Potential of Diethyl ether as supplementary fuel to improve combustion and emission characteristics of diesel engines

The potential of Diethyl ether (DEE) as a supplementary oxygenated fuel in a compression ignition engine has been identified through an experimental investigation. In this study the tests were conducted on a single cylinder DI diesel engine fueled with neat diesel fuel and addition of 2, 5, and 10% DEE in diesel fuel to find out the optimal blend on the basis of performance and emission characteristics. Some physicochemical properties of test fuels were determined in accordance to the ASTM standards. The heating value of the blends get reduces with addition of DEE. Front end volatility of the blends improves by addition of DEE which in turn improves the cold starting property. Some tests were repeated up to six times to carry out statistical analysis. The uncertainty associated with measurements was also measured. The results derived at 95% confidence level.

Experimental results showed that there is a slight increase in brake specific fuel consumption, brake power and brake thermal efficiency as compared to diesel fuel. In addition, it was found that there is a decrease in smoke, oxides of nitrogen, unburned hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide and ignition delay along with increase in carbon dioxide.

A global overview of the results was shown that the 5% DEE-Diesel blend is the most effective combination on the basis of performance and emission characteristics.