Emissions of Hydrocarbons in a Torch Ignition Engines Operating with Homogeneous Charge

The automobile industry and its growing commitment to the environment have collaborated in the development of technologies to reduce emissions of gaseous pollutants, including hydrocarbons. Recent works are aimed at the development of the torch ignition in internal combustion engines of the Otto cycle. A prototype characterized by a torch ignition system with fixed geometry of pre-chamber per cylinder, with a volume of 3.66 cm³ and a single nozzle with a diameter of 6.00 mm, fed with homogeneous mixture originating from Combustion chamber. The ignition and injection system was controlled by a reprogrammable electronic management system. The main results were an increase of around 10% in thermal efficiency and reductions of up to 91% in carbon monoxide emissions, but there was a considerable increase in total hydrocarbons (THC) emissions. This work intends to verify the possible causes that led to the increase of THC emissions and to propose possible solutions that can be applied to the already built prototype avoiding the high THC emission rates.