Effects of biofuel blending components on combustion properties and emissions from heavy duty engines

Currently biofuel production methods focus on the production and isolation of individual components. However, mixtures of products tend to be formed and the isolation is an expense that could be eliminated if the blend of products could be directly utilised in fuel blends and current engine technologies. The concept of tailored fuel design considers fuel properties according to the molecular structures available to the evolving reaction mixture to give the best combustion behaviour for a certain application. This project aims to determine how a blend of biofuel components as an increasing percentage of gasoline and diesel will affect the performance of these fuels. My work should also generate data for the optimization of biofuel/conventional fuel formulations for drop-in deployment with clean and efficient utilisation, the minimisation of greenhouse gas (GHG) and pollutant emissions, and the associated production costs of these fuels.

The effects of the biofuel blend composition on the following parameters would be measured or determined:

Ignition delay - to determine if the blend changes the combustion characteristics of the fuel, which would be measured using the research engines in the engine testing facilities.
Emissions of NOx, PM, CO2 and other GHGs would be measured using the engine testing facilities and the exhaust gases analysis equipment.
The engine performance and efficiency will be measured using the research engines as the change in the fuel chemistry will affect how the engine performs.
Derived cetane and octane numbers as these give an indication of the fuel's performance.

The project would use a combination of experimental engine testing and computational kinetic modelling of the fuel's behaviour. The modelling would be used to both predict and validate the engine studies, with the hope that it could determine what blends would be best to run engine tests on. The aim would be to combine these to be able to produce a matrix of how varying the amount of a specific fuel component would affect the four key characteristics mentioned above. The matrix would then enable the optimum fuel blend to be produced for its given application.

Impacts and benefits to the Non-Academic Users of the Centre include:
- Access to high quality, interdisciplinary R&D support to increase competitiveness
- Cutting edge research with high value for money;
- Access to knowledge and expertise;
- Recruitment from a pool of talented early-career students for future employment, and input into shaping the skill development of those students (engineers and scientists with training in the wider context of sustainability, economics, policy and commercial awareness).
- Technology transfer research;
- Access to a breadth or research facilities and expertise and interdisciplinary teams;
- Consultancy,
- Networking and participating in focussed forums with other technolgogy users and policy makers - sharing experiences;
- Training or secondments of their staff for enhanced knowledge transfer;
- Partnerships in innovation in the sector;
- Access to assessments of technolgoies and innovation with the best chance of a positive impact to society;

Impacts and benefits to Academic users in the fields of [1] Feedstocks, pre-processing and safety; [2] Conversion; [3] Utilisation, emissions and impact; [4] Sustainability and Whole systems, include:
- Access to and collaboration in world-leading, transformative research, which advances knowledge concerning innovative bioenergy technologies, sustainability and social acceptability, and policy mechanisms for acheiving these;
- Development of new collaborations and leaverage of further funding to support their activities;
- Access to knowledge and expertise and networking and dissemination events;
- Research exchange opportunities for mutual benefit and cross-fertilisation of ideas and innovation