IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v15y2022i17p6487-d907399.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Detailed Analysis of PAH Formation, Toxicity and Regulated Pollutants in a Diesel Engine Running on Diesel Blends with n-Propanol, n-Butanol and n-Pentanol

Author

Listed:
  • Nadir Yilmaz

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Howard University, Washington, DC 20059, USA)

  • Francisco M. Vigil

    (Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA)

  • Alpaslan Atmanli

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Defense University, Ankara 06654, Turkey)

  • Burl Donaldson

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA)

Abstract

There are a number of emissions produced by internal combustion engines that are regulated to limit atmospheric pollution. However, it is equally important for both environmental and human health to also monitor and control polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Using high-carbon alcohols with straight-chain structures, such as n-propanol (Pro), n-butanol (Bu) and n-pentanol (Pen), together with diesel fuel (D), can be a way to reduce these harmful pollutants. In this study, nine different test fuels were created by mixing each higher alcohol with diesel fuel at 5%, 20% and 30% mixing ratios. In order to compare the effects of these test fuels on regulated pollutants and PAH compounds, fuel blends were evaluated in a diesel engine at partial loads and at a constant speed. Regulated emissions were measured using a standard 5-gas analyzer, and PAHs were detected and quantified using rigorous analytical chemistry methods, such as gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). While higher carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) pollutants were emitted by the binary blends due to their high oxygen content and latent heat of evaporation (LHE), a decrease in nitrogen oxides (NO x ) emissions between 4.98% and 20.08% was observed depending on the alcohol concentration. With the exception of the 20% n-pentanol mixture, PAH concentrations in the exhaust gas were significantly reduced in other binary blends. The 35% n-butanol mixture stood out in reducing total PAHs by 80.98%. In toxicity reduction, the 20% n-propanol mixture was the most effective with a decrease of 91.23% in toxicity. Overall, higher alcohols have been shown to be effective additives not only in reducing overall PAH emissions and toxicity, but also in reducing high-ring and heavier PAHs, which are more carcinogenic and cause a greater risk to engine lifedue to wet stacking under cold starting or low-load conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Nadir Yilmaz & Francisco M. Vigil & Alpaslan Atmanli & Burl Donaldson, 2022. "Detailed Analysis of PAH Formation, Toxicity and Regulated Pollutants in a Diesel Engine Running on Diesel Blends with n-Propanol, n-Butanol and n-Pentanol," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-14, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:17:p:6487-:d:907399
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/17/6487/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/17/6487/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vallinayagam, R. & Vedharaj, S. & Yang, W.M. & Roberts, W.L. & Dibble, R.W., 2015. "Feasibility of using less viscous and lower cetane (LVLC) fuels in a diesel engine: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1166-1190.
    2. Jeyaseelan, Thangaraja & Ekambaram, Porpatham & Subramanian, Jayagopal & Shamim, Tariq, 2022. "A comprehensive review on the current trends, challenges and future prospects for sustainable mobility," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    3. Wei, Liangjie & Cheung, C.S. & Huang, Zuohua, 2014. "Effect of n-pentanol addition on the combustion, performance and emission characteristics of a direct-injection diesel engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 172-180.
    4. Rakopoulos, Constantine D. & Rakopoulos, Dimitrios C. & Kosmadakis, George M. & Papagiannakis, Roussos G., 2019. "Experimental comparative assessment of butanol or ethanol diesel-fuel extenders impact on combustion features, cyclic irregularity, and regulated emissions balance in heavy-duty diesel engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 1145-1157.
    5. Nadir Yilmaz & Alpaslan Atmanli & Matthew J. Hall & Francisco M. Vigil, 2022. "Determination of the Optimum Blend Ratio of Diesel, Waste Oil Derived Biodiesel and 1-Pentanol Using the Response Surface Method," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-16, July.
    6. Chen, Zhanming & Zhang, Tiancong & Wang, Xiaochen & Chen, Hao & Geng, Limin & Zhang, Teng, 2021. "A comparative study of combustion performance and emissions of dual-fuel engines fueled with natural gas/methanol and natural gas/gasoline," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    7. Hamisu Adamu Dandajeh & Midhat Talibi & Nicos Ladommatos & Paul Hellier, 2019. "Influence of Combustion Characteristics and Fuel Composition on Exhaust PAHs in a Compression Ignition Engine," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-19, July.
    8. Choi, Byungchul & Jiang, Xiaolong & Kim, Young Kwon & Jung, Gilsung & Lee, Chunhwan & Choi, Inchul & Song, Chi Sung, 2015. "Effect of diesel fuel blend with n-butanol on the emission of a turbocharged common rail direct injection diesel engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 20-28.
    9. M, Vinod Babu & K, Madhu Murthy & G, Amba Prasad Rao, 2017. "Butanol and pentanol: The promising biofuels for CI engines – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1068-1088.
    10. Arkadiusz Jamrozik & Wojciech Tutak & Karol Grab-Rogaliński, 2021. "Combustion Stability, Performance and Emission Characteristics of a CI Engine Fueled with Diesel/n-Butanol Blends," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-20, May.
    11. Zhao, Weihua & Yan, Junhao & Gao, Suya & Lee, Timothy H. & Li, Xiangrong, 2022. "The combustion and emission characteristics of a common-rail diesel engine fueled with diesel and higher alcohols blends with a high blend ratio," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(PB).
    12. Rajesh Kumar, B. & Saravanan, S. & Rana, D. & Nagendran, A., 2016. "Use of some advanced biofuels for overcoming smoke/NOx trade-off in a light-duty DI diesel engine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA), pages 687-699.
    13. Balamurugan, T. & Nalini, R., 2014. "Experimental investigation on performance, combustion and emission characteristics of four stroke diesel engine using diesel blended with alcohol as fuel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 356-363.
    14. Campos-Fernández, Javier & Arnal, Juan M. & Gómez, Jose & Dorado, M. Pilar, 2012. "A comparison of performance of higher alcohols/diesel fuel blends in a diesel engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 267-275.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ghadikolaei, Meisam Ahmadi & Wong, Pak Kin & Cheung, Chun Shun & Ning, Zhi & Yung, Ka-Fu & Zhao, Jing & Gali, Nirmal Kumar & Berenjestanaki, Alireza Valipour, 2021. "Impact of lower and higher alcohols on the physicochemical properties of particulate matter from diesel engines: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    2. Rajesh Kumar, B. & Saravanan, S., 2016. "Use of higher alcohol biofuels in diesel engines: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 84-115.
    3. Zhang, Zhi-Hui & Balasubramanian, Rajasekhar, 2016. "Investigation of particulate emission characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with higher alcohols/biodiesel blends," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 71-80.
    4. Han, Kai & Lin, Qizhao & Liu, Minghou & Meng, Kesheng & Ni, Zhanshi & Liu, Yu & Tian, Junjian & Qiu, Zhicong, 2022. "Experimental study on the micro-explosion characteristics of biodiesel/1-pentanol and biodiesel/ methanol blended droplets," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 261-277.
    5. Geng, Peng & Cao, Erming & Tan, Qinming & Wei, Lijiang, 2017. "Effects of alternative fuels on the combustion characteristics and emission products from diesel engines: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 523-534.
    6. Ganesha Thippeshnaik & Sajjal Basanna Prakash & Ajith Bintravalli Suresh & Manjunath Patel Gowdru Chandrashekarappa & Olusegun David Samuel & Oguzhan Der & Ali Ercetin, 2023. "Experimental Investigation of Compression Ignition Engine Combustion, Performance, and Emission Characteristics of Ternary Blends with Higher Alcohols (1-Heptanol and n -Octanol)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-25, September.
    7. M, Vinod Babu & K, Madhu Murthy & G, Amba Prasad Rao, 2017. "Butanol and pentanol: The promising biofuels for CI engines – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1068-1088.
    8. Liu, Xinlei & Wang, Hu & Zheng, Zunqing & Liu, Jialin & Reitz, Rolf D. & Yao, Mingfa, 2016. "Development of a combined reduced primary reference fuel-alcohols (methanol/ethanol/propanols/butanols/n-pentanol) mechanism for engine applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 542-558.
    9. Tamilselvan, P. & Nallusamy, N. & Rajkumar, S., 2017. "A comprehensive review on performance, combustion and emission characteristics of biodiesel fuelled diesel engines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1134-1159.
    10. Manju Dhakad Tanwar & Felipe Andrade Torres & Ali Mubarak Alqahtani & Pankaj Kumar Tanwar & Yashas Bhand & Omid Doustdar, 2023. "Promising Bioalcohols for Low-Emission Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-22, January.
    11. David Fernández-Rodríguez & Magín Lapuerta & Lizzie German, 2021. "Progress in the Use of Biobutanol Blends in Diesel Engines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-22, May.
    12. Rajesh Kumar, B. & Saravanan, S. & Rana, D. & Nagendran, A., 2016. "Use of some advanced biofuels for overcoming smoke/NOx trade-off in a light-duty DI diesel engine," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA), pages 687-699.
    13. Zhang, Zhiqing & Li, Jiangtao & Tian, Jie & Dong, Rui & Zou, Zhi & Gao, Sheng & Tan, Dongli, 2022. "Performance, combustion and emission characteristics investigations on a diesel engine fueled with diesel/ ethanol /n-butanol blends," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    14. Liang, Zhirong & Yu, Zhenhong & Liu, Haoye & Chen, Longfei & Huang, Xinyan, 2022. "Combustion and emission characteristics of a compression ignition engine burning a wide range of conventional hydrocarbon and alternative fuels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    15. Wei, L. & Cheung, C.S. & Ning, Z., 2018. "Effects of biodiesel-ethanol and biodiesel-butanol blends on the combustion, performance and emissions of a diesel engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 957-970.
    16. Meng, Xiangyu & Zhou, Yihui & Yang, Tianhao & Long, Wuqiang & Bi, Mingshu & Tian, Jiangping & Lee, Chia-Fon F., 2020. "An experimental investigation of a dual-fuel engine by using bio-fuel as the additive," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 2238-2249.
    17. Pinzi, S. & López, I. & Leiva-Candia, D.E. & Redel-Macías, M.D. & Herreros, J.M. & Cubero-Atienza, A. & Dorado, M.P., 2018. "Castor oil enhanced effect on fuel ethanol-diesel fuel blend properties," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 409-416.
    18. Loganathan, S. & Leenus Jesu Martin, M. & Nagalingam, B. & Prabhu, L., 2018. "Heat release rate and performance simulation of DME fuelled diesel engine using oxygenate correction factor and load correction factor in double Wiebe function," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 77-91.
    19. Ma, Yinjie & Huang, Sheng & Huang, Ronghua & Zhang, Yu & Xu, Shijie, 2017. "Ignition and combustion characteristics of n-pentanol–diesel blends in a constant volume chamber," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P1), pages 519-530.
    20. Yaoyao Ying & Chenxuan Xu & Dong Liu & Bo Jiang & Pengfei Wang & Wei Wang, 2017. "Nanostructure and Oxidation Reactivity of Nascent Soot Particles in Ethylene/Pentanol Flames," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:17:p:6487-:d:907399. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.