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Modeling the emissions of a dual fuel engine coupled with a biomass gasifier—supplementing the Wiebe function

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 25, pages 35866–35873 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

There is a growing market demand for small-scale biomass gasifiers that is driven by the economic incentives and the legislative framework. Small-scale gasifiers produce a gaseous fuel, commonly referred to as producer gas, with relatively low heating value. Thus, the most common energy conversion systems that are coupled with small-scale gasifiers are internal combustion engines. In order to increase the electrical efficiency, the operators choose dual fuel engines and mix the producer gas with diesel. The Wiebe function has been a valuable tool for assessing the efficiency of dual fuel internal combustion engines. This study introduces a thermodynamic model that works in parallel with the Wiebe function and calculates the emissions of the engines. This “vis-à-vis” approach takes into consideration the actual conditions inside the cylinders—as they are returned by the Wiebe function—and calculates the final thermodynamic equilibrium of the flue gases mixture. This approach aims to enhance the operation of the dual fuel internal combustion engines by identifying the optimal operating conditions and—at the same time—advance pollution control and minimize the environmental impact.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Iroon Polytechniou Str., Zographou Campus, 157 80, Athens, Greece

    Stergios Vakalis, Konstantinos Moustakas & Dimitris Malamis

  2. Faculty of Science and Technology, Technical Physics Group, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, 39100, Bolzano, Italy

    Stergios Vakalis, Carlo Caligiuri, Massimiliano Renzi & Marco Baratieri

Authors
  1. Stergios Vakalis
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  2. Carlo Caligiuri
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  3. Konstantinos Moustakas
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  4. Dimitris Malamis
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  5. Massimiliano Renzi
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  6. Marco Baratieri
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Correspondence to Stergios Vakalis.

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Vakalis, S., Caligiuri, C., Moustakas, K. et al. Modeling the emissions of a dual fuel engine coupled with a biomass gasifier—supplementing the Wiebe function. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 35866–35873 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1647-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1647-5

Keywords

  • Gasification
  • Thermodynamics
  • Internal combustion engine
  • Sabathé
  • Nitrogen oxides