Idling Performance of a Hydrogen-blended Methanol Engine at Lean Conditions

This paper studied the idling characteristic of a hydrogen-blended methanol engine under lean conditions and three hydrogen volume fractions in the intake of 0, 1% and 2%. The test was accomplished on a spark-ignition equipped with a hydrogen port-injection system. The test results showed that the addition of hydrogen contributed to the reduced fuel energy consumption at the idle condition. Because of the reduced engine idle speed, the engine fuel energy consumption rate was further reduced after increasing the excess air ratio of hydrogen-methanol-air mixtures. Both flame development and propagation periods were shortened and HC and CO emissions were reduced after the addition of hydrogen for the methanol engine at the idle and lean conditions.