A comparative study of ethanol and methanol blends on performance and emissions on BSIV and BSVI class of vehicles

The quest for alternate fuels has led many researchers to evaluate various alcohols as an immediate substitute for gasoline. Among the alcohols, ethanol has received a lot of popularity as it can be produced from biomass feeds such as sugarcane and corn. Several countries have made it mandatory to blend at least 10% of ethanol in gasoline. However, the source of feedstock for ethanol production is posing a threat to food security. In order to restrain this problem, a few countries are promoting the use of methanol as an alternative fuel. Methanol can be obtained by processing naturally available biomass resources, much of which is waste material. Methanol-gasoline blends have been found to have a high octane number, good performance and lower carbon emissions, making it an excellent alternative fuel for engines. In the present study, a comparative analysis was carried out to evaluate the performance and emissions from unmodified vehicles using lower concentrations (up to 20%) of ethanol and methanol blends in gasoline. The studies were carried out on two classes of vehicles BSIV (Euro IV) and BSVI (Euro VI) which typically plie on roads of India. The tests have been performed on a chassis dynamometer, with the vehicle running on a MIDC test cycle. The emissions from the vehicle are collected and analysed for various regulated and unregulated emissions. Performance parameters like Max Power, acceleration, fuel economy and emission parameters like CO2, CO, HC, NOx and also a few of the unregulated emissions like methane, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde etc. have been compared. The report concludes as to which fuel blend would be suitable for the different classes of vehicles.