Effects of Pig Manure and Corn Straw Generated Biogas and Methane Enriched Biogas on Performance and Emission Characteristics of Dual Fuel Diesel Engines

In recent years, due to stringent emission regulations vehicle manufacturers have been compelled to cut down noxious pollutants released from diesel engines. Different alternative solutions have been recommended to achieve this challenging task. One of these alternative solutions is the utilization of biogas in addition to the use of liquid diesel. In this regard, the current study investigates the combustion characteristics and exhaust emissions of a turbocharged, direct injection, diesel engine operating at constant speed (1800 rpm) and under dual fuel mode with diesel as the pilot fuel and biogas (generated from pig manure and corn straw) and methane enriched biogas. Simulations were carried out at four various engine loads corresponding to brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) of 0.425, 0.85, 1.275, and 1.7 MPa using GT-Power package. The BTE values of biogas-diesel were higher as compared to diesel fuel. The CO2 ratio of biogas did not impact BTE considerably. The highest BTE value of 38.22% was recorded for BG45. However, the Brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) values for the biogas-diesel fuels were higher than that of diesel fuel operations. With respect to emissions, compared to diesel fuel operation, the hydrocarbon (HC) and CO2 of the biogas-diesel were higher, but NOx and CO pollutants were much lower. The utilization of biogas with diesel by all accounts is attractive to cut down discharges and improve performance of the engine. The engine performance did not deteriorate with up to 45% CO2 proportion in biogas.