TESTING

OF THE GASOLINE-ETHANOL
BLENDS
Testing
of The Gasoline-Ethanol
Blends In Carburetor Type Spark Ignition
Engine,IN
Puneet
Singh, Rishi
Pareek
,
Journal
Impact
Factor
(2015):
8.8293
Calculated
by
GISI
(www.jifactor.Com)
CARBURETOR TYPE SPARK IGNITION ENGINE
Puneet Singh1,

Rishi Pareek2

Volume 6, Issue 6, June (2015), pp. 43-51

Article ID: 30120150606005
International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology
IAEME: http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET.asp
ISSN 0976 6340 (Print)
ISSN 0976 6359 (Online)

IJMET
IAEME

Asst Prof., Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, WIT,

Uttarakhand Technical University Dehradun, Uttarakhand
2

Research Scholar, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, SVNIT Surat, Gujarat,

ABSTRACT
This paper presents an analysis of carburetor type spark ignition (SI) engine using gasolineethanol blends. The most captivating properties of ethanol as a SI engine fuel are that it can be
produced from renewable energy sources such as agricultural feedstock and has high octane number
(108) and flame speed.
In the present work, tests were conducted on carburetor SI engine under different loads for all
blends of gasoline-ethanol. For each blend readings were taken for varying load. The experiments
conducted using gasoline-ethanol blends with the volumetric ratio ranging from 0% to 50% with an
increment of 5% ethanol. The results showed that blending increases the brake thermal efficiency,
volumetric efficiency and fuel consumption. The CO, HC and NOx emissions concentrations in the
engine exhaust decreases, while the CO2 concentration increases. It can be concluded from the
research work that 20% ethanol in fuel blend with gasoline gave the best result for all measured
parameters at all loads.
Keywords: Biomass, Ethanol, Renewable Energy, SI engine.
1.

INTRODUCTION

In present scenario, people around the world use fossil fuels for energy production, the
reserves of these petroleum based fuels are being rapidly depleted. The consumptions of fossil fuels
in internal combustion (IC) engines and the associated environmental impacts are now the world
wide concerns. Alternative fuels as defined by the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT, US), include
ethanol, natural gas, hydrogen, biodiesel, electricity, methanol and so on. These fuels are being used
worldwide in a variety of vehicle applications.. Ethanol was the first fuel among the alcohols to be
used to power vehicles in the 1990s.
Number of published work available on Carburetor type SI engine using gasoline-ethanol
blends of fuel, many of them are considered as reference for current research work
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Testing of The Gasoline-Ethanol Blends In Carburetor Type Spark Ignition Engine, Puneet
Singh, Rishi Pareek, Journal Impact Factor (2015): 8.8293 Calculated by GISI (www.jifactor.Com)
Among the various alcohols, ethanol is known as the most suited fuel for spark-ignition (SI)
engines. The main reason for advocating ethanol is that it can be produced by fermenting and
distilling starch crops that have been converted into simple sugars, feedstock for this fuel include
corn, barley and wheat. Ethanol can be produced from cellulose feedstock such as corn stalks, rice
straw, and sugar cane which are examples of feedstock that contain sugar [1-4]. In [5], the
experimental investigation on single cylinder two stroke spark ignition engine in carburettor and
direct fuel injection modes has been presented. In [6], brake thermal efficiency of LPG fuelled
engine is compared with that of gasoline at different compression ratio and ignition timing. In this
paper, different tests were conducted on carburetor SI engine under different loads for all blends by
varying load.
2.

DIFFERENT BLENDS OF ETHANOL WITH GASOLINE

There are different types of gasoline-ethanol blends used all over the world. Gasoline-ethanol
blends including ethanol at low proportions can be used without any engine modifications but pure
ethanol requires major modifications to the engine design and fuel system. Consequently, the use of
gasoline-ethanol blends in SI engines is more practical than using ethanol alone. The properties of
the blended fuels used for experimentation are calculated implementing below equations:
Density of blends

bl =

X j j

(1)

100

Stoichiometric fuel/air ratio of blends

X j j ( F / A)sj
( F / A) sbl =
X jj

(2)

Lower heating value of blends

X j j LHV j
LHVbl =
X jj

(3)

where, subscript j refers to gasoline (G) or ethanol (E) and X is the volume percentage of gasoline or
ethanol.
Density of the gasoline used in the experiments was measured as 769 kg/m3[7] and its
approximate molecular formula was taken as C8H18. Density of ethanol was measured as 795
kg/m3. The purity of ethanol corresponding to this density is calculated as 95% by using the densities
of pure ethanol having purity of 99.99% and water as follows:
E
(4)
PRT = w
w EP
where EP is the density of pure ethanol and taken as 785 kg/m3. w is the density of water and
taken as 1000 kg/m3.
In the Table 2, theoretical properties of different blends of ethanol with gasoline are shown.
The data in Table 2 has been utilized for further calculations.

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Testing of The Gasoline-Ethanol Blends In Carburetor Type Spark Ignition Engine, Puneet
Singh, Rishi Pareek, Journal Impact Factor (2015): 8.8293 Calculated by GISI (www.jifactor.Com)
TABLE 2: Theoretical properties of different blends of ethanol with gasoline
Blends
Density
LHV
S. A/F
3
E0
765
44
14.6
E5
766
43.12
14.1
E10
767
42.25
13.7
E15
768
41.38
13.3
E20
769
40.51
13.0
E25
770
39.64
12.7
E30
771
38.78
12.2
E35
772
37.91
11.9
E40
773
37.05
11.6
E45
774
36.20
11.4
E50
775
35.34
11.1
3.

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

In this work, most widely used Carburetor type SI engine of MARUTI 800 was selected for
experiment purpose. The four stroke engine has three cylinders with compression ratio of 8.7, other
specifications are stated below.

General details three cylinder, four stroke, spark ignition, water cooled, Carburetor type SI
MARUTI 800 engine

Bore = 68.5 mm, Stroke = 72 mm

Piston displacement = 796 cc

Compression ratio = 8.7:1

Maximum output = 37 HP @ 5000 RPM

3.1 Performance Examination
The effect of ethanol addition to unleaded gasoline on carburetor type SI engine performance
and exhaust emissions at full throttle opening at constant speed were investigated. For this
investigation main objective was to analyze performance of ethanol blended with gasoline fuelled
engine and find out the best blend for all loads. The engine was started and allowed to warm up for a
period of 10-20 min. Engine test were performed at different blends with the volumetric ratios of 0%
to 50% with an increment of 5% ethanol, operated with each blend at constant speed with varying
load.
The parameters, such as fuel consumption rate, brake specific fuel consumption, volumetric
efficiency, brake thermal efficiency, mechanical efficiency, air-fuel ratio, CO and NOx emissions
were estimated.
3.1.1

Calculations
A load test was done with gasoline and its blends with ethanol as fuel on the Carburetor type
SI engine. This was done to obtain a set of performance parameters calculated as follows:
Brake power
W * N * 0.736
1000
where, W = Spring balance reading in kg, N = speed of the engine in rpm
BP (kW ) =

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(5)

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Testing of The Gasoline-Ethanol Blends In Carburetor Type Spark Ignition Engine, Puneet
Singh, Rishi Pareek, Journal Impact Factor (2015): 8.8293 Calculated by GISI (www.jifactor.Com)
Mass of fuel consumption
X *0.72 *3600
mfc(kg / hr ) = cc
(6)
1000* T
where, X = burette reading in cc
0.72 = density of gasoline in gram/cc, T = time taken in seconds
Specific fuel consumption
mfc
Sfc(kg / kWhr ) =
(7)
BP
Actual volume of air sucked into the cylinder
Va (m3 / hr ) = Cd * A * 2 gh *3600
(8)
h
w
*
meter of water
where, H (m) =
1000 a
A = area of orifice = d2/4 in m2
d = 20 mm, h = manometer reading in mm
w = density of water = 1000 kg/m3
a = density of air = 1.193 kg/m3
Cd = co-efficient of discharge = 0.62, g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m2/s
Swept volume
d2
N
3
Vs ( m / hr ) =
* L * *60*3
4
2
where, d = diameter of the bore = 0.0685 m
L = length of the stroke = 0.072 m, N = speed of the engine in rpm
Volumetric efficiency
V
(10)
v (%) = a *100
Vs
Brake thermal efficiency
BP *3600
(11)
bth (%) =
*100
mfc * Cv
where, Cv = calorific value of gasoline = 44000 kJ/kg
Mechanical efficiency
BP
mech (%) =
*100
(12)
IP
where, IP = indicated power in kW

4.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The following discussion is based on the results of the load test conducted on the three
cylinder Carburetor SI engine experimental setup. The experiment was conducted on engine speed of
2500 rpm. The results are shown by various graphs in Figs. 1 to 6, giving details about the impact of
load change on mass of fuel consumption, brake specific fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency,
volumetric efficiency, mechanical efficiency and air-fuel ratio respectively.

4.1

Mass of fuel consumption

The effect of the ethanol-gasoline blends on the fuel consumption is shown in Fig. 1. The fuel
consumption increases as the E% increases for all loads.
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Testing of The Gasoline-Ethanol Blends In Carburetor Type Spark Ignition Engine, Puneet
Singh, Rishi Pareek, Journal Impact Factor (2015): 8.8293 Calculated by GISI (www.jifactor.Com)

Figure. 1 The effect of ethanol addition on the fuel consumption rate.

4.2

Brake specific fuel consumption (SFC)

In Fig. 2, shows the effect of using ethanol-gasoline blends on brake specific fuel
consumption. Owing to fact that the heating value of ethanol is lower than that of gasoline, the SFC
increases as the ethanol content in the blend increases. At no-load the SFC curve is at infinity as the
engine is producing no useful work and is consuming fuel. As the load is increased the curve starts to
drop and achieve a minimum

Figure. 2 The effect of ethanol addition on the specific fuel consumption.

4.3

Brake thermal efficiency

Fig. 3 presents the effect of using ethanol-gasoline blends on brake thermal efficiency. As
shown in the figure, brake thermal efficiency increases as the E% increases. The maximum brake
thermal efficiency is recorded with 20% ethanol in the fuel blend for all loads. The brake thermal
efficiency curve is the inverse of specific fuel consumption curve.

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Testing of The Gasoline-Ethanol Blends In Carburetor Type Spark Ignition Engine, Puneet
Singh, Rishi Pareek, Journal Impact Factor (2015): 8.8293 Calculated by GISI (www.jifactor.Com)

Figure. 3 The effect of ethanol addition on the brake thermal efficiency.

4.4

Volumetric efficiency
Fig. 4 shows an increase in the volumetric efficiency as the percentage of ethanol in the fuel
blends increases. This is due to the decrease of the charge temperature at the end of the induction
process. This decrease is attributed to the increase in the charge temperature as a result of the heat
transfer from the hot engine parts and the residual gases in the charge.

Figure. 4 The effect of ethanol addition on the volumetric efficiency.

4.5

Mechanical efficiency

Figure. 5 The effect of ethanol addition on mechanical efficiency.

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Testing of The Gasoline-Ethanol Blends In Carburetor Type Spark Ignition Engine, Puneet
Singh, Rishi Pareek, Journal Impact Factor (2015): 8.8293 Calculated by GISI (www.jifactor.Com)
Fig. 5 shows increase in the mechanical efficiency as the percentage of ethanol in the fuel
blends increases. The mechanical efficiency increases up to 20% ethanol blend with gasoline. The
ethanol has the better lubricating property compared to gasoline because of this it reduces the friction
losses. The indicated power increases and frictional power almost constant.

4.6

Air-fuel ratio
Fig. 6 shows a decrease in the air-fuel ratio as the percentage of ethanol in the fuel blends
increases. The heating value of ethanol is lower compared to gasoline engine needs more fuel obtain
the same power. The mass of fuel consumption increases with increasing ethanol percentage in
blends with gasoline. So the air-fuel ratio decreases with increasing ethanol percentage in the blends
with gasoline.

Figure. 6 The effect of ethanol addition on the air-fuel ratio.

4.7

Exhaust emissions

Figure. 7 The effect of ethanol addition on CO emission.

In this study only impact on CO and NOx emissions was examined. However, the other
emissions factors can be examined also. Figs. 7 and 8 portray the effect of E% in the fuel blend on
the CO and NOx. From this figures it can be observed that as the E% increases to 20%, the CO and
NOx concentrations decreases and then increases for all loads.

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Testing of The Gasoline-Ethanol Blends In Carburetor Type Spark Ignition Engine, Puneet
Singh, Rishi Pareek, Journal Impact Factor (2015): 8.8293 Calculated by GISI (www.jifactor.Com)
The exhaust emission also improved with using ethanol blends. The CO and NOx emissions
decreased with increasing ethanol percentage in gasoline.

Figure 8. The effect of ethanol addition on NOx emission.

From above discussion, it is concluded that the ethanol blends with gasoline gave the better
result. The 20% ethanol percentage of ethanol gave the better engine performance with compared to
other blends. The mass of fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency, volumetric efficiency and
mechanical efficiency increases with ethanol blends with gasoline, on the other hand air-fuel ratio
decreases using ethanol blends with gasoline. The exhaust emission also improved with using
ethanol blends. The CO and NOx emissions decreased with increasing ethanol percentage in
gasoline.

5.

ACKNOWLEDEGMENT

We are very much thankful to lat. Mr Neeraj Kumar for this valuable suggestions and
guidance to complete our work.

6.

CONCLUSIONS

The experimental performance on carburetor SI engine with different ethanol blends with
gasoline was investigated. The main outcomes of this analysis are as:
1.
The experiments shows that 20% ethanol blend with gasoline gives the best performance for
the carburetor SI engine.
2.
Ethanol blended with gasoline always improves the performance of carburetor SI engine and
reduced the exhaust emissions also.
3.
Ethanol addition results in an increase in brake thermal efficiency, volumetric efficiency,
mechanical efficiency and fuel consumption by about 1%, 26%, 9% and 22% respectively at
lower load and about 2%, 7%, 4% and 13% respectively at maximum load at 20% percent
ethanol blend with gasoline.

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Testing of The Gasoline-Ethanol Blends In Carburetor Type Spark Ignition Engine, Puneet
Singh, Rishi Pareek, Journal Impact Factor (2015): 8.8293 Calculated by GISI (www.jifactor.Com)
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