Combustion characterization in a single cylinder engine with mid-level hydrated ethanol–gasoline blended fuels

The objective of this study is to reveal quantitative analysis of exhaust emissions and engine performance of mid-level (0–40% volume) hydrous ethanol as a practical fuel to be used in lieu of traditional anhydrous ethanol–gasoline blends. Tests were performed in a single cylinder engine with air/fuel mixture equivalence ratio varying from 0.9 to 1.1. Results show that higher pressures and lower intake temperatures were achieved with the hydrated ethanol blends. Moreover, exhaust heat rate, combustion efficiency, and combustion thermal efficiency were not affected negatively by the water content. The practical consequence of burning hydrous fuel was reduced nitrogen oxides emissions that seem to decrease as the water content in the fuels increases.