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In order to meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) regulations and Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) emission regulations, Indian auto original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are adopting low viscosity engine/axle/transmission oils to achieve overall fuel efficiency gain. Attaining fuel economy by reducing oil viscosity is already established for passenger car motor oils (PCMOs) but is in its initial phase for heavy-duty diesel engine oils (HDDEOs). Now SAE 15W-40 is the most widely used viscosity grade by volume for HDDEO. In India, a large number of old vehicles meeting BS II, BS III and BS IV norms exists and require sustainable strategy to reduce fuel consumption, as well as overall greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, authors discussed the development of low viscosity heavy duty diesel engine oil in 10W-30 viscometrics meeting API CH4 specification.

In view of the depletion of energy and environmental pollution, dual fuel technology has caught the attention of researchers as a viable technology keeping in mind the increased availability of fuels like Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). It is an ecologically friendly technology due to lower particulate matter (PM) and smoke emissions and retains the efficiency of diesel combustion. Generally, dual fuel technology has been prevalent for large engines like marine, locomotive and stationary engines. However, its use for automotive engines has been limited in the past due to constraints of the limited supply of alternative fuels. CNG is a practical fuel under dual-fuel mode operation, with varying degree of success. The induction method prevents a premixed natural gas-air mixture, minimizes the volumetric efficiency and results in a loss of power at higher speeds.

In the current scenario of global emissions, growing demand for petroleum fuels and highly volatile crude prices, the current usage of petroleum fuel must be curbed to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and to reduce environmental pollution several alternative fuels are being explored. Butanol is one of the potential alternative fuels that can be used in IC engines in the same way of conventional fuels for reducing conventional fuels. An experimental study was conducted to establish the impact of n-butanol as a blending component for gasoline fuel in passenger car on chassis dynamometer. Commercial gasoline meeting Euro-IV fuel standards was used as the base fuel while n-butanol was used as the blending component in the ratio of 5, 10 & 20% by volume. The vehicle was tested on chassis dynamometer for fuel evaluation in respect of fuel economy, regulated and un-regulation emissions under standard driving cycle of NEDC.

N-butanol is a promising alternative fuel which needs no engine modification when used as a blend with diesel. The miscibility of n-butanol with diesel is excellent in a wide range of blending ratios. N-butanol has high oxygen content and a comparable energy content, specific gravity and viscosity to that of diesel, which makes it attractive for diesel engines as an alternative fuel. An experimental investigation was conducted to assess the performance of a new generation passenger car with respect to power, fuel economy (FE) and mass emission using 5, 10 and 20 percent (by vol.) n-butanol blends with diesel (NB). Computer controlled DC motor driven chassis dynamometer, AVL AMA I60 mass emission measuring system and AVL FSN smoke meter were used for measuring wide open throttle (WOT) power, road load simulation (RLS) fuel economy, mass emissions and smoke in WOT and steady speed driving conditions.

Biodiesel derived from non-edible vegetable oils/tree borne oils hold potential for meeting India's future energy needs by part substitution of Diesel Fuel. This paper investigates performance of 5% blend of commercially available biodiesel (B5) in diesel as fuel for heavy duty vehicles. The test fuel was evaluated on buses with different aspiration technologies viz. naturally aspirated and turbo charged, and the same was compared with neat commercial diesel under different operating conditions like driving cycle, road load simulation (RLS) and wide open throttle (WOT) on chassis dynamometer for power, fuel economy, smoke and soot particle number concentration. Fuel economy was observed to be comparable with B5 in naturally aspirated bus while better fuel economy was observed in case of Turbo charged bus with B5. However, there was a marginal drop in the WOT power (vehicle) with B5 fuel in naturally aspirated bus while the drop was higher with Turbo charged bus.

This study focused on the small size nano-particulates that pose the greatest risk to human health for which significant uncertainties remain. Diesel engine powered vehicles are generally considered to be primary contributors of particulate matter and consequent health hazards as compared to particulates emitted by gasoline and gas driven vehicles. This paper discusses the findings of particulate emissions with respect to number and size distribution with variables like lubrication system, different fuels on 2-wheelers and 3-wheeler auto rickshaw using electrically low pressure impactor (ELPI). Analysis of particulates with CVS system and direct tail pipe were also done for highlighting the ambiguity in both the measurements. Particle number concentration was found more in the two-stroke engine powered two wheelers.

This paper covers the test work done on the comparative characterization of particulates using different blends of biofuels (like biodiesel and ethanol in diesel fuel) in light commercial vehicle under different operating conditions. The test vehicle selected was equipped with Direct Injection (DI) diesel engine with inline fuel injection pump. Under transient operating condition (Indian Driving Cycle), the results indicate that with increased percentage of biodiesel (upto 20%) in the blend, particulate concentration decreases. However, with 5% ethanol diesel blend, particulate concentration increases when compared with neat diesel as well as biodiesel blends while mass concentrations are lower with both the biofuels as compared to neat diesel. It is observed that the nanoparticles are higher with 5% ethanol diesel in IDC test mode.