteristics and pollutant emissions. Some clear differences were observed for some fuels

namely N0, N1, N2 and N4 that are associated with their difference in physical properties

rather than their chemical composition. These differences result to a lower initial heat release

rate caused by the different behavior of the fuel injection system. The difference in physical

properties alters the residual pressure value in the fuel pipeline and consequently the dynamic

injection timing and injection rate of fuel mass.

An explanation of the observed behavior for all fuels is that under the fuel-rich and non-

uniform conditions existing inside the fuel jet in the diesel engine combustion chamber the

74
fuel aromatic contents are rapidly broken down into simpler components and do not act as

precursors for PAHs and soot growth.

However, at the time, it was concluded that the findings of this research program are

important since they revealed that the effect of fuel composition in terms of fuel aromatic

structure (diaromatics vs. triaromatics) is negligible both on engine performance and

pollutant emissions. It was suggested that this was an important finding and one point of

interest would be to investigate the effect of the total aromatic content on a percentage basis

on engine emissions and especially soot. Another important finding is that physical properties

of fuel and namely density and viscosity have a significant effect on engine performance and

emissions through their combined effect on the performance of the fuel injection system

mechanism. It was proposed that is to be taken into consideration in future works when

examining the effect of fuel composition on engine behavior and pollutant emissions

On the other hand, the research program “JOULE-III” managed to shed more light on the

influence of fuel aromatic content and structure on diesel engine performance and pollutant

emissions. The evaluation of the theoretical and experimental data obtained during the

“JOULE-III” program, delineating the influence of fuel aromatic content and structure on

diesel emitted pollutants and engine performance, resulted in the formulation of the following

concluding remarks:

1. Ignition delay increases with total aromatic content due to the decrease of cetane

number whereas peak cylinder pressure increases slightly. Overall aromatic content

seems to have no significant effect on engine performance.

2. Exhaust smoke increases following an increase in total aromatic fraction. The increase

in soot content is drastic as the value of total aromatics of 15% is approached for

75
 higher values; the variation of soot is almost negligible. Similar results are obtained

for the monoaromatic content. Thus, it appears that a low aromatic threshold exists for

soot formation in the range between 14-15%.

3. An increase in NOx emissions is exhibited with increasing aromatic content between

0 % and 27%; this can be attributed to the increase of premixed burning fuel as a

result of the increase in ignition delay.

4. The increase of C/H mass ratio due to increase of aromatic content is a potential cause

for the increase in CO and HC emissions.

5. The substitution of monoaromatics by diaromatic content results in an increase in CO

and HC emissions and a slight improvement in bsfc/NOx trade-off, but it has a

detrimental effect on soot/NOx trade-off.

6. The soot values obtained using the test fuels were employed in a linear multiple

regression sensitivity analysis to verify the conclusions of the experimental

investigation. The analysis revealed that soot emissions are affected by C/H mass

ratio, followed by final boiling point, cetane number, initial boiling point,

monoaromatics and total aromatics. The results found herein are in accordance with

other studies and verify the strong dependence of diesel-emitted soot on fuel chemical

composition and distillation temperature. But, most importantly, both the direct

processing of experimental results and the statistical analysis identified not only the

profound effect of aromatic content on soot emissions but also revealed the relative

impact of simple and complex aromatic structure on soot formation.

The assessment of the theoretical and experimental results obtained during the

“NEDENEF” resulted in the derivation of the following conclusions:

76
  The increase of distillation temperature and the partial replacement of paraffines with

napthenes resulted mainly in the increase of fuel viscosity and cetane number and

secondarily, in the increase of density and decrease of compressibility factor.

 The increase of fuel viscosity and density in conjunction with the reduction of

compressibility factor resulted in:

1. Earlier initiation of combustion.

2. Reduction of ignition delay due to increase of cetane number.

3. Increase of the rate of injection pressure rise and slightly higher peak injection

pressure values at high engine loads.

4. Small increase of peak cylinder pressure at low engine load.

5. Increase of soot emissions.

6. Reduction of HC emissions.

7. Small increase of NO emissions.

8. Small decrease of bsfc.

Overall, the effects of fuel physical properties on bsfc, NO and CO emissions were

insignificant.

The sensitivity analysis between measured pollutants and statistically independent fuel

properties revealed that soot emissions depend on fuel viscosity, cetane number and

distillation curve whereas NO, CO and HC emissions are sensitive to the variation of fuel

aromatic composition. The results of the statistical analysis agree on qualitative basis with the

experimental findings. This reveals that statistics can be used as a promising technique to

identify potential causes for observed changes in diesel engine performance parameters and

pollutant emissions between diesel fuels.

77
 Hence, reduction of soot, NO and HC emissions without significant penalties in bsfc can

be attained in diesel engines with reduction of distillation temperature and increase of the

paraffinic to napthenic ratio in conventional diesel fuels, which as evidenced will result

mainly in reduction of fuel viscosity and secondarily, to the decrease of fuel density and

increase of compressibility factor.

78
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92
NOMENCLATURE

ATDC after top dead centre

BMEP brake mean effective pressure

Bsfc brake specific fuel consumption

BTDC before top dead center

CA crank angle

CO carbon monoxide

CO2 carbon dioxide

EGR exhaust gas recirculation

DI direct injection

FBP final boiling point

HC unburned hydrocarbons

IBP initial boiling point

IDI indirect injection

LLCO light light cycle oil

NO nitric oxide

NOx nitrogen oxides

NTUA National Technical University of Athens

PAH polyaromatic hydrocarbons

PLS partial least square

PM particulate matter

ppm parts per million (volume)

93
 rpm rotations per minute

SOI start of injection

TDC top dead centre

94

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