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Effect of Hydrogen–Oxygen Mixture Addition on Exhaust Emissions and Performance of a Spark Ignition Engine

  • Research Article - Mechanical Engineering
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Abstract

In the last decade, there has been a major ascending interest in reducing the polluting concentration and fuel consumption of internal combustion engines. The solution proposed in this research project was to integrate a hydrogen and oxygen mixture \({{\rm H}_{2}/{\rm O}_{2}}\), obtained through an electrolysis process of water, as supplementary fuel, in a 93 cm\({^{3}}\) gasoline engine. Several experimental tests were carried out under different engine loads (0, 20, 50, 80 and 100 %) in order to investigate the effect of \({{\rm H}_{2}/{\rm O}_{2}}\) addition on the engine performance characteristics and the exhaust gas concentration. At engine loads more than 20 %, tests showed that adding \({{\rm H}_{2}/{\rm O}_{2}}\) reduced the brake-specific fuel consumption by an average of 7.8 %. They also showed that the alternative fuel was very efficient in reducing the concentration of pollutant emissions in the exhaust gases: hydrocarbon (HC) concentration diminished by an average of 18 %, carbon monoxide (CO) concentration decreased by an average of 31.8 %, and \({{\rm CO}_{2}}\) concentration decreased up to 30 %. However, at low engine loads, \({{\rm NO}_{x}}\) concentration decreased by an average of 26 %, but it increased significantly with the increase in engine loads (exceeding 80 %).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of the Electromechanical System (LASEM), National School of Engineers of Sfax (ENIS), BP 1173, Avenue of Soukra, 3038, Sfax, Tunisia

    Mohamed Brayek, Mohamed Ali Jemni, Gueorgui Kantchev & Mohamed Salah Abid

Authors
  1. Mohamed Brayek
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  2. Mohamed Ali Jemni
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  3. Gueorgui Kantchev
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  4. Mohamed Salah Abid
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Correspondence to Mohamed Brayek.

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Brayek, M., Jemni, M.A., Kantchev, G. et al. Effect of Hydrogen–Oxygen Mixture Addition on Exhaust Emissions and Performance of a Spark Ignition Engine. Arab J Sci Eng 41, 4635–4642 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-016-2228-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-016-2228-x

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