Combustion and emissions of compression ignition in a direct injection diesel engine fueled with pentanol

•First study on combustion characteristic of neat pentanol with CI (compression ignition) mode.•Pentanol with CI mode shows higher thermal efficiency than diesel.•Pentanol with CI mode shows smooth heat release rate compared with diesel.•Pentanol presents ultra low NOx and Soot emissions simultaneous without EGR.

Pentanol is a new generation bio-fuel that could help relieve the energy crisis and environmental problems. The objective of this study is to reveal the combustion and emission characteristics of pentanol in a single-cylinder direct-injection diesel engine. In the present investigation, experimental data for pentanol in conventional diesel combustion mode were presented. The emissions, combustion characteristics and thermal efficiency for pentanol and diesel fuel were obtained under the same operating conditions. Results show that NOx and soot emissions decrease significantly for pentanol with comparable efficiencies under single injection strategy without EGR (exhaust gas recirculation). Especially, the lowest NOx emission is 0.23 g/kW h while the soot is negligible for pentanol at 1600 rpm and 0.6 MPa IMEP (Indicated Mean Effective Pressure). Pentanol fuel offers obvious characteristics to achieve a smoother heat release rate with reduced peak pressure-rise rate in contrast to the diesel fuel.