Emission Characteristics of Petrol Engine
Abstract: In this experiment, different emission parameters of the petrol engine (e.g. CO, NOx, unburnt hydrocarbon
emissions) running at a constant RPM have been measured. Their variations have been measured with respect to changes in
load and compression ratio (C.R.)
I. INTRODUCTION
A petrol engine is an internal combustion engine with spark-ignition, designed to run on petrol (gasoline) and similar
volatile fuels. In most petrol engines, the fuel and air are usually pre-mixed before compression (although some modern
petrol engines now use cylinder-direct petrol injection).Petrol engines are operated via spark plugs and the fuel is
premixed with air before entering the chamber. So, the emission composition in a petrol engine is controlled, to a large
extent, by the A/ F ratio.
For stoichiometric or leaner A/ F ratio leads to formation of CO2 and water vapors. In case of rich A/ F ratio, because
of lack of adequate amount of O2, CO is formed. Other harmful substances like NOx and particulate matter may form
depend on the temperature and pressure conditions inside the combustion chamber.
II. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
Engine Details:
Research Petrol Engine having:
o Power 4.50 kW @ 1500 rpm
o 1 Cylinder
o Four stroke
o Variable speed
o Water Cooled
o Cylinder Bore 87.50(mm), Stroke Length 110.00(mm), Connecting Rod length 234.00(mm),
o Swept volume 661.45 (cc)
Combustion Parameters:
o Specific Gas Constant (kJ/kg-K): 1.00
o Air Density (kg/m3): 1.17
o Adiabatic Index: 1.41
o Polytrophic Index: 1.28
o Number Of Cycles: 10
o Cylinder Pressure Reference: 0
o Smoothing 2
o TDC Reference: 0
Performance Parameters:
o Orifice Diameter (mm): 20.00
o Orifice Coeff. Of Discharge: 0.60
o Dynamometer Arm Length (mm): 185
o Fuel Pipe dia (mm): 12.40
o Ambient Temp. (oC): 27
o Pulses Per revolution: 360
o Fuel Type: Petrol
o Fuel Density (Kg/m3): 740
o Calorific Value Of Fuel (kJ/kg): 44000
III. RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS
The following plots show the variation in emissions when the operating load is changed from 0 to 10 kg.
CO vs Load
0.15
CO (in % vol)
0.14
0.13
0.12
0.11
0.1
0
10
12
Load (kg)
Fig 1. CO vs. Load
The emission of CO decreases with increase in load. This is because at lower loads, CO doesnt have enough time to
complete convert into CO2. Also, as the load increases, leaner fuel is used, as the throttle opens more to compensate for
the increased load, thus having more O2 for completing the combustion.
NOx in ppm
NOx vs Load
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0
10
12
Load (kg)
Fig 2. NOx vs. Load
Initially, for 0 kg load, there is no Nox generation as there is very less O2 available and the temperatures are also very
low. The NOx percentage increase with increase in load. This occurs because of elevated temperatures and pressures at
higher load. Another reason is the excess of O2, left after complete combustion, present in leaner air-fuel mixtures which
allows for additional reactions with N2.
uHC vs Load
3000
uHC (in ppm)
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
10
12
Load (kg)
Fig 3. uHC vs. Load
uHC (Unburnt Hydrocarbon) emissions are usually produced because of incomplete combustion of the rich air-fuel
mixture. As load increases, the throttle valve opens up and the engine starts receiving lean air-fuel mixture. Because of
the additional available O2, complete combustion occurs and hence uHC concentration in exhaust decreases.
For the next study, the C.R. was changed to 8 and the above charts were re-plotted. The load was again varied from
0 to 10 kg.
CO vs Load
CO (in % vol)
0.17
0.15
0.13
0.11
0.09
0
10
12
Load (kg)
CR 10
CR 8
Fig 4. CO vs. Load for different C.R.
Both curves show the same decrease in CO concentration with increase in load. Also, as the C.R. decreases, the fuel
mixture inducted into the combustion chamber also decrease. Thus, the initial CO produced in case of C.R. 8 is lower
than that produced for C.R. 10.
load vs NOX
3500
NOx (in ppm)
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
10
12
Load (Kg)
CR 8
CR 10
Fig 5. NOx vs. Load for different C.R.
The NOx emissions also show similar trends for the different C.R. Again, because for low intake, the increase in NOx
production is lower for C.R. 8.
uHc vs Load
3000
uHC (Iin ppm)
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
0
10
12
Load (kg)
CR 8
CR 10
Fig 6. uHC vs. Load for different C.R.
uHC concentration decreases with increase in load for both the C.R. But, the initial uHC concentration for C.R. 8
is much higher than for C.R. 10. This can be explained again by the low availability of O2 which causes a lot of fuel to
undergo partial or no combustion at all. Hence, we see a higher concentration of uHC.
IV. INFERENCES
CO concentrations decrease with increase in load for all C.R. As C.R. increases, the initial concentration of CO
increases in the exhaust.
NOx concentration increase with increase in load for all C.R. As C.R. increases, the initial concentration of NO x
decreases but the final concentration increases.
uHC concentration decreases with increase in load. For lower C.R., the initial concentration of uHC is very high
but the final concentrations are almost similar.