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Biomass has the potential to become an important source of energy for future automotive fuels. Recent biological and chemical improvements to the conversion of biomass-derived carbohydrates have produced high yields of liquid 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF). This discovery has made DMF a possible substitute for petroleum-based gasoline, because they share very similar physicochemical properties, which are superior to those of ethanol. In the present study, experiments have been carried out on a single-cylinder gasoline direct-injection (GDI) research engine to study the performance of DMF benchmarked against gasoline and what is considered to be the current biofuel leader, ethanol. Initial results are very promising for DMF as a new biofuel; not only is the combustion performance similar to commercial gasoline, but the regulated emissions are also comparable.

The 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) has attracted renewed global interest since its improved production methods were published in Nature and Science in 2007. Its high energy density makes it a promising biofuel and a possible alternative to gasoline. Consequently, a series of studies, led by the University of Birmingham, aims to assess the potential of DMF as an automotive energy carrier. These studies will include an analysis of the spray properties, the laminar flame characteristics, the engine performance, and the subsequent emissions. This paper examines the laminar flame characteristics from a quiescent homogeneous air−fuel mixture. The experiments were conducted using a constant volume vessel and were recorded by high speed schlieren visualization. By measurement of the flame growth following ignition, the laminar flame speed was determined. The calculation of flame stretch yielded the Markstein lengths and the laminar burning velocities. This paper presents the results of DMF combustion for a range of equivalence ratios (0.6−2.0) and initial temperatures (50−100 °C). The flame performance when using DMF is compared to EN228 gasoline and to the most commonly used biofuel substitute for gasoline, ethanol. The data shows that ethanol has the highest laminar burning velocity, followed by gasoline, and then DMF. In the 0.9−1.1 equivalence ratio range, the laminar burning velocity of DMF was very similar to gasoline and the difference was within 10%.

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It is known that species in the exhaust gas of automobile engines vary with fuel. As such, there is a need to understand the individual hydrocarbon (HC) and carbonyl (aldehydes and ketones) emissions from modern engines, especially as the use of alternative and renewable biofuels is set to rise. For gasoline, a promising candidate biofuel is 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF). This work presents the key individual HCs that have been identified using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and quantifies the emissions of 13 different carbonyls as specified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Method 1004 using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The tests were conducted on a single cylinder direct-injection spark-ignition (DISI) engine at 1500 rpm, λ = 1 and constant ignition timing. For the GC analysis, the midrange HCs were identified using the mass spectra. The results showed that unburned fuel (DMF) dominates the emissions. Other main emissions include cyclopentadiene, methyl vinyl ketone, 2-methylfuran, and aromatics. There was no evidence of the emissions of linear alkanes except methane. DMF produced the lowest overall carbonyl emissions compared with methanol, ethanol, n-butanol, and gasoline and, more importantly, the lowest emissions of formaldehyde.

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