1.

Subject Code: ME 408 Course Title: Combustion Generated Pollution

(DEC-7)
2. Contact Hours: 42+28=70 L: 3 T: 0 P: 2
3. Examination Duration (Hrs.): Theory: 3 Practical: 0
4. Relative Weight: CWS: 15 PRS: 15 MTE: 30 ETE: 40 PRE:
0
5. Credits: 4 6. Semester: VIII 7. Subject Area: DEC
8. Pre-requisite: NIL
9. Objective: To introduce the students to different types of fuels, emissions from
various engines, exhaust treatment of various engines and instruments used for
measuring emissions.
10. Details of Course:
S. Contact
No. Contents Hours
1 Engine fundamentals: Fuels, alternative fuels for IC engines, Type of 7
hydro carbons. Gasoline specifications. Effect of Engine parameters
on performance, fuel injection for SI engines, Engine vehicle road
performance, road performance and fuel economy.
2 Emissions and air pollution: Automotive Emissions and their role in 7
air pollution. Photo chemical smog. Chemistry of smog formation.
Combustion in Homogeneous mixtures, emission formation.
incomplete combustion, formation of hydro carbons, Carbon
monoxide and oxides of nitrogen. Aldehyde emissions.
3 Influence of design and operating variables on gasoline engine exhaust 7
emissions.
Hydrocarbon Evaporative Emissions: Various sources and methods
of their control. Canisters for controlling evaporative emissions.
Emission control systems for gasoline engines: Blow by control closed
PCV system design.
4 Exhaust treatment devices: Air injection into exhaust system. 5
5 Thermal reactors, Catalytic convertor. 9
Stratified charge engines. Honda CVCC engine.

Diesel engine combustion Emissions: Sources of emissions during

combustion. Effect of air fuel ratio, speed, injection timing on
performance and emission formation. D.I. and I.D.I engine emissions.
6 Methods of reducing emissions, exhaust gas recirculation, smoke 7
emission from diesel engines.
 Emission Instruments: Non- dispersive Infrared analyzer, Gas
chromatography, flame ionization detector, Chemiluminescent
analyzer
Total 42
11. Suggested Books:
S. Name of Authors /Books / Publishers
No.
1 Combustion generated air pollution, Earnest S Starkman, Springer, ISBN-
9780306305302.
2 Fundamentals of Air pollution engineering, Richard C. Hagan, Prentice Hall, ISBN-
0133325371.
3 Air pollution threat & response, David Alym, Addison-Wesley Publication, ISBN-
0201043556.

Module 1. Engine fundamentals: Fuels, alternative fuels for IC engines, Type

of hydro carbons. Gasoline specifications. Effect of Engine parameters on
performance, fuel injection for SI engines, Engine vehicle road performance, road
performance and fuel economy.

ALTERNATE FUELS

Most important alternative fuel candidates are: ethanol, methanol, natural gas,
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), vegetable oil esters commonly called as
‘biodiesel’ and hydrogen High petroleum prices during 1980’s provided
motivation for development programmes for use of ethyl alcohol produced from
agricultural products as motor fuel in countries like Brazil. During the same
period, clean burning properties of methanol and its easy production from natural
gas led to technological development activities on methanol in the USA.
Methanol being liquid it is better suited than natural gas for storage on-board of
vehicles. However, due to its toxicity and its corrosive nature towards fuel system
materials, interest in methanol as automotive fuel has gone down although a
number of demonstration fuel cell vehicles (FCV) using methanol have been
developed. Presently, natural gas and biodiesel have attracted maximum attention
of the governments, vehicle manufacturers and fuel suppliers. Hydrogen is
considered as an alternative transport fuel in the long term especially for the fuel
cell powered vehicles. .

Properties of Alternative Fuels

Some of the key properties of the main alternative fuel candidates are compared
in Table 8.13 with those of conventional petroleum fuels. Key properties to be
considered for :

• Combustion and Performance: Heat of combustion, heat content of

stoichiometric mixture, octane number (SI engine) , cetane number (CI
engine), boiling point ( esp., cold start), flammability limits
• Emissions: Chemical composition and nature, adiabatic flame temperature
• Storage and Handling: Boiling point, volumetric energy density, vapour
pressure, flammability limits
• Fuel Hydrocarbons and Other Components
• Hydrocarbons are broadly grouped into paraffins, cycloparaffins
(naphthenes), olefins and aromatics. The olefins are not present in the crude
petroleum but are generated during processing and refining of crude when
the practical transport fuels are being produced.
• Paraffins
• The paraffins are saturated hydrocarbons which are also known as alkanes.
The carbon atoms have single bond between them. The
large alkane molecules are either straight chain or branched chain. The
empirical formula for the paraffin family is CnH2n+2. Methane (CH4) is the
first member of this family, the higher members being ethane (C2H6),
propane (C3H8), ……n-heptane, n-octane, isooctane (C8H18), n-
hexadecane (n-cetane) and so on. The straight chain paraffins are called
normal- (n-) and branched chain are called iso- paraffins. Structures of
some paraffins are given below. There are several isomers of isooctane
depending upon the position of the branches. The isooctane that is most
commonly referred to is 2-2-4 trimethyl pentane having five carbon atoms
in straight chain and three methyl groups in 2, 2 and 4 carbon atom
positions.
Cycloparaffins

The carbon atoms are present in a ring structure and a single bond exists between
carbon atoms. Cycloparaffins or naphthenes have the formula, C nH2n and
cyclopropane (C3H6), cyclobutane (C4H8), cyclohexane (C6H12) etc., are its
examples. The cycloparaffins having more than 6 carbon atoms are not common.
Olefins

Olefins or alkenes are open chain hydrocarbons having one or more carbon-
carbon double bonds. The compounds having one double bond are called mono-
olefins and their empirical formula is CnH2n. The examples are ethylene,
propylene, butene, octene etc. Those having two double bonds are called as
diolefins or dienes, the chemical formula being CnH2n-2. The position of the
double bond (s) is indicated by a prefix like 1-octene, 1, 3- butadiene etc. The
diolefins are highly unstable during storage and therefore, are undesirable
compounds in the engine fuels. Another family of unsaturated hydrocarbons has
triple carbon-carbon bond. These compounds are known as acetylenes or alkynes.
The empirical chemical formula for alkynes is CnH2n-2 and the first member of the
series is acetylene (C2H2). Higher alkynes are similar to higher alkenes with each
double bond replaced by triple bond

Aromatics

Aromatics are double bonded hydrocarbons arranged in a ring structure of carbon

atoms. Each ring of aromatics has 6 carbon atoms. Benzene (C 6H6) is the first
member of the family. Benzene structure has three double bonds which alternate
in position between carbon atoms. Other aromatics are formed when hydrogen
atom(s) attached to carbon in the aromatic ring is substituted by an alkyl radical
such as methyl-, ethyl-, propyl- etc. Some examples of aromatics having side
chains attached to ring are toluene (methylbenzene), ethyl benzene, xylene
(dimethyl benzene) etc. Many aromatic hydrocarbons have two or more aromatic
rings such as naphthalene, anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene. These compounds are
known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

Alcohols and Ethers

Alcohols as engine fuel have been of interest for a long time. In the hydrocarbons
when a hydrogen atom is substituted with hydroxyl radical (OH), alcohols are
formed. Among the alcohols, methyl alcohol (CH3OH) and ethyl alcohol
(C2H5OH) are considered as alternative fuels. Ethers, such as di-methyl ether
(DME) has been investigated as diesel engine fuel and methyl teriary butyl ether
(MTBE) is being used as a high octane blending component in gasoline.

Important Characteristics of Gasoline

Gasoline Diesel
Ignition quality (Cetane index,
Distillation
Cetane number)
Distillation (volatility), 90% boiling
Reid vapour pressure
point
Heat of combustion* Heat of combustion*
Density Density
Antiknock quality (Research and Motor
Viscosity
octane number)
Oxidation stability Aromatic content
Gum content, mg/100ml Sulphur content
Lead content Storage stability
Sulphur Injection system cleanliness
Benzene
Sediments Sediments

Effect of SI Engine Design and Operating Variables on Performance

Any engine variable that affects oxygen availability during combustion would
influence CO emissions. The factors which influence flame quenching, quench
layer thickness and post flame oxidation control engine out HC emissions. The
burned gas temperature-time history and oxygen concentration control NO
formation and emission. Hence the engine variables that influence burned gas
temperature and oxygen concentration would affect the NO emissions.
Principal design and operating variables affecting engine performance are:

Design Variables :

• Compression Ratio
• Combustion chamber surface to volume ratio
• Ignition timing
• Valve timings and valve overlap
• Air motion, swirl tumble etc
• Charge stratification

Operating Variables :

• Air-fuel Ratio
• Charge dilution and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)
• Speed
• Load
• Coolant temperature
• Transient engine operation: acceleration, deceleration etc.

Effect of CI Engine Design and Operating Variables on Performance

mportant diesel engine variables that influence Performance are:

Engine Design Variables

• Compression ratio
• Combustion chamber type
• Combustion chamber design
• Injection system: injection pressure and timing, nozzle holes, nozzle sac
volume

Operating Variables:

• EGR
• Engine speed
 • Engine load
• Fuel quality

Fuel injection for SI engines

Sequence of Events in 4-Stroke SI
Engine Cycle

Event Time of Occurrence, Crank angle

20 - 5º CA bTDC at the end of exhaust
Intake valve opens (IO)
stroke
Exhaust valve closes 8 to 20º CA aTDC in the beginning of
(EC) intake stroke
60 -40º CA aBDC in the beginning of
Intake valve closes (IC)
compression stroke
45 -15º CA bTDC towards the end of
Spark ignition
compression stroke
Combustion by Begins shortly after ignition up to 15 to
turbulent flame 30º CA aTDC Early in the expansion
propagation stroke
Exhaust valve opens 50 -30º CA bBDC Shortly before the end of
(EC) expansion stroke

CA: Crank Angle, ATDC: After Top Dead Centre; BTDC: Before Top Dead
Centre; ABDC: After Bottom Dead Centre;
BBDC:Before Bottom Dead Centre;

Vehicle performance is the study of the motion of a vehicle. The motion of any
vehicle depends upon all the forces and moments that act upon it. These forces
and moments, for the most part are caused by interaction of the vehicle with the
surrounding medium(s) such as air or water (e.g. fluid static and dynamic
forces), gravitational attraction (gravity forces), Earth’s surface (support,
ground, or landing gear forces), and on-board energy consuming devices such
as rocket, turbojet, piston engine and propellers (propulsion forces).
Consequently, in order to fully understand the performance problem, it is
necessary to study and, in some way, characterize these interacting forces.

Generally speaking, the performance of a vehicle can be evaluated using

following indicators: the maximal speed that can be reached, the accelerating
time from zero to a certain speed, the maximal climbing angle, the mileage in a
certain condition and the hydrogen consumption in a specific cycle.
Some of the domains to be tested and analysed as part of the vehicle
performance attributes include:
• Fuel economy & emissions.
• Thermal and energy management.
• NVH and acoustics, pass-by-noise regulation.
• Durability.
• Drivability.
• Driving dynamics.
• Integrated safety.
• Aerodynamic performance.

Some of the factors that influence the design for vehicle performance:

• the use of the automobile: some cars are required only for local driving;
these cars may be capable of achieving good fuel economy on short trips,
but they may be less comfortable to drive at high speeds. A sports car,
built for speed, will have enhanced steering and handling abilities, but
requires a stronger engine, more fuel, and a more sophisticated
suspension system. Yet, an automobile must also be flexible enough to
perform in every situation and use.
• Successfully handling today’s vehicle design challenges, such as balancing
fuel economy and energy efficiency with performance, requires innovative
designs that are explored digitally and confirmed physically.
• Strict fuel economy and emissions regulations are placing increased
importance on efficient aerodynamic design. Getting the design right as
early in the process as possible will not only affect overall packaging, but
the brand image too.

Module 2: Emissions and air pollution: Automotive Emissions and their role in
air pollution. Photo chemical smog. Chemistry of smog formation. Combustion
in Homogeneous mixtures, emission formation. incomplete combustion,
formation of hydrocarbons, Carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen. Aldehyde
emissions.
Engine Emissions and Air Pollution

Principal Engine Emissions

SI Engines CO, HC and NOx

CO, HC, NOx and
CI Engines
PM
CO = Carbon monoxide, HC = Unburned hydrocarbons, NOx = Nitrogen oxides
mainly mixture of NO and NO2 ,
PM = Particulate matter
Other engine emissions include aldehydes such as formaldehyde and
acetaldehyde primarily from the alcohol fuelled engines, benzene and
polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

Fig. the sources of emissions from a gasoline fuelled SI engine viz., exhaust,
crankcase blow by and fuel evaporation from fuel tank and fuel system

Fig. Emission sources in a diesel engine powered bus.

Emissions and Pollutants

Engine emissions undergo chemical reactions in atmosphere known largely as

‘photochemical’ reactions and give rise to other chemical species which are
hazardous to health and environment.
TSP = Total suspended particulate matter in air
PAN = Peroxy- acetyl nitrate
Fig. Air pollutants resulting from engine emissions

Photochemical Smog

Photochemical smog is a brownish-gray haze resulting from the reactions caused

by solar ultraviolet radiations between hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen in the
atmosphere. The air pollutants such as ozone, nitric acid, organic compounds like
peroxy- acetylnitrates or PAN ( CH3CO-OO-NO2) are trapped near the ground by
temperature inversion experienced especially during winter months. These
chemical substances can effect human health and cause damage to plants. The
photochemical reactions are initiated by nitrogen oxides emitted by vehicles into
atmosphere. A simple set of reactions leading to photochemical smog formation
is as follows:

is energy of a photon and UV is ultraviolet light radiations

The above reactions form NO2 photolytic cycle. However, if only these reactions
are involved then, NO2 concentration in the atmosphere would remain constant.
But, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that include unburned hydrocarbons
and their volatile derivatives also react with NO and O2 to form NO2 . The
reactions between HC and NO do not necessarily involve ozone and provide
another route to form NO2 and thus, the concentration of ozone and NO2 in the
urban air rises. The most reactive VOCs in atmosphere are olefins i.e., the
hydrocarbons with C=C bond. The general reaction between hydrocarbons (RH)
and NO may be written as

Main processes in photochemical smog formation are shown in Fig. below:

Emission Formation in SI Engines

Origin of SI engine exhaust emissions is shown schematically in Fig.

NOx and CO are formed in the burned gases in the cylinder. Unburned HC
emissions originate when fuel escapes combustion due to several processes such
as flame quenching in narrow passages present in the combustion chamber and
incomplete oxidation of fuel that is trapped or absorbed in oil film or deposits

• NOx is formed by oxidation of molecular nitrogen. During combustion at

high flame temperatures, nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the inducted
air breakdown into atomic species which react to form NO. Some NO2 is
also formed and NO and NO2 together are called as NOx.
• CO results from incomplete oxidation of fuel carbon when insufficient
oxygen is available to completely oxidize the fuel. CO rises steeply as the
air-fuel (A/F) ratio is decreased below the stoichiometric A/F ratio.
• HC originates from the fuel escaping combustion primarily due to flame
quenching in crevices and on cold chamber walls, fuel vapour absorption
in the oil layer on the cylinder and in combustion chamber deposits, and
presence of liquid fuel in the cylinder during cold start

Emission Formation in CI Engines

Schematic of a diesel injection spray is shown in Fig . A fully developed diesel

spray may be considered to consist of three distinct regions based on the
variations in fuel-air equivalence ratio, across the cross section of the spray as
seen radially outwards from the centreline of spray.

• A fuel rich core where fuel-air equivalence ratio is richer than the rich
flammability limits i.e.,
• Flammable region in which lies within the rich and lean flammability
limits, i.e.,
• A lean flame-out region (LFOR) where is lower than lean flammability
limits and extends up to the spray boundary i.e.,
Pollutant formation is strongly dependent on the fuel-air ratio distribution
in the spray:

• NO is formed in the high temperature burned gases in the flammable

region. Maximum burned gas temperatures result close to stoichiometric
air-fuel ratio and these contribute maximum to NO formation.
• CO is formed in fuel rich mixtures in the flammable region.
• Soot forms in fuel-rich spray core where fuel vapour is heated by the hot
burned gases .
• Unburned HC and oxygenated hydrocarbons like aldehydes originate in the
region where due to excessive dilution with air the mixture is too lean at
the spray boundaries. In excessive lean mixtures combustion process either
fails to begin or does not reach completion. Towards the end of
combustion, fuel in the nozzle sac and orifices gets vaporized, enters the
combustion chamber and contributes to HC emissions.

FORMATION OF UNBURNED HYDROCARBONS

• The unburned hydrocarbons are also called volatile organic compounds

(VOCs).
• Unburned hydrocarbon emissions result as part of the fuel inducted into
the engine escapes combustion. Most of hydrocarbons in exhaust HC are
the same compounds as in the fuel. A typical petroleum fuel contains 100
to 200 different hydrocarbons (10 to 20 are the major constituents) and
other organic compounds. Thus, if the fuels are rich in aromatics and
olefins the exhaust hydrocarbons also consist of a high fraction of
aromatics and olefins, which are photo-chemically more reactive.
 • Almost 400 hundred different organic compounds are present in the engine
exhaust. A number of these compounds are formed during combustion
process in the engine cylinder.
• Nearly 50% mass of organic compounds emitted in the exhaust is similar
to fuel in composition. The balance 50% is composed of the chemical
species which are produced by thermal cracking, pyrolysis, chemical
synthesis and partial oxidation of the fuel molecules during combustion.
• Methane is also present in significant amounts in the exhaust of gasoline
and diesel engines. As methane is not photo-chemically reactive,
hydrocarbon emissions now, are also measured neglecting methane
emissions and these are termed as non-methane hydrocarbons or non-
methane organic gases (NMHC/NMOG).
• Hydrocarbon concentration in the exhaust is measured by flame ionization
analyzer (FIA), which is basically a carbon atom counter. The total
hydrocarbon concentration measured by this method is specified in parts
per million as methane or C1 (ppmC1 or simply ppmC). It means that if the
FIA is calibrated with propane (C3H8), the HC measurement reading is to
be multiplied by a factor of 3 to obtain HC concentration in ppmC.

HC EMISSIONS FROM SI ENGINES

Main sources of hydrocarbon emissions in the four-stroke, homogeneous charge

spark ignition engines are:

(i) Flame quenching on the cylinder walls

(ii) Flame quenching in crevices
(iii) Absorption and desorption in oil film on cylinder walls
(iv) Absorption and desorption in carbon deposits in the chamber
(v) Misfired combustion or bulk gas quenching
(vi) Liquid fuel in the cylinder
(vii) Exhaust valveleakage,and
(viii) Crankcase blow by gases

In the vehicles, fuel evaporation from fuel tank and fuel system is another source
of unburned HC emissions.

FORMATION OF CARBON MONOXIDE

Carbon monoxide is formed during combustion of fuel-rich mixtures due to

deficiency of oxygen. Combustion of hydrocarbon fuels may be considered as a
two-step process leading to complete combustion when carbon dioxide is the
final product.

Step 1

Conversion of hydrocarbons to CO: oxidation reactions involving

intermediate species like smaller hydrocarbon molecules, aldehydes, ketones etc
lead to formation of CO as schematically shown below are.

RH represents a hydrocarbon where R stands for the hydrocarbon radical

Conversion of CO to CO2 : when sufficient oxygen is available. Hydroxyl

radical OH is one the principal oxidizing species and converts CO to CO2,

CO emissions in real engines:

• Mixture mal-distribution in multicylinder engines causes cylinder-to-

cylinder variation in air-fuel ratio. It results in significant increase in the
average CO emissions. This is especially prominent in the carburetted or
single point throttle body-injected (TBI) engines.
• Another contributing factor to higher CO emissions is non-uniform
mixture distribution within the cylinder.
• During cold start of engine and acceleration rich mixtures are used
resulting in higher CO emissions

Overall, the air-fuel ratio is the most important engine parameter affecting CO
emissions. Other factors influence CO mostly indirectly through changes in
mixture composition and/or promotion of slow oxidation reactions resulting in
incomplete combustion.

NO Formation in CI Engines

In compression ignition engines, rapid combustion of fuel and air that are mixed
during delay period occurs This rapid combustion phase is termed as ‘premixed
combustion’ and is followed by mixing controlled diffusion combustion process.
The diffusion combustion rates are controlled by the .rate at which fuel and air
mix and hence the name ‘mixing controlled combustion’. Fuel-air equivalence
ratio varies widely from very rich at the core of spray to very lean at the spray
boundaries and, the formation of emissions is governed by the local air-fuel ratio
besides other factors like temperature and pressure. In the premixed combustion
phase, mixture formed within the flammable limits burns spontaneously. On the
other hand, in the mixing controlled combustion phase, it is believed that
combustion occurs in those regions of spray where equivalence ratio is close to
stoichiometric.
In the classical spray combustion models, formation of NO starts in the burned
gases produced on combustion of close to stoichiometric and lean flammable
mixtures during premixed combustion phase. New combustion research on
turbocharged/supercharged engines suggests that most NO is formed in mixing
controlled diffusion combustion at spray boundaries and in the post combustion
high temperature gases. The diffusion combustion takes place at near
stoichiometric conditions. In the supercharged/turbocharged engines the delay
period is rather short and overall a significantly smaller fraction of fuel burns in
premixed phase. In the modern turbocharged, high-pressure direct injection
engines with retarded injection timing, more than half of NOx in the cycle is
produced in the post combustion gases after peak pressure. In the naturally
aspirated engines with long ignition delays and sufficient time available for
premixing of fuel and air, the contribution of premixed combustion to NO
formation is considered to be substantial.

Kinetic models based on the extended Zeldovich mechanism discussed earlier are
widely used for calculations of engine-out NO emissions from the DI diesel
engines. At high pressures typical of diesel combustion with high residual gas
dilution (EGR), the Zeldovich mechanism alone may not predict adequately NO
formation. Additional reactions involving N2O in formation of NO as given in
reactions

Nitrogen dioxide emissions from

the spark-ignition engines are negligibly small and constitute less than 2% of the
total NOx emissions. NO emissions range from a few hundred ppm to several
thousands of ppm while, the maximum NO2 emissions are around 60 to 70 ppm
only compared to 3000- 4000 ppm of NO at full load conditions. In diesel engines
however, the NO2 emissions account generally for 10 to 30 percent of the total
NOx emissions. In diesel engines, NO2 concentration may be in the range of 200
to 400 ppm compared to NO concentrations typically in the range of 1500 to 3000
rpm. NO2 is rapidly formed in the combustion zone by reaction of NO with
HOO- radical.

Module.3. Influence of design and operating variables on gasoline engine

exhaust emissions.
Hydrocarbon Evaporative Emissions: Various sources and methods of their
control. Canisters for controlling evaporative emissions. Emission control
systems for gasoline engines: Blow by control closed PCV system design.

Influence of design and operating variables on gasoline engine exhaust

emissions

EMISSION CONTROL BY ENGINE VARIABLES AND EGR

FUEL INJECTION VARIABLES

Demands Made on Injection System

To achieve low soot formation, rates of fuel-air mixing are to be enhanced. Fuel
injection and air motion in the cylinder are key parameters to achieve rapid fuel-
air mixing. The following strategy is adopted to improve fuel air mixing and the
diesel engine combustion, which leads to reduction both in the soot and
NOx formation:

• Use of high fuel injection pressures and smaller nozzle hole size to
produce very fine fuel atomization for rapid fuel evaporation and mixing
with air.
• Fuel spray not to impinge on walls but fuel to be distributed mainly within
the air inside the combustion chamber.
• Matching of injection spray configuration and development with in-
cylinder air motion for rapid fuel-air mixing throughout the injection
duration period
• Use of variable injection timing, multiple –injection and injection rate
shaping technology

Injection Rate Shaping and Multiple Injection

NOx formation is influenced by

 (i) duration of ignition delay,
(ii) amount of fuel injected during delay period, and
(iii) the rate of mixture preparation within the combustion chamber.

The shape of ideal rate of injection curve during ignition delay and the main
injection period depends on engine load and speed. General principles of fuel
injection scheduling are;

• rate of fuel injection within the delay period must be kept small to reduce
the amount of fuel burned during ‘pre-mixed’ combustion phase, and
• during the main injection period, rate of injection should be increased
steeply to inject fuel within a short period when the temperature and
pressure in the combustion chamber are high for rapid combustion of the
injected fuel.

ELECTRONIC FUEL INJECTION (EFI) SYSTEMS

Electronically controlled fuel injection systems have the capability to fulfill the
ideal injection rate requirements,. The EFI also are capable of providing multiple
injections. Electronically controlled diesel fuel injection systems have the
following advantages over the mechanically controlled injection systems as they
provide:

• Very high injection pressures exceeding 2000 bar

• Precise control of injection timing.
• Precise fuel metering to control power output and limit smoke.
• Extremely low cylinder to cylinder variation in the quantity of fuel
injected.
• Injection rate shaping with controlled initial rate of injection to reduce
noise and emissions
• Sharp end-of-injection to eliminate nozzle dribble, prevent nozzle fouling
and, reduce smoke and hydrocarbon emissions.
• Injection rate shaping for controlling heat release rates during pre-mixed
and diffusion combustion phases for controlling smoke and
NOx formation.

Electronically controlled unit injectors, distributor pumps and common rail

injection systems are in use.

Common Rail Diesel Injection (CRDI) Systems

In the common rail systems, the high fuel pressure is generated by a common
pump that is separate from the injectors. The fuel pressure is independent of
engine speed and load. A typical layout of the common rail systems.The CRDI
has four main components;

(i) high-pressure pump

(ii) high-pressure distribution rail (common rail) and pipes

(iii) injectors, and

(iv) Electronic engine control unit (ECU).

A mechanical pump raises the fuel pressure and feeds the common rail with fuel
at high pressure. The common rail is connected to the injectors by short pipes. A
solenoid valve in each injector controls the injection timing and quantity.

TURBOCHARGING

Presently, almost all the modern light, medium and heavy-duty diesel engines are
turbocharged. A turbocharger consists of a turbine driven by the engine exhaust
gas which is directly coupled to a compressor. The fresh air from the atmosphere
is drawn into the compressor of turbocharger where its pressure and hence density
are raised before it enters the engine cylinder The higher mass flow of air in the
turbocharged engines compared to the naturally aspirated engines of the same
swept volume, results in an increase in engine power, lower fuel consumption,
better transient operation response and lower specific exhaust emissions (in
g/kW-h). Advantages of turbocharging are;

• With turbocharging, excess air of more than 50% can be easily used in DI
engines while still developing enough engine power.
• Due to higher air density and higher temperatures at the end of compression
stroke shorter ignition delay period is obtained.
• As a result of shorter ignition delay period , the fraction of fuel burned
during premixed combustion phase decreases resulting in lower
NOx emissions.
• A shorter delay period gives lower HC emissions.
• With turbocharging, the injection timing can be retarded to further lower
NOx emissions without compromising fuel efficiency and power.
• High excess air results in lower soot emissions.
• Inter-cooling of the boosted air charge further increases charge density and
lower intake temperatures helps in reducing NOx emissions.

Hydrocarbon Evaporative Emissions: Various sources and methods of their

control
HC EMISSIONS FROM SI ENGINES

Main sources of hydrocarbon emissions in the four-stroke, homogeneous charge

spark ignition engines are:

(i) Flame quenching on the cylinder walls

(ii) Flame quenching in crevices
(iii) Absorption and desorption in oil film on cylinder walls
(iv) Absorption and desorption in carbon deposits in the chamber
(v) Misfired combustion or bulk gas quenching
(vi) Liquid fuel in the cylinder
(vii) Exhaust valve leakage, and
(viii) Crankcase blow-by gases

Evaporative emissions consist mainly of light hydrocarbons emitted by a vehicle

as a result of fuel evaporation through vents open to the atmosphere. They are
known to depend on three major factors: - vehicle and fuel system design; -
ambient temperature and pressure; - gasoline volatility

The main objective of the automobile evaporative emission systems is to decrease

or eliminate the exposure of vaporized hydrocarbons (HC) into the atmosphere.
The major sources of the HC vapor emissions is the vehicle fuel system EVAP
emission control systems appeared in the automobile sector when it was found
out that HC vapours in the atmosphere contributed to the formation of smog.
These vapours were found to lead to a variety of respiratory ailments under
prolonged exposure. As the recognition of the problem became greater, the
governments began to legislate appropriate standards for control of the
automotive emissions. Positive crankcase ventilation better know as the PCVs
were the first step towards the evaporative emission control system in the
automobile industry. The purpose of the PCV system was to catch the vapours
from the crankcase and prevent them from going out into the atmosphere through
the road draft tubes. The gases from the combustion chamber escapes into the
crankcase of the engine through the process called “blow-by”. Blow by occurs
when the compressed fuel and air mixture leaks into the crankcase through the
piston seals. These gases trapped in the crankcase slowly gets out through the
vents into the atmosphere. Another major concern of presence of combustion
gases in the crankcase is that they increase the Ph in the oil which accelerates the
wear of the vital components like bearings and seals of the engine. The PCV valve
system regulates the return of the crankcase vapours to the engine’s intake
manifold. These vapours then get mixed with the engine’s intake air and/or
fuel/air mixture and re-enter into the combustion chamber for ignition. This
ensures that all of the HC vapours are exposed to the combustion process, thus
decreasing HC emissions from the crankcase to the atmosphere.
The main objective of EVAP system is to prevent the release of harmful VOCs
into the atmosphere. The main concern is the unburnt fuel vapors from the
exhaust of the engine. Hcs are released in the form of vapour and if the system
carrying the fuel is not air tight then the vapors gets a chance to escape into the
atmosphere. These HCs are the major cause of smogs.

There are four ways in which these petrol vapors are produced and allowed to
escape.

1 Diurnal evaporation: It occurs during the daylight hours when the fuel is
heated by an increase in ambient temperature. The rise in temperature increases
vaporization.
2 Running losses:It is the result of heat in the engine compartment from the
exhaust system and the operation of the engine, both of which cause fuel
vaporization.
3 Hot soak: After an engine is turned off, the radiant heat will cause gasoline
vaporization for an extended period.
4 Refueling: Fuel vapors are always present in the fuel tank. When liquid fuel is
added to the tank, it displaces the vapors by venting them into the atmosphere.

Evaporative emission control system is designed to store and dispose of fuel

vapours ormally created in the fuel system, thereby, preventing its escape to the
atmosphere. The EVAP system delivers those vapours to the intake manifold to
be burned with normal air/fuel mixture. This fuel charge is added during periods
of closed loop operation when additional enrichment can be managed by the
closed loop fuel system. Improper operation of the EVAP system may cause rich
drivability problems, as well as harm the working of the working of the engine.
EVAP is a fully closed system designed to maintain stable fuel tank
pressures without allowing fuel vapours to escape to the atmosphere. Fuel vapour
normally created in the fuel tank as a result of evaporation. It is then transferred
to the EVAP system charcoal canister when tank vapour pressures become
excessive. When operating conditions can tolerate additional enrichment, these
fuel vapours are purged into the intake manifold and added to the incoming air
fuel mixture.
Charcoal Canister A charcoal canister is used to trap gasoline or petrol vapours.
Fuel vapours from the float chamber of the carburettor and the fuel tank enters
into the canister through a passage. Fuel vapours from the fuel tank enters through
another passage into the canister. When the engine is not in running condition,

the the fuel vapour flows into the canister through the inlet port. The petrol
vapours are absorbed by the charcoal particles present in the canister.
When the engine starts and run, air reaches the charcoal canister due to the suction
provided by the engine in the intake manifold of the engine. This air carries away
the hydrocarbons in the fuel vapours to the engine manifold and the fuel burns in
the engine.

Module 4. Exhaust treatment devices: Air injection into exhaust system.

Air injection It is one of the first-developed exhaust emission control systems is

the secondary air injection system. This system was used to inject the air into the
engine's exhaust ports to provide oxygen sothat the unburned and partially burned
particles nad hydrocarbons in the exhaust would finish the burning process. It is
now used in the catalytic converter's oxidation reaction, to reduce the emissions
when the engines are started from cold. After a cold start, the engines need a rich
fuel-air mixture, and the catalytic converter does not function properly operating
temperature has been achieved. The air injected upstream of the converter
supports combustion in the exhaust pipe, which enhances the speed of catalyst
warm up and reduces amount of unburned hydrocarbon emitted from the tailpipe
of the exhaust system.
Secondary air injection (commonly known as air injection) is a vehicle emissions
control strategy introduced in 1966, wherein fresh air is injected into the
exhaust stream to allow for a fuller secondary combustion of exhaust gases.
The air injection smog pump pushes air into the exhaust system right after the
exhaust manifold, to help intercept and burn those unburned fuels. The system
is critical to help cars achieve government emissions standards.

Module 5. Thermal reactors, Catalytic convertor.

Stratified charge engines. Honda CVCC engine.
Diesel engine combustion Emissions: Sources of emissions during combustion.
Effect of air fuel ratio, speed, injection timing on performance and emission
formation. D.I. and I.D.I engine emissions.

A thermal reactor for burning unburned components in exhaust gases of an

internal combustion engine before emission to the atmosphere is described.
An outer casing has an exhaust gas inlet connected to the exhaust ports, and an
inner casing divides the reactor into an outer chamber and an inner chamber. The
inner casing has an inlet from the outer chamber, an outlet to the atmosphere, and
perforations opening to the outer chamber. An oxidation catalyst in the inner
chamber promotes oxidation of the unburned components in the exhaust gases to
generate oxidation reaction heat. A first secondary air injection nozzle in the inner
chamber between the oxidation catalyst and the outlet and a second secondary air
injection nozzle in a portion upstream of the oxidation catalyst inject secondary
air into oxidation catalyst.
In connection with a thermal reactor or an after-burner for reburning
exhaust gases discharged from an automotive internal combustion engine, it is
well known in the art for the interior of the thermal reactor to be heated by
auxiliary heating means for rapidly reaching an appropriate reburning
temperature of the exhaust gases when the interior temperature of the thermal
reactor falls below a value too low to reburn the exhaust gases, as occurs during
relatively low load engine operation. The auxiliary heating means generally
includes additional fuel supply means such as a fuel injection device for
supplying additional fuel under pressure into the interior of the thermal reactor
and igniting means such as a spark plug for igniting the additional fuel injected
through the additional fuel supply means.

Catalytic Converter

The catalyst inside a catalytic converter is made typically from platinum or a

similar metal, such as rhodium or palladium. Gases flow through a ceramic
honeycomb structure located within the cat housing. This is lined with metals
that have specific jobs that play a role in reducing emissions. There are two
main types of catalysts that might be featured in a car:

• Reduction catalysts: Help reduce nitrogen oxide pollution by removing

oxygen. Nitrogen oxides are broken up into nitrogen and oxygen gases,
which on their own are harmless.
• Oxidation catalysts: Used to change carbon monoxide into carbon
dioxide through an opposite process of adding oxygen.

Also located near the catalytic converter is an oxygen (O2) sensor, which works
to tell a car’s electronic control unit (ECU) how much oxygen is found in the
exhaust gases. This helps a vehicle run on a more efficient air/fuel ratio, allowing
the engine to supply the converter with enough oxygen to complete the oxidation
process.
There are two primary catalysts – reduction and oxidation – that can be used
within an exhaust system to handle specific gases.

Depending on the year of the vehicle and the type of catalytic converter it has,
there might not be a reduction catalyst in place. There are two primary kinds of
catalytic converters:

• Two-way: The two-way catalytic converter was present on vehicles in the

United States until 1981. They only have oxidation catalysts, which help
change carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide. Hydrocarbons (which is
unburned and partially burned fuel) are changed to carbon dioxide and
water.
• Three-way: Since 1981, the three-way catalytic converter has been used.
This performs the same as the two-way converter with the addition of a
reduction catalyst. As stated earlier, this is used to change nitrogen oxides
to nitrogen and oxygen gases.

Diesel engines employ the use of two-way catalysts, and the converters are also
specifically designed to work with diesel exhausts. The converters for these types
of engines try and target particulates known as soluble organic fractions. These
are made from hydrocarbons bound to soot.

Stratified charge engines

The stratified-charge engine (SCE) is a spark-ignition engine with several
characteristics of a diesel. Ignition is initiated in a prechamber or fuel-rich zone
of the main cylinder and completed in a fuel-lean region away from the ignition
point. Several variations of this concept have been built over the past 50-60 years,
and most major automobile manufacturers have worked on some concept of the
SCE (Withjack, 1976). The Honda compound vortex-controlled combustion
(CVCC), the Ford programmed combustion process (PROCO), and the Texaco
controlled combustion system (TCCS) are the most well known of these concepts.
The Honda CVCC uses a prechamber located above the main cylinder.
A carburetor supplies a fuel-rich mixture to the prechamber through a separate
intake passage and valve. The main cylinder is supplied with a fuel-lean mixture
through a conventional intake manifold. A spark plug initiates combustion in the
prechamber, from which the flame and unburned fuel pass as a high-velocity jet
into the main cylinder. There, combustion is completed in an overall lean mixture.
The advantage of this type of engine is that combustion occurs in zones that are
either rich or lean and not in the stoichiometric region that produces the highest
NOx emission (see Fig. 12). Completion of combustion in a lean mixture also
reduces the HC and CO emissions.
The Honda CVCC does yield low emission levels. When introduced in 1975, this
autombile gave the lowest emissions of any gasoline-fueled automobile ever
tested without exhaust treatment. The long-term drawback of the CVCC is that
part-load control is achieved by throttling, and it does not offer any fuel economy
advantages over a conventional SIE operating with a lean mixture; in fact, its fuel
economy can suffer a loss. Honda reported a 10% loss of efficiency on the earlier
models.
Projections of fuel economies as a function of emission standards for several
stratified-charge engines are listed in Table XII. The values shown are relative to
a good 1978 engine that meets 1978 standards of 1.5,15, and 2.0 for HC, CO, and
NOx, respectively. Although Table XII does not give the size of automobile for
which the comparisons are made, it is probably in the 3000- to 4000-lb range.
Also shown for comparison are a rotary engine using a homogeneous air/fuel
mixture and both prechamber and open-chamber diesel engines.

CONTROL OF CI ENGINE EMISSIONS

For emission control in the CI engines, usually called as the diesel engines the
following are important;

• CI engines emits pollutants in solid (soot), liquid (poly aromatic

hydrocarbons, fuel and oil components, sulphur acids) as well as those in
gaseous (CO, HC, NOx) state.
• Emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from diesel engines are
of main concern.
• Emission regulations do have limits for CO and HC as well from the CI
engines, but concentration of their emissions is rather small and these have
been relatively easy to control through improved engine and fuel system
design.
• NOx - PM trade off (discussed in Module 2) governs selection and
optimization of many engine design variables e.g, injection timing,
injection pressure, boost pressure etc as change in some engine variables
may although causes reduction in NOx but increases PM and vice versa.
• Engine design changes to reduce NOx emissions many a times result also
in higher brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC). This is important as the
emissions of the greenhouse gas, CO2 are also to be reduced.

The development efforts like for the SI engines have been focused on reduction
of engine-out emissions and treatment of the exhaust gases. Improvements in fuel
quality also have been made to meet the needs of advanced emission control
technology.
In CI engines, mixture formation and combustion is heterogeneous and complex
in nature. It is governed by;

• Mixture formation which depends on interactions between the injection

spray, air motion and combustion chamber geometry.
• Air motion – swirl, squish etc,
• Injection spray formation -precise control of fuel injection process is
necessary for formation of the desired spray and fuel atomization.
• Combustion chamber type- Indirect Injection or Direct Injection. The
indirect injection engines are being phased out of production due to their
poor fuel efficiency.
• Intake boost pressure

Turbocharging especially with variable boost pressure coupled with EGR

results in substantial reductions in both the NOx and PM.
Exhaust aftertreatment such as diesel particulate filter (DPF), diesel oxidation
catalysts (DOC), selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx etc., are already in
use.
An overview of various technologies and direction of research and
development which have been pursued to control NOx and PM emissions from
the CI engines.
 An excessively high air–fuel ratio may produce high pumping loss, high
peak cylinder pressure, and high compressor outlet temperature. An
excessively low air–fuel ratio may produce the problems of deteriorated
combustion efficiency, high smoke, and high exhaust gas temperature. Air–fuel
ratio is affected by the engine air flow rate at a given engine speed and load mode,
and the air flow rate is determined by the intake manifold boost pressure
and engine volumetric efficiency. Unlike the fixed-geometry turbine or
pneumatically controlled wastegate turbine, the electronically controlled
wastegate turbine and VGT in modern diesel engines are able to flexibly regulate
or reduce air–fuel ratio to a large extent or maintain it even at a nearly constant
level, especially at medium or high loads.
EGR rate is defined as the mass flow rate ratio of EGR to the sum of fresh air and
EGR. The shape of the EGR rate contours is determined primarily by emissions
calibration. EGR rate directly affects coolant heat rejection, air–fuel ratio, and
exhaust temperature.
The CO decreases with engine speed until it reaches a minimum value,
after that the CO concentration increases. This is due to: at lower engine
speeds, the mixture is lean which results in complete combustion of the fuel and
hence CO emissions are less. At low speed, there is enough time to fill the
engine cylinder with the charge. As the engine speed increases, the
duration time available for intake valve will be reduced as a result of
reduced volumetric efficiency.
Injection timing variations have a significant effect on the performance and
pollutant formation in diesel engines. Retarded injection timing decreased
NOX and CO2 pollutants while HC and CO2 emissions increased. The results also
indicated that early injection timings (20°CA bTDC and 25°CA bTDC) lowered
both CO2 and unburned hydrocarbon emissions. Moreover, advanced injection
timing slightly improved brake thermal efficiency (BTE) for all engine loads. It
is concluded that retarded injection timing, i.e., 10°CA bTDC demonstrated
optimum results in terms of performance, combustion and emissions and among
the fuels 15B showed good outcome with regard to BTE, higher heat release rate,
and lower pollution of HC, CO, and NOx.
Direct Injection (DI):

1. Injection pressure is higher (21 kg/cm^2) in this case as compared to IDI

because fuel atomisation solely depends on pressure of injection.
2. The engines are easier to start in cold weather.
3. Fuel injection nozzles have multiple holes as high atomisation and mixing
is required because of a lack of moving air.
4. Thermal efficiency is higher as compare to IDI engine.
Indirect Injection (IDI):

There are two designs for an IDI system; a pre-combustion chamber and air cell.

Pre-combustion Chamber:

Fuel is injected into a pre-combustion chamber and initial combustion takes

place. Pressure builds and the fuel is expelled at a high speed into a main
combustion chamber. Because of the high velocity, fuel atomized and mixes
with air in the main combustion chamber and combusts.

Air Cell:

Air cell designs have a small chamber in the piston. Pistons compress the air
during a stroke and pushes the fuel into the air cell. As the piston moves down
pressure in the cylinder falls causing the flow of hot air from the cell into the
combustion chamber. The mix of air and fuel completes the combustion.

The difference between DI and IDI is the layout of the injection systems. The
IDI system has a small swirl chamber above the cylinder, where the fuel is
injected, there's also a glow plug in the chamber needed to help start the engine.
The DI system has the injection nozzle attached to the top of the combustion
chamber. The piston usually has a crown shape to create the air swirl. In terms
of CO emissions, the IDI engine emits significantly less than the DI diesel
engine.

Module 7. Methods of reducing emissions, exhaust gas recirculation, smoke

emission from diesel engines.
Emission Instruments: Non- dispersive Infrared analyzer, Gas chromatography,
flame ionization detector, Chemiluminescent analyzer

Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is an emission control technology allowing

significant NOx emission reductions from most types of diesel engines: from
light-duty engines through medium- and heavy-duty engine applications right up
to low-speed, two-stroke marine engines. While the application of EGR for NOx
reduction is the most common reason for applying EGR to modern commercial
diesel engines, its potential application extents to other purposes as well. Some
of these include: imparting knock resistance and reducing the need for high load
fuel enrichment in SI engines, aiding vaporization of liquid fuels in SI engines ,
as an enabler for closed cycle diesel engines, for improving the ignition quality
of difficult-to-ignite fuels in diesel engines or for improving the performance of
SCR catalysts.
Non- dispersive Infrared analyzer
When infrared radiation interacts with gas molecules, infrared light is absorbed
by the gas molecules at a particular wavelength, causing vibration of the gas
molecules. NDIR (Non-Dispersive Infrared) gas sensors detect decrease in
transmitted infrared light which is in proportion to gas concentration. This
transmittance, the ratio of transmitted radiation energy to the incident energy, is
dependent on target gas concentration. NDIR gas sensor consist of an infrared
source, detector, optical filter, gas cell, and electronics for signal processing. A
single light source, dual wavelength type gas sensor has two detectors and two
optical filters of different wavelengths which are placed in front of each detector.
Infrared light that is absorbed by a target gas passes through the active filter with
a particular bandwidth for the detection of the target gas. Infrared light that does
not interact with the target gas passes through the reference filter. The difference
between transmitted light intensities in these two bandwidths is converted into
gas concentration. The dual wavelength sensor ensures stable measurements for
a long period of operation as the aging effects of the light source or the gas cell
are automatically compensated by output signals at the reference wavelength.

Gas chromatography (GC) is an analytical technique used to separate and detect

the chemical components of a sample mixture to determine their presence or
absence and/or quantities. These chemical components are usually organic
molecules or gases. For GC to be successful in their analysis, these components
need to be volatile, usually with a molecular weight below 1250 Da, and
thermally stable so they don’t degrade in the GC system. GC is a widely used
technique across most industries, including for:

• Quality control in the manufacture of many products from cars, to

chemicals and petrochemicals, to pharmaceuticals
• Research purposes from the analysis of meteorites to natural products
• Safety and monitoring from environmental samples, microplastics and
food and wine, to forensics.

Gas chromatographs are frequently hyphenated to mass spectrometers (GC-MS)

to enable the identification of chemical components. Mass spectrometry (MS) is
an analytical technique that can be hyphenated to a GC and used instead of the
GC detector. The neutral molecules elute from the analytical column and are
ionized in the ion source to produce molecular ions which can degrade into
fragment ions. The fragment and molecular ions are then separated in the mass
analyzer by their mass:charge (m/z) ratio and are detected. Data from a GC-MS
is three dimensional, providing mass spectra that can be used for identity
confirmation, to identify unknown analytes and to determine structural and
chemical properties of molecules, as well as the chromatogram that can be used
for qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Figure : A simplified diagram of a gas chromatograph showing: (1) carrier gas,
(2) autosampler, (3) inlet, (4) analytical column, (5) detector and (6) PC. Credit:
Anthias Consulting.

Figure: Chromatogram output from a GC or GC-MS. Credit: Anthias

Consulting.

Flame Ionization Detector

The flame ionization detector is a very common detector used in gas

chromatography. The sample is brought to the detector via a pumping action, and
it is burned in a flame. The flame commonly is generated with hydrogen and air.
When a chemical compound is burned, it produces ions and electrons. These
electrons are located between two electrodes to which a difference of potential of
a few hundred volts is applied. As a result, the newly produced ions generate a
current that can be recorded. The intensity of the current is directly proportional
to the amount of analytes (ions) present in the detector. This type of detector is
sensitive to almost all compounds, mostly combustible ones.
Detection is based upon the increase in electrical conductivity caused by
generation of ions when the analyte passes through a flame of burning hydrogen.
It has been widely employed for determination of nicotine, related alkaloids, and
nicotine metabolites. The FID has good sensitivity and, with few exceptions, is a
universal detector for organic compounds; but since all organic compounds give
a response, it is not very selective and co-eluting components in a sample will
interfere with the analysis. Consequently, for determination of nicotine and its
metabolites in complex matrices, a more selective detector such as a nitrogen-
phosphorus detector or a mass spectrometer is generally preferable.

Chemiluminescence analyzers :Chemiluminescence detectors take advantage of

nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) chemical reactions that emit light
as part of that process. This is different from fluorescence or phosphorescence,
in that the light produced stems from a chemical reaction rather than by the
absorption of photons by the molecule.

Chemiluminescence analyzers use a thermally stabilized photodiode to measure

the intensity of the light produced by the reaction of NO with ozone (O3). The
intensity is directly proportional to the concentration of NO that was converted
to NO2 by the reaction.

By converting the NO2 in the gas stream to NO, then reacting it with the O3, the
total NOx value can be calculated, allowing speciation of NO, NO2 and total
NOx with a single analyzer.