Experimental Study on Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition Operation by Burning Dimethyl Ether and Methanol

In this paper, a new approach to burning methanol in engine is proposed, in which the engine burns dimethyl ether (DME) and methanol dual fuel in homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) mode, and DME is converted from methanol. Combustion, engine performance, and pollutant emissions of the new HCCI combustion system were investigated. The results show that the stable HCCI operation of DME/methanol can be obtained over a quite broad speed and load region. Both DME and methanol affect HCCI combustion strongly, and by regulating DME/methanol proportions the HCCI combustion process could be controlled effectively. NOx emissions are, very low overall, while HC and CO emissions are much higher than that in conventional compression ignition engines. An appropriate optimal HCCI operation can be obtained by controlling the DME and methanol supply according to operating conditions.