The Application of E-Fuel Oxymethylene Ether OME1 in a Virtual Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine for Ultra-Low Emissions 2020-01-0349

For long haul transport, diesel engine due to its low fuel consumption and low operating costs will remain dominant over a long term. In order to achieve CO2 neutrality, the use of electricity-based, synthetic fuels (e-fuels) provides a solution. Especially the group of oxymethylene ethers (OME) is given much attention because of its soot-free combustion. However, the new fuel properties and the changed combustion characteristics place new demands on engine design. Meanwhile, the use of new fuels also creates new degrees of freedom to operate diesel engines. In this work, the application of dimethoxymethane (OME₁) is investigated by means of 1D simulation at three operating points in a truck diesel engine. The subsystems of fuel injection, air path and exhaust gas are sequentially adjusted for the purpose of low emissions, especially for low nitrogen oxides (NOx). Thanks to the inexistent soot-NOx trade-off, NOx can be considerably reduced by high exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) at a nearly stoichiometric operation. In addition, conceivable configurations of exhaust after-treatment system are analyzed. At last, a holistic layout of a future OME-powered engine is proposed.