High Efficiency with Future Alcohol Fuels in a Stoichiometric Medium Duty Spark Ignition Engine 2007-01-3993

Alcohols hold promise as future spark ignition fuels, particularly when produced from renewable, CO₂-neutral feedstocks. Among the more environmentally and economically attractive renewable-source fuels are ethanol and methanol derived from cellulosic or woody biomass materials. When used with engines optimized for alcohol fuels, the life-cycle carbon imprint of these bio-derived fuels sets the benchmark for comparing all other transportation prime movers and their fuels. The present work examines the performance of high-level ethanol and methanol fuel blends with gasoline in a turbocharged, port-fuel-injected, high compression ratio medium duty engine. The results clearly point a way to cost-effective, highly efficient means of utilizing bio-derived spark ignition fuels.