Improving the Fuel Efficiency of Light-Duty Ethanol Vehicles - An Engine Dynamometer Study of Dedicated Engine Strategies

Gardiner, David; Mallory, Robert W.; Pucher, Greg; Todesco, Marc K.; Bardon, M. F.; Markel, T.; Ohi, J.

doi:10.4271/1999-01-3568

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Past FFVs have adjusted the engines' air/fuel ratio and spark advance timing to operate with different blends of ethanol typically ranging from 0% (E0) to 85% (E85) mixed with gasoline 13 . Aside from these engine parameters, optimizing the effective compression ratio to ethanol content of the fuel has also shown performance improvements 14 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fuel Economy and Emissions of the Ethanol-Optimized Saab 9-5 Biopower

West¹,

López²,

Theiss³

et al. 2007

SAE Technical Paper Series

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Saab Automobile recently released the BioPower engines, advertised to use increased turbocharger boost and spark advance on ethanol fuel to enhance performance. Specifications for the 2.0 liter turbocharged engine in the Saab 9-5 Biopower 2.0t report 150 hp (112 kW) on gasoline and a 20% increase to 180 hp (134 kW) on E85 (nominally 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline). While FFVs sold in the U.S. must be emissions certified on Federal Certification Gasoline as well as on E85, the European regulations only require certification on gasoline. Owing to renewed and growing interest in increased ethanol utilization in the U.S., a European-specification 2007 Saab 9-5 Biopower 2.0t was acquired by the Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for benchmark evaluations. Results show that the vehicle's gasoline equivalent fuel economy on the Federal Test Procedure (FTP) and the Highway Fuel Economy Test (HFET) are on par with similar U.S.-legal flex-fuel vehicles. Regulated and unregulated emissions measurements on the FTP and the US06 aggressive driving test (part of the supplemental FTP) show that despite the lack of any certification testing requirement in Europe on E85 or on the U.S. cycles, the vehicle is within Tier 2, Bin 5 emissions levels (note that full useful life emissions have not been measured) on the FTP, and also within the 4000 mile (6400 km) US06 emissions limits. Emissions of hydrocarbon-based hazardous air pollutants are higher on Federal Certification Gasoline while ethanol and aldehyde emissions are higher on ethanol fuel. The advertised power increase on E85 was confirmed through acceleration tests on the chassis dynamometer as well as on-road.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fuel Economy and Emissions of the Ethanol-Optimized Saab 9-5 Biopower

West¹,

López²,

Theiss³

et al. 2007

SAE Technical Paper Series

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Furthermore, E85 vehicles have the potential to trade off their superior acceleration for a greater fuel economy (on an MPGE basis) over gasoline vehicles. One engine that was optimized to E85 properties yielded up to 24% (MPGE) fuel economy improvements over baseline gasoline engines (Gardiner et al 1999). If such engine optimization were widespread in the future, the overall energy penalty would be smaller.…”

Section: Appendix D: Reasons Wholesale E85 Prices Must Be Ascertainedmentioning

confidence: 99%

E85 Retail Business Case: When and Why to Sell E85

Johnson¹,

Melendez²

2007

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“…Dedicated ethanol (or E85) engines have the promise to improve efficiency substantially over comparable regular gasoline engines through direct-injection, increased geometric CR, variable valve timing, exhaust gas recirculation, aggressive turbocharging, and downsizing and/or downspeeding. − It has also been demonstrated that lean boosted engines with ethanol can produce efficiency higher than that offered by diesel engines …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Ethanol on Vehicle Energy Efficiency and Implications on Ethanol Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Analysis

Yan

Inderwildi

King

et al. 2013

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Bioethanol is the world's largest-produced alternative to petroleum-derived transportation fuels due to its compatibility within existing spark-ignition engines and its relatively mature production technology. Despite its success, questions remain over the greenhouse gas (GHG) implications of fuel ethanol use with many studies showing significant impacts of differences in land use, feedstock, and refinery operation. While most efforts to quantify life-cycle GHG impacts have focused on the production stage, a few recent studies have acknowledged the effect of ethanol on engine performance and incorporated these effects into the fuel life cycle. These studies have broadly asserted that vehicle efficiency increases with ethanol use to justify reducing the GHG impact of ethanol. These results seem to conflict with the general notion that ethanol decreases the fuel efficiency (or increases the fuel consumption) of vehicles due to the lower volumetric energy content of ethanol when compared to gasoline. Here we argue that due to the increased emphasis on alternative fuels with drastically differing energy densities, vehicle efficiency should be evaluated based on energy rather than volume. When done so, we show that efficiency of existing vehicles can be affected by ethanol content, but these impacts can serve to have both positive and negative effects and are highly uncertain (ranging from -15% to +24%). As a result, uncertainties in the net GHG effect of ethanol, particularly when used in a low-level blend with gasoline, are considerably larger than previously estimated (standard deviations increase by >10% and >200% when used in high and low blends, respectively). Technical options exist to improve vehicle efficiency through smarter use of ethanol though changes to the vehicle fleets and fuel infrastructure would be required. Future biofuel policies should promote synergies between the vehicle and fuel industries in order to maximize the society-wise benefits or minimize the risks of adverse impacts of ethanol.

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Improving the Fuel Efficiency of Light-Duty Ethanol Vehicles - An Engine Dynamometer Study of Dedicated Engine Strategies

Cited by 8 publications

References 7 publications

Fuel Economy and Emissions of the Ethanol-Optimized Saab 9-5 Biopower

Fuel Economy and Emissions of the Ethanol-Optimized Saab 9-5 Biopower

E85 Retail Business Case: When and Why to Sell E85

Effects of Ethanol on Vehicle Energy Efficiency and Implications on Ethanol Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Analysis

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