Energy Conversion and Management: A. Alahmer, J. Yamin, A. Sakhrieh, M.A. Hamdan

Engine performance using emulsied diesel fuel
A. Alahmer, J. Yamin, A. Sakhrieh, M.A. Hamdan

*
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jordan University, Amman 11942, Jordan
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Available online 21 January 2010
Keywords:
Emulsied fuel
Diesel engine performance
Pollutant emissions
a b s t r a c t
Emulsions of diesel and water are often promoted as being able to overcome the difculty of simulta-
neously reducing emissions of both oxidises of nitrogen (NO
x
) and particulate matter from diesel engines.
In this work, the performance of an engine together with its effect on environment were tested when
engine was powered by both pure diesel and emulsied fuel with various quantities of water content
in the diesel fuel. The amount of water quantities added ranged between 5% and 30% by volume. The
engine speed during the experimental work was within the range from 1000 to 3000 rpm. While produc-
ing similar or greater thermal efciency and improved NO
x
emission outcomes use of the emulsion also
results in an increase in brake specic fuel consumption. It was also found that, at high amount of water
addition, the nitrogen oxide decreases. Also, in general, the diesel emulsion fuel emitted an amount of
CO
2
higher than that of pure diesel.
2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
At present, diesel engines are still the most fuel efcient com-
bustion engines, and diesel fuel is the dominant fuel used by the
commercial transportation, industrial and agricultural sectors. This
is because it offers fuel economy, efcient power, durability and
heavy-duty application. The development of internal combustion
engines followed a dual strategy over years: improvement of en-
gine performance and reduction of pollutant emissions. However,
diesel engines are considered a major source of air pollution in cit-
ies and urban areas because of their black smoke, nitrogen oxides
(NO
x
), particulate matters (PM), sulfur oxides (SO
x
), carbon dioxide
(CO
2
) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions. The composition of
diesel exhausts varies considerably depending on engine type,
operating condition, fuel, lubricating oil, and whether an emission
control system is installed or not. Researchers and scientists con-
centrated their effort on reducing emissions because they found
that prolonged exposure to diesel engines pollutants above a spe-
cic level should be harmful to human health. Of all the methods
proposed to introduce water into the combustion chamber, diesel
oil emulsions appear to be the most appropriate because they re-
quire no engine retrotting. The water in the emulsion is sus-
pended in the fuel by a surfactant, thus the water does not come
into direct contact with engine surfaces. This type of delivery
may also provide advantages due to enhanced in-cylinder droplet
evaporation caused by droplet micro-explosion from rapid gasi-
cation of the suspended water in the atomized droplets [1].
It has been found that the presence of water vapor in reactants
inuences the physics and chemical kinetics of combustion. And it
has a benecial effect on the rate of heat release and reduces the
pollutants emissions. During combustion, vaporized water reduces
the ame temperature, changes the chemical composition of the
reactants resulting in higher OH radical concentration controlling
the NO formation rate and soot oxidation and dilutes the reach
zones in the combustion chamber [2].
While there is decrease in emissions of nitrogen oxides and par-
ticulate matter, there is an increase in the emissions of hydrocar-
bons and carbon monoxide with increasing water content in the
emulsion [3].
Several emulsied fuels are commercially available and are
marketed under trade names such as PuriNOx (Lubrizol), Proformix
(Chevron), Aquadiesel (Shell), Aquazole (TotalFinaElf), Aspira (BP)
and GECAM (Cam Technologie). The water content in these fuels
range between 10% and 20% for the summer blend with some
methanol for the winter blend. Large amounts of data are available
on the effect of water diesel emulsions on the performance and
emissions of stationary engines and on- and off-highway light
and heavy vehicles [47].
Abu-Zaid [8] conducted a study to investigate the effect of
water emulsication on the performance and gas temperature of
a single cylinder water cooled diesel engine. Emulsied diesel fuels
of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 water/diesel ratios by volume were used,
operating was in the range from 1200 to 3300 rpm. Results indi-
cated that the addition of water in the form of emulsion improves
combustion efciency. The engine torque, power, and brake ther-
mal efciency increase with the increase of water percentage in
the emulsion.
0196-8904/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2009.11.044
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +962 6 5355000; fax: +962 6 5355589.
E-mail address: mhamdan@ju.edu.jo (M.A. Hamdan).
Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 17081713
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Energy Conversion and Management
j our nal homepage: www. el sevi er . com/ l ocat e/ enconman
In this paper we present measurements of the performance of a
diesel engine operating on a typical diesel oil emulsion were pre-
sented and examined. Measurements and a discussion on the gas-
eous emissions of the engine are also presented with particular
emphasis. Further, the apparatus is constructed to facilitate the
analysis of exhaust efuents to measure the concentration of most
common exhaust species namely; NO, NO
x
, and CO
2
.
2. Experimental
2.1. Water diesel emulsion
An emulsion is a mixture of two immiscible (i.e., not able to be
blended) substances. In an emulsion, one substance the dispersed
phase is uniformly distributed throughout the second substance
the continuous phase. For example, a fuel oil emulsion features
water globules the dispersed phase uniformly distributed
throughout the fuel oil the continuous phase. An emulsion takes
on the characteristics of the continuous phase. Hence, fuel oil
emulsions exhibit characteristics of fuel oil NOT water.
The term surfactant is a blend of Surface active agent. Surfac-
tants reduce the surface tension of water by adsorbing at the li-
quidgas interface. They also reduce the interfacial tension
between oil and water by adsorbing at the liquidliquid interface.
Many surfactants can also assemble in the bulk solution into aggre-
gates that are known as micelles. Polysorbate 20 (commercially
also known as Tween 20) is a polysorbate surfactant whose stabil-
ity and relative non-toxicity allow it to be used as a detergent and
emulsier in a number of domestic, scientic, and pharmacological
applications. It is a polyoxyethylene derivative of sorbitan monola-
urate, and is distinguished from the other members in the Tween
range by the length of the polyoxyethylene chain. The commercial
product contains a range of chemical species.
To stabilize the emulsions, 2% by volume of a Tween 20 surfac-
tant was used. Six diesel emulsion blends were prepared, namely;
5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% water by volume. The density, vis-
cosity and caloric value were determined for the prepared emul-
sion fuels. Pure diesel was rst used to set the base line for
comparison. A four-stroke, four-cylinder, water cooled and di-
rect-injection engine was used in this work. The engine specica-
tions are listed in Table 1.
2.2. Theoretical studies using DIESEL-RK software
Thermodynamic software DIESEL-RK was used for calculation
and optimization of the performance for compression ignition en-
gine. The main reason of using software is to do a comparison be-
tween experiment studies and theoretical by using DIESEL-RK
software. Also, it is used to get a more calculation and a brief
description of the operating of diesel engine such as determine
the temperature, pressure and heat released or transferred at each
stroke or crank angle.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Engine torque
The experimentally obtained values of the engine torque are
compared with the theoretical values in Figs. 1 and 2. As shown
in these gures, the torque increases with the engine speed to a
maximum value and then starts to decrease due to friction losses
(negative torque), which increase with the engine speed and also
due to the fact that the engine is unable to ingest full charge of
air at high speed.
The effect of water addition in the form of emulsions on the en-
gine torque under variable conditions for various speeds is shown
in Fig. 3. As indicated in this gure the torque produced is maxi-
mum when the engine is powered by the 5% water-emulsied fuel
and operating at practical speed. And as increases the percentage
of water in emulsion the produced torque decreases. This is attrib-
uted to the additional force on top of the piston provided by the
pressure exerted by the steam. When the charge is red in the cyl-
inder, the water would turn to high pressure.
3.2. Engine power
The experimentally obtained values of the engine brake power
are compared with the theoretical values in Figs. 4 and 5. The
power produced by the engine using emulsied fuels and pure die-
sel under variable conditions for various speeds is presented in
Fig. 6. As indicated in this gure the power produced is maximum
when the engine is powered by 5% water-emulsied fuel and oper-
ating at practical speed. And as increases the percentage of water
in emulsion the produced power decreases. The emulsion fuels re-
quire less compression (negative) work than the diesel fuel due to
the longer ignition delay in the compression stroke. This helps to
reach a higher peak pressure after TDC to produce more power out-
put during the expansion stroke. In addition, when the ignition de-
lay increases, more diesels would be physically prepared
(evaporation, mixing) for chemical reaction, which increases the
fraction of diesel burned and the rate of heat release in the pre-
mixed burning. This results in enhancement of combustion and
improvement of combustion efciency.
Table 1
Diesel engine specications.
Type Automotive 30 test bed
Bore 72.25 mm
Stroke 88.18 mm
Number of cylinder Four cylinder
Type of injection Direct injection
Type of cooling Water cooled
Swept volume 1450 cc
Compression ratio 21.5
Intake valve diameter 34.51 mm
Exhaust valve diameter 28.49 mm
Connected rod length 155.8 mm
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
B
r
a
k
e

T
o
r
q
u
e

(
N
.
m
)
Predicted for Pure Diesel Experimental for Pure Diesel
Predicted for 5% water Addition Experimental for 5%Water Addition
Fig. 1. Comparison between experimental and theoretical values (DIESEL-RK
software) of brake torque for pure diesel, 5%, 10% and 15% water addition.
A. Alahmer et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 17081713 1709
3.3. Engine brake specic fuel consumption (BSFC)
The experimentally obtained values of the engine brake specic
fuel consumption are compared with the theoretical values in Figs.
6 and 7. As shown in these gures, the BSFC decreases with the en-
gine speed until it reaches a minimum value, beyond which it in-
creases with engine speed; due to at low speeds, the heat loss to
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
B
r
a
k
e

T
o
r
q
u
e

(
N
.
m
)
software) of brake torque for 20%, 25% and 30% water addition.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
T
o
r
q
u
e

(
N
.
m
)
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
Pure Diesel Diesel+2%surfactant+5%water
Diesel+2%surfactant+10%water Diesel+2%surfactant+15%water
Diesel+2%surfactant+30%water
Fig. 3. Engine output versus engine speed using water diesel emulsions.
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
B
r
a
k
e

P
o
w
e
r

(
k
W
)
software) of brake power for pure diesel, 5%, 10% and 15% water addition.
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
B
r
a
k
e

P
o
w
e
r

(
k
W
)
software) of brake power for 20%, 25% and 30% water addition.
0.22
0.27
0.32
0.37
0.42
0.47
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
B
S
F
C
(
k
g
/
k
W
.
h
)
software) of brake specic fuel consumption for pure diesel, 5%, 10% and 15%
water addition.
0.29
0.34
0.39
0.44
0.49
0.54
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
B
S
F
C
(
k
g
/
k
W
.
h
)
software) of brake specic fuel consumption for 20%, 25% and 30% water addition.
1710 A. Alahmer et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 17081713
the combustion chamber walls is proportionately greater and com-
bustion efciency is poorer, resulting in higher fuel consumption
for the power produced. At high speeds, the friction power is in-
creased at a rapid rate, resulting in a slower increase in the power
than in fuel consumption with a consequent increase in BSFC.
Brake specic fuel consumption of the engine using emulsied
fuels and pure diesel under variable conditions for various speeds
is illustrated in Fig. 8.
In general, Fig. 8 shows that and at higher speed the percentage
of water in the emulsion increases, the BSFC increases. However at
lower speed here is no signicant change in BSFC with the amount
of added water. The reason of increasing BSFC is as the percentage
of water in the emulsion increases a large amount of diesel is dis-
placed by an equal amount of water. This means that less diesel
fuel is actually contained in each volume of the emulsion.
3.4. Engine brake thermal efciency
The experimentally obtained values of the engine brake thermal
efciency are compared with the theoretical values in Figs. 9 and
10. As shown in these gures, the thermal efciency increases
when the engine speed increases until it reaches a maximum va-
lue. Beyond this, the thermal efciency decreases with engine
speed. Due to at low speed, along time is available for heat to be
transferred to the cylinder walls, and hence signicant amount
for a greater proportion of heat loss occurs. As speed increases
the brake power increase, which implies a higher thermal ef-
ciency is obtained. Higher speeds, however, are accompanied by
rapidly increasing friction power and by greater inertia in the mov-
ing parts, this leads to a drop in thermal efciency.
Brake thermal efciency of the engine powered by emulsied
fuels and pure diesel fuel under variable conditions for various
speeds is presented in Fig. 11. As shown in this gure and in Table
2, the maximum average increase in brake thermal efciency oc-
curs when 5% water in the emulsion used due to increase of brake
power.
3.5. Emission of diesel engine
Below are the main emissions of emulsion diesel fuel that are
measured, but the values of NO, NO
x
and CO
2
must be normalized
before comparison according to this equation.
E
B

21 O
B
21 O
M
E
M
1
E
M
is the measured emission, E
B
is the emission related to 3% oxygen
concentration, O
M
is the measured oxygen concentration (%), O
B
is
the reference oxygen concentration (%).
3.5.1. Exhaust gases temperature
The variation of the gases exhaust temperature with engine
speed for different emulsion is shown in Fig. 12. As shown in this
17.5
19.5
21.5
23.5
25.5
27.5
29.5
31.5
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
B
r
a
k
e

T
h
e
r
m
a
l

E
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y

(
%
)
software) of brake thermal efciency for 20%, 25% and 30% water addition.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
B
r
a
k
e

T
h
e
r
m
a
l
E
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y

(
%
)
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
Fig. 11. Brake thermal efciency versus engine speed using water diesel emulsions.
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
B
r
a
k
e

S
p
e
c
i
f
i
c

F
u
e
l

C
o
n
s
u
m
p
t
i
o
n

(
K
g
/
K
W
.
h
)
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
Diesel+2%surfactant+10%water Diesel +2%suractant+15%water
Fig. 8. Brake specic fuel consumption versus engine speed using water diesel
emulsions.
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
B
r
a
k
e

T
h
e
r
m
a
l

E
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y

(
%
)
software) of brake thermal efciency for pure diesel, 5%, 10% and 15% water
addition.
gure, as the percentage of water in the emulsion increases, the ex-
haust temperature decreases. Abu-Zaid [8] attributed the decrease
in the exhaust gases to heat absorbed by the additional water. Also
the latent heat of water will cool the chamber due to evaporation
of water, and the cylinder average temperature following injection
and before ignition becomes lower as the water percentage
increases.
Dryer shows that the decrease in exhaust gases temperature is
due to the nely dispersed water droplets of the emulsion causing
a phenomenon known as heat sink. When heat sink occurs it re-
sults in the water contents of the inner phase partially absorbing
the caloric heat value of the emulsions, there by decreasing the
burning gas temperature.
3.5.2. Nitrogen monoxide (NO) and Nitrogen oxides (NO
x
) emissions
The variation of the NO and NO
x
with engine speed for different
emulsion are shown in Figs. 13 and 14. As shown in gures, at low
amount of water addition, the amount of emitted NO and NO
x
in-
creases. Beyond this, as the percentage of water in the emulsion in-
crease the amount of emitted NO and NO
x
decreases. The reduction
of NO and NO
x
with increases water content refers to the vaporiza-
tion and sensible water heat reduces the local adiabatic ame
temperature.
The lower combustion temperature as increase water content in
emulsion directly inuence on NO formation during the reduction
in chemical reaction rates. This can be shown from Zeldorich
mechanism reactions:
O N
2
!
K1
NO N
K1 1:8 10
12
exp319 kJ mol
1
=RT
N O
2
!
K2
NO O
K2 6:4 10
9
exp26 kJ mol
1
=RT
N OH!
K3
NO H
K3 3:0 10
13
3.5.3. Carbon dioxide emission
The variation of CO
2
emission with engine speed for the differ-
ent emulsions is shown in Fig. 15. As shown in this gure, and as
general the water emulsion emitted amount of CO
2
higher than
pure diesel. The main reason for increasing amount of CO
2
emitted
compared with pure diesel is increasing amount of oxygen atoms
in mixture. In other words, the mixture becomes a lean.
References
[1] Kadota T, Yamasaki H. Recent advances in the combustion of water fuel
emulsion. Prog Energy Combust Sci 2002;28:385404.
[2] Samec N, Kegl B, Dibble R. Numerical and experimental study of water/oil
emulsied fuel combustion in a diesel engine. Fuel 2002;81:203544.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450

G
a
s
e
s

E
x
h
a
u
s
t

T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(
o
C
)
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
Fig. 12. Gases exhaust temperatures versus engine speed using water diesel
emulsions.
0
200
400
600
800
N
O

(
P
P
M
)
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed
Pure Diesel Diesel+2%surfctant+5%water
Diesel+2%surfctant+10%water Diesel+2%surfctant+15%water
Fig. 13. The amount of normalized nitrogen monoxide emitted versus engine speed
using water diesel emulsions as fuel.
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
N
O
x

(
P
P
M
)
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
Fig. 14. The amount of normalized nitrogen oxides versus engine speed using water
diesel emulsions as fuel.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
C
O
2

(
%
)
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Engine Speed (rpm)
Pure diesel Diesel+2%surfactant+5%water
Fig. 15. The amount of normalized carbon dioxide versus engine speed using water
diesel emulsions as fuel.
Table 2
Variation brake thermal efciency compared to pure diesel fuel with different water
content.
Water content (%) Variation (%)
5 8.31
10 6.58
15 3.74
20 3.96
25 0.88
30 6.26
1712 A. Alahmer et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 51 (2010) 17081713
[3] Lif A, Holmberg K. Water-in-diesel emulsions and related systems. Adv Colloid
Interface Sci 2006;123126:2319.
[4] Evaluation of a water emulsion fuel in air force aircraft ground support
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Chemicals, Inc.; January 2000.
[5] Impact of Lubrizols PuriNox water/diesel emulsion on exhaust emissions from
heavy-duty engines. EPA draft technical report EPA420-P-02-007; December
2002.
[6] Sadler L. The air quality impact of waterdiesel emulsion fuel (WDW) and
selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technologies, Kings College ERG for the
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characteristics using three-phase emulsions as fuel. Fuel 2004;83:53745.
[8] Abu-Zaid M. Performance of single cylinder-direct injection diesel engine using
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A. Alahmer, J. Yamin, A. Sakhrieh, M.A. Hamdan

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