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Facing the CO2 emission reduction challenge, the combination of downsizing and turbocharging appears as one of the most promising solution for the development of high efficiency gasoline engines. In this context, as knock resistance is a major issue, limiting the performances of turbocharged downsized gasoline engines, fuel properties are more than ever key parameters to achieve high performances and low fuel consumption's levels. This paper presents a combustion study carried out into the GSM consortium of fuel quality effects on the performances of a downsized turbocharged Direct Injection SI engine. The formulation of two adapted fuel matrix has allowed to separate and evaluate the impacts of three major fuel properties: Research Octane Number (RON), Motor Octane Number (MON) and Latent Heat of Vaporization (LHV). Engine tests were performed on a single cylinder engine at steady state operating condition.

This paper presents a combustion study of gasoline anti-knock quality effects on turbocharged MPI SI engine performances. A comparative analysis between many fuels covering various Research Octane Number (RON), Motor Octane Number (MON) and sensitivity (RON-MON) is described. The study was conducted on steady state test bench, using a four cylinder 2 L engine. In turbocharged gasoline engines, knock resistance is more than ever a crucial issue to achieve high performance and good customer's consumption level. Octane level is therefore a fuel key parameter. Considering thermodynamic aspects of such combustion at full load, performances, fuel consumption and engine thermal strains are evaluated for each tested fuel. An important influence of RON at iso sensitivity was observed. Because of the extreme conditions met on turbocharged gasoline engine, the impact of RON is exacerbated on such engine and illustrates the great benefits of an increase RON fuel.

Since 1997 a lot of testing programmes on engine and vehicles test benches has been carried out to prove the environmental effects of this emulsified fuel (reduction of NOx, PM and black smoke). The introduction on the world-wide market of new engine and/or post-treatment technologies (common rail, unit injectors and Diesel Particulate Filters) designed to meet the increasingly severe emissions standards represents a major challenge to the producers of emulsified fuels. Indeed, the compatibility of the emulsions with these new hardware technologies must clearly be demonstrated if emulsified fuels want to retain their rank amongst the clean fuels offer. This presentation is addressing this issue by giving an outline of the strategy and test procedures which had to be followed in order to check on the compatibility of the emulsion tested with these technologies being introduced across Europe. In addition, DPF soot loading and regeneration have been investigated.

The influence of gasoline quality on exhaust emissions has been evaluated using four modern European gasoline cars with advanced features designed to improve fuel economy and CO2 emissions, including stoichiometric direct injection, lean direct injection and MPI with variable valve actuation. Fuel effects studied included sulphur content, evaluated over a range from 4 to 148 mg/kg, and other gasoline properties, including aromatics content, olefins content, volatility and final boiling point (FBP). All four cars achieved very low emissions levels, with some clear differences between the vehicle technologies. Even at these low emissions levels, all four cars showed very little short-term sensitivity to gasoline sulphur content. The measured effects of the other gasoline properties were small and often conflicting, with differing directional responses for different vehicles and emissions.

1 Since 1997 the ELF group has been working on a new fuel designed in priority for use with urban services (buses, lorries). Basically, it is a diesel/water emulsion stabilised by a series of new additives. A lot of testing programmes on engine and vehicles test benches was carried out. They have clearly shown that with this new fuel there is a reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 30% and black smoke by up to 80%, without any technological modifications being necessary as against EN 590 diesel fuel marketed normally. The water content is, however, the cause of a certain loss in engine performances. Nevertheless, hydrocarbon consumption is reduced by up to 4%. The use of an oxidation catalyst is compatible with a water-diesel emulsified fuel and results in larger emission benefits. Furthermore, a 50 ppm sulphur emulsion with a continuously regenerating particle filter give a particle reduction of 90%.