Cold and Warm Start Characteristics using HVO and RME Blends in a V6 Diesel Engine

The first several cycles determine the quality of an engine start. Low temperatures and air/fuel ratio cause incomplete combustion of the fuel. This can lead to dramatic increases in HC and PM emissions. In order to meet Euro V legislation requirements which have stricter cold start emission levels, it is critical to study the characteristics of cold and warm starting of engines in order to develop an optimized operation. The NO and THC emissions were measured by fast CLD and Fast FID gas analyzers respectively and PM in both nucleation and accumulation modes were measured by DMS500. The coolant temperature was controlled in order to guarantee the experiment repeatability. The results show that at cold start using RME60 produced higher NO and lower THC than the other tested fuels while combustion of HVO60 produced a similar level of NO but lower THC compared with mineral diesel. Meanwhile, the nucleation mode of mineral diesel was similar to RME60 but higher than HVO60. The accumulation particle of using mineral diesel was higher than RME60 but lower than that of HVO60. As the engine coolant temperature increased to 90°C, the NO emission of each fuel was increased by varying amounts. THC and PM of all fuels were decreased except for HVO60 which increased THC and nucleation mode PM dramatically.