A study on the control of NOx and particulate matter emissions from dimethyl ether combustion in compression ignition engines

Abstract

Dimethyl Ether (DME) is a new age fuel developed mainly from coal and natural gas to use in compression ignition (CI) engines relatively easily with minimum modifications. One of the advantages of DME combustion in CI engines is the low emission levels of NOx and particulate matter (PM) in comparison with diesel combustion. Therefore, utilization of DME as an alternative fuel in CI engines can potentially meet stricter emission regulations with less effort.The thesis starts with a review of the body of experimental and numerical research on NOx and PM emissions from DME combustion, with the objective being to identify the most promising methods for emission control in DME fuelled engines. With DME being already available in several countries the current research interest is to optimize the engine performance in a cost-effective way with least modifications to existing technologies while minimizing combustion emissions to meet even the strictest emission regulations.Gaseous emissions from DME combustion are a well-researched topic while PM emissions, especially UFPM were neglected so far. However, PM emissions will become a major concern under the future emission norms such as Euro VI. A major part of the introduction and literature review discusses some of the novel methods of emission control