Abstract:

How to use the Polyoxymethylene Dimethyl Ethers (PODEn) was investigated, which is a new fuel
having high oxygen contents and high cetane number, to reduce particulate matter (PM) from diesel engines.
The combustion, the emission characteristics, and the thermal efficiency were tested for a diesel, a fuel with
10% PODE3-4/diesel blend, and a fuel with 20% PODE3-4/diesel blend both in a light-duty (LD) single cylinder
diesel engine and in a six-cylinder heavy-duty (HD) production diesel engine. The results show that by adding
20% PODE3-4, soot emissions decreases by 90% for the LD diesel engine, the thermal efficiency increases by
2% at high load; PM emissions decreases by 36.2% for the HD engine in European Stationary Cycle (ESC), the
average thermal efficiency increases by 0.85% in ESC. At 0.2-0.6 MPa Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP),
adding PODE3-4 has no significant effects on heat release curves; at 0.8 MPa IMEP, adding PODE3-4 increases
ignition delay and increases the main heat release peak. Therefore, PODEn is a promising blending component
of diesel fuel.

Key words: diesel engine, polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers (PODEn), combustion, emissions, efficiency