Emission of alcohols and carbonyl compounds from a spark ignition engine. Influence of fuel and air/fuel equivalence ratio.

A spark ignition engine was used to study the impact of fuel composition and of the air/fuel equivalence (lambda) ratio on exhaust emissions of alcohols and aldehydes/ketones. Fuel blends contained eight hydrocarbons (n-hexane, 1-hexene, cyclohexane, n-octane, isooctane, toluene, o-xylene, and ethylbenzene (ETB)) and four oxygenated compounds (methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, and methyl tert butyl ether (MTBE)). Exhaust methanol is principally produced from fuel methanol and MTBE but also from ethanol, 2-propanol, isooctane, and hexane. Exhaust ethanol and 2-propanol are produced only from the respective fuel compounds. Exhaust formaldehyde is mainly produced from fuel methanol, acetaldehyde from fuel ethanol, and propionaldehyde from straight-chain hydrocarbons. Exhaust acroleine comes from fuel 1-hexene, acetone from 2-propanol, n-hexane, n-octane, isooctane, and MTBE. Exhaust crotonaldehyde comes from fuel 1-hexene, cyclohexane, n-hexane, and n-octane, methacroleine from fuel isooctane, and benzaldehyde from fuel aromatics. Light pollutants (C1-C2) are most likely formed from intermediate species which are quite independent of the fuel composition. An increase in A increases the exhaust concentration of acroleine, crotonaldehyde, methacroleine, and decreases these of the three alcohols for the alcohol-blended fuels. The concentration of methanol, formaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and benzaldehyde is a maximum atstoichiometry. The exhaust concentration of acetaldehyde and acetone presents a complex behavior: it increases in some cases, decreases in others, or presents a maximum at stoichiometry. The concentration of four aldehydes (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and benzaldehyde) is also linked with the exhaust temperature and fuel H/C ratio.