Internal modifications to reduce pollutant emissions from marine engines. A numerical approach

ABSTRACTTaking into account the increasingly stringent legislation on emissions from marine engines, this work aims to analyze several internal engine modifications to reduce NOx (nitrogen oxides) and other pollutants. To this end, a numerical model was employed to simulate the operation cycle and characterize the exhaust gas composition. After a preliminary validation process was carried out using experimental data from a four-stroke, medium-speed marine engine, the numerical model was employed to study the influence of several internal modifications, such as water addition from 0 to 100% water to fuel ratios, exhaust gas recirculation from 0 to 100% EGR rates, modification of the overlap timing from 60 to 120°, modification of the intake valve closing from 510 to 570°, and modification of the cooling water temperature from 70 to 90 °C. NOx was reduced by nearly 100%. As expected, it was found that, by lowering the combustion temperature, there is a notable reduction in NOx, but an increase in CO (carbon monoxide), HC (hydrocarbons) and consumption.