Advances in the Utilization of Biogas in Diesel Engines: An Exergy Based Approach

Abstract

In order to reduce the use of fossil fuels in the transportation sector, various alternatives have been explored in the past. Biogas is an interesting candidate in this context with its large potential in countries like India, which can be utilized for vehicular as well as decentralized power generation applications. Biogas is a renewable fuel that is produced from organic waste materials through anaerobic digestion process. The produced raw biogas contains methane as the fuel; however, carbon dioxide is also present in considerable amount. This inert gas reduces the flame speed and heating value of biogas and eventually deteriorates engine performances. The auto-ignition temperature of biogas is high enough that it cannot be directly utilized in the diesel engines. One of the easiest and flexible ways to utilize biogas in diesel engines is through ‘Dual Fuel (DF)’ technique. In this technique biogas is used as the main gaseous fuel and another liquid fuel (commonly diesel) is used as the pilot fuel. In this way, existing diesel engines can use biogas as the fuel with minimum engine modifications. Nevertheless, the performance of biogas DF engine has been found to be much poor than the standard diesel engine, especially at the low loads. It has been shown that there are many engine parameters, e.g. engine load, type and quantity of biogas, injection timing of the pilot fuel etc., which can affect the performance and emission characteristics of a DF engine. This article presents an overview of these effects on a biogas operated DF engine and suggests various techniques to enhance the performance of the engine.