Dimethyl Ether (DME)-Fueled Shuttle Bus Demonstration Project Annual Report (open access)

Dimethyl Ether (DME)-Fueled Shuttle Bus Demonstration Project Annual Report

The objectives of this research and demonstration program are to convert a campus shuttle bus to operation on dimethyl ether, a potential ultra-clean alternative diesel fuel. To accomplish this objective, this project includes laboratory evaluation of a fuel conversion strategy, as well as, field demonstration of the DME-fueled shuttle bus. Since DME is a fuel with no lubricity (i.e., it does not possess the lubricating quality of diesel fuel), conventional fuel delivery and fuel injection systems are not compatible with dimethyl ether. Therefore, to operate a diesel engine on DME one must develop a fuel-tolerant injection system, or find a way to provide the necessary lubricity to the DME. In this project, they have chosen the latter strategy in order to achieve the objective with minimal need to modify the engine. The strategy is to blend DME with diesel fuel, to obtain the necessary lubricity to protect the fuel injection system and to achieve low emissions. The laboratory studies have included work with a Navistar V-8 turbodiesel engine, demonstration of engine operation on DME-diesel blends and instrumentation for evaluating fuel properties. The field studies have involved performance, efficiency and emissions measurements with the Champion Motorcoach ''Defender'' shuttle bus which will …
Date: April 1, 2003
Creator: Chapman, Elana M.; Bhide, Shirish; Stefanik, Jennifer; Boehman, Andre L. & Klinikowski, David
System: The UNT Digital Library
Dimethyl Ether (DME)-Fueled Shuttle Bus Demonstration Project Annual Report (open access)

Dimethyl Ether (DME)-Fueled Shuttle Bus Demonstration Project Annual Report

The objectives of this research and demonstration program are to convert a campus shuttle bus to operation on dimethyl ether, a potential ultra-clean alternative diesel fuel. To accomplish this objective, this project includes laboratory evaluation of a fuel conversion strategy, as well as field demonstration of the DME-fueled shuttle bus. Since DME is a fuel with no lubricity (i.e., it does not possess the lubricating quality of diesel fuel), conventional fuel delivery and fuel injection systems are not compatible with dimethyl ether. Therefore, to operate a diesel engine on DME one must develop a fuel-tolerant injection system, or find a way to provide the necessary lubricity to the DME. In this project, they have chosen the latter strategy in order to achieve the objective with minimal need to modify the engine. The strategy is to blend DME with diesel fuel, to obtain the necessary lubricity to protect the fuel injection system and to achieve low emissions. Within the Combustion Laboratory of the Penn State Energy Institute, they have installed and equipped a Navistar V-8 direct-injection turbodiesel engine for measurement of gaseous and particulate emissions and examination of the impact of fuel composition on diesel combustion. They have also reconfigured a …
Date: April 1, 2003
Creator: Chapman, Elana M.; Bhide, Shirish; Boehman, Andre L. & Klinikowski, David
System: The UNT Digital Library
Dimethyl Ether (DME)-Fueled Shuttle Bus Demonstration Project Annual Report (open access)

Dimethyl Ether (DME)-Fueled Shuttle Bus Demonstration Project Annual Report

The objectives of this research and demonstration program are to convert a campus shuttle bus to operation on dimethyl ether, a potential ultra-clean alternative diesel fuel. To accomplish this objective, this project includes laboratory evaluation of a fuel conversion strategy, as well as, field demonstration of the DME-fueled shuttle bus. Since DME is a fuel with no lubricity (i.e., it does not possess the lubricating quality of diesel fuel), conventional fuel delivery and fuel injection systems are not compatible with dimethylether. Therefore, to operate a diesel engine on DME one must develop a fuel-tolerant injection system, or find a way to provide the necessary lubricity to the DME. In this project, they have chosen the latter strategy in order to achieve the objective with minimal need to modify the engine. The strategy is to blend DME with diesel fuel, to obtain the necessary lubricity to protect the fuel injection system and to achieve low emissions. The bulk of the efforts over the past year were focused on the conversion of the campus shuttle bus. This process, started in August 2001, took until April 2002 to complete. The process culminated in an event to celebrate the launching of the shuttle bus …
Date: April 1, 2003
Creator: Chapman, Elana M.; Bhide, Shirish; Stefanik, Jennifer; Glunt, Howard; Boehman, Andre L.; Homan, Allen et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library