Performance and emission studies of a common rail turbocharged diesel electric generator fueled with emulsifier free water/diesel emulsion

In present study, performance and emissions of a 100 kVA common rail turbocharged diesel engine electric generator installed with an emulsifier free emulsion fuel supply system, known as Real-Time Non-Surfactant Emulsion Fuel Supply System (RTES) was investigated experimentally. This system uses a novel mixing system design upgraded from previous RTES design, with an omission of ultrasonic agitator component. In this system, water was injected into an emulsification device where water and diesel fuel were mixed and supplied to the engine as an emulsion fuel. It was found that water-in-diesel emulsions produced from this system increased the engine's Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE) to a maximum point of 42.7%, a marked increase of 28.6% from the base diesel. Furthermore, Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC) was reduced as water percentage increases. Additionally, Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions and smoke opacity were also reduced. However, water-in-diesel emulsion emitted increased carbon monoxide (CO) in lower to middle loads before a reduction was observed in higher loads. Interestingly, unburned hydrocarbons (UHC) emission reduced substantially for water-in-diesel emulsions with water percentages between 14% and 22%. In short, emulsifier free emulsion fuel produced by RTES was able to improve thermal efficiency and reduce fuel consumption and harmful emissions.