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The Other Energy Sources
Published in Anco S. Blazev, Power Generation and the Environment, 2021
As a byproduct, bio-char is produced that can be used as solid fuel, or applied on land as a measure of carbon sequestration and soil fertilization. The oil can be processed in ways similar to crude oil, and several research efforts are underway to upgrade pyrolysis oil to advanced biofuels. Dimethylether (DME) is another biofuel that can be produced from methanol through the process of catalytic dehydration, or it can be produced from syngas through gasifying ligno-cellulosic and other biomass feedstocks. Production of DME from gasification of biomass is in the demonstration stage, and the first plant started production in September 2010 in Sweden (Chemrec, 2010). DME is the simplest ether and can be used as a substitute for propane in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used as fuel, and it is a promising fuel in diesel engines, due to its high cetane number.Biobutanol is used as a fuel in a number of applications, including unmodified internal combustion engines. It has a greater energy density (29.2 MJ/l) and is more similar to gasoline than ethanol, and could thus be distributed through existing gasoline infrastructure.
Introduction to Chemistry of Diesel Fuels
Published in Chunshan Song, Chang S. Hsu, Isao Mochida, Chemistry of Diesel Fuels, 2020
Dimethyl ether (DME) is an alternative fuel for diesel engine. DME can be made from methanol by a catalytic dehydration reaction, or by single-step synthesis using syngas, which couple methanol synthesis and DME synthesis from methanol in one stage but using a hybrid catalyst system. DME is a colorless and nontoxic gas and has an auto-ignition temperature of 235 °C. Some ethers have high cetane numbers and are excellent candidates as alternative diesel fuels and blending components for diesel fuels. DME has a cetane number of > 55 and an energy density of 6900 kcal/kg, whereas those of methanol are only 5 and 4800 kcal/kg, respectively[170]. Alcohol has a low cetane number, but the ether produced from intermolecular dehydration of alcohol has a high cetane number. Therefore, alcohol is not a good diesel fuel, although it is an excellent alternative fuel for gasoline engine.
Mobile sources
Published in Abhishek Tiwary, Ian Williams, Air Pollution, 2018
Dimethyl ether (DME) is a liquefied gas with handling characteristics similar to propane and butane, but with a much lower auto ignition temperature. Hence, it is suitable as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. The DME molecule consists of two methyl groups separated by an oxygen atom (H3C-O-CH3). On a large scale, DME can be produced in a similar manner to methanol via synthesis gas (a mixture of CO, CO2 and H2) from a variety of feedstock including (remote) natural gas, coal, heavy residual oil, waste and biomass. Particulate emission is very low, because of the absence of carbon–carbon bonds and the significant oxygen content. Formation of components such as PAH and Benzene, Toluene, Xylene (BTX) is reduced. Low NOx emission is possible through fuel injection rate shaping and exhaust gas recirculation.
The effects of dimethyl ether enriched air (DMEA) on exhaust pollutants and performance characteristics of an old generation diesel engine
Published in International Journal of Sustainable Engineering, 2021
Doan Nguyen Cong, Khanh Nguyen Duc, Vinh Nguyen
Among alternative fuel applied in ICE, dimethyl ether (DME) is known as one of the widely used sustainable energy source in vehicular diesel engines. DME has been considered as green energy with ODP (Ozone Depletion Potential) and GWP (Global Warming Potential) index are approximately zero. The usage of DME in the compress ignition engine resulted in high thermal efficiency and ultra-low emission as clearly presented in the research of Theinnoi, Suksompong, and Temwutthikun (2017). Other researchers attended in studies on using DME as an alternative fuel in diesel engines in order to reduce fossil fuel consumption as well as exhaust pollutants (Golovitchev, Nordin, and Chomiak 1998; Sorenson 2001). Many comparative studies on characteristics of DME and other traditional fuels had been carried out (Verbeek and Van Der Weide 1997; Thomas et al. 2014; Sezer 2011). While, others considered about physical and chemical properties (Wakai et al. 1999), fuel-supplying methods (Bek and Sorenson 2001), injection strategies and combustion characteristics (Kim et al. 2008); and the usage of DME in a diesel engine as dual fuel or blend with conventional one or with other alternative fuels (Lee et al. 2011; Zhao et al. 2014).
Advances in state-of-art valorization technologies for captured CO2 toward sustainable carbon cycle
Published in Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2018
Shu-Yuan Pan, Pen-Chi Chiang, Weibin Pan, Hyunook Kim
CO2 is considered a nontoxic and abundant C1 feedstock. Numerous fuels and chemicals can be produced in a way of chemically catalytic recycling of CO2. On the other hand, the use of hydrogen from renewable energy to convert CO2 to organic fuels for transport has been considered as a new way to store excess renewable electricity (Centi et al., 2013). Extensive studies have been conducted to evaluate the engineering performance of recycling CO2 into sustainable hydrocarbon fuels using renewables (Graves, 2010). Under this framework, a great deal of environmental benefits could be expected. According to the life cycle analysis, use of SOFT such as methanol and dimethyl ether (DME) could reduce GHG emissions by 82−86%, minimize other criteria pollutants (e.g., SOx and NOx), and reduce fossil fuel depletion by 82−91% (Matzen and Demirel, 2016).
The direct dimethyl ether (DME) synthesis process from syngas I. Process feasibility and chemical synergy in one-step LPDMEtm process
Published in Petroleum Science and Technology, 2018
The direct, one-step DME process as described in this paper and the various elements that comprise the current research areas on bench-scale and pilot scale (principally at UA and APCI research in the United States and Halder Topsoe in Denmark) has now formally made the transitional debut at the commercial scale. It is clear that the LPDMEtm and LPMeOHtm processes both offer very cost-effective alternatives to vapor phase modes of operation and provide significant operational and capital savings in plant operations. Dimethyl ether (DME) is being touted for its potential as a clean-burning alternative fuel and a “green” substitute for diesel, as well as a LPG substitute, mainly in Southeast Asia.