Greenhouse gas reduction in a medium-duty compression ignition engine with optimization for B20

Soy-based biodiesel can reduce well-to-wheels greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit energy (i.e., gCO2e/MJ) by 66%–72% as compared to the petroleum-based diesel fuel with currently adopted agricultural and industrial practices. Biodiesel can reduce particulate matter and carbon monoxide emissions with a manageable degree of increase in NOx emissions. From the perspective of GHG emissions reduction per unit travelling distance (i.e., gCO2e/mile), the application of B20 in compression ignition engines without the adjustment in engine control unit (ECU) settings will not extract the best carbon emissions reduction that B20 could achieve. Optimizing the engine control settings permits re-calibration to achieve the maximum brake fuel conversion efficiency (BFE) based on comprehensive understanding on the impact of both “fuel” and “ECU calibration” on BFE and other criteria pollutant emissions. The maximum GHG emissions reduction with B20 application is experimentally measured with the optimized ECU calibration, thus providing the understanding of the combined impact of biodiesel fuel and calibrations on engine performance and emissions. Six steady operating modes were considered, that can be combined to estimate the US federal test procedure BFE and emissions over the Federal Test Protocol (FTP) 75 cycle. Combined with the weight factors to simulate the EPA FTP 75 cycle from these 6 “mini-map” test points, 0.53% improvement in the energy requirement per unit traveling distance (i.e., MJ/mile) is achieved for B20 with the final ECU calibration, in addition to the degree of GHG emissions reduction on a “gCO2e/MJ” basis from the use of B20 blend of soy biodiesel of ∼12.5% reduction in gCO2e/MJ, for a total GHG emissions reduction of 13%.