Experimental study on emission characteristics of diesel engines with diesel fuel blended with dimethyl carbonate

In the present study, dimethyl carbonate (DMC) was blended with ultra-low sulphur diesel oil at different proportions, up to 30% by volume, and tested on a single cylinder direct-injection diesel engine, a 4-cylinder indirect-injection diesel engine, and a light-duty diesel vehicle to assess the effect of %DMC on fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. With an increase in %DMC, there was an increase in fuel consumption or a decrease in power output. Particulate emissions were measured with a scanning mobility particle sizer and an aerodynamic particle sizer. DMC was found to significantly reduce particulate emissions, both sub-micron and micron, but the reduction was not proportional to the %DMC in the blended fuel. Within addition to the reduction in particulate emissions, there was a slight decrease in NOx and a slight increase in CO. For HC, there was a reduction at 5%DMC but an increase at higher %DMC. A lug-down test on the light-duty diesel vehicle showed a significant reduction in smoke emission coupled with a reduction in power output of the vehicle. It can be concluded that dimethyl carbonate-blended diesel can effectively reduce particulate emission. Copyrigh