Evaluation of the environmental and cost impact of a small diesel engine with ethanol-diesel and isopropanol-diesel fuel at varying engine loads and speeds

Abstract

Nowadays, alcohol additives such as ethanol and isopropanol are used to minimize emissions resulting from combustion in diesel engines. While these blends contribute to reducing emission values, it is also important to consider their environmental and cost implications. Therefore, this experimental study focuses on the emission characteristics and the environmental and cost impact of alcohol additives in diesel fuel. The experiments were conducted at low and medium engine torques (3 Nm and 6 Nm) and various engine speeds (1000, 1500, 2000, and 2500 rpm). Additionally, three different test fuels were used in the experiments, including standard diesel fuel, as well as diesel fuel with volumetric additions of 7% ethanol (E7) and 7% isopropanol (IP7) alcohol additives. The emission values of all test fuels were measured, and an analysis of environmental influence and cost was conducted. Upon examining the results, it is evident that the addition of alcohol to diesel fuel significantly increased the environmental influence and cost at low engine speeds, while it led to a decrease at high engine speeds. Furthermore, the increase in engine load contributed to emission reduction due to higher combustion temperatures, thereby contributing to a decrease in both cost and environmental influence.