Atul Dhar

Advances in Hydrogen-Fuelled Compression Ignition Engine

The rapacious growth of transport sector in last few decades has made it one of the major contributor of air pollution. This has pushed the governments of different countries around the globe to impose stringent pollution norms on vehicular emissions. Therefore, these days design of automobile engines is greatly influenced by criteria of reducing the emissions. Amongst all automotive engines, compression ignition engines are especially prominent in long-hauling scenarios due to their higher thermodynamic efficiency and better low-end torque. However, they are notorious for the black smoke which they emit. Alternative fuels and combustion technologies are explored extensively to reduce the emissions and improve the combustion efficiency further in such engines. Amongst different alternative fuels explored by researchers, hydrogen is attractive due to its extremely clean combustion properties. This work critically evaluates the amenities and shortcomings of the hydrogen as a fuel in compression ignition engines. Application of hydrogen in advanced compression ignition technologies such as HCCI and PCCI is also explored.

Introduction to Sustainable Energy, Transportation Technologies, and Policy

Need of energy is continuously increasing with increasing development aspirations and world population. To meet the energy demand, world requires production of more energy from the available limited resources. Technological development is both a cause of many environmental problems as well as a key enabler for solving them. It is a matter of fact that the technologies of the past are still dominating in transport, energy production, industry, and agriculture sector, which are gradually harming our basic life supporting systems—clean water, fresh air, and fertile soil. However, in each of these sectors there are new technologies available or emerging that may essentially solve these environmental problems if used widely and wisely. Thus, new technologies have the potential to contribute in decoupling of economic growth from pressure on natural resources. To address the global challenges of energy security, climate change, and economic growth, it is a global need to develop low-carbon energy technologies such as bioenergy for heat and power, biofuels for transport, solar photovoltaic energy, solar thermal electricity, wind energy, solar heating and cooling, efficient and environment-friendly energy storage. The long-term sustainability of the global energy systems is essential to counter balance of current demographic, economic, social, and technological trends.

Exhaust Heat Recovery Options for Diesel Locomotives

Even by conservative estimates more than 20% fuel energy from internal combustion engines is wasted as exhaust heat. Currently organic Rankine cycles and thermoelectric generators are most widely investigated options for automobile exhaust heat recovery. Use of thermoelectric generators for recovery of exhaust heat in automobiles at concept level started few decades ago. Major advantages of this technology over Rankine cycles are little noise and vibration, high durability, environmental friendliness, and low maintenance cost for converting low quality thermal energy directly into high quality electrical energy. Major challenges are lower efficiency (~8%), drop in efficiency at lower temperatures, performance optimization in synchronization with multiple constraints of after-treatment devices, silencer, back pressure reduction, turbo-charging etc. Larger size of diesel locomotives compared with space available for automobile engine’s mounting on vehicles makes the installation of exhaust heat recovery system in diesel locomotives more practical. In this paper, feasibility and suitability of various exhaust heat energy recovery methods for diesel locomotives has been discussed.

Exhaust Heat Recovery Using Thermoelectric Generators: A Review

With the major concern to increase the efficiency of internal combustion (IC) engines, various technologies and innovations have been implemented to improvise efficiency and reduction of emissions. Since 60–70% of the energy produced during combustion is rejected as heat through exhaust and coolant channels, it is important to recover that waste heat. Numerous technologies have been invented and applied to the diesel engine unit to harness the waste heat. One such is the use of solid-state device thermoelectric generator (TEG). In the late 1980s, many automobile manufacturers implemented automotive exhaust thermoelectric generators (AETEGs) in their respective vehicles, and since then, the work on AETEGs has picked at gradual pace. Advantages of using TEG are its noise-free operation, low failure rate and lack of moving components. However, it is not a very popular solution due to the low energy conversion efficiency (~6–8%) of thermoelectric modules and the incompetence to produce high power at low-temperature gradient. Engineers and researchers are basically working for improving the conversion efficiency of TEG modules by developing and doping semiconductors and optimization of the AETEG system to utilize and recover maximum heat available from the exhaust line by designing efficient heat exchanger systems, thus trying to improve its feasibility. This chapter covers the wide spectrum of feasibility of application of TEG modules in diesel engines with possible ways to utilize the generated power.

Role of Electric Vehicles in Future Road Transport

With increasing pollution in the environment, there is a need of sustainable generation and utilization of energy. Transport is the technologically most challenging major contributor to environmental pollution. With increasing global adaption of renewable energy generation, if somehow, the transportation energy supply can be shifted to renewable sources; then, it will be major leap in mitigating the impact of pollution on human beings. Battery electric vehicle provides the most feasible solution right now, which has a developed and demonstrated infrastructure in terms of technology development and fuel, in this case electricity, distribution network. With decreasing tariffs of renewable energy and new and cheap battery technologies, it is self-evident that the future has electric vehicles and renewable power generation. This chapter provides the insight into the battery electric vehicle technology, needed resources and the economics which is developing around this technology.

Recent Advancements in After-Treatment Technology for Internal Combustion Engines—An Overview

The increasing health problems due to engine exhaust and tightening of emission norms for engine exhaust force us to use exhaust after-treatment techniques. Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, unburnt hydrocarbon, particulate matter, and oxides of nitrogen are main automobile engine exhaust emissions. Most commonly, diesel oxidation catalysis effectively reduces unburnt hydrocarbon emission, diesel particulate filter reduces particulate matter emission, and selective catalytic reduction and NO x trap technology reduce NO x emissions. Recent advances include reduction with and without filter, reduction with catalyst and without catalyst, and some other after-treatment techniques such as plasma-assisted techniques, NO x and soot combined reduction. This chapter provides overview of recent advancement in various after-treatment techniques and challenges of these technologies.

Fuel Injection Equipment (FIE) Design for the New-Generation Alternative Fuel-Powered Diesel Engines

Most widely acceptable, new-generation alternatives to the fossil (diesel and gasoline) fuels are alcohols, biodiesel, hydrogen, dimethyl ether, and natural gas. Current supply situation of these alternative fuels does not allow for a full replacement of the fossil fuels. For achieving the stringent emission norms (i.e., beyond EURO V or Bharat Stage V), engine manufactures are facing challenges in terms of engine technology upgradation while simultaneously controlling the cost for design and modification of the engine and fuel injection equipment for blending as well as using alternative fuels. This chapter reviews the fuel injection equipment technology employed worldwide for the alternative fuels (or its blend with the fossil fuels) and suggests important modifications. The injection strategy optimization, which includes understanding the fuel injection systems’ requirements and the interplay between various injection parameters for different fuel blends, is also discussed.

Solar-Assisted Gasification Based Cook Stoves

Indoor air quality is one of the prime concerns as it relates directly to the health of occupants. Detrimental pollutants from burning of solid fuels range from CO to NO, NO2 and suspended particles containing polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons pose serious threats to human lives. Incorporation of alternative means of heating and near-complete combustion of biomass feedstock would be a better solution to this problem. Gasification based natural draft and forced draft cook stoves are helpful in improving the wood utilization efficiency and reducing the harmful pollutants. The combustion unit of gasification based cook stove is equipped with the provision of primary and secondary air, which facilitates the combustion and makes near-complete utilization of feedstock practical. Thermal draft in the chimney, a control unit of overall process generates pressure difference which facilitates the incoming of primary as well as secondary air and sidewise keeps the flue gases moving. Utilization of solar heating for preheating the feedstock is another step for making the total process efficient. In this chapter, we will discuss the advantages and challenges of different cook stove designs and feasibility of incorporating the solar heating in them.

Introduction of Alternative Fuels

Energy is a basic requirement for economic development. Growing energy consumption has resulted in world becoming increasingly dependent on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas; therefore, it becomes necessary to develop a sustainable path of energy. Gaseous fuels and biofuels seem to have the potential to contribute significantly to India’s energy security. This monograph shows the current status of different alternative fuels and describes some advanced techniques to improve the quality of alternative fuels. Utilization of these alternative fuels in existing vehicles is another important aspect, which has been covered in this monograph.

Evolving Energy Scenario: Role and Scope for Alternative Fuels in Transport Sector

Due to rapidly increasing energy consumption rate, access to clean, affordable and sustainable energy has become one of the important factors for economic development of any country. Depletion of petroleum reserves and associated issues related to their utilization in internal combustion (IC) engines motivated researchers to explore such alternative energy resources. In this quest, researchers have developed various solar-based and water-based energy generation methodologies; however, these techniques are not mature enough to fulfil the current energy requirements of transport sector. Therefore, appropriate alternatives to liquid fossil fuels (mineral diesel and gasoline) have been explored, in which gaseous fuels (compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), dimethyl ether (DME), Hydrogen, HCNG, etc.), biofuels [alcohols, biodiesel, straight vegetable oil (SVO)], synthetic fuels, etc., are the important ones. Utilization of microbes to produce biofuels has also gained significant attention of researchers. This chapter provides a snapshot of the current energy landscape, available options and discusses the path forward, which can be used for the development of sustainable and secure energy options for our nation.