Session: Technical Posters

Paper Number: 120428

120428 - Emissions and Efficiency Impacts of Biodiesel/very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil Blends in the Enterprise Research Engine 

Blends of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) biodiesel into very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) were investigated using the Enterprise reduced-scale two-stroke crosshead marine diesel research engine at several speed-load conditions in order to determine impacts on efficiency and emissions. Brake-specific fuel consumption generally increased with increasing biodiesel content, consistent with the lower energy density of the fuel. Thermal efficiency also tended to increase with high biodiesel blends due to more advanced combustion, as the engine was operated with constant injection timing. Particulate mass emissions were found to decrease consistently with increasing biodiesel content. Some increases in NO_x emissions were observed for high biodiesel blend fractions, consistent with the advance in combustion phasing with fixed fuel injection timing due to the faster combustion of the FAME biodiesel relative to the VLSFO, indicating that engine calibrations may need to be adjusted to maintain NO_x emissions compliance with high biodiesel blend fractions. Neat B100 FAME biodiesel was also examined both with the base calibration used for the other fuels and with modified injection timing to match combustion phasing to the baseline VLSFO case. Operation with matched CA50 still showed some increase in NO_x relative to the baseline case due to the shorter CA10–90 duration: NO_x emissions increases were most closely correlated to advance in CA90.

Presenting Author: Brian Kaul Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Kaul received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology in 2008. He currently holds the position of Senior Research Staff in the Buildings and Transportation Science Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and has coauthored over fifty refereed publications and a book chapter. His current research includes projects related to the characterization and control of cyclic combustion instabilities, marine diesel engine efficiency and alternative low-carbon fuels, and thermodynamic analysis of engine and powertrain systems.