Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12676-2

Enhancement of energy, exergy and soot characteristics

with the utilization of MEK in diesel engine
M. S. Almanzalawy1,2 · S. Mori3 · M. F. Elkady4 · A. E. Elwardany1,5

Received: 18 June 2023 / Accepted: 12 October 2023

© The Author(s) 2023

Abstract
This study investigated the effects of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) on a diesel engine’s energy, exergy and emissions. The
evaporation of a bi-component droplet of MEK and heptane was modeled. Furthermore, the soot morphology and nano-
structure were quantified. Different blends were examined at other engine conditions. Running the engine under idle condi-
tions and optimum speed considerably reduced engine emissions. MEK noticeably decreased the maximum reachable load
of the diesel engine. Both specific fuel consumption and thermal efficiency increased with MEK. The exergetic efficiency
increased while the fuel exergy decreased at the same work exergy. The effects of MEK on combustion characteristics were
insignificant. However, a stronger premixed combustion phase was obtained where MEK evaporated first and caused a
slightly longer droplet lifetime. Low percentages of MEK reduced CO emissions, while N ­ Ox emissions increased consist-
ently with the MEK addition. The engine conditions noticeably influenced the unburned hydrocarbon emissions with MEK.
Both smoke opacity and primary particle diameter decreased. The fringe analysis emphasized that MEK decreased fringe
length, soot intensity, and alignment, increasing fringe tortuosity and spacing. Clearly, methyl ethyl ketone suppressed soot
formation in a diesel engine and decreased its reactivity.
Graphical abstract

Keywords MEK · Diesel engine · Engine performance · Engine emissions · Soot

List of symbols CAD Crank angle degree

bsfc Brake-specific fuel consumption/g ­kWh−1 CD Combustion duration/degree
CA50 Combustion phasing/CAD CO Carbon monoxide emissions/ppm
Extended author information available on the last page of the article COV Coefficient of variation/%

13
Vol.:(0123456789)

cp,a Specific heat capacity of air/kJ ­kg−1 ­K−1
D100 Neat diesel fuel
ETC/ED Effective thermal conductivity/effective dif-
fusivity model
FL Full load/Nm
̇ a Air exergy rate/kW
Ex
̇ f Fuel exergy rate/kW
Ex
̇ w Work exergy rate/kW
Ex
H/C Hydrogen to carbon atoms ratio in the fuel
HACA​ Hydrogen abstraction-C2H2 addition
mechanism
HC Unburnt hydrocarbon gaseous emissions/ppm
Hi Blend of i% heptane and (100 − i)% MEK,
where i = 90, 92.5, 95, 97.5 and 100
HRR Heat release rate/J ­degree−1
HRTEM High-resolution transmission electron
microscopy
IC Internal combustion
ID Ignition delay period/degree
Idle1 No load at 1000 rpm (idle speed)
Idle2 No load at 1750 rpm (optimum operation
speed)
LHV Lower heating value/MJ ­kg−1
ṁ a Air flow rate/kg ­s−1
MEK Methyl ethyl ketone (butanone)
MEKi Blend of i% MEK and (100 − i)% diesel, where
i = 2.5, 5, 7.5 or 10
ṁ f Fuel flow rate/kg ­s−1
NOx Nitrogen oxide emissions/ppm
O/C Oxygen to carbon atoms ratio in the fuel
S/C Sulfur to carbon atoms ratio in the fuel
SI Spark ignition
SI Sustainability index
Ta Intake air temperature/K
TEM Transmission electron microscopy
To Ambient temperature/K
ΔHvap Latent heat of vaporization/kJ ­kg−1
𝜀f Chemical exergy factor
Introduction
Internal combustion (IC) engines impact nearly every aspect
of worldwide lives and have been that way for decades. How-
ever, their emissions represent a crucial challenge. Recently,
growing concerns over the adverse effects of engine emis-
sions on human health and the environment have sparked
increasingly strict regulations around the globe [1]. Using
fuel additives as nanoparticles or oxygenated fuel additives
for emissions reduction has attracted many researchers in the
last two decades [2, 3]. Extensive studies reported the effects
of nanoparticles, biodiesel, alcohols, esters and ethers.
Nonetheless, rarely studies investigated the impact of using
13
M. S. Almanzalawy et al.
ketones in diesel engines despite their efficiency in soot
suppression [4]. Oxygenated functional groups connected
to intermediate carbons, such as ketones, offered more effec-
tive soot reduction in a diesel engine [5]. Generally, ketones
could be considered efficient candidates for additives in the
combustion of conventional fuels [6].
The simplest ketone, that is acetone with three carbon
atoms per molecule, was previously tested in both diesel [7]
and spark ignition (SI) [8] engines. Promising results were
obtained regarding better engine performance and lower
emissions. However, there were restrictions in using acetone
with high percentages due to the evaporative cooling effect.
This issue could be diminished with a higher ketone, such
as methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), or simply butanone, which
has four carbon atoms per molecule, forming a longer car-
bon chain. This was repeatedly reported for alcohols, where
higher alcohols proved better energy density, greater cetane
number, higher mixing stability and lower moisture absorp-
tion compared to lower ones [9, 10]. In addition, high polar-
ity of low alcohols causes poor miscibility with neat diesel
fuel and leads to more cost and complexity than higher ones
for diesel engine design [11]. Moreover, the burning velocity
increased with increasing the carbon chain length in ketones
from acetone to butanone to pentanone at different condi-
tions [12].
MEK is one of the industrial compounds that have
recently had a relevant boom in various applications and can
be produced from a biomass route [13]. The main utilization
of MEK is directly related to industrial applications such as
paint manufacturing, lacquers, varnishes, glues, dyes, arti-
ficial leather and as an aerosol surface cleaner. Neverthe-
less, it can be used as a fuel additive in internal combustion
engines [14]. Furthermore, the chemical kinetics of MEK
combustion were extensively investigated at different condi-
tions [15, 16].
Methyl ethyl ketone proved promising results in spark
ignition engines [17, 18]. MEK was a better biofuel candi-
date than ethanol owing to better atomization, higher energy
content and improved knock resistance in SI engines [17].
Furthermore, a noticeable reduction in soot formation can be
noticed in the presence of MEK. Increasing MEK concen-
tration in gasoline reduced the ­NOx and particulate matter
emissions with no significant effect on CO and HC emis-
sions [18].
The effects of MEK fumigation in the intake air of a die-
sel engine were previously reported [19]. The brake-specific
fuel consumption (bsfc) was decreased while the thermal
efficiency was increased by fumigating MEK at full load.
Both CO and HC emissions were increased, whilst ­NOx and
smoke opacity were decreased with MEK fumigation. Those
results can be changed if the MEK was blended with diesel
fuel instead of fumigating it in the induction line. Opposite
effects were observed for using ethanol in a diesel engine
Enhancement of energy, exergy and soot characteristics with the utilization of MEK in diesel…

by blending and fumigation approaches [20]. Fumigating Table 1  Relevant properties of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and diesel
ethanol in a diesel engine can increase the particulate matter fuel
emissions, while blending it with diesel fuel reduced those MEK [6] Diesel
emissions at the same conditions. Hence, investigating the [23]
effects of blending methyl ethyl ketone with diesel fuel is
Density/kg ­m−3 800a 884.2b
still required to obtain a clear understanding of its effects
­ m2 ­s−1, at
Kinematic viscosity/ m 0.4956 3.44b
on diesel engines. 40 ℃
Furthermore, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, Boiling point/K 353a 443–647b
there is still no study investigating the effects of MEK on Auto-ignition/K 778 519
the engine exergy and soot characteristics of an IC engine. Cetane number 12.6 52.94b
It is well known that oxygenated additives such as ketones ΔHvap/kJ ­kg−1 480 270–301
efficiently suppress soot formation in flames [4]. However, LHV/MJ ­kg−1 31.45 41.9b
the evaporative cooling of volatile additives can negatively Air–fuel ratio 10.48 14.3
affect the unburned hydrocarbons inside an IC engine. Thus, H/C mass fraction 0.167 0.163
it is essential to investigate the effects of volatile and oxy- O/C mass fraction 0.333 0
genated additives such as MEK on soot formation in diesel S/C mass fraction 0 0.066b
engines. And to obtain a clear understanding of such volatile
a
additives, the evaporation behavior of fuel droplets should Provided by the supplier
b
be considered. Heptane can be used as a good surrogate for Measured in this study
diesel fuel [21], and the effects of blending a volatile addi-
tive such as ethanol with heptane can be studied numerically
[22]. Therefore, the effects of blending MEK with diesel fuel
on droplet evaporation can be simplified by modeling the Table 2  The specifications of the used diesel engine in this study
evaporation of a heptane/MEK droplet. Parameter Value
Accordingly, this study aims to report a comprehensive
energy and exergy investigation for using methyl ethyl Motor type Hatz 1B20-6
ketone in a diesel engine, along with emissions and soot Bore 69 mm
quantification. Different concentrations of MEK were Stroke 62 mm
blended with diesel fuel and used in a diesel engine at other Rated power/speed 1.75 kW at 3000 rpm
loads. Engine performance, combustion characteristics and Maximum torque 8 Nm at 1750 rpm
exhaust emissions were explored. The soot primary parti- Idle speed 1000 rpm
cle distribution and nanostructure characteristics were also Displacement volume 347 ­cm3
examined in this study. Furthermore, the evaporation of a Compression ratio 21:1
bi-component droplet containing MEK and heptane was Cooling type Air cooling
investigated numerically using an in-house Fortran code. Injection system Mechanical

Materials and methods
The base fuel in the present study was neat diesel fuel pur-
chased from a local fuel station. Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)
was supplied from Chem-Lab NV with a purity of + 99.5%.
The relevant properties of MEK and diesel fuel were sum-
marized in Table 1. MEK was added to the diesel fuel in
this study in four concentrations of 2.5–10% by volume. The
blends were named MEK2.5, MEK5, MEK7.5 and MEK10,
representing MEK volume percentages of 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%
and 10%, respectively. The resulting oxygen mass percent-
ages in the blends were 0.65%, 1.3%, 1.95% and 2.61%,
respectively. No phase separation was noticed during mix-
ing the MEK with the diesel fuel, even after a storage period
of one month. However, a probe ultrasonicator was used to
ensure homogeneous blending.
Experimental work was implemented using a single cyl-
inder diesel engine with the specifications that summarized
in Table 2.
A schematic drawing for the experimental test rig and
the used equipment was illustrated in Fig. 1. The diesel
engine is derived and loaded using an asynchronous motor
inside the universal unit via a V-belt connection. The uni-
versal unit has two potentiometers, one for controlling the
load and the other for setting the speed. There is a preset
switch that can be used to set one of those potentiom-
eters, and the engine has a speed regulator that can be
used to control the other parameters. The engine is cooled
by air delivered by a flywheel, which acts as a fan. A gunt
software was used to monitor and record the measured
parameters: torque, speed, temperatures, in-cylinder pres-
sure and mass flow rates of fuel and air. The measured

13
 M. S. Almanzalawy et al.

Exhaust line
Data aquisition
system Fuel
Ampifier tube
PC with Thermophoretic
gunt software Fuel sampling unit
filter

Smokemeter

Diesel
engine

Gas
analyzer HM 365
Universal drive Quietening
Intake line Fuel
and brake unit vessel Ultrasonicator
APT compressor tank

Fig. 1  Schematic drawing for the experimental test rig

values were analyzed using an in-house MATLAB code The uncertainty analysis was conducted for the measured
to obtain the performance and combustion characteristics and calculated parameters described previously [7]. Table 3
described previously [7]. summarizes the ranges and maximum uncertainties of the
The gaseous emissions were detected by a Bacharach measured parameters at full load for neat diesel fuel. Those
exhaust gas analyzer type ECA 450. Smoke opacity was values were calculated by considering both instrument and
measured by an Auto-K600 smokemeter using the continu- random uncertainties. The maximum uncertainty in brake-
ous mode. The soot was sampled directly on TEM grids (3 specific fuel consumption was found to be 1.25%.
mm diameter with 200 mesh carbon formvar film coated An in-house Fortran code was used to model the evapo-
grids) using a specially designed thermophoretic sampling ration process of a heptane/MEK droplet. Five different
unit. This unit contains an APT SGBM9037-Econo com- heptane/MEK droplets were modeled named H100, H97.5,
pressor that keeps the air pressure inside the air tank at 8 bar. H95, H92.5 and H90 that represent heptane percentages
This pressure was used to drive a probe, which held the TEM
grid, via a double-acting piston-cylinder mechanism. The
probe was directed into the exhaust gases 20 times with an Table 3  The range and maximum uncertainty of the measured param-
exposure time of 0.5 s and two seconds between insertions eters
to cool down the TEM grid. Parameter Range Maximum
The soot particles were imaged by a JEOL JEM-2100F uncertainty
TEM at two different magnification levels. Low-resolution
Engine speed/rpm 0–10000 ± 0.25%
TEM images taken at 40,000× at four different positions
Engine torque/Nm 0–50 ± 1%
were used to study the soot particles’ diameter. ImageJ
Crank angle/degree 0–720 ± 0.5%
software was used to capture the primary particle diameter
In-cylinder pressure/bar 0–250 ± 1%
from each image. On the other hand, high-resolution TEM
Exhaust temperature/ºC 200–1370 ± 0.62%
(HRTEM) images taken at 600,000× were used to study the
Fuel flow rate/kg ­h−1 0–1 ± 0.7%
nanostructure characteristics of soot particles. Four HRTEM
CO emissions/ppm 0–4000 ± 5.03%
images were taken at each position, yielding 16 HRTEM
NOx emissions/ppm 0–4000 ± 5%
images for each case. The open-source MATLAB code pro-
HC emissions/ppm 0–2000 ± 5.22%
vided by Botero et al. [24, 25] with the previously reported
Smoke opacity/%H 0–100 ± 5.02%
updates [26] was used to analyze the HRTEM images.

13
Enhancement of energy, exergy and soot characteristics with the utilization of MEK in diesel…

of 100%, 97.5%, 95%, 92.5% and 90%, respectively. The

[ ]
⋅ T
− To ln a (6)
( )
analysis was based on the Effective Thermal Conductiv- Exa = ṁ a cp,a T a − To
To
ity/Effective Diffusivity (ETC/ED) model described pre-
viously [27]. Both the transient heat conduction equation, where ṁ a is the air flow rate, cp,a is the specific heat capacity
Eq. (1), and mass diffusion equation, Eq. (2), were solved of air, Ta is the engine intake air temperature and To is the
simultaneously to predict the evaporation behavior of a ambient temperature. Ultimately, the sustainability index, SI,
bi-component droplet. measures the economic and environmental impacts of using
( 2 ) fuel, and it can be calculated by
𝜕T 𝜕 T 2 𝜕T
=k + (1) 1
𝜕t 𝜕R2 R 𝜕R SI = (7)
1−𝜓
( 2 )
𝜕Yli 𝜕 Yli 2 𝜕Yli
= Dl + (2)
𝜕t 𝜕R2 R 𝜕R

where T = T(t, R) is the droplet temperature, t is the time, k
is the liquid thermal diffusivity and R is the distance from
the center of the spherical droplet. Yli = Yli (t, R) is the mass
fraction of each liquid component, i = 1or2 and Dl is the
liquid mass diffusivity. The initial conditions of the droplet
were taken as regular values for a droplet in diesel engine
conditions. The initial droplet radius was assumed to be
12.66 μm with a relative velocity of 10 ­ms−1 and an initial
temperature of 360 K [27]. The gas pressure and temperature
were taken as the average values at the start of injection in
the present engine, which are 26 bar and 500 K, respectively.
The exergy analysis in the present study was performed
according to Gad et al. [28]. Four parameters were evalu-
ated in the present study to assess the input and output
exergy besides the efficiency of exergy conversion. Firstly,
the fuel exergy rate, Eẋ f , that represents the rate of heat
input to the engine and can be used in producing useful
work. It can be estimated as follows:
̇ f = ṁ f LHV𝜀f
Ex
where ṁ f is the fuel flow rate and 𝜀f denotes the chemical
exergy factor that can be calculated by
H O S
[
H
] reported previously with acetone [7] and ethanol [29] in die-
𝜀f = 1.0401 + 0.1728 + 0.0432 + 0.2169 1 − 2.169
C C C C
(4)
where H/C , O/C and S/C are mass fractions of hydrogen,
oxygen and sulfur, respectively, to carbon for the fuel. Sec-
ondly, the work exergy rate, Ex
̇ a , which represents the net
brake power and can be obtained directly from the engine
speed and torque. Thirdly, the exergy efficiency, 𝜓 , of the
engine can be evaluated as follows:
̇ w
Ex
𝜓=
Ex ̇ a
̇ f + Ex
⋅ curves for each blend. The COV is the average percent-
where Exa is the exergy rate of the intake air that can be
estimated by
Results and discussion
Engine performance
Operating characteristics
The optimum operating speed for the diesel engine in
the present study was investigated using neat diesel fuel
(D100). It was 1750 rpm, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. At
this engine speed, the engine load was maximum, and the
brake-specific fuel consumption was minimum. All experi-
ments in the present study were carried out at this optimum
speed and different loads of 2, 4 and 6 Nm beside idle and
full load conditions. Two idle conditions were considered in
this study. The first idle conditions (Idle1) were at the mini-
mum engine speed of 1000 rpm and no load. The second
idle conditions (Idle2) were at the optimum engine speed of
1750 rpm and no load. Both idle conditions were compared
to each other, and the latter was used to get a specific trend
(3) with other loads for the variation of each parameter.
It was noticed that the presence of MEK with diesel fuel
decreased the maximum reached load and brake power
of a diesel engine, as shown in Fig. 3. Similar cases were
sel engines. This can be attributed to the cooling effect of
those volatile additives. Moreover, the lower level of lower
heating value (LHV) of those additives than diesel fuel
caused a reduction in the produced energy via the same fuel
consumption.
Performance parameters
The coefficient of variation (COV) measures the degree of
(5) engine stability. It was estimated in this study, according
to Heywood [30], for 200 successive in-cylinder pressure
age of the standard deviation to the mean value of the
indicated mean effective pressure at each load for each
case. Heywood [30] stated a stability limit for the engine

13
 M. S. Almanzalawy et al.

Fig. 2  Characteristic perfor- 4.0

mance curves for the used diesel 8 550
engine in the present study
500 3.5
7

6 450 3.0

bsfc/g k Wh–1
400

Torque/Nm
5 2.5

BP/k W
350
4
2.0
300
3
250 1.5
2
Torque/Nm
200
bsfe/g k Wh–1 1.0
1
BP/k W 150
0 0.5
1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250 2500 2750 3000
Engine speed/rpm

8.25
1.50 5
8.00 Maximum load D100
Maximum BP 1.45 MEK2.5
7.75
MEK5
Maximum load/Nm

1.40 4
Maximum BP/Nm

7.50 MEK7.5
1.35 MEK10
7.25
COV/%

3
1.30
7.00

6.75 1.25
2

6.50 1.20

6.25 1.15 1

D100 MEK2.5 MEK5 MEK7.5 MEK10

Blends
Fig. 3  The effects of MEK on the maximum reached load of a diesel
engine
operation by a COV of 10%; beyond that, the engine can-
not run stably. Figure 4 shows the variation of COV for all
blends at different conditions. As aforementioned, Idle1
and Idle2 represent the no-load conditions at a minimum
engine speed of 1000 rpm and an optimum engine speed
of 1750 rpm, respectively. FL referred to the full load
condition, which had a different value for each blend as
illustrated in Fig. 4.
One can notice that all values of COV are less than the
stability limit. This indicates that all studied cases were sta-
ble, but some cases are more stable than others. Higher val-
ues for COV were obtained at Idle1, where the engine speed
is low. At this idle speed, the mixture inside the combustion
chamber is richer than the case Idel2 (see Fig. S1). This
increased the possibility of incomplete combustion, which
increased the cycle-to-cycle variation. Besides, the lower
0
Idle 1 Idle 2 2 4 6 FL
Engine load/Nm
Fig. 4  The effects of MEK on the coefficient of variation of a diesel
engine at different conditions
engine speed offered a longer time for heat loss and a higher
percentage of exhaust gas residual.
The effects of adding MEK to diesel fuel did not follow
a specific trend on the COV for all conditions. However,
one can see that low percentages of MEK (2.5% and 5%)
offered the lowest COV in most conditions. This can be
attributed to better combustion owing to the presence of the
effective carbonyl functional group in MEK [4]. Neverthe-
less, a higher percentage of MEK increased COV in most
conditions, particularly at Idle1 and FL conditions. This can
be ascribed to the evaporative cooling of MEK, which has a
significantly higher heat of vaporization than diesel fuel, as
shown in Table 1. Moreover, MEK consumed more energy
to evaporate and produced less heat when combusted due

13
Enhancement of energy, exergy and soot characteristics with the utilization of MEK in diesel…

to the higher LHV and lower ΔHvap than diesel fuel. The (a)
higher heat loss at Idle1 due to low engine speed exaggerated 1.0 420
those effects and caused the highest COV. Similar results H100
H97.5 410
can be found for isobutanol in a diesel engine, where the 0.8
H95
COV significantly increased with increasing the isobutanol H92.5 400

d2/d20
0.6

Ts/K
percentage at low load [31]. H90
390
Figure 5 depicts the effects of all fuel blends on the bsfc 0.4
380
and thermal efficiency of the diesel engine at different loads. 0.2
370
The presence of MEK in the fuel increased the bsfc because
0.0
of consuming more fuel to generate the same power. How- 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
360

ever, the thermal efficiency was mostly increased with MEK. (b)
1.0
This can be assigned to the oxygen content in the efficient
carbonyl functional group in MEK. Moreover, MEK evapo- 0.8 Heptane H100

Mass fraction
rated faster than diesel fuel, forming a stronger premixed 0.6
H97.5

mixture that promoted better in-cylinder combustion. This H95

H92.5
is in good agreement with the literature. A higher bsfc and 0.4
H90
a higher thermal efficiency were reported previously with 0.2 MEK
butanol-acetone [32], ethanol [33] and butanol [34] in die-
sel engines. The enhancement in thermal efficiency also 0.0

appeared in a slight reduction in the exhaust gas temperature 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5

with MEK addition (see Fig. S2). This ensured better utiliza-
tion of the produced energy inside the engine.
One can notice that MEK with a concentration greater
than 2.5% reduced thermal efficiency at FL. This can be
assigned to the restriction of increasing the fuel consump-
tion at FL to compensate for the reduction in LHV alongside
the evaporative cooling of MEK. To examine the evapora-
tive cooling effect of MEK and the droplet lifetime with it,
the evaporation of a bi-component droplet of heptane and
MEK was investigated. Figure 6a illustrates the variation in
normalized droplet diameter and surface temperature ver-
sus normalized time. One can notice that a higher initial
t/d20/s mm–2
Fig. 6  Evaporation curves for heptane/MEK droplets using ETC/ED
model. a The variation in normalized droplet diameter and surface
temperature and b The variation of droplet composition with normal-
ized time
concentration of MEK decreased the saturation tempera-
ture of the droplet. However, this was accompanied by a
slightly longer droplet lifetime. This can be ascribed to the
higher vapor pressure and higher heat of vaporization ( Δ
Hvap) for MEK (128 kPa and 425 kJ ­kg−1) compared to those

Fig. 5  bsfc and thermal effi- 650

ciency for all blends at different D100 30
conditions
600 MEK2.5
MEK5 28

550 MEK7.5
26
MEK10
Thermal efficiency/%
bsfc/g k Wh–1

500 24

22
450 FL
20
400
18
350
16

300 14

2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Engine load/Nm

13
 M. S. Almanzalawy et al.

of heptane (71 kPa and 324 kJ ­kg−1) at 360 K [35]. MEK
with a higher vapor pressure started to evaporate earlier than
heptane as shown in Fig. 6b. Additionally, the higher latent
heat of MEK than heptane caused a lower droplet surface
temperature under the same ambient condition. Therefore,
adding MEK into the mixture reduced the droplet tempera-
ture and slightly increased the droplet lifetime.
Exergy analysis
Figure 7 summarizes the parameters of the exergy analy-
sis for all blends at different loads. Despite the higher fuel
consumption with MEK addition, one can see that the fuel
exergy rate was slightly decreased, as depicted in Fig. 7a.
Fuel consumption increased with MEK due to less LHV, but
it did not increase to the extent that makes the engine require
a higher amount of energy, not even the same amount. How-
ever, the required energy with the presence of MEK to gen-
erate the same engine power was less than that of neat diesel
fuel. This can be assigned to the oxygen content of MEK
that increased the chemical exergy factor and improved the
combustion efficiency [28]. Furthermore, MEK, with a clean
and short carbon chain, has a greater possibility of com-
plete combustion than the displaced quantity of diesel that
contains incombustible components such as ash and metals.
The produced brake power was maintained constant for
each blend by controlling the engine speed and torque at the
same level. This can be seen from Fig. 7b for the nearly fixed
work exergy rate that simply represents the produced brake
power. The reduction in the fuel exergy rate with MEK at
FL can be attributed to the restriction of fuel consumption
due to the early evaporation of MEK during injection. The
further reduction in the work exergy rate can be ascribed to
the less LHV of MEK that displaced a quantity of diesel fuel
with more LHV. The better utilization of fuel energy content
also appeared in a slight augmentation of exergetic efficiency
and sustainability index at the same load, as shown in Fig. 7c
and d, respectively. The exergetic efficiency and sustainabil-
ity index measure the environmental and economic benefits
of implementing sustainable systems. This ensured that
using MEK with diesel fuel enhanced the energy exploita-
tion inside the engine.
Combustion characteristics
The effects of adding MEK to diesel fuel on combustion
characteristics were too small and within the uncertainty
limits in most cases. The in-cylinder pressure curves were
shown in Fig. 8, while other combustion characteristics were
attached to the supplementary materials. The presence of
MEK inside the combustion chamber caused a slight aug-
mentation in the in-cylinder pressure curves compared to
that of neat diesel fuel at the same conditions. The peak
pressure was found to be slightly higher with MEK in most
cases, as shown in Fig. S3. This can be attributed to better

Fig. 7  Exergy analysis param- (a) (b)

eters for all blends at different
5.5 D100 1.50 D100
loads
Work exergy rate/kW

MEK2.5 MEK2.5
Fuel exergy rate/kW

5.0
MEK5 1.25 MEK5
4.5 MEK7.5 MEK7.5
MEK10 1.00 MEK10
4.0
0.75
3.5

3.0 0.50

2.5 0.25

2 4 6 FL 2 4 6 FL
Engine load/Nm Engine load/Nm

(c) (d)
30.0 D100 D100
1.4
Exergrtic efficiency/%

27.5 MEK2.5 MEK2.5

Sustainability index

MEK5 MEK5
25.0
MEK7.5 1.3 MEK7.5
22.5 MEK10 MEK10
20.0
1.2
17.5
15.0
1.1
12.5

2 4 6 FL 2 4 6 FL
Engine load/Nm Engine load/Nm

13
Enhancement of energy, exergy and soot characteristics with the utilization of MEK in diesel…

Fig. 8  In-cylinder pressure (b) Idle2

70 (a) Idle1
curves for all blends at different

In-cylinder pressure/bar
D100
conditions 65 MEK2.5
MEK5
60 MEK7.5
MEK10
55

50

45

70 (c) 2 Nm (d)4 Nm

In-cylinder pressure/bar 65

60

55

50

45

70 (e) 6 Nm (f) Full load

In-cylinder pressure/bar

65

60

55

50

45

355 360 365 370 375 380 385 355 360 365 370 375 380 385
CA/° CA/°

combustion due to the carbonyl function group in MEK.
Moreover, a stronger premixed combustion with a volatile
additive such as MEK pronounced the augmentation of in-
cylinder pressure. Consequently, the heat release rate (HRR)
was also increased, as seen in Fig. S4. Similar results can
be found in the literature, where low alcohols increased the
in-cylinder pressure and HRR curves more than neat diesel
fuel [36].
The in-cylinder pressure curves at Idle1 were lower and
more flattened than those at Idle2, as shown in Fig. 8a and
b. This contradicted what was reported by Ahmad et al. [37],
where lower engine speed offered more time per CAD. Thus,
more fuel was burnt per CAD and a higher pressure peak
was produced. However, other researchers reported that the
pressure curves raised at higher engine speeds due to more
turbulence that enhanced the combustion and accelerated
HRR [38]. This issue can be settled by referring to the vari-
ation of peak pressure versus the engine speed reported by
Shehata and Abdel Razek [39]. The peak pressure decreased
by increasing the engine speed above idle speed, reaching a
minimum value somewhere before the optimum speed. Sub-
sequently, it increased till achieving a maximum value at the
optimum speed before decreasing again thereafter. For the
present study, burning more fuel with a higher level of tur-
bulence at the optimum speed (Idle2 and all other loads) pro-
duced a higher in-cylinder pressure and a faster HRR than
those at the idle speed (Idle1). It is worth noticing that the
combustion at Idle1 was mainly by diffusion phase, while
the premixed combustion phase dominated at Idle2 (see Fig.
S4). This ensured poor evaporation and mixing processes at
Idle1 against good ones at Idle2. The persistent reduction in
in-cylinder pressure and HRR curves with increasing MEK
at FL can be ascribed to burning smaller amounts of fuel
with less LHV.
Referring to Fig. S5, one can find that MEK slightly
increased the ignition delay (ID) and vaguely reduced both
combustion phasing (CA50) and combustion duration (CD).
The longer ID with MEK can be attributed to the longer
droplet lifetime, as aforementioned. Clearly, the evapora-
tive cooling effect due to higher ΔHvap increased the physi-
cal ignition delay. Furthermore, the higher autoignition
temperature and lower cetane number of MEK than those
of diesel fuel caused a chemical ignition delay. During
this ignition delay period, the evaporated fuel, particularly
MEK, accumulated in the combustion chamber, forming a
stronger premixed combustion phase. That led to an increase

13

in the in-cylinder pressure and sped up the heat release rate.
Consequently, CA50 was advanced, and CD was shortened.
Similar results for those combustion characteristics were
reported previously for methanol, ethanol and butanol in a
diesel engine [40].
Engine emissions
CO and ­NOx emissions
Figure 9 illustrates the carbon monoxide (CO) emissions
for all blends at different conditions. CO emissions were
found to be greater at Idle1 due to the dominant diffusion
combustion phase. It decreased with increasing load owing
to the increased in-cylinder temperature, which enhanced the
combustion efficiency. The final augmentation in CO emis-
sions at FL can be ascribed to the richer mixture combustion.
A low concentration of MEK with diesel fuel reduced
the CO emissions at all loads compared to D100. Similar
results were reported previously with the butanol-acetone
mixture [32], butanol [34] and methanol and ethanol [36]
in diesel engines. This was ascribed to the oxygen content
in those oxygenated additives that enhanced the combus-
tion efficiency. However, increasing the MEK percentage
increased the CO emissions until they surpassed that of
D100. This can be attributed to the richer mixture with
MEK due to consuming more fuel. Increasing the MEK
percentage in the blend increased the equivalence ratio
inside the combustion chamber in a diesel engine, as
shown in Fig. S1. Tipanluisa et al. [41] reported some
similar cases with a rising trend for CO with increas-
ing butanol in a diesel engine. This was assigned to the
evaporative cooling and a delayed combustion process
600
D100
MEK2.5
550
Idle1 MEK5
CO emissions/ppm
MEK7.5
500 MEK10
Idle2
450
400
350
300
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Engine load/Nm
Fig. 9  Carbon monoxide emissions for all blends at different condi-
tions
13
M. S. Almanzalawy et al.
with butanol. Hoppe et al. [17] stated that MEK has a
negligible effect on CO emissions from a spark ignition
engine. Nonetheless, Raj et al. [19] reported an increase
in CO emissions with MEK fumigation in a diesel engine.
This resulted from reduced volumetric efficiency due to
the MEK evaporative cooling. The C ­ O2 formation in the
present study was slightly increased with MEK, as seen in
Fig. S6. This ensured the improvement of the combustion
process with the presence of MEK.
Figure 10 shows the nitrogen oxide ­(NOx) emissions for
all blends at different conditions. As expected, the N ­ Ox
emissions at Idle1 were higher than those at Idle2. This
is because of the prevailing diffusion combustion mode
at Idle1 versus a stronger premixed combustion phase
at Idle2. The N­ O x emissions increased with increasing
load due to the increased in-cylinder temperature, which
activated the Zeldovich mechanism [42]. One can notice
that the N
­ Ox formation with MEK was higher than that
of D100, and it was increased with increasing the MEK
percentage. This can be ascribed to two factors: firstly,
the higher in-cylinder temperature due to the higher peak
pressure with MEK. Secondly, the oxygen content of MEK
increased the NOx formation possibility during combus-
tion and further in the exhaust tailpipe. Similar results
were reported with methanol [36, 43], ethanol [44] and
butanol [41] in diesel engines. Nevertheless, Raj et al. [19]
reported a reduction in N­ Ox due to the cooling effect of
MEK fumigation for the intake air. The percentage of O ­ 2
in the exhaust gases was found to be decreased with MEK
in the present study, as shown in Fig. S6. This supported
the findings of N
­ Ox and C­ O2 augmentation in the present
study.
600
D100
MEK2.5
500 MEK5
MEK7.5
NOx emissions/ppm
MEK10
400
300
200
100
8
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Engine load/Nm
Fig. 10  Nitrogen oxide emissions for all blends at different conditions
Enhancement of energy, exergy and soot characteristics with the utilization of MEK in diesel…
28
D100
MEK2.5
26
MEK5
HC emissions/ppm
MEK7.5
24
MEK10
22
20
18
16
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Engine load/Nm
Fig. 11  Hydrocarbon emissions for all blends at different conditions
HC emissions and smoke opacity
Figure 11 depicts the emissions of unburned gaseous
hydrocarbons (HC) for the tested fuels at different condi-
tions. The HC emissions for D100 followed the same trend
as that of CO emissions for the same reasons for both rise
and fall. The effects of MEK presence with diesel fuel
showed a peculiar but persistent trend. It started with a
lower level than that of D100 in idle conditions; then it
jumped to a maximum level above D100 at 2 Nm; after
that, it followed the same trend as D100. Most researchers
reported that HC formation increased with low-oxygenated
additives such as ethanol [44], propanol [45], butanol-ace-
tone [32] and butanol [34, 36] in diesel engines. This was
attributed to the high heat of vaporization and low cetane
number for those oxygenated additives. However, other
researchers reported a reduction in HC due to the higher
oxygen content [46].
The HC emissions are mainly due to unburnt fuel, and the
main source of this unburnt fraction is the quenching layer
generated on the wall surface of the combustion chamber
and inside cylinder crevices. At idle conditions, the in-cyl-
inder temperature was low, and the presence of MEK pro-
moted the cooling effect of this fuel layer. This restricted the
evaporation of this portion of the fuel. In contrast, when the
load was increased to 2 Nm, the new in-cylinder temperature
was high enough to evaporate this fuel portion, and high
levels of HC were produced. Further increase in the engine
load than 2 Nm reduced the HC formation by increasing the
combustion efficiency. Additionally, the higher temperature
boosted the oxidation of HC gases via MEK. The final rise
at FL was due to the richer combustion, as mentioned previ-
ously. In most cases, the HC oxidation rate was increased by
increasing the MEK percentage due to the oxygen content.
This led to lower levels of HC emissions with a higher per-
centage of MEK.
The smoke opacity was measured in the present study in
the Hartridge unit (%H), as shown in Fig. 12. Soot formation
was found to be higher at Idle1 than at Idle2 due to the domi-
nant diffusion combustion phase. It increased with increas-
ing load owing to the increased in-cylinder temperature that
promoted the soot formation [47]. This was attributed to
the better dissociation of fuel molecules into C
­ 2H2 radicals.
Consequently, the soot growth was promoted via the hydro-
gen abstraction-C2H2 addition (HACA) mechanism [48].
The presence of MEK suppressed the soot formation
than D100 in all cases. This can be ascribed to the efficient
oxygenated carbonyl function group. Furthermore, substitut-
8
ing a portion of fossil diesel with a soot-free additive pro-
duced cleaner exhaust emissions. Increasing the MEK per-
centage reduced the soot formation further. Similar results
were reported with other low-oxygenated additives such as
ethanol [44], propanol [45], and butanol [34, 36] in diesel
engines. The presence of MEK decreased the soot formation
in a spark ignition engine [17] and via fumigation in a diesel
engine [19].
Soot characteristics
The size distributions of primary soot particles were inves-
tigated by analyzing low-resolution TEM images at a mag-
nification of 40,000×. ImageJ software was used to measure
the primary particle diameter. Figure 13 summarizes the
statistical data of particle size for all blends at 6 Nm. The
median was close to the mean; thus, the size distribution of
soot particles in the present study was nearly normal. There-
fore, the mean values were shown on the figure to represent
the majority of soot particles. One can see that the MEK
16 D100
MEK2.5
14 MEK5
MEK7.5
12
Smoke opacity/%H
MEK10
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Engine load/Nm
Fig. 12  Smoke opacity for all blends at different conditions
13

Mean ± 1 SD 5%–95%
45
40
Primary particle diameter/nm
35
30
27.6
25
26.0 25.1
23.9
20
15
10
D100 MEK2.5 MEK5 MEK7.5
Fig. 13  Statistical data of primary particle diameter for all blends at
6 Nm
addition consistently reduced the mean diameter of soot par-
ticles from a diesel engine. The combustion of fossil diesel
fuel produces polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs that
represent the main soot precursors. Soot nuclei are produced
and followed by surface growth and coalescence between
these soot nuclei, forming primary soot particles. The pres-
ence of MEK during combustion provided a source of oxy-
gen and OH radicals that suppressed soot formation and
enhanced soot oxidation. Consequently, a gradual decrease
in soot particle size can be observed for blending MEK with
diesel fuel. Similar results were reported with methanol [49],
ethanol [20], dimethyl carbonate [50], butanol [51] and pen-
tanol [52] in diesel engines.
The nanostructure characterization of soot particles was
implemented in the present study by analyzing HRTEM
images at a magnification of 600,000×. Higher than 7000
fringes with more than 2200 spacings were recognized from
16 images for each blend. The open-source MATLAB code
provided by Botero et al. [24, 25] was used to obtain the
statistical data on soot fringes. The optimization of this code
for the present study conditions was reported recently with
a detailed discussion [26]. The updated code was examined
again before using it for the present study. Only one modifi-
cation was effective in getting more reasonable and reliable
results. This was the minimum fringe length. It was changed
in the previous study to 0.246 nm instead of 0.483 nm. This
significantly increased the number of mapped fringes and
reduced the void regions that originally included carbon
lamella. However, the obtained trend of fringe tortuosity
contradicted the regular trend in most literature. Shorter
13
M. S. Almanzalawy et al.
Median fringes had lower tortuosity by considering the limit
0.246 nm. This can be attributed to the high percentage of
unrealistic fringes that are more likely to be dashes not real
curved fringes. Fortunately, this issue has been resolved in
the present study by using the limit 0.483 nm.
Figure 13 summarizes the statistical data of fringe length,
tortuosity and spacing for all blends at 6 Nm. There was a
noticeable difference between the mean and median due to
the skewed distribution of those three characteristics. There-
23.8
fore, the median can be considered a better representation
of most fringes’ data, and lognormal distribution was used
to depict those data. One can see that the MEK addition to
diesel fuel produced a shorter fringe length, a higher fringe
tortuosity and a wider fringe spacing.
The reduction of the fringe length with oxygenated addi-
MEK10
tives is extensively reported in the literature [53]. This reduc-
tion is often related to better reactivity and oxidation kinetics
for the soot particles [54]. For MEK, the short carbon chain
with a carbonyl functional group formed the radicals C ­ H 2O
and CO that resisted the soot growth effectively [55]. Moreo-
ver, MEK as an oxygenated fuel reduced the formation of
soot precursors, especially ­C2H2 and interrupted the HACA
mechanism [48]. Also, the soot surface aliphatic C–H groups
decreased by the presence of oxygenated additives. All those
reasons lead to lower fringe length with MEK addition to
diesel fuel, as shown in Fig. 14a, b.
Fringe tortuosity is the ratio of the fringe length and the
fringe endpoint distance. A higher fringe tortuosity reveals
the presence of odd-membered rings (mainly 5 and 7) or
sp3 hybridized carbon atoms within carbon lamella. This
exists in soot particles with high reactivity and high oxi-
dation tendency. Hence, the rise of fringe tortuosity with
the addition of MEK (see Fig. 14c, d) ensured a better soot
oxidation. Now, the shorter fringes have higher tortuosity,
as reported in the literature [50]. Shorter fringes are often
reported to be highly disordered with wider fringe spacing.
Hence, the rise of fringe spacing, shown in Fig. 14e, f, can
be assigned to the presence of MEK as an oxygenated fuel
[54]. Similar results for fringe length, tortuosity and spacing
were reported with methanol [49], dimethyl carbonate [50]
and pentanol [52] in diesel engines.
Additional parameters can be checked to ensure better
comprehension of the impacts of MEK on the nanostruc-
ture characteristics. Firstly, the intensity of soot fringes that
measures how the soot density is. It was calculated as the
percentile of the number of fringe pixels to the whole pix-
els within the studied region of interest. Secondly, the high
tortuosity percentage that represents the percent of fringes
with tortuosity higher than 1.5 [24, 25]. Thirdly, the fringe
alignment which is the percentage of the number of aligned
Enhancement of energy, exergy and soot characteristics with the utilization of MEK in diesel…

(a) (b)
1.5 Mean ± 1 SE 25
1.468
Fringe length/nm Median line D100
1.4 1.402 20 MEK2.5

Frequency/%
1.349 1.335 1.350 MEK5
1.3 15 MEK7.5
MEK10
1.2 10
1.165
1.124
1.1 1.079
5
1.065 1.068

1.0 0
D100 MEK2.5 MEK5 MEK7.5 MEK10 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Fringe length/nm
(c) (d)
60
1.7
1.664 50
1.662 1.654 1.653 D100
1.6
Fringe totuosity

MEK2.5
1.558 40

Frequency/%
MEK5
1.5
Mean ± 1 SE MEK7.5
30
Median line MEK10
1.4
20
1.3 1.282 1.283 1.284
1.256 10
1.2 1.209
0
D100 MEK2.5 MEK5 MEK7.5 MEK10 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Fringe totuosity
(e) (f)
45

0.431 40
0.43 D100
Fringe spacing/nm

0.427 0.427 35
MEK2.5
Frequency/%

30
0.42 0.420 0.420 MEK5
25
0.415 0.416 MEK7.5
0.413
20 MEK10
0.41
15
0.405
Mean ± 1 SE 10
0.40 0.398 Median line 5
0
D100 MEK2.5 MEK5 MEK7.5 MEK10 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70
Fringe spacing/nm

Fig. 14  Statistical data for (a, b) fringe length, (c, d) fringe tortuosity and (e, f) fringe spacing

fringes to the number of all fringes. It evaluates the level of
order within the carbon fringe lattice.
Figure 15 reveals the mean with standard error bars for
soot fringe intensity, high tortuosity and fringe alignment for
all blends at 6 Nm. The MEK addition to diesel decreased
the fringe intensity, increased the high tortuosity percentage
and reduced the fringe alignment. This means that MEK
produced lighter soot with higher tortuosity and disorder
levels. It is often reported that oxygenated fuels increase the
soot amorphous and reactivity [56]. The standard error bars
of almost MEK blends and neat diesel fuel did not overlap.
Thus, the reported effects of MEK on soot nanostructure
are meaningful.

13
 M. S. Almanzalawy et al.

7.4 percentage. The N­ Ox emissions increased consistently with

(a)
7.3 Mean ± 1 SE the MEK addition. The unburned hydrocarbon emissions
Fringe intensity/%

Mean
7.2 7.22 with MEK significantly depended on the engine conditions.
7.14
7.1 On the other hand, smoke opacity was decreased continu-
7.0 ously with methyl ethyl ketone. MEK addition consistently
6.9 reduced the mean diameter of soot particles. The fringe anal-
6.85 6.86
6.8 6.80 ysis showed that fringe length decreased with the presence
6.7 of MEK, whilst the fringe tortuosity and spacing increased.
32 (b) Clearly, methyl ethyl ketone suppressed soot formation in a
diesel engine and decreased its reactivity. This was ensured
High tortuosity/%

30 29.86
28.61 28.60
by the decreasing trend in fringe soot intensity and align-
28
ment with the augmentation of the fraction of fringes with
26 25.80 high tortuosity.
24
22 Supplementary Information The online version contains supplemen-
21.49
tary material available at https://d​ oi.o​ rg/1​ 0.1​ 007/s​ 10973-0​ 23-1​ 2676-2.
20
46 Author contributions MSA: Methodology, Investigation, Formal anal-
(c)
44
43.35 ysis, Data curation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & edit-
Fringe alignment/%

42 ing. SM: Supervision, Writing—review & editing. MFE: Supervision,

40 Writing—review & editing. AEE: Conceptualization, Methodology,
38 Supervision, Writing—review & editing.
36 36.07
34 Funding Open access funding provided by The Science, Technology &
32 32.30
31.15 Innovation Funding Authority (STDF) in cooperation with The Egyp-
30 30.31
tian Knowledge Bank (EKB).
28
D100 MEK2.5 MEK5 MEK7.5 MEK10 Declarations

Fig. 15  Mean and standard error of a fringe intensity, b high tortuos- Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no known com-
ity and c fringe alignment peting financial interests or personal relationships that could have ap-
peared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attri-

Conclusions
This study reported the effects of methyl ethyl ketone on
the energy, exergy and emissions of a diesel engine. Differ-
ent blends were studied at different conditions, including
full load and two idle conditions. Running the engine under
idle conditions at the optimum engine speed significantly
reduced engine emissions. The MEK addition to diesel fuel
decreased the reachable full load of the diesel engine.
Methyl ethyl ketone increased both brake-specific fuel
consumption and thermal efficiency. The exergy analysis
showed that the use of MEK with diesel fuel enhanced the
energy exploitation inside the engine. Both exergetic effi-
ciency and sustainability index increased while the work
exergy rate remained constant, and the fuel exergy rate
decreased. No significant variation was noticed in the com-
bustion characteristics with MEK, but a slightly stronger
premixed combustion phase can be expected. The evapora-
tion of a heptane/MEK droplet was investigated numerically.
The MEK evaporated first, but it caused a slightly longer
evaporation time.
Low percentages of MEK reduced CO emissions than
neat diesel fuel, but it increased again by increasing the
bution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adapta-
tion, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source,
provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes
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the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not
permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will
need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a
copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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Authors and Affiliations
M. S. Almanzalawy1,2 · S. Mori3 · M. F. Elkady4 · A. E. Elwardany1,5
* A. E. Elwardany
ahmed.elwardany@alexu.edu.eg;
ahmed.elwardany@ejsut.edu.eg
M. S. Almanzalawy
mohamed_manzalawy91@mans.edu.eg
1
Fuels and Combustion Engines Laboratory, Energy
Resources Engineering Department, Egypt-Japan
University of Science and Technology (E-JUST),
New Borg El‑Arab City, Alexandria 21934, Egypt
2
Mechanical Power Engineering Department, Faculty
of Engineering, Mansoura University, El‑Mansoura 35516,
Egypt
13
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Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to
jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
3
Department of Chemical Science and Engineering,
Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2‑12‑1 Ookayama,
Meguro‑Ku, Tokyo 152‑8550, Japan
4
Chemical and Petrochemicals Engineering Department,
Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology,
Alexandria 21934, Egypt
5
Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty
of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21544,
Egypt