A Review on the Ignition Characteristics of Dimethyl Ether in Diesel Engines

Abstract

This review study was gathered from the results of various papers performed on the use of dimethyl ether as a fuel or fuel additive in diesel engines. Several methods are applied for the reduction of the polluting emissions emitted from diesel engines. The first method for the reducing of hazardous emissions is improved the combustion by the modification of engine design and fuel injection system, but this is expensive and time consuming process. The second method is the using of various exhaust gas devices i.e. catalytic converters and diesel particulate filters. However, it is determined that the use of these devices affects diesel engine performance conversely. The last method to reduce the polluting emissions and also improve the diesel engine performance is the using of renewable alternative fuels or various fuel additives. Among the various alternative fuels, dimethyl ether (DME) is the pioneer by reason of its attractive fuel properties such as high cetane number and oxygen content. On the other hand, the physical and chemical properties of the used fuel play the important role on the injection, ignition and combustion characteristics of internal combustion engines (ICEs). Moreover, outputs of ICEs i.e. performance, fuel consumption and emissions are affected extensively from the ignition, injection and combustion characteristics. Therefore, it is essential that the results of studies performed on dimethyl ether are evaluated together to support future researches and practice applications. Especially, this review study investigates the effects of using DME on the ignition characteristics.