ETF webinar explores innovations in fuels, engines, emissions-control systems

Six industry experts shared insights Sept. 19 about the innovations occurring in advanced internal-combustion engines (ICE) and fuels in an Engine Technology Forum webinar available on YouTube.

The focus of the recently recorded webinar was continuing advancements in ICE, emissions controls and fuels.

The panelists discussed how these innovations further improve efficiency and lower emissions for both on- and off-road applications.

In the moderator’s opening remarks, Allen Schaeffer, the executive director of ETF, discussed how complex the energy and climate challenges facing society are, and how there isn’t a singular solution.

“Our sustainable reduced-carbon future depends on a world where zero emission, as well as ICE technologies and fuels, compete and co-exist—just like today,” Schaeffer said.

Steve Howell, founding partner of Marc-IV (M4) consulting and chair of the American Society of Testing and Materials biodiesel task force, highlighted the importance of near-term carbon reduction through use of biobased diesel fuels, the current and projected future state of biobased diesel consumption in the U.S., and work underway to ensure that these fuels meet future emissions standards.

While presently producing over 4 billion gallons of renewable diesel (representing just over 10 percent of the distillate demand in the U.S.), biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel, the industry is investing heavily in expanding feedstocks to achieve industry long-term goals of exceeding 6 billion gallons by 2030 and 15 billion gallons by 2050.

Feedstock capacity can support an additional 1.8 billion gallons of biobased diesel production through 2025.

Howell discussed investigations at Southwest Research Institute that highlighted how renewable fuels are suitable for use in helping to achieve 2027 U.S. EPA and California emissions standards in a heavy-duty engine.

Mary Dery, the performance additives technical director with Innospec, outlined the impact and importance of fuel detergents on petroleum-fueled vehicles and equipment.

Research demonstrates that the use of these compounds reduces emissions and improves performance in engines used in both on- and off-road applications.

Extended times for soot loading and regeneration of particulate-control systems and improvements in fuel consumption were noted with the use of detergents, which clean injectors, enabling engines to perform as designed.

The importance of fuel detergents was not limited to petroleum fuels.

Enhanced performance was also studied and proven when used in conjunction with biobased diesel fuels such as 100 percent renewable diesel.

Ivan Tate, FPT Industrial’s technical-center director, reviewed the innovations in heavy-duty engine technology designed to meet increasingly stringent emissions standards and fuel-efficiency requirements.

He highlighted examples of how sustainability, modularity and flexibility strategies have driven new engine design and performance.

Tate also reviewed examples of progressive innovations and impacts on performance, fuel consumption, weight and braking power of a new engine platform for both natural gas and diesel.

These include lightweighting of engine components through the use of compacted graphite, the reduction of friction through new materials, improvements in the valve-train system, the use of smarter auxiliaries and advanced combustion control and thermal management.

Taken together these innovations have resulted in performance gains of 2 percent to 9 percent in power; 10 percent to 12 percent torque improvement; 5 percent to 7 percent lower fuel consumption; 10 percent weight reduction; and a 29 percent to over 300 percent improvement in braking power. Results were also reviewed from the second year of a three-year project in partnership with Eaton, Tenneco and Oak Ridge National Labs to demonstrate reduced emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Srinu Gunturu, chief engineer at Stanadyne, discussed innovations in injection systems to take ICE to the next level with a focus on new direct-injected propane engines.

Propane has a number of features including lower greenhouse-gas emissions than gasoline or diesel and near-zero particulate emissions that make it an increasingly attractive fuel and engine-technology option to compete in the reduced-carbon future.

Stanadyne has successfully demonstrated the feasibility, durability and performance of a propane direct-injection system.

This has been accomplished by a multistage hardware/software vapor-lock inhibiting system.

Louise Arnold, product-line manager for Johson Matthey, outlined how JM was catalyzing the transition to net-zero through work on lowering transport emissions, transitioning chemicals production and energy systems.

JM’s work builds on the success of its history on emissions-control systems where one in three new cars contains a JM catalytic converter that has helped prevent the emissions of 20 million tons of pollutants each year.

JM’s work on catalysts will enable manufacturers to meet increasingly stringent emissions standards for gasoline, diesel, compressed natural gas and hybrid applications through a variety of new configurations of emissions controls, use of new formulations of materials and improved mixing techniques in the exhaust.

In this webinar, she highlighted a next-generation three-way catalyst that achieves faster light-off and emissions performance while also achieving a 39 percent reduction in the use of platinum-group materials (PGM).

Considerable innovation is also taking place in transforming energy systems including the production of clean hydrogen as well as catalysts to produce sustainable fuels and new stationary emissions-control options and to store and transport renewable energy.

Nick Morley, Tenneco’s engineering director of controls and advanced technology, outlined Tenneco’s efforts to take ICE to the next level, making them cleaner, more efficient and sustainable.

He reviewed three technology packages to help achieve new emissions and efficiency requirements including the use of a fuel burner, electric heater and a dual-dosing and advanced-mixing system.

Achieving emissions control at low loads and temperatures is a key aspect and challenge for meeting future requirements.

Fuel burners are an option that aggressively heats up the aftertreatment to maximize efficiency, enabling the engine to transition to fuel-economy mode sooner.

Electric heaters are another option especially attractive for vehicles with 48-volt battery systems and have simple integration and minimal fuel-economy impacts.

Dual-dosing selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems bring the SCR closer to the engine to take advantage of the available heat, using a known technology with flexibility in packaging and potential for passive regeneration.

Click here to watch the webinar on YouTube.

To view the slides, click here.