Performance analysis of an IC engine using methanol, ethanol, and its blend with gasoline and diesel as a fuel

Abstract

Lot of research work is being carried out to find a suitable alternate fuel so as to decrease the exhaust emission level and to enhance the power output of an engine. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the performance of an IC engine using alcohol and its blends as a fuel. The alcohols which are reviewed in this paper are methanol and ethanol. It has been observed that as the percentage of alcohol increases with gasoline, exhaust emission level of CO, HC decreases. Due to high octane number of alcohols they can be used at high compression ratio. The low density and low viscosity of alcohols help in improving the spray characteristics and enhance the air–fuel mixing process in a CI engine. Also, oxygen present in alcohol is favorable for complete combustion and increases the thermal efficiency. The study in this paper is based on technical as well as quantitative data available from different research and finds out what is the effect of alcohols and its blend on exhaust emission level and effect on various engine performance parameters and the future aspect of alcohol as a fuel.