FUELS FOR IC ENGINES

 In an internal combustion engine the heat energy

is released by burning (oxidation) of fuel in the
cylinder. The chemical reactions which permit
the release of heat energy are quite fast.

 The time taken in preparing a proper mixture of

fuel and air depends mainly upon nature of fuel
and the method of introducing it into the
combustion chamber.
 Because of this reason IC engine fuels must
have certain physical, chemical and combustion
properties for efficient combustion and heat
release.
 DESIRABLE PROPERTIES IC
ENGINE FUELS
 High energy density
 Good combustion qualities

 High thermal stability

 Low deposit forming tendencies

 Compatibility with engine

hardware
 DESIRABLE PROPERTIES IC
ENGINE FUELS -- Contd.
 Good fire safety
 Low toxicity

 Low pollution

 Easy transferability

 Easy onboard vehicle storage

TYPES OF FUELS

Solid fuels

Liquid fuels

Gaseous fuels
 LIQUID AND GASEOUS FUELS
USED IN IC ENGINES
i) Gasoline
ii) Alcohols
iii) CNG
iv) LPG
v) Hydrogen
vi) Diesel
vii) Bio-diesel
 LIQUID AND GASEOUS FUELS
USED IN IC ENGINES -- Contd.
Apart from the above fuels, mixture of these
fuels like

i) gasohol (blends of alcohol and gasoline such

as E5, E10, M5, M10 etc)
ii) blends of diesel and bio-diesel (B5,B10 etc)
iii) hythane (mixture of hydrogen and compressed
natural gas), etc.
are also being used.
 Gasoline and diesel
Gasoline and diesel are complex
mixtures of hydrocarbons made by
refining of crude oil (petroleum). A
variety of hydrocarbons differing
widely in molecular structure, ranging
from simplest form such as methane
to most intricate groups are present
in petroleum gasoline and diesel.
The constituents of petroleum are
classified in four main groups
(i) paraffins having the general formula
Cn H2n+2
(ii) Olefins having the general formula
CnH2n
(iii) Napthenes having the general formula
CnH2n and
(iv) Aromatics having the general formula
CnH2n-6
Requirements of an Ideal Gasoline
1. It should mix readily with air and afford
uniform manifold distribution i.e. it should
easily vaporise.
2. It must be knock resistant.
3. It should not pre-ignite easily.
4. It should not tend to decrease the
volumetric efficiency of engine.
5. It should be easy to handle.
Requirements of an Ideal Gasoline
Contd.
6. It must be cheap and should be available
everywhere.
7. It must burn clean and produce no corrosion,
etc. on engine parts.
8. It must have a high calorific value.
9. It should not form gum and varnish.

All these requirements are connected in one way

or other to the properties like volatility, knock-
resistivity, sulphur content, gum content,
contamination etc.
 Effect of volatility on engine
performance and emissions
 Volatility is the tendency of fuel to go from a
liquid to a gaseous state. It is an extremely
important property of gasoline which affects
engine performance fuel economy and emission
characteristics.
 Some of them are-- cold and hot starting, vap
lock, engine emissions, short and long trip
economy, acceleration and power, warm up,
smoothness, hot stalling, carburettor icing, oil
dilution, deposits and spark plug fouling.
ASTM distillation apparatus
ASTM distillation curve for gasoline
 Cold Start
In order to start an engine a combustible
mixture rich enough to ignite easily at
starting temp must be supplied near the
spark plug. An air-fuel ratio of 12-13:1
is suitable for starting.
ASTM 10 per cent temperature has
been accepted as a good indication of
the relative starting ability of motor
gasoline. For cold stat- ability at low
temp 10% point should be low.
 Hot Start
When a hot engine is shut down
the fuel in the fuel pump, fuel lines
and carburettor bowl evaporates
due to heat from other hot parts of
the engine. The vapour thus
formed in fuel pump, fuel line etc
during the hot shut down period
goes to the intake manifold.
 Hot Start-- Contd.
 If the front end volatility of the fuel is
made excessively low to give good
cold starting, the amount of fuel
evaporating and so going into the
intake manifold under hot shut down
conditions is high and the mixture
formed is too rich to ignite causing hot
starting problem.
 Vapour Lock
 In contrast to percolation where too rich a
air-fuel is fed to intake manifold, vapour
lock is a situation where too lean a mixture
is supplied to the engine.
 If the amount of fuel evaporated in the fuel
pump is too high, the pump will mainly be
pumping vapour and very little liquid fuel
will go to the engine.
 This results in very weak mixture which
cannot maintain engine output.
 Vapour Lock-- Contd.
Vapour lock causes uneven
running of an engine, stalling
while idling, irregular acceleration,
difficulty in starting of engine, or
momentary stalling when running.

The vapour lock tendency of the

gasoline is related to front end
volatility of the fuel.
 Vapour Lock—Contd.
 The vapour liquid ratio (V/L) of a gasoline,
defined as the amount of vapour released
from a gasoline to the amount of liquid
remaining at a given temperature, directly
correlates with the degree of vapour lock
likely to be experienced with this gasoline
in the fuel system of a car.

 At V/L ratio of 24 vapour lock may start

and at V/L ratio of 36 vapour lock may be
very severe.
 Engine warm up:
When an engine is first started, it does not
respond as rapidly to changes in operating
conditions as it does after having been run
for some time.
The interval between start-up and the time
at which flexible operation is possible is
referred to as the warm up period.
The duration of this warm up period is
related to mid-range volatility.
The 50 per cent evaporation temperature is
used mostly as an indication of warm up
performance of the fuel.
 Engine Acceleration,
smoothness and fuel economy:
Good acceleration of an engine
depends upon the ability of the system
to deliver an extra amount of fuel air
mixture in sufficiently vaporized
condition during acceleration.
50 percent point should be lower for
good acceleration, smoothness, power
and fuel economy.
 Short Trip Economy:
Short trip economy is related to warm-
up characteristics.
In short trip driving the sizeable
percentage of the total operating time
is warm up period.
Keeping the warm up period to a
minimum by having a fuel which is
relatively volatile in the mid-range
section permits more efficient
operation and greater economy.
 Long Trip Economy:

In long trip driving the warm up

period is only an insignificant part
of total driving.
So long trip is not dependent on
warm up characteristics. For long
trip economy mid range and tail
end volatility should be low.
 Carburettor Icing:
Due to the vaporization of gasoline in the
carburettor there is a drop in the temperature of
the carburettor body, and if the humidity is high
(greater than 75 percent) and the air temperature
lower than 10 degree C, water condenses out of
air and freezes on carburettor. The presence of
the ice upsets carburetion resulting in poorer
economy. When an engine is brought to an idle
position, after a short running during the warm up
period. This ice formation restricts the air path
and thus the engine stalls due to richness of
mixture and even can stop completely due to air
starvation.
 Crankcase dilution:
If the tail-end portion have too high
evaporation temp this part of the fuel
will not be completely vaporised and
will be carried as fuel droplets into the
combustion chamber. This liquid fuel
gets past the piston rings into the
crankcase where it dilutes the oil and
decreases viscosity. It also washes
away the lubricating oil film on cylinder
walls.
 Contd.
Crankcase dilution is more at low engine
operating temperatures, such as those
encountered in cold weather, stop and go
driving.
The relative tendency of the fuels to cause
the dilution of lubricating oil lies in order of
their 90 percent ASTM distillation
temperature. As long as the 90 percent
point, which indicates the boiling range of
the 80-100 percent fraction, lies near 180
degree C dilution is not a danger.
Varnish and Sludge Deposits
Certain types of high boiling hydrocarbons
contribute to varnish and sludge
deposition inside an engine. These
deposits can cause piston ring plugging
and sticking and valve sticking resulting in
poor operation and poor fuel economy.
Lower the tail end volatility lesser are the
amounts of such high boiling
hydrocarbons.
 Spark Plug Fouling
 Some high boiling hydrocarbons
form deposits leading to spark
plug fouling. Lower the tail end
volatility less are the chances of
spark plug fouling.
 Evaporation Loss
Evaporation loss from storage tanks
and carburettor depends on the
vapour pressure which is a function of
fraction components and initial
temperature. Vapour pressure of
gasoline is also responsible for the
evaporation losses due to venting
from the tanks.
 Thermodynamic Properties of
Gasoline and Alternative Fuels
Properties /Fuel Gasoline H2 C2H6
Boiling Point, deg C @1bar 30-225 (-)253 -
LHV (mass) MJ/kg fuel 44.5 120 46.4
Octane Number (Research) 90-98 106 112
Stoich. A/F ratio, mass 15.04 34.13 15.58
Flammability limit in air vol. 1.4-7.6 5-75 4.3-19
%
Adiabatic Flame Temp. K 2266 2383 2268
(at stoich. Ratio)
Auto iginition temp.,K 743 - 813
 Thermodynamic Properties of
Alternative Fuels
Properties /Fuel CH4 CH3OH C2H5OH
Boiling Point deg C (-)160 65 78
LHV(mass) MJ/kg fuel 50.0 19.9 26.8
Octane Number (Research) 120 112 111
Stoic A/F ratio mass 17.2 6.43 8.94
Flammability limit in air vol. 5.3-15 5.5-26 3.5-26
%
Adiabatic Flame Temp. K 2227 2151 2197
(at stoich. Ratio)
Auto iginition temp.,K 853 790 780
 Natural gas composition
 Natural gas is predominantly methane
 Exact composition depends on
whether it is associated gas or non-
associated gas.
 Associated may content significant

amount of heavier hydrocarbons such

as ethane, propane, butane together
with lighter liquids such as pentane
hexane.
Typical pipeline quality gas in India
Constitute Source-I Source-II Source-III
Methane 84.50 88.42 82.55
Ethane 7.70 8.79 7.67
Propane 2.40 1.59 3.85
I-Butane 0.26 0.29 0.64
N-Butane 0.32 0.28 0.78
I-Pentane o.18 0.05 0.13
N-Pentane 0.19 0.05 0.14
Hexane 0.17 0.04 0.09
Nitrogen 0.12 0.20 0.07
CO2 4.23 0.27 0.07
 Essential components in dual fuel
operation
 One or more storage cylinder
 Gas regulator (Three stage)
 Gas air mixer
 Fuel selector switch
 Solenoid valves
 Fuel gauge
 Master shut off valve
 Modifications required in dedicated
CNG engine
i) CR : Higher CR may be used to take
advantage of higher ON
ii) Valve timing : Exhaust valve must open late in
power stroke
iii) Ignition timing : To be advanced
iv) Ignition system : Ideally NG requires more
energy for ignition, so stronger SP is required
v) Valve seat, head gasket etc. are to be
changed
 Performance and emissions from
CNG engines
 Power output : 10-15 percent lesser
power as compared to gasoline due lower
flame velocity and also being in gaseous
state produces less volumetric efficiency.
 Thermal efficiency : 5-10 percent
higher thermal efficiency due to greater
heating value and better mixing.
 Performance and emissions from
CNG engines -- Contd.
 CO emissions : CO emission is the result of
incomplete combustion and is a function of
overall mixture strength, the efficiency with
which the fuel and air is mixed and the length of
time available for combustion.
 CO emissions with NG is lower because it easily
forms more homogenous mixture with air and
can run leaner than gasoline engines.
 Since NG engines do not require cold enrichment
CO is low during cold start.
 Performance and emissions from
CNG engines -- Contd.
 Hydrocarbons : Total hydrocarbon emissions in
NG vehicles tend to be higher, since methane is
slower to react than other hydrocarbons and in
very lean mixtures, the flame speed may be too
low for combustion to be completed in the
power stroke.
 However, the non methane hydrocarbons
(NMHC) or reactive HC emissions, which are of
real concern, are considerably lower. It is
estimated that the reactive HC emissions are
only 15-20% of the total HC emission from the
NGVs.
 Performance and emissions from
CNG engines -- Contd.
 Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) Emissions
 The rate of formation of NOx is exponentially
dependent on temperature. In S.I. engines, due
to lean air-fuel ratio and lower flame
temperatures of natural gas, lower levels of NOx
emissions are encountered. However, in
dedicated CNG vehicles, where the ignition
timing and compression ratio are optimized, the
NOx levels are expected to be higher.