Improving the performance and emission parameters of a single cylinder spark ignition engine with Ethanol-Gasoline blends

Hariram V and Athulsasi K.

Abstract

Environmental pollution through emissions from internal combustion engine leads to greater global impact. Usage of alcohols and its blends with gasoline in spark ignition engine has contributed to a large extent in improving the engine’s exhaust emission. This article deals with the experimental investigation of using gasoline-ethanol blends in a four stroke single cylinder overhead cam spark ignition engine for performance and emission characteristics. The performance parameters like brake specific energy consumption, brake thermal efficiency, mechanical efficiency and emission parameters like unburned hydrocarbons, carbon-monoxide and oxides of nitrogen were analyzed in detail. The BSEC was found to decrease with increase in ethanol blends at all loads where as BTE and mechanical efficiency showed a significant increase with addition of ethanol blends. The UBHC and CO emission was noticed to be higher initially during starting and found to decrease with addition of ethanol. NOx emission showed an increasing trend for the entire load condition with increase in ethanol blends.