Evaluating the potential of a long carbon chain oxygenate (octanol) on soot reduction in diesel engines

Abstract

Copyright © The Authors 2019. The automotive industries are facing challenges to meet stringent CO2 and air-quality regulations. One of the factors affecting emissions performance is the fuel’s chemical composition. The presence of oxygen in a fuel offers the potential to lower soot emissions, however, these oxygenates must be compatible with existing hardware and fuels. To this end, the combustion of a long carbon-chain oxygenate, 1-octanol, was studied. It was injected at high pressures into a constant volume chamber, and a high-speed, two-colour pyrometry system was used to evaluate the spatial and temporal variations of soot and temperature. A significant reduction of soot was obtained whilst the flame temperature remained similar to that for diesel.