Characterization of an ethanol fueled heavy-duty engine powering a generator set

Abstract

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The increase in electricity demand in Brazil and the frequent interruptions in its supply forced the industry and commerce use stationary generator sets, mainly in large urban centers like São Paulo. This city established a decree in order that these devices use cleaner fuels than diesel oil, or adopt post-gas treatment systems, since there are no national regulations for generator sets emissions. To meet this decree, ethanol appears as a good option because it is an environmentally friendly fuel, does not affect the ozone layer, since it is obtained from sugarcane, which helps to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere through photosynthesis in sugarcane field. Within recommended specifications ethanol can be blended with diesel and gasoline, but can also be used without additives, without damaging the engine. The ethanol availability in Brazil and its consolidation in the automotive market make it an alternative for use in generator sets. The aim of this work was to characterize the performance of a heavy duty Otto cycle engine, developed based on 12 l diesel longblock, prepared to run on ethanol without additives, as a prototype generator set. The performance tests of the generator set were conducted at three different altitudes. A load bank was used to simulate the real electrical load in five different power settings. The performance characteristics obtained experimentally were compared with results obtained with a one-dimensional model using the commercial software GT-Power®. The results obtained during the development phase showed that the engine achieve up to 39.6% of the brake efficiency and a peak power of the 326 kW. The maximum electrical power achieved by the generator set was 302 kW at sea level and 278 kW at 1640 m, according to the employed methodology. The results showed that is feasible to use ethanol without additives for the energy generation, replacing diesel oil in heavy-duty engines, operating in the evaluated steady state condition.

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