Energy Conversion and Management 89 (2015) 396–408

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

Experimental investigation of CI engine combustion, performance

and emissions in DEE–kerosene–diesel blends of high DEE concentration
K.R. Patil a,b,⇑, S.S. Thipse c
a
Symbiosis International University, Lavale, Pune, India
b
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, M. M. College of Engineering, Pune, India1
c
Power Train Engineering, The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Pune, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: An experimental investigation had been carried out to evaluate the effects of oxygenated cetane improver
Received 20 June 2014 diethyl ether (DEE) blends with kerosene and diesel on the combustion, performance and emission char-
Accepted 8 October 2014 acteristics of a direct injection diesel engine. Initially, 2%, 5%, 8%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% DEE (by volume)
were blended into diesel. The DEE–diesel blends have reduced the trade-off between PM and NOx of die-
sel engine and the optimum performance blend has been found as DE15D. Similarly, 5%, 10% and 15% ker-
Keywords: osene (by volume) were blended into diesel to investigate the adulteration effect. In addition, a study was
Diethyl ether–kerosene–diesel blend
carried out to evaluate the effects of kerosene adulteration on DE15D by blending with 5%, 10% and 15%
CI engine
Combustion characteristics
kerosene (by volume). The engine tests were carried out at 10%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of full load for all
Performance test fuels. Laboratory fuel tests showed that the DEE is completely miscible with diesel and kerosene in
Emissions any proportion. It was observed that the density, kinematic viscosity and calorific value of the blends
decreases, while the oxygen content and cetane number of the blends increases with the concentration
of DEE addition. The experimental test results showed that the DEE–kerosene–diesel blends have low
brake thermal efficiency, high brake specific fuel consumption, high smoke at full load, low smoke at part
load, overall low NO, almost similar CO, high HC at full load and low HC at part load as compared to
DE15D blend.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction conventional neat diesel fuel through engine design or control

Diesel engines have several advantages like high thermal effi-
ciency, torque capacity, reliability, adaptability, low HC and CO
emissions and cost effectiveness, but they suffer from high concen-
tration of NOx and particulate emissions. The primary contributing
factors for the particulate matters are rich mixture and heteroge-
neous combustion, sulphur content, lubricating oil, unburned HC
and dominant diffusion combustion phase. The NOx formation in
diesel engines is a function of higher temperature, oxygen concen-
tration and residence time. Simultaneous reduction in NOx and
particulate matter is quite difficult in diesel engines due to the
trade-off between PM and NOx, which is often accompanied by
fuel consumption penalty [1–3]. Hence, it is more difficult for
diesel engines to meet stringent emission norms by the use of
⇑ Corresponding authors at: 309, Swagat Residency, Kumbare Township, Kothrud,
Pune 411038, India. Tel.: +91 9881025368/+91 20 25388455.
E-mail addresses: krpatil68@gmail.com, krpatil@mmcoe.edu.in (K.R. Patil),
thipse.edl@araiindia.com (S.S. Thipse).
1 reduce the world’s dependence on oil imports. These oxygenates
Current address.
parameters alone. The diesel engine technology is being upgraded
in order to meet stringent emission norms as well as fuel economy
requirements. The various methods like EGR, dual fuel mode, cata-
lytic converters, retarding the injection timing, use of high injec-
tion pressure, split injection and modifying the combustion
chamber geometry to enhance the swirl and squish are being tried
to reduce emissions but problems are still prevailing in the opera-
tion of these techniques [2,4]. In parallel to this interest, there has
also been increased interest in HCCI and PCCI combustion technol-
ogy [2,5,6].
An alternative fuel is a fuel that would partially or completely
substitute a conventional petroleum based fuel. Alternative fuels
such as CNG, HCNG, LPG, LNG, Biodiesel, Biogas, Hydrogen, Etha-
nol, Methanol, DME, DEE, Producer gas, P-series have been tried
worldwide [7–10]. The introductions of oxygenated compounds
into diesel fuel especially those that are originally bio-resources
are the best ways to reduce emissions of diesel engines. Bio-fuels
made from agricultural products which are oxygenated by nature,
may not only offer benefits in terms of exhaust emissions, but also

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2014.10.022
0196-8904/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 K.R. Patil, S.S. Thipse / Energy Conversion and Management 89 (2015) 396–408 397

Nomenclature

A/F air /fuel ratio IBP initial boiling point

ASTM American standards for testing materials KOME Karanja oil methyl ester
BMEP brake mean effective pressure LCV lower calorific value
BTDC before top dead centre LNG liquefied natural gas
BSFC brake specific fuel consumption LPG liquefied petroleum gas
BTE brake thermal efficiency NO nitric oxide
CA crank angle NOx oxides of nitrogen
CI compression ignition NTP normal temperature and pressure
CO carbon monoxide PAH polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
CO2 carbon dioxide PCCI premixed charge compression ignition
CNG compressed natural gas PM particulate matter
DI direct injection RTD resistance temperature detector
DEE diethyl ether SI spark ignition
DME dimethyl ether V cylinder volume
EGR exhaust gas recirculation p cylinder gas pressure
EGT exhaust gas temperature c ratio of specific heats (Cp/Cv)
FBP final boiling point h crank angle
FC fuel consumption dQn/dh net heat release rate
HC hydrocarbon
HCCI homogenous charge compression ignition
HCNG hydrogen-CNG blend

are classified as Alcohols (R–OH), Ethers (R–O–R), Esters (R–C–O–
O–R) and Carbonates (R–O–C–O–O–R). Item ‘‘R’’ represents a
hydrocarbon chain. Among all oxygenates, a worldwide trend
towards the application of bio-fuels and mainly biodiesel and alco-
hols have been observed for the last two decades [7,8,11]. Alcohol
fuels can substitute for gasoline in spark-ignition engines, while
biodiesel, green diesel, DEE and DME are suitable for use in com-
pression ignition engines [12,13]. The oxygenate fuels like DEE
and DME are attracting notable attention of researchers as a clean
alternative fuel for compression ignition engines without large sac-
rifice in vehicle performance [14].
Biodiesel is considered as a clean fuel which reduces unburned
hydrocarbon, CO and particulate matter. It has almost no sulphur,
no aromatics and has about 10% inherent oxygen, which helps it to
burn fully. Its higher cetane number than diesel fuel improves the
ignition quality even when blended with petroleum diesel. How-
ever, it suffers from cold starting problems, higher viscosity and
increase in NOx emissions as compared to petroleum diesel [15].
DME is one of the promising alternative fuels for diesel engines.
DME is the simplest ether expressed by its chemical formula
CH3OCH3, consisting of two methyl groups bonded to a central
oxygen atom. It has a low carbon-to-hydrogen (C:H) ratio. The
chemical structure of DME is somewhat similar to methanol; it
contains oxygen and no carbon–carbon bonds, thus limiting the
possibility of forming carbonaceous particulate emissions during
combustion [16]. DME is a synthetic fuel that can be made from
a variety of fossil feedstock including natural gas and coal as well
as from renewable feedstock and waste. The most cost effective
feedstock for both DME and methanol is natural gas at remote
locations [9]. The researchers Wang et al. [17] have also studied
the feasibility of DME as port premixing fuel in a diesel engine.
Ethanol is another promising alternative fuel because it is a
renewable bio-based resource and highly oxygenated (34.7% by
weight), thereby providing the potential to reduce particulate
emissions in CI engines and shows promise as a future fuel for SI
engines due to its high octane quality. However, there are many
obstacles in the use of ethanol in CI engines such as very low
cetane number (8), poor ignition characteristics and limited
solubility in diesel fuel. Phase separation and water tolerance in
ethanol–diesel blend fuels are crucial problems. The dynamic
viscosity of ethanol is much lower than diesel fuel. Thus, the lubric-
ity is a potential concern of ethanol–diesel blend fuels [11,18].
To overcome these problems, ethanol can be converted easily
into DEE through a dehydration process. DEE has several favourable
properties for CI engines such as high cetane number (>125), low
auto ignition temperature, high oxygen content, reasonable energy
density for on-board storage, broad flammability limits, high misci-
bility with diesel fuel and renewable bio-fuel [19]. DEE is a pungent,
volatile, highly flammable liquid and widely used as a common
solvent. It is the simplest ether expressed by its chemical formula
CH3CH2–O–CH2CH3, consisting of two ethyl groups bonded to a
central oxygen atom as shown in Fig. 1. Some important physico-
chemical properties of the base fuels and oxygenated fuels are
shown in Table 1.
Diethyl ether can be produced both in the laboratory and on an
industrial scale by the distillation of ethanol with sulphuric acid
(acid ether synthesis). Initially, ethanol (CH3CH2OH) is mixed with
a strong acid, typically sulphuric acid (H2SO4). The acid dissociates
in the aqueous environment producing hydronium ions, H3O+. A
hydrogen ion protonates the electronegative oxygen atom of the
ethanol molecule, giving it a positive charge as shown in Eq. (1).
CH3 CH2 OH þ H3 Oþ ! CH3 CH2 OHþ2 þ H2 O ð1Þ
A nucleophilic oxygen atom of unprotonated ethanol molecule
displaces a water molecule from the protonated (electrophilic) eth-
anol molecule producing water, a hydrogen ion and diethyl ether
as in Eq. (2) [7].
CH3 CH2 OHþ2 þ CH3 CH2 OH ! H2 O þ Hþ þ CH3 CH2 O CH2 CH3 ð2Þ
Fig. 1. Chemical structure of DEE molecule.
398 K.R. Patil, S.S. Thipse / Energy Conversion and Management 89 (2015) 396–408
Table 1
Physicochemical properties of diesel, biodiesel and oxygenated fuels [7,10,20,21].
Properties Diesel
Chemical structure C12H23
Molecular weight 167.30
Oxygen content (wt.%) 0 10–12
Carbon content (wt.%) 86.14
Hydrogen content (wt.%) 13.86
Cetane number 52
Auto-ignition temp. (°C) 250
Boiling point at 1 atm (°C) 146–374
Lower calorific value (MJ/kg) 43.26
Stoichiometric A/F mass ratio 14.7
Liquid density at NTP (kg/m3) 836
Viscosity of liquid at NTP (cSt) 2.45
Flammability limit in air (vol%) 1.4–7.6
DEE is easy for handling because it is a liquid at ambient condi-
tions and has lower flammability leading to higher safety as com-
pared to DME. Burning velocity of DEE is 13% greater than normal
heptanes, about the same as benzene, and much less than that of
propyne [14,22]. However, storage stability of DEE and blends of
DEE are of concern because its tendency to oxidize and forming
peroxides in storage [22].
The physicochemical properties of DEE are well-described in
chemical databases, but the knowledge about DEE as an alternative
fuel for diesel engine still seems to be inadequate. Bailey et al. [23]
have presented the first results of the literature search to identify
the potential of DEE as a transportation fuel. Cheng et al. [24] have
conducted engine tests using DME and DEE blended with diesel
fuel. They reported that the particulate matter levels reduced
drastically (by as much as 76%) during higher power test modes
and for lower power modes PM emissions were often unchanged.
Increased CO2 emission and higher fuel consumption were also
reported with DME and DEE blends when compared with that of
diesel alone. Subramanian and Rajesh [25] have studied the use
of DEE as an ignition improver for diesel fuel by its addition to
diesel–water emulsions and reported the reduction in smoke,
NOx, HC, and CO emissions without adverse effect on brake ther-
mal efficiency. Miller et al. [26] have used DEE with LPG in a diesel
engine. Subramanian and Ramesh [27] have experimentally inves-
tigated the effect of DEE–diesel blend with 5%, 10% and 15% DEE by
weight in diesel in CI engine. The optimum quantity of DEE in
DEE–diesel blend was found to be 10% based on the thermal effi-
ciency, along with advanced injection timing, They showed that
the blend decreased the smoke and CO level drastically at all loads
and increased the brake thermal efficiency at high load without
affecting NOx emissions. The peak heat-release, peak pressure
and maximum rate of pressure rise are also increased.
Anand and Mahalakshmi [28] have experimentally achieved a
simultaneous reduction of smoke and NOx by blending 10–30%
DEE by volume with diesel fuel along with 5–15% EGR in diesel
engine. They found that 20 vol% DEE-diesel blend resulted in the
optimum performance and emission characteristics. When the
DEE proportion was at or above 30 vol%, there was severe knocking
in the engine. They found that the 5% EGR operated with 20% DEE–
diesel blend to be favourable. Mohanan et al. [29] have been eval-
uated a number of DEE–diesel blends in a single cylinder diesel
engine and found that at higher blends of DEE–diesel, engine emits
more smoke at full load than other blends and neat diesel and
reported that this may be due to phase separation of the blend,
which results in incomplete combustion of the blend fuel. They
have also mentioned that the blends of DEE up to 25% were possi-
ble, the most favourable blend was 5% resulting in low smoke, high
brake thermal efficiency and low brake specific fuel consumption.
Clothier et al. [30] have experimentally demonstrated that DEE
Bio-diesel (Jatropha) DEE Ethanol Kerosene
C12–C22 C4H10O C2H5OH C12H26
– 74.12 46.07 170.33
21.60 34.73 0
– 64.81 52.14 84.61
– 13.59 13.13 15.39
51 >125 8 41.4
– 160 420 –
182–337 34.6 78 148–282
39.83 33.9 27 41.78
13.8 11.1 9.06 14.94
864 713 789 797
4.77 0.23 1.2 1.15
– 3.4–18.6 4.3–19 –
ignition was inhibited by diesel fuel and that adding DEE to diesel
fuel actually decreased the cetane number of the diesel fuel. They
have suggested that DEE may interact with aromatics in diesel fuel,
delaying the onset of ignition. It is also in agreement with the find-
ings reported by Hess et al. [31], where they have used an oxygen-
ated cetane improver having cetane number more than 100 as an
additive to diesel fuel.
Iranmesh et al. [32,33] have carried out experimental investiga-
tion on DI diesel engine for the blends of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% DEE
(by vol.) with diesel and reported that the 5% DEE–diesel blend was
found to be optimum one in terms of performance and emissions
behaviour. They reported that higher than 15% DEE blend with die-
sel showed some instability and fluctuations in engine speed and
power output.
Rakopoulos et al. [19] have carried out performance and emis-
sions experiments on high speed direct injection diesel engine
blended with 8%, 16% and 24% DEE by volume with diesel at a
speed of 2000 rpm and at three loads. They found that DEE in blend
with diesel fuel decreases emissions of smoke, CO, and NOx and
increases emission of HC. They have mentioned that there is no
unstable operation of the engine at least for up to 24% addition
of DEE. Furthermore, Rakopoulos et al. [34] have carried out inves-
tigation on combustion and cyclic variability of 24% addition of
DEE with diesel and reported that neither the injection process
(through the dynamic injection timing), nor the kind of DEE/diesel
fuel blend used (through the cetane number) have any practical
effect on the cyclic variations (irregularity) and hence, there is no
unstable operation of the engine.
Gorski and Przedlacki [35] have experimentally examined the
effect of blending DEE to diesel on the physicochemical properties
of the mixture. DEE was added in diesel with volumetric propor-
tion of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. They reported that a higher content
of DEE (>20% DEE by vol.) in a blend with diesel causes hard-start-
ing and poor engine performance, because of the lower viscosity of
DEE and increased leakages in the fuel supply system. They also
mentioned that it is also possible that the hard-starting problem
is caused by vapour locks in the injection system.
As it is well known that biodiesel fuelled CI engines are more
prone to cold-starting problems, especially in winter seasons.
Hence to overcome these problems many researchers have focused
on the blending of DEE with biodiesel in CI engine to reduce emis-
sions and the results of these works showed that DEE–biodiesel
blends resulted in better engine performance and lower emissions
[28,33,36].
Bailey et al. [23] have reported regarding the cost analysis of
DEE production from biomass via bioethanol and mentioned that
the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducted an
exercise on process simulation which showed that hydrous ethanol
could be converted to DEE and resulting liquid/liquid phases of
 K.R. Patil, S.S. Thipse / Energy Conversion and Management 89 (2015) 396–408
water–ethanol/ethanolDEE could be easily separated in a simple
decanter. Ideally, at the end of biomass ethanol production process
and subsequent rectification, hydrous ethanol would be generated.
However, the conversion of ethanol to ether could take place
before final drying of the alcohol. This analysis shows that the
net conversion cost for producing DEE in this manner is similar
to the cost of the final drying process step, which means that the
cost of fuel-grade DEE would be only slightly higher than that of
anhydrous ethanol. Although, more detailed cost analysis for DEE
production is needed.
Fuel adulteration by blending kerosene with gasoline or diesel
is becoming a widespread problem because of financial benefit
resulting from the price difference between two fuels [37]. Pathak
et al. [38] conducted engine tests for the detailed investigation on
the effects of kerosene on SI engine gensets and reported that the
kerosene run gensets are cost effective than gasoline gensets and
produces less noise in comparison to diesel gensets. Ziegier and
Manka [39] have reported that kerosene improves the cold flow
characteristics of diesel fuel by simply diluting the problematic
paraffin waxes present in the diesel fuel distillation curve. Yadav
et al. [40] have experimentally demonstrated that the percent
opacity value decreased sharply even at small adulteration level
of kerosene with diesel. They have reported that density of the
kerosene–diesel fuel tests is within the prescribed value even at
higher blend, while considerable decrease in kinematic viscosity
than baseline diesel is observed with increase in blend ratio.
Bergstrand [41] has also reported that the kerosene has lower
cetane number than diesel, thus giving a longer ignition delay,
making it viable for lower emissions and observed the lower soot
emissions with the blends of kerosene with diesel at low load as
compared to neat diesel while soot emission was similar to that
of diesel fuel at high load. Roy et al. [42] have experimentally
investigated the effect of kerosene addition on biodiesel and
reported that a kerosene–biodiesel blend reduces HC only under
heavy load condition, while a NOx emission reduces at all load
conditions.
Although adulteration is being a widespread problem, the
effects of kerosene fuel adulteration have not been assessed ade-
quately. Although, till date, no research work have been reported
related to adulteration effect of kerosene with DEE–diesel blend.
The main purpose of this research work is to find out the
optimum performance DEE–diesel blend and check it for the adul-
teration effect with kerosene. The adulteration effect of kerosene
with diesel is also investigated before blending it with optimum
DEE–diesel blend.
2. Experimental fuels and its properties
The conventional diesel and kerosene fuels were purchased
from local commercial representative and the DEE (otherwise
called ‘ethyl ether’ or more simply ‘ether’) was procured from local
commercial representative certified to a purity of P99.5% (analyt-
ical grade). The DEE and kerosene were blended with conventional
diesel fuel in different proportions by manual mixing at room tem-
perature. In this work, 2%, 5%, 8%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% diethyl
ether (by volume) were blended into diesel to find out the opti-
mum performance DEE–diesel blend. These blends are denoted
as DE2D, DE5D, DE8D, DE10D, DE15D, DE20D and DE25D respec-
tively. Also, 5%, 10% and 15% kerosene by volume was blended with
diesel fuel to investigate the adulteration effect wherein the blends
were denoted as K5D, K10D and K15D respectively. The neat diesel,
neat DEE and neat kerosene were denoted as D100, DE100 and
K100 respectively. The optimum DEE–diesel blend was found to
be DE15D, which was blended with 5%, 10% and 15% kerosene
(by volume) to evaluate the effects of kerosene adulteration on
399
DE15D and denoted in the figures as DE15K5D, DE15K10D and
DE15K15D respectively. The basic fuel properties such as density,
kinematic viscosity, calorific value, flash point, distillation profile
and solubility were measured in the laboratory according to the
IS 1448 standard test method and the results are summarised in
Table 2.
2.1. Miscibility
Miscibility of DEE in the diesel and kerosene fuel is the prere-
quisite for the engine’s stable working. Preliminary evaluation
tests on the solubility of DEE in the diesel and kerosene fuel with
blending ratios up to 25% DEE by volume were carried out. The test
results showed that the mixing was excellent with no phase sepa-
ration for a period of many days, thus requiring no emulsifying
agent and it can be mixed in any proportion in diesel and kerosene
fuel as it is completely miscible with diesel fuel. These obtained
results are in good agreement with the results of Rakopoulos
et al. [19,34] and Gorski and Przedlacki [35] in which they evaluate
the solubility of DEE with diesel.
2.2. Oxygen content
One of the promising approaches for a drastic reduction of the
in-cylinder soot formation involves the addition of oxygen to the
conventional diesel fuel by means of adding an oxygenated com-
pound to diesel fuel or using oxygenated hydrocarbon as the main
fuel. Previous studies show that the weight percent of oxygen con-
tent in the fuel is the most important factor for particulate matter
reduction, and it is more important than other properties such as
chemical structure or volatility [16]. A smokeless combustion
could be realized at a particular mean effective pressure when
the fuel oxygen content reaches above 30% by mass [43] or at oxy-
gen content of 38% by mass even at a stoichiometric condition [1].
A general theory is that by adding oxygen to the fuel, oxidative
species will be present on the fuel side of the mixing controlled
flame. These oxidizing agents are thought to suppress soot early
in its nucleation process and reduce its peak production. The pres-
ence of oxygen reduces the formation of unsaturated cracking con-
stituents, such as acetylene and ethylene components which are
often considered as precursors of soot and PAH. Reduction in eth-
ylene production is thought, in turn, to suppress the formation of
PAH, thus decreasing the formation of soot [10,16].
2.3. Distillation profile
The distillation tests were carried out to determine the boiling
range characteristics of a hydrocarbon fuel. The distillation profile
is one of the most important and informative parameters that is
used for studying complex fluid mixtures. The performance, stor-
age and safety parameters like engine starting ability, vapour lock-
ing, fuel system icing, fuel auto-ignition, boiling point, fuel
injection schedule, vehicle driveability etc. can be studied by using
distillation profile. Menezes et al. [44] have mentioned that the
characteristics of density, volatility and viscosity are often interde-
pendent, exerting a complex influence on fuel injection and on the
preparation of the mixture for self-ignition. Therefore, acceptable
parameters must be found for each physicochemical property in
order to optimize the process of diesel combustion in the engine.
The temperatures T10, T50 and T90 corresponding to the volume
fraction of condensate indicates the cold start behaviour, the
start-up of the engine because it involves the ignition of the fuel
and the end of vapourization respectively [44,45]. Based on the
IS 1448 P: 18 standard procedures, the distillation tests were
carried out for baseline diesel and different blends of DEE with
diesel and kerosene fuel, the results are shown in Fig. 2. By adding
400 K.R. Patil, S.S. Thipse / Energy Conversion and Management 89 (2015) 396–408

Table 2
Physicochemical properties of DEE–kerosene–diesel blend fuels.

Fuel blend Distillation recovery Kinematic Density @ 15 °C Net calorific Cetane Oxygen Carbon Hydrogen
Viscosity @ 40 °C (kg/m3) value (MJ/kg) number content content content
IBP (°C) FBP (°C)
(cSt) (wt.%) (wt.%) (wt.%)
D100 146 374 2.45 836 43.26 52 0 86.14 13.86
DE100 – – 0.23 713 27.76 125 21.6 64.81 13.59
K100 148 282 1.15 797 41.78 41.4 0 84.61 15.39
DE2D – – – 833 42.99 53.46 0.37 85.77 13.86
DE5D 56 381 2.10 829 42.59 55.65 0.93 85.22 13.85
DE8D – – 1.90 826 42.19 57.84 1.49 84.67 13.84
DE10D 41 381 1.8 823 41.92 59.3 1.88 84.29 13.83
DE15D 36 377 1.67 817 41.23 62.95 2.83 83.35 13.82
DE20D 36 378 1.4 811 40.53 66.6 3.80 82.39 13.81
DE25D 36 377 1.25 805 39.83 70.25 4.78 81.42 13.80
K5D 145 377 2.27 834 43.19 51.47 0 86.07 13.93
K10D 145 376 2.24 832 43.12 50.94 0 85.99 14.01
K15D 145 373 2.22 830 43.05 50.41 0 85.92 14.08
DE15K5D 38 377 1.60 816 41.15 62.42 2.83 83.27 13.90
DE15K10D 38 378 1.29 813 41.07 61.89 2.83 83.19 13.98
DE15K15D 38 377 1.49 811 41.00 61.36 2.83 83.11 14.06
Test methods IS 1448 P:18 IS 1448 P:25 IS 1448 P:16 IS 1448 P:6 & P:7 – – – – –

kerosene to diesel fuel, there was no significant difference
observed in the front end volatility of kerosene–diesel blends.
The initial boiling point of diesel and blends was 142 °C. However,
a significant difference was observed in the tail end volatility of the
kerosene–diesel blends as compared to diesel fuel while it remains
almost same for all the blends. Ziegier and Manka [39] have
reported that kerosene improves the cold flow characteristics of
diesel fuel by simply diluting the problematic paraffin waxes pres-
ent in the diesel fuel distillation curve.
It can be seen that by adding DEE to diesel and kerosene
increases the front end volatility of the blends because the boiling
point of DEE (35 °C) is lower than that of diesel and kerosene. It
was also observed that IBP of diesel is 146 °C while that of
DE15D and DE15K15D are only 36 °C and 38 °C respectively. There
were no significant differences observed in the tail end volatility of
the DEE–kerosene–diesel blends. The high front end volatility of
the blend improves the cold start ability and also reduces the emis-
sions during cold starting and low load conditions [32].
The overall laboratory fuel tests showed that the blended fuel
retains the desirable physical properties of diesel fuel but includes
the cleaner burning capability of DEE. An increase in the concentra-
tion of diethyl ether in the blends decreases the density and lower
calorific value and increases the oxygen content and cetane num-
ber of the blended fuel. The kerosene–diesel fuel tests showed that
the density was within the prescribed value even at higher blend,
while considerable decrease in kinematic viscosity than baseline
diesel was observed with increase in blend ratio. These results
are in good agreement with the results of Yadav et al. [40].
3. Experimental set up and procedure
acquisition card linked to the computer. The engine was coupled
with an eddy current dynamometer of 400 kW capacities for load-
ing the engine. Engine load was controlled by varying excitation
current to the eddy current dynamometer using dynamometer con-
troller. Dynamometer was cooled by maintaining water flow at a
pressure of 0.1 MPa.
An AVL Digas 444 exhaust gas analyzer was used to measure
the concentrations of NOx, CO, CO2, HC and O2 in the exhaust emis-
sions. It measured CO, CO2 and HC emissions with spectrum anal-
ysis principle and NO and O2 by the electrochemical sensors. The
smoke intensity was measured by using an AVL 437 smoke meter.
Engine coolant and calorimeter temperatures were measured by
using RTD’s and the exhaust gas temperature was measured by
‘K’ type thermocouples during the experiments. Fig. 3 shows a
schematic block diagram of diesel engine test facility used for
studying engine performance, emission, and combustion charac-
teristics of DEE–kerosene–diesel blends. The main specification
and resolution of the measurement devices are given in Table 4.
The engine tests were carried out at 10%, 25%, 50%, 75% and
100% of full load for all test fuels. The engine was operated at
1500 rpm rated speed for all loads and all the tests. The constant
speed of the engine was maintained by adjusting fuel flow rate
manually through a fuelling rack of the fuel injection pump. Engine
temperature was kept constant for all the tests by varying cooling
water flow rate which was measured by rotameter. Before running
the engine to a new fuel, the fuel tank and the fuel injection system
were cleaned and it was allowed to run for a sufficient time to con-
sume any remaining fuel from the previous experiments. The
required engine combustion, performance and emission parame-
ters were recorded and analysed.

Experiments had been conducted in a four stroke, single cylin-
der, naturally aspirated, water cooled, direct injection diesel engine.
The fuel injection system used in the present work was as given by
the manufacturer. It had single barrel fuel injection pump and
inline fuel injector with a three holed nozzle, located near the
combustion chamber centre with an opening pressure of
20.5 MPa. The engine piston was a hemispherical bowl-in-piston
design. The specifications of engine are listed in Table 3. A piezo-
electric transducer was installed in the cylinder head in order to
measure the pressure inside the cylinder and its signals were fed
to charge amplifier. A high precision crank angle encoder was used
for delivering signals for TDC and crank angle position. The signals
from charge amplifier and crank angle encoder were fed to a data
4. Results and discussion
The experiments were carried out successfully up to 25% blend-
ing of DEE by volume with diesel and kerosene fuel. Beyond this
limit, the kinematic viscosity and density of the blended fuel
reduces than the acceptable limit, which reduces lubricity to some
extent and may create potential wear problems in sensitive fuel
injection pump and fuel injector design. Wu et al. [46] and He
et al. [47] have reported that the density, viscosity and bulk
modulus properties of the oxygenated fuel play a significant role
on the improvement of atomisation behaviour. They also found
that the spray quality of low viscosity oxygenated blended fuels
improves and a finer droplet, a stronger interface between fuel
 K.R. Patil, S.S. Thipse / Energy Conversion and Management 89 (2015) 396–408 401

400 blended fuel than the acceptable limit affects the lubricity to cer-
tain limit and causes excessive leakages and vapour locks in the
350 fuel injection system. It confirms the findings of Gorski and Przed-
lacki [35] wherein it is reported that the effect of DEE on the lubric-
300 ity of diesel oil is smaller than expected and also further reported
Temperature (ºC)

that the blends containing more than 20% DEE causes excessive
250
leakages as well as vapour locks, which leads to hard starting
200
and poor engine performance.
In this experimental study, it is worth noting one point regard-
150 Diesel
ing the trends of performance and emissions when a large amount
DE15D of DEE was blended in diesel fuel, up to 15% DEE in the blends,
Kerosene engine was running smoothly. When more than 15% DEE was
100
K5D
DE15K5D blended with diesel, some instability and fluctuations were seen
50 DE15K10D in engine speed and power output at part load. Thus, it was found
DE15K15D
necessary to provide continuous adjustment of the fuel injection
0 pump rack, which could affect the output results. This was attrib-
0 20 40 60 80 100
% Evaporation uted to erratic combustion, possibly due to high volatility of DEE
fuel leading to vapour lock in the fuel injection system. This obser-
Fig. 2. Distillation profile for DEE–kerosene–diesel blends. vation is in agreement with the results obtained by Iranmesh et al.
[33] and Mohanan et al. [29].

4.1. Combustion characteristics

Table 3
Specifications of test engine. Cylinder pressure against crank angle data recorded in the com-
Engine type Single cylinder, 4-stroke, water-cooled, DI
puter was used to calculate rate of heat release and analyse the
combustion characteristics. The net heat release rate is the differ-
Model Kirloskar, TV1 model
Aspiration Naturally aspirated
ence between the heat released by combustion of fuel and the heat
Bore x Stroke 87.5 mm  110 mm absorbed by cylinder wall. By using the first law of thermodynam-
Connecting rod 234 mm ics the net heat release rate, dQn/dh, was calculated by the follow-
Displacement 0.661 l ing Eq. (3) [48].
Compression ratio 18:1
   
Rated power 3.7 kW dQn c dv 1 dp
Rated speed 1500 rpm ¼ p þ V ð3Þ
Fuel injection system Single barrel F.I. pump, inline fuel injector
dh c  1 dh c  1 dh
Fuel injection timing 23 deg. BTDC (static) In a compression ignition engine, the fuel injected during the
Inj. opening pressure 20.5 MPa
Injector holes 3  0.288 mm
ignition delay period is atomised, vaporised, mixed with air,
ignited through auto-ignition mode and burned in premixed burn-
ing phase. Once combustion has started, the fuel discharged from
the injector is evaporated and ignited almost immediately, burned
spray and surrounding gas perform well as compared to neat it in the diffusion burning phase. The peak cylinder pressure
diesel. Thus, the combustion efficiency enhances because of heat depends on the burned fuel fraction during the premixed burning
losses in the cylinder are decreased due to lower flame tempera- phase [48]. The cylinder pressure variation of the test fuels at full
ture of DEE blend than that of neat diesel. load and 1500 rpm speed is shown in Fig. 4.
In the present study the blends having less than 25% DEE were As seen in Fig. 4, the peak pressure of DE15D was found to be
used because reduction of kinematic viscosity and density of the almost the same as D100. The peak pressures of DEE–kerosene–

Fig. 3. Schematic block diagram of experimental set up.

402 K.R. Patil, S.S. Thipse / Energy Conversion and Management 89 (2015) 396–408

Table 4
Specification and resolution of the measurement devices.

Instrumentation Parameter Measurement range Resolution

AVL DiGas 444 HC 0–20,000 ppm volume 62000:1 ppm volume
>2000:10 ppm volume
CO 0–10% by volume 0.01% by volume
CO2 0–20% by volume 0.1% by volume
O2 0–22% by volume 0.01% by volume
NO 0–5000 ppm by volume 1 ppm by volume
AVL 437 smoke meter Opacity 0–100 in% ±1% full scale reading
K value (absorption) 0–99.99 m1 ±1% full scale reading
Piezo sensor (PCB piezotronics) Cylinder Pressure 0–350 bar 0.007 bar
Crank angle sensor (Kubler) Crank angle 20–5500 rpm 1 degree with TDC pulse

6.5 210
D100 D100
DE15D 180 DE15D
K5D K5D

Net Heat Release Rate (J/deg)

5.5 DE15K5D DE15K5D
Cylinder pressure (MPa)

DE15K10D 150
DE15K10D
DE15K15D
DE15K15D
4.5 120

90
3.5
60

30
2.5
0

1.5 -30
-20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50
Crank angle (deg) Crank angle (deg)
Fig. 4. Cylinder pressure variation with respect to CA at full load and 1500 rpm Fig. 5. Net heat release rate against crank angle at full load and 1500 rpm speed.
speed.

decreases and the fuel injection process is prolonged, which leads

Diesel Blends were less than neat diesel and reduced with increas-
ing percentage of kerosene in DEE15D blends. However, for K5D
blend the peak pressure was found more than D100. It may be
due to increase in ignition delay, which starts combustion later,
while the maximum pressure falls and occurs later. It is explained
in detail under net heat release rate and ignition delay analysis.
Ignition delay is the period between the start of injection into
the combustion chamber and the start of combustion [48]. The
start of combustion is determined from the net heat release rate
diagram. The net heat release rate against crank angle of the test
fuels at full load and 1500 rpm speed is shown in Fig. 5. Due to
space constraint in Fig. 5, net heat release rate curves of all DEE–
diesel blends and diesel–kerosene blends are not shown but their
ignition delay values are shown in Fig. 6. One would expect that
due to high cetane number of DEE, the ignition delay of DEE–diesel
to increase in ignition delay. Rakopoulos et al. [49,50] and Mohan
et al. [51] mentioned that the different densities and bulk modulus
of elasticity of blends influence the whole injection process. The
bulk modulus of elasticity of DEE is not known, but it is expected
to be much lower than the diesel fuel one and near to the ethanol
value at around 1300 MPa [52]. Thus, depending on the values of
these properties the dynamic injection timing is affected despite
that the pump spill timing is kept constant. Iranmesh et al. [33]
have found that according to the heat release profiles the
21
18
Ignition Delay (CA)

15
blends should decrease due to reduction in the premixed portion of
the combustion process. In this experimental study, the increase in 12
ignition delay with increasing percentage of DEE in blends was
observed. It may be due to retarded dynamic injection timing 9
because of lower density, kinematic viscosity and bulk modulus 6
of DEE and the higher latent heat of evaporation of DEE. This obser-
vation is in agreement with the results which were reported by 3
some other researchers in Refs. [19,28,33,34]. The researchers
0
Clothier et al. [30] and Bailey et al. [23] have suggested that DEE
may interact with aromatics in diesel fuel, delaying the onset of
ignition. It is also in agreement with the observations reported
by Hess et al. [31], where they used an oxygenated cetane impro-
DEE-Kerosene-Diesel blends
ver additive to diesel fuel which has a more than 100 cetane num-
ber. Researchers in Refs. [19,34] have reported that with increasing Fig. 6. Ignition delay (CA) of various DEE–kerosene–Diesel blends at full load,
percentage of DEE in the blends the dynamic injection timing 1500 rpm.
 K.R. Patil, S.S. Thipse / Energy Conversion and Management 89 (2015) 396–408 403

combustion starts with delay for all DEE blends with baseline 40
diesel fuel and it becomes more prominent with higher DEE blends
and suggested that it may be partially due to longer ignition delay 35

Brake Thermal Efficiency (%)

and partially due to retarded injection timing because of lower
density, viscosity and bulk modulus of DEE. 30
From Fig. 5, it was observed that a reduction in peak heat
release occurred during the combustion of DEE–diesel blends as 25
compared to neat diesel. This finding is in agreement with the
results which were reported in Refs. [32,33]. It may be because 20
D100
of delay in injection timing and the high latent heat of vaporisation DE2D
15 DE5D
of DEE. In contrast, it was quite evident from the net heat release DE8D
rate figure that there was an increase in the heat release rate for DE10D
the diffusion phase of the combustion process, which can be attrib- 10 DE15D
DE20D
uted to increased oxidation of the combustion intermediates by
5
oxygen present in the DEE. 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
The net heat release rate of K5D blends showed that the ignition BMEP (MPa)
delay was slightly longer than the diesel fuel. As the kerosene blend
percentage increased the ignition delay was slightly increased. This 40
result was expected due to lower cetane number of kerosene than
diesel which leads to longer ignition delay. Bergstrand [41] has also 35

Brake Thermal Efficiency (%)

reported that the kerosene has lower cetane number than diesel,
thus giving a longer ignition delay, making it viable for lower 30
emissions. It was observed that the ignition delay of DEE–kero-
sene–diesel blends was increased than neat diesel. It may be due 25
to combined effect of increase in ignition delay of DE15D and
kerosene–diesel blends. No significant difference was observed in 20
ignition delay for DE15K5D, DE15K10D and DE15K15D blends.
15
D100
4.2. Performance characteristics K5D
10 K10D
K15D
The fuel properties show that DEE has higher oxygen content
and cetane number, compared to those of diesel and kerosene fuel. 5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
It shows that the DEE addition supplies an amount of oxygen for BMEP (MPa)
fuel blends, which has an influence on engine’s combustion and
emissions. The variation of engine brake thermal efficiency against 40
BMEP for test fuels is shown in Fig. 7. It is seen from figure that BTE
has improved with DEE addition to diesel fuel and it increases with 35
Brake Thermal Efficiency (%)

increase in DEE percentage in diesel fuel. The maximum BTE was

achieved by DE15D blend for all loads as compared to other blends 30
and neat diesel. Iranmesh et al. [32,33] have reported the maxi-
mum BTE for 15% DEE–diesel blend at medium and low load con- 25
dition. However, Mohanan et al. [29] have reported the maximum
BTE for 5% DEE–diesel blend at low load condition. It may be due to 20
all improved combustion in the fuel-rich zone due to the presence
D100
of oxygenate. The overall BTE of DEE–kerosene–diesel blend was 15 DE15D
found to be less than neat diesel fuel. However, at full load condi- K5D
DE15K5D
tion the BTE of DE15K5D was observed more than DE15K10D, 10 DE15K10D
DE15K15D, K5D and neat diesel but less than DE15D. DE15K15D
The BTE is simply the inverse of the product of BSFC and the 5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
lower calorific value of the fuel. Therefore, a lower value of BSFC
BMEP (MPa)
indicates a higher overall efficiency of an engine [45]. The variation
of BSFC against BMEP for test fuels is shown in Fig. 8. It was Fig. 7. Variation of BTE with respect to engine loads at 1500 rpm speed.
observed that the BSFC of the low DEE–diesel blends was higher
than the neat diesel. However, the BSFC of DE15D was observed
lower than other blends and neat diesel. This may be due to better
combustion of blended fuel, which results in higher heat release. value of the blends, which may be attributed to the lower heat
The BSFC of DE20D and DE25D was again higher than DE15D losses counteracting the lower temperatures encountered with
blend. The obtained results are in good agreement with the results the DEE–diesel blends.
of Mohanan et al. [29] and Iranmesh et al. [33]. They have reported The BSFC of the kerosene–diesel blends was more, while brake
that according to the difference in lower calorific value of DEE, thermal efficiency and exhaust gas temperature of the blends were
diesel and their blends, the fuel consumption must increase than less than the neat diesel. The overall BSFC of DEE–kerosene–diesel
diesel fuel on a volume basis. Rakopoulos et al. [19] have observed blends was found to be more than DE15D and neat diesel.
that for all DEE–diesel blends, the BTE, for a constant load, was Although, at full load condition no significant difference was
practically unaltered and BSFC increased from the corresponding observed within DEE–kerosene–diesel blends. This might be possi-
neat diesel fuel case. They reported that the increase of BSFC was ble due to reduced calorific value and the smaller fuel delivery
fully offset by the corresponding decrease of the lower calorific amount resulted from lower density of blend fuels.
404 K.R. Patil, S.S. Thipse / Energy Conversion and Management 89 (2015) 396–408

1200 400
D100
DE2D

Exhaust gas temperature (0C)

1000 DE5D 350
DE8D
DE10D
DE15D
BSFC (g/kWh)

800 DE20D
300

600 250
D100
DE2D
DE5D
400 DE8D
200 DE10D
DE15D
DE20D
200 150
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
BMEP (MPa) BMEP (MPa)

1200 400
D100 D100
K5D K5D

Exhaust gas temperature (0C)

1000 K10D 350 K10D
K15D K15D
BSFC (g/kWh)

800 300

600 250

400 200

200
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 150
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
BMEP (MPa) BMEP (MPa)
1200
400
D100 D100
DE15D DE15D
1000 K5D K5D
Exhaust gas temperature (0C)

DE15K5D 350 DE15K5D

DE15K10D DE15K10D
BSFC (g/kWh)

DE15K15D DE15K15D
800
300

600
250

400
200

200
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
150
BMEP (MPa) 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
BMEP (MPa)
Fig. 8. Variation of brake specific fuel consumption with respect to BMEP at
1500 rpm speed. Fig. 9. Variation of exhaust gas temperature with respect to BMEP at 1500 rpm
speed.

Fig. 9 shows the variation of EGT with BMEP for all test fuels.
The result showed that the EGT of DE5D was higher than other
blends. This may be due to higher heat release of the blends where
5% DEE acts as an ignition improver for the diesel fuel. The EGT of
DE15D was found to be higher among other DEE–kerosene–diesel
blends but less than neat diesel. Rakopoulos et al. [19] have
reported different results; they showed that for all DEE–diesel
blends, the EGT was slightly higher than the neat diesel fuel and
increases with the increasing percentage of DEE in the blend.
4.3. Emission characteristics
Smoke formation in diesel engine is due to heterogeneous com-
bustion and poor mixing of the fuel with air, resulting from an
over-rich A/F ratio or partially evaporated fuel during cold start
conditions in diesel engine [14]. Fig. 10 illustrates the smoke opac-
ity traces with respect to BMEP for test fuels. The general trend of
smoke opacity displays a reduction with addition of oxygenated
DEE in the blends. In this experimental study, it is observed that
 K.R. Patil, S.S. Thipse / Energy Conversion and Management 89 (2015) 396–408 405

35 7
D100
D100 DE2D
30 DE2D DE5D
DE5D 6 DE8D
DE8D DE10D
DE10D DE15D
Smoke Opacity (%)

25
DE15D 5 DE20D

NO (g/kW-hr)
DE20D
20
4
15

3
10

5 2

0 1
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
BMEP (MPa) BMEP (MPa)

35 7
D100
30 K5D 6
K10D
K15D
Smoke Opacity (%)

25 5

NO (g/kW-hr)
20 4

15 3

10 2 D100
K5D
5 1 K10D
K15D

0 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
BMEP (MPa) BMEP (MPa)

35 7
D100 D100
DE15D
DE15D
30 K5D
K5D 6 DE15K5D
DE15K5D DE15K10D
DE15K10D DE15K15D
Smoke Opacity (%)

25
NO (g/kW-hr)

DE15K15D 5
20
4
15
3
10

2
5

0 1
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
BMEP (MPa) BMEP (MPa)

Fig. 10. Variation of smoke density with respect to BMEP at 1500 rpm speed. Fig. 11. Variation of NO emission with respect to BMEP at 1500 rpm speed.

the smoke emissions were reduced with increase in DEE percent-
age in the DEE–diesel blends up to 15% DEE–diesel blends (by
volume). However, when 20% and 25% DEE (by volume) were
blended with diesel, it was found that at full load engine emits
higher smoke than 15% DEE–diesel blends. These results are in
agreement with the results obtained by Mohanan et al. [29] and
Iranmesh et al. [33]. But it contradicts the observations reported
by Rakopoulos et al. [19,34] for higher DEE–diesel blends (24%
DEE by volume). They have reported that the smoke reduction
being higher the higher the percentage of DEE in the blend is. They
have mentioned that this reduction in smoke may be attributed to
the engine running overall leaner, with the combustion being now
assisted by the presence of the fuel-bound oxygen of the DEE even
in locally rich zones, which seems to have the dominating
influence. But in present tests, the erratic combustion and poor
engine performance for DE20D and DE25D blends was observed,
which may be due to high volatility of DEE fuel leading to vapour
lock in the fuel injection system. Also, Gorski and Przedlacki [35]
have reported that a higher content of DEE (>20% by vol.) in a blend
with diesel causes hard-starting and poor engine performance,
because of the lower viscosity of DEE and increased leakages in
the fuel supply system. They also mentioned that it is also possible
that the hard-starting problem is caused by vapour locks in the
injection system. It seems that, in our tests, the final impact of
406 K.R. Patil, S.S. Thipse / Energy Conversion and Management 89 (2015) 396–408

all these different factors resulted into higher smoke for DE20D 25
and DE25D than DE15D blend. D100
DE2D
The lower smoke emissions were obtained with the blends of DE5D
kerosene with diesel at low load as compared to neat diesel while 20
DE8D
smoke emission was similar to that of diesel fuel at high load; DE10D
DE15D

CO (g/kW-hr)
similar results were reported in Ref. [41]. Yadav et al. [40] have DE20D
15
experimentally demonstrated that the percent opacity value
decreased sharply even at small adulteration level of kerosene with
diesel. Also the smoke emissions of DEE–kerosene–diesel blends 10
were reduced than the neat diesel, but as compared to DE15D
blend, high smoke at full load and low smoke at part load was
observed. 5
NOx refers to a class of compounds called nitrogen oxides,
which usually represents a mixture of NO and NO2. In diesel engine
0
exhaust, NO is usually the most abundant NOx and constitutes 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
more than 70–90% of total NOx [53,54]. The factors like availability BMEP (MPa)
of oxygen, combustion temperature, nitrogen content of the fuel
itself, and the reaction time determine NOx emissions during the 25
combustion process. The production of NOx is proportional to com- D100
bustion efficiency. The better combustion efficiency gives higher K5D
value of the exhaust temperature, which increases the level of 20 K10D
K15D
NOx production [54,55]. Most of techniques to reduce NOx emis-

CO (g/kW-hr)
sions depend on reduction of peak flame temperature. The peak
15
flame temperature can be reduced by various methods like
retarded injection timing, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), split
injection and use of alternative fuels [8,28,54,55]. The variation 10
of NO emissions against BMEP at 1500 rpm is shown in Fig. 11.
One can observe that the NO emitted by DEE–diesel blends was
sharply reduced than the neat diesel. The reduction in NO was 5
increased with increase in DEE fraction in the DEE–diesel blends.
The similar results were reported by Refs. [19,33,34,56]. This
0
reduction in NO may be attributed to combined impact of main 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
three factors such as engine running overall leaner due to oxygen BMEP (MPa)
concentration, the combustion temperature lowering effect of
DEE and reaction time. It is to be noted that the mixture of DEE– 25
diesel blends is effectively leaner with respect to the corresponding D100
neat diesel fuel, as it involves the same amount of naturally aspi- DE15D
K5D
rated air and in addition to that the fuel-bound oxygen in the 20 DE15K5D
bio-fuel [56]. Also, it is well known that the fuel-bound oxygen is DE15K10D
DE15K15D
CO (g/kW-hr)

more effective than the external oxygen supplied by air in the pro-
duction of NOx. The autoignition temperature of DEE is lower than
that of diesel oil. Hence, a smaller amount of energy supplied as
heat is necessary to begin the chemical reactions of combustion.
Also, the high CN value of DEE improves the quality of ignition.
On the other hand, high latent heat of vaporisation of DEE com-
pared to diesel decreases the temperature in the combustion
chamber, because of the cooling effect of the DEE vaporisation pro-
cess, and increases the physical delay period in the first step of
combustion [35]. For this reason, the peak pressure and peak heat
release rate were suppressed. Hence, as a result of all these factors,
NO emissions were drastically reduced. The researchers in Refs.
[34,56] have reported that the NOx reduction could be attributed
to the relatively much lower temperatures during the combustion
period in which the temperature lowering effect of the DEE having
the dominating influence. The results of the kerosene–diesel
blends also showed that the NO emissions were reduced with
respect to that of the neat diesel fuel. In line with the above results,
the NO emissions of all DEE–kerosene–diesel blends were reduced
than neat diesel and DE15D blend.
Fig. 12 illustrates the variation of CO emission traces with
respect to BMEP for DEE–kerosene–diesel blends at engine speed
of 1500 rpm. Emissions of CO from a direct injection diesel engine
mainly depend upon the physicochemical properties of the fuel.
The overall test results indicate that the CO emitted by all DEE–die-
sel blends was lower than the corresponding neat diesel, with the
reduction being higher the higher the percentage of DEE in the
15
10
5
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
BMEP (MPa)
Fig. 12. Variation of CO emission with respect to BMEP at 1500 rpm speed.
blends is. The CO emission follows the same trend as the smoke
emitted by the engine due to same physicochemical properties
affecting qualitatively in the same manner. The results of CO
emissions for DEE–diesel blends presented by various researchers
are different. The studies performed by Rakopoulos et al. [19,34]
and Subramanian and Ramesh [27] have reported reduction of
CO emissions by using DEE which are in agreement with our
results, while opposite results were observed by researchers in
Refs. [28,29,32]. Researcher in Ref. [32] have reported that CO
emissions found to be higher at low and high loads for all DEE
blends, while researcher in Ref. [29] have observed that for 5%
 K.R. Patil, S.S. Thipse / Energy Conversion and Management 89 (2015) 396–408 407

6 it contradicts the results observed by researcher in Ref. [33]. Rako-

D100 poulos et al. [19,34] have reported that the increase in HC emission
DE2D
5 DE5D is mainly due to three reasons such as higher heat of evaporation of
DE8D the DEE blends causing slower evaporation which leads to poorer
DE10D
DE15D fuel–air mixing; flame quenching and the increase of ‘lean outer
4 DE20D
HC (g/kW-hr)

flame zone’ where flame is unable to exist.

The results of kerosene–diesel blends showed that the unburned
3 hydrocarbon emissions were increased with increase in blend ratio
than neat diesel. While the HC emissions of kerosene blends with
2 DE15D were increased at full load condition than DE15D and neat
diesel.
1

5. Conclusions
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
BMEP (MPa) Diethyl ether (C2H5–O–C2H5) is one such oxygenated and
cetane improver fuel that has been attracting notable attention
6 of researchers as a clean alternative fuel for compression ignition
D100 engines. The experimental results indicated that the blends of
K5D DEE with diesel up to 25% and kerosene with diesel up to 15% by
5 K10D
K15D
volume were possible.
The laboratory tests showed that DEE can be mixed in any pro-
4 portion in diesel and kerosene as it is completely miscible with die-
HC (g/kW-hr)

sel fuel. The density, kinematic viscosity and calorific value of the
3 blends decreases while the oxygen content and cetane number of
the blends increases with the concentration of DEE in the blends.
2 It shows that the blended fuel retains the desirable physical prop-
erties of diesel fuel but includes the cleaner burning capability of
DEE.
1
BTE has improved with DEE addition to diesel fuel and it
increases with increase in DEE percentage in diesel fuel. The BSFC
0 of DE15D was observed less than other blends and neat diesel. The
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
BSFC of DE20D and DE25D was higher than DE15D blend. The DEE–
BMEP (MPa)
kerosene–diesel blends have shown overall low BTE and high BSFC
6 than DE15D blend.
D100
The smoke emissions were reduced with increase in DEE per-
DE15D centage in the DEE–diesel blends. However, at higher blends
5 K5D (DE20D and above) engine emits more smoke at full load. The
DE15K5D
DE15K10D DEE–kerosene–diesel blends have indicated high smoke at full load
4 DE15K15D and low smoke at part load as compared to DE15D blend. The NO
HC (g/kW-hr)

emitted by DEE–diesel blends were sharply reduced than the neat

3 diesel, with the reduction being higher the higher the DEE fraction
in the blends is. Thus, it is well known that the fuel-bound oxygen
is more effective than the external oxygen supplied by air in the
2
production of NOx.
The CO emitted by all DEE–diesel blends was lower while HC
1 emission was higher than the corresponding neat diesel. The
DEE–kerosene–diesel blends have shown overall low NO emis-
0 sions, almost similar CO emissions, high HC emissions at full load
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
and low HC emissions at part load as compared to DE15D blend.
BMEP (MPa)
The overall test result indicates that the trade off between NOx
Fig. 13. Variation of HC emission with respect to BMEP at 1500 rpm speed. and PM of diesel engine was reduced by using oxygenated DEE–
diesel blends and the optimum and most favourable blend ratio
was found to be DE15D without any modifications in the engine.
The mixing of kerosene with DE15D blend deteriorates the overall
DEE blend CO emission was lower but at higher blends it increases. performance of the engine and hence, it is not recommended.
The CO emissions of the kerosene–diesel blends were reduced than
baseline diesel fuel. The blending of kerosene with DE15D blend
fuel has not shown significant difference in CO emissions as com- Acknowledgements
pared to DE15D blend.
Fig. 13 illustrates the variation of unburned hydrocarbon (HC) This research work had been done in I.C. Engines Laboratory,
emission with respect to BMEP for DEE–diesel blends at engine M.M. College of Engineering, Pune, India. The authors would like
speed of 1500 rpm. One can observe that the HC emissions of to acknowledge the test bed facility provided by MMCOE, equip-
DEE–diesel blends were higher than the neat diesel and increased ment support extended by VIT, Pune and fuel test facility provided
with increase in percentage of DEE in the blends. These observations by Automotive Materials Laboratory, ARAI, Pune and CHEM-TECH
are in agreement with the results reported in Refs. [19,28,35], while Laboratories Ltd., Pune, India.
408 K.R. Patil, S.S. Thipse / Energy Conversion and Management 89 (2015) 396–408

References [30] Clothier PQE, Moise A, Pritchard HO. Effect of free-radical release on diesel
ignition delay under simulated cold-starting conditions. Combust Flame
1990;81:242–50.
[1] Nylund NO, Aakko P, Niemi S, Paanu T. Alcohol/ethers as oxygenated in diesel
[31] Hess HS, Syzbist J, Boehman AI, Tijm PA, Waller FJ. Impact of oxygenated fuel
fuel: properties of blended fuels and evaluation of practical experiences. IEA
on diesel engine performance and emissions. Proc NHTC 2001;35.
advanced motor fuels 2005; XXVI final report TEC 3.
[32] Iranmesh M, Subrahamanyam JP, Babu MKG. Potential of diethyl ether as
[2] Mohanamurugan S, Sendilvelan S. Emission and combustion characteristics of
supplementary fuel to improve combustion and emission characteristics of
different fuels in a HCCI engine. IJAME 2011;3:279–92.
diesel engines. SAE Paper 2008-28-0044.
[3] Chang Y, Lee W, Wu T, Wu C, Chen S. Use of water containing acetone–
[33] Iranmanesh M, Subrahmanyam JP, Babu MKG. Application of diethyl ether to
butanol–ethanol for NOx-PM (nitrogen oxide-particulate matter) trade-off in
reduce smoke and NOx emissions simultaneously with diesel and biodiesel
the diesel engine fueled with biodiesel. Energy 2014;64:678–87.
fueled engines. In: Proceedings of 2008 ASME international mechanical
[4] Lounici MS, Loubar K, Tarabet L, Balistrou M, Niculescu D, Tazerout M. Towards
engineering congress and exposition (IMECE2008), Boston, MA; October 31–
improvement of natural gas–diesel dual fuel mode: an experimental
November 6, 2008. p. 77–83 [Paper no. IMECE2008-69255].
investigation on performance and exhaust emissions. Energy 2014;64:200–11.
[34] Rakopoulos DC, Rakopoulos CD, Giakoumis EG, Dimaratos AM. Studying
[5] Lu X, Qian Y, Yang Z, Han D, Ji J, Zhou X, et al. Experimental study on compound
combustion and cyclic irregularity of diethyl ether as supplement fuel in diesel
HCCI (homogenous charge compression ignition) combustion fueled with
engine. Fuel 2013;109:325–35.
gasoline and diesel blends. Energy 2014;64:707–18.
[35] Gorski K, Przedlacki M. Evaluation of the Influence of diethyl ether (DEE)
[6] Laguitton O, Crua C, Cowell T, Heikal MR, Gold MR. The effect of compression
addition on selected physicochemical properties of diesel oil and ignition
ratio on exhaust emissions from a PCCI diesel engine. Energy Convers Manage
delay period. Energy Fuels 2014;28:2608–16.
2007;48(11):2918–24.
[36] Imtenan S, Masjuki HH, Varman M, Kalam MA, Arbab MI, Sajjad H, Ashrafur
[7] Nigam PS, Singh A. Production of liquid biofuels from renewable resources.
Rahman SM. Impact of oxygenated additives to palm and jatropha biodiesel
Prog Energy Combust Sci 2011;37:52–68.
blends in the context of performance and emissions characteristics of a light-
[8] Liaquata AM. Application of blend fuels in a diesel engine. Energy Procedia
duty diesel engine. Energy Convers Manage 2014;83:149–58.
2012;14:1124–33.
[37] Baral B, Riane R. Performance and emissions of a spark ignition engine running
[9] Patil KR, Khanwalkar PM, Thipse SS, Kavathekar KP, Rairikar SD. Development
on gasoline adulterated with kerosene. SAE Paper 2009–28-0014.
of HCNG blended fuel engine with control of NOx emissions. In: 2nd
[38] Pathak S, Aigal AK, Sharma ML, Narayanan L, Saxena M. Reduction of exhaust
International conference on emerging trends in engineering and technology,
emissions in a kerosene operated genset for electrical energy applications. SAE
ICETET 2009; Article number 5395474. p. 1068–74.
Paper 2005-26-026.
[10] Thipse SS. Alternative fuels. India: Jaico; 2010.
[39] Ziegier KL, Manka JS. The effect of mixing diesel fuels blended with kerosene
[11] Xing-cai Lu, Jian-guang Y, Wu-gao Z, Zhen H. Effect of cetane number improver
and cloud point depressants. SAE Paper 2000-01-2884.
on heat release rate and emissions of high speed diesel engine fueled with
[40] Yadav S, Murthy K, Mishra D, Baral B. Estimation of petrol and diesel
ethanol–diesel blend fuel. Fuel 2004;83:2013–20.
adulteration with kerosene and assessment of usefulness of selected
[12] Balki MK, Sayin C, Canakci M. The effect of different alcohol fuels on the
automobile fuel quality test parameters. Int J Env Sci Technol 2005;1(4):253–5.
performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a gasoline engine.
[41] Bergstrand P. Effects on combustion by using kerosene or MK1 diesel. SAE
Fuel 2014;115:901–6.
Paper 2007–01-0002.
[13] Agarwal AK. Biofuels (alcohols and biodiesel) applications as fuels for internal
[42] Roy MM, Wang W, Alawi M. Performance and emissions of a diesel engine
combustion engines. Prog Energy Combust Sci 2007;33:233–71.
fueled by biodiesel–diesel, biodiesel–diesel-additive and kerosene–biodiesel
[14] Sezer I. Thermodynamic, performance and emission investigation of a diesel
blends. Energy Convers Manage 2014;84:164–73.
engine running on dimethyl ether and diethyl ether. Int J Therm Sci
[43] Kowalewicz A. Eco-diesel engine fuelled with rapeseed oil methyl ester and
2011;50:1594–603.
ethanol. Part 1: efficiency and emission. IMechE J Auto Eng 2005;219.
[15] Kegi B, Stanislav P. Influence of biodiesel on injection, fuel spray and engine
[44] Menezes EWD, Silva RD, Cataluna R, Ortega RJC. Effect of ethers and ether/
characteristics. Therm Sci 2008;12(2):171–82.
ethanol additives on the physicochemical properties of diesel fuel and on
[16] Youn IM, Park SH, Hyun GR, Lee CS. Investigation on the fuel spray and
engine tests. Fuel 2006;85:815–22.
emission reduction characteristics for dimethyl ether (DME) fueled multi-
[45] Fergusson CR. Internal combustion engines. USA: Wiley; 1986.
cylinder diesel engine with common-rail injection system. Int J Fuel Process
[46] Wu Z, Zhu Z, Huang Z. An experimental study on the spray structure of
Technol 2011;92:1280–7.
oxygenated fuel using laser-based visualisation and particle image
[17] Wang Y, Zhao Y, Xiao F, Li D. Combustion and emission characteristics of a
velocimetry. Fuel 2006;85:1458–64.
diesel engine with DME as port premixing fuel under different injection
[47] He C, Ge Y, Tan J, Han X. Spray properties of alternative fuels: a comparative
timing. Energy Convers Manage 2014;77:52–60.
analysis of biodiesel and diesel. Int J Energy Res 2008;32:1329–38.
[18] Rakopoulos DC, Rakopoulos CD, Giakoumis EG, Dimaratos AM, Kyritsis DC.
[48] Heywood JB. Internal combustion engine fundamentals. USA: McGraw-Hill;
Effects of butanol–diesel fuel blends on the performance and emissions of a
1984.
high-speed DI diesel engine. Energy Convers Manage 2010;51:1989–97.
[49] Rakopoulos CD, Antonopoulos KA, Rakopoulos DC. Multi-zone modeling of
[19] Rakopoulos CD, Giakoumis EG, Dimaratos AM. Characteristics of performance
diesel engine fuel spray development with vegetable oil, bio-diesel or diesel
and emissions in high-speed direct injection diesel engine fueled with diethyl
fuels. Energy Convers Manage 2006;47:1550–73.
ether/diesel fuel blends. Energy 2012;43:214–24.
[50] Rakopoulos CD, Antonopoulos KA, Rakopoulos DC. Development and
[20] Patil KR, Thipse SS. Characterisation of the key fuel properties of oxygenated
application of a multi-zone model for combustion and pollutants formation
diethyl ether–diesel blends. Appl Mech Mater 2014;612:175–80.
in a direct injection diesel engine running with vegetable oil or its bio-diesel.
[21] Venkanna BK, Reddy VC. Performance, emission and combustion
Energy Convers Manage 2007;48:1881–901.
characteristics of DI diesel engine running on blends of hone oil/diesel fuel/
[51] Mohan B, Yang W, Chou SK. Development of an accurate cavitation coupled
kerosene/DMC. Int J Agric Biol Eng 2011;4(3):48–57.
spray model for diesel engine simulation. Energy Convers Manage
[22] Karas L, Piel WJ. Ethers, Kirk-Othmer encyclopedia of chemical
2014;77:269–77.
technology. USA: John Wiley & Sons; 2004.
[52] Rakopoulos CD, Antonopoulos KA, Rakopoulos DC, Hountalas DT. Multi-zone
[23] Bailey B, Guguen S, Erwin J. Diethyl ether (DEE) as a renewable fuel. SAE Paper
modeling of combustion and emissions formation in DI diesel engine operating
1997–972978.
on ethanol–diesel fuel blends. Energy Convers Manage 2008;49:625–43.
[24] Cheng AS, Dibble RW. Emissions performance of oxygenate-in-diesel blends
[53] Majewski WA, Khair MK. Diesel emissions and their control. SAE International
and Fischer-Tropsch diesel in a compression ignition engine. SAE Paper 1999–
Paper 2006–1007680-06740.
01-3606.
[54] Gonca G. Investigation of the effects of steam injection on performance and NO
[25] Subramanian M, Rajesh M. Use of diethyl ether along with waterdiesel
emissions of a diesel engine running with ethanol–diesel blend. Energy
emulsion in a Di diesel engine. SAE Paper 2002–01-2720.
Convers Manage 2014;77:450–7.
[26] Miller NK, Nagarajan G, Renganarayanan S. LPG fueled diesel engine using
[55] Palash SM, Kalam MA, Masjuki HH, Arbab MI, Masum BM, Sanjid A. Impacts of
diethyl ether with exhaust gas recirculation. Int J Therm Sci 2008;47:450–7.
NOx reducing antioxidant additive on performance and emissions of a multi-
[27] Subramanian KA, Ramesh A. Operation of a compression ignition engine on
cylinder diesel engine fueled with Jatropha biodiesel blends. Energy Convers
diesel–diethyl ether blends. ASME Int Combust Eng 2002;39:353–60.
Manage 2014;77:577–85.
[28] Anand R, Mahalakshmi NV. Simultaneous reduction of NOx and smoke from a
[56] Rakopoulos DC, Rakopoulos CD, Giakoumis EG, Papagiannakis RG, Kyritsis DC.
direct-injection diesel engine with exhaust gas recirculation and diethyl ether.
Influence of properties of various common bio-fuels on the combustion and
Proc Inst Mech Engrs Part D: J Automob Eng 2007;221.
emission characteristics of high-speed DI (direct injection) diesel engine:
[29] Mohanan P, Kapilan N, Reddy RP. Effect of diethyl ether on the performance
vegetable oil, bio-diesel, ethanol, n-butanol, diethyl ether. Energy 2014;73:
and emission of a 4-S DI diesel engine. SAE Paper 2003–01-0760.
354–66.