Experimental investigation of SI engine characteristics using Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) – Gasoline blends and optimization using Particle Swarm Optimization

This study conducts an experimental investigation of spark ignition (SI) engine characteristics using gasoline blended with Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) that act as hydrogen and oxygen carriers. The number of experiments is planned and executed according to a design of experiments with full-factorial design, wherein ABE blend percentage and speed are taken as input parameters and brake thermal efficiency (BTE), emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) are taken as the responses. In the present study, a multi-objective optimization technique, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), is used to optimize spark ignition engine performance and emission parameters. The results predicted by the regression model are compared with the experimental results. PSO is used to study the Pareto front of BTE, CO, HC, and NOx, respectively. The results indicated that when the engine is run at 1500 rpm, with the fuel blend having 5.4% ethanol, a minimum value of 0.58% CO, 211 ppm of HC are obtained, giving a maximum BTE of 28%. Similarly, when the engine is run at 2264 rpm with a 5% ethanol blend, minimum NOx emission of 1029 ppm and a maximum BTE of 30% are obtained.