Designed to Be Green, Economic, and Efficient: A Ketone-Ester-Alcohol-Alkane Blend for Future Spark-Ignition Engines

Philipp Ackermann; Karsten E Braun; Patrick Burkardt; Sebastian Heger; Andrea König; Philipp Morsch; Bastian Lehrheuer; Maximilian Surger; Simon Völker; Lars Mathias Blank; Miaomiao Du; Karl Alexander Heufer; Martina Roß-Nickoll; Jörn Viell; Niklas von der Aßen; Alexander Mitsos; Stefan Pischinger; Manuel Dahmen

doi:10.1002/cssc.202101704

Designed to Be Green, Economic, and Efficient: A Ketone-Ester-Alcohol-Alkane Blend for Future Spark-Ignition Engines

ChemSusChem. 2021 Dec 6;14(23):5254-5264. doi: 10.1002/cssc.202101704. Epub 2021 Nov 12.

Authors

Philipp Ackermann¹, Karsten E Braun², Patrick Burkardt³, Sebastian Heger², Andrea König¹, Philipp Morsch⁴, Bastian Lehrheuer³, Maximilian Surger⁵, Simon Völker⁶, Lars Mathias Blank⁵, Miaomiao Du², Karl Alexander Heufer⁴, Martina Roß-Nickoll², Jörn Viell¹, Niklas von der Aßen⁶, Alexander Mitsos^{7

1

8}, Stefan Pischinger^{3

8}, Manuel Dahmen⁷

Affiliations

¹ Process Systems Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, 52074, Germany.
² Institute for Environmental Research, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, 52074, Germany.
³ Chair of Thermodynamics of Mobile Energy Conversion Systems, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, 52074, Germany.
⁴ Chair of High Pressure Gas Dynamics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, 52074, Germany.
⁵ Institute of Applied Microbiology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, 52074, Germany.
⁶ Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, 52062, Germany.
⁷ Institute of Energy and Climate Research IEK-10, Energy Systems Engineering, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, 52425, Germany.
⁸ JARA-ENERGY, Aachen, 52056, Germany.

Abstract

Model-based fuel design can tailor fuels to advanced engine concepts while minimizing environmental impact and production costs. A rationally designed ketone-ester-alcohol-alkane (KEAA) blend for high efficiency spark-ignition engines was assessed in a multi-disciplinary manner, from production cost to ignition characteristics, engine performance, ecotoxicity, microbial storage stability, and carbon footprint. The comparison included RON 95 E10, ethanol, and two previously designed fuels. KEAA showed high indicated efficiencies in a single-cylinder research engine. Ignition delay time measurements confirmed KEAA's high auto-ignition resistance. KEAA exhibits a moderate toxicity and is not prone to microbial infestation. A well-to-wheel analysis showed the potential to lower the carbon footprint by 95 percent compared to RON 95 E10. The findings motivate further investigations on KEAA and demonstrate advancements in model-based fuel design.

Keywords: green chemistry; life-cycle analysis; model-based fuel design; renewable fuels; spark-ignition engines.

Abstract

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