Performance and emissions characteristics of a direct injection diesel engine from compressing producer gas in a dual fuel mode

This research highlights the impact of compressed producer gas combined with diesel fuel in a dual fuel mode on performance and emission characteristics of a three-cylinder diesel engine connected to an AC generator. Producer gas was generated from a small downdraft gasifier using charcoal, and sent into the engine using a supercharger to increase the gas flow rate from 76 to 125 lpm. The engine speed was adjusted from 1,000 to 1,600 rpm, while operating at full load. All results of this investigation indicate that supercharging producer gas improved the diesel economy and engine performance characteristics, but it increased the amount of various pollutants. Engine performance testing results from compressing producer gas showed that the use of gas flow rates of 116 to 125 lpm increased the maximum diesel saving by 41%, electrical power by 1.88%, and thermal efficiency by 35.76% as compared to a diesel fuel only mode. Additionally, specific energy consumption decreased with increasing producer gas flow rate and engine speed. For measuring the emissions of the engine, exhaust gas temperature increased from 223 to 276 oC, CO2 emissions increased from 21.59 to 33.90%, CO emissions increased from 0.36 to 0.59%, HC emissions increased from 23 to 58 ppm, and smoke opacity increased from 4.00 to 6.07 K.m-1 compared with the diesel fuel only mode