DME Use in Self-Ignition Engines Equipped with Common Rail Injection Systems

Abstract

Technological progress observed in combustion engine constructions is determined mostly by increasing ecological requirements. There is a tendency to make modern engines less harmful to the environment and characterized by the smallest possible fuel consumption. In case of self-ignition (SI) engines fuel injection strategy has the largest impact on defining those parameters. It is largely dependent on the fuel system used. In order to decrease the industry’s environmental burden, research is conducted to limit the use of crude oil, which is a non-renewable resource, by using alternative fuels produced of renewable resources. One of such fuels is dimethyl ether (DME) which, thanks to properties similar to the conventional fuel, is a good substitute in self-ignition engines. Moreover, it turns out that the use of dimethyl ether in combination with high-pressure fuel injection allows for reducing the emissions of some harmful compounds. DME combustion in self-ignition engines equipped with modern injection systems allows most of all for the reduction of particulate matter emission to such a level that the need to apply an additional particulate matter filter to meet the most up-to-date emission norms is eliminated.