Study on the performance and emissions of a compression ignition engine fuelled with dimethyl ether

The paper presents the research results of a light-duty direct injection diesel engine operating on dimethyl ether (DME). The effects of the main parameters of the combustion system, such as plunger diameter, nozzle type, fuel delivery advance angle, protruding distance of the nozzle tip from the bottom plane of the cylinder head and swirl ratio, on the performance of the DME engine are investigated. The indicator diagrams are taken after optimizing the combustion system and characteristics of combustion and emissions are measured for DME and diesel operation. The results show that, by adding a pressure pump in the fuel supply system, the vapour lock of DME in the fuel system is eliminated. The engine runs smoothly on DME over a wide range of speeds and loads. The effective thermal efficiency of the DME engine is 3 per cent higher than that of the diesel engine, and a low rate of pressure rise, low combustion noise, smokeless combustion and low NO_x emissions of the DME engine can be achieved. The results demonstrate good characteristics in reducing emissions for a diesel engine operating on DME.