Dimethyl Ether (Dme)-Fueled Shuttle Bus Demonstration Project

Abstract

Several oxygenates have been proposed and tested for use with or as diesel fuel. This paper examines two such oxygenates, CETANER TM and dimethyl ether (DME), partially or wholly produced by Air Products and Chemicals, Inc's Liquid Phase Technology. In previous studies on a single cylinder compression ignition engine and a Volkswagen TDI four cylinder engine, significant reductions in particulate matter emissions were observed with blends of CETANER TM in diesel fuel. In this study, experiments were performed on a multicylinder Navistar 7.3L Turbodiesel engine confirmed and extended the observations from the earlier studies. This is an important step in not only showing that the fuel does perform on each type of engine in similar fashion, but also in showing that DME and its derivatives can give consistent, significant results in lowering emissions. The oxygenated fuels were blended to achieve a net addition of 2 wt.% oxygen in the blended fuel. A pressurized fueling system was developed to deliver mixtures of DME-diesel at up to 1 MPa (150 psi). With the DME-diesel blend, less consistent emissions results were obtained owing to an inability to sufficiently the fuel in the rail.