Ammonia/hydrogen mixtures in an SI-engine: Engine performance and analysis of a proposed fuel system

In recent years there has been increasing focus on using metal ammine complexes for ammonia storage. In this paper a fuel system for ammonia fuelled internal combustion engines using metal ammine complexes as ammonia storage is analyzed. The use of ammonia/hydrogen mixtures as an SI-engine fuel is investigated in the same context. Ammonia and hydrogen were introduced into the intake manifold of a CFR-engine. Series of experiments with varying excess air ratio and different ammonia to hydrogen ratios was conducted. This showed that a fuel mixture with 10 vol.% hydrogen performs best with respect to efficiency and power. A comparison with gasoline was made, which showed efficiencies and power increased due to the possibility of a higher compression ratio. The system analysis showed that it is possible to cover a major part of the necessary heat using the exhaust heat. It is proposed to reduce the high NOx emissions using SCR as exhaust after treatment.