Interviews

Knowledge transfer for energy-efficient future fuels: The Marie Curie FP6 industry–academia strategic partnership

02/12/2007

eStrategies Europe

The drive towards more efficient use of transport fuels has led to the creation of a major pan-European research network that will address the question of whether the industry is fully exploiting engine technology. The network is already uncovering some interesting findings.

The network was created in March 2007 through the European Union’s (EU) Marie Curie FP6 initiative, which is funding two major engine-efficiency research programmes. eStrategies Europe finds out more from Lionel Clarke, Global Strategic Programme Manager, and Gautam Kalghatgi, Principal Scientist, both with Shell Global Solutions (UK).

 eS: The EU has targets for improving local air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change. Is that the driver for these engine-efficiency programmes?

Clarke: Ultimately, yes. The first programme is focused on developing sustainable fuels and lubricants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve sustainability, for example by introducing biofuel components. The second seeks to unlock improvements in engine efficiency and tailpipe emissions through the development of new engine concepts in tandem with new fuel designs. Improved engine efficiency translates into lower fuel consumption and hence a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

But the programmes were actually prompted by some significant new developments in our understanding of fuel combustion in modern advanced engines that mean it is the right time for concerted research to understand whether we are getting the best out of our engines.

For instance, in the case of a gasoline engine, conventional thinking says that the higher a fuel’s research octane number (RON) and its motor octane number (MON), the better the engine performance. But, recently, the industry has been finding that with modern engines – operating at higher pressures – for a given RON, lowering MON can enhance performance.

So, although the concept of octane has served us well for 80 years or so, it may be increasingly inadequate as we move forward. Findings like this have prompted us to review our fundamental understanding of combustion so that we can provide fuels that offer genuinely improved performance rather than just meeting the specifications. Through these Marie Curie programmes, we are making valuable inroads into acquiring that understanding.

eS: That could clearly have profound implications for the future manufacture of gasoline. Do the scopes of these programmes also extend to diesel engines?

Kalghatgi: Absolutely. There is concern within the industry about the ability of existing diesel engine technology to meet the stringent emissions legislation that is on the horizon.

We are seeing diesel engines becoming more and more complicated, as their designers strive to meet their emissions mandates. Particulates and nitrogen oxides in the exhaust are major challenges for diesel engines because the fuel is not mixed with air before combustion.

As a result, diesel engine technology is changing, and the industry is looking at the use of premixed combustion techniques. This is very difficult with diesel fuel because it ignites very soon after injection.

To prevent this premature ignition, you have to do difficult things in the engine. For instance, you can use very high injection pressures to increase the mixing rate and get rapid admixture before ignition. Or you can slow combustion down by feeding back in a part of the exhaust. These things make the diesel engine much more complicated than it has been in the past.

Even then, you need aftertreatment systems such as particle and nitrogen oxide traps. This adds more complexity – and cost – to the diesel engine, and comes with a fuel-efficiency penalty.

But our research is showing that if you use a fuel that is very different to diesel, many of these things become much easier. In fact, you can unlock specific performance benefits from diesel engines if you use gasoline.

eS: So gasoline is the best fuel for advanced diesel engines?

Kalghatgi: Well let us be clear. We are not advocating that people immediately go and fill their tanks from a different pump – with today’s engine designs, misfuelling is a recipe for causing serious damage! But we think that the industry should be open to this concept and new ways of thinking about future fuel and engine design. A lot of things need to happen first, however.

Gasoline and diesel engines have always been very different beasts. But they are gradually moving towards each other, and, in the future, the combustion concept could be a combination of the best aspects of both. It is conceivable that you could have a single type of engine with an on-board computer that updates the injection timings, and so on, to adapt to the fuel type that is being used.

eS: What value will this work deliver for the EU?

Clarke: These programmes aim to advance the body of scientific knowledge in the area of engine efficiency. Hopefully, the industry will one day be able to leverage this information to deliver better-performing fuels and engines.

Knowledge transfer is another key objective. The scheme has created a pan-European industry–academia network of people working on a common theme. It has catalysed many constructive relationships and collaborations between the participating universities. That is a really valuable outcome.

The two programmes comprise 11 projects involving 11 leading research institutions from across Europe. The research fellows are working on a range of topics including theoretical chemical modelling, engine modelling and engine measurement studies of auto-ignition and premixed combustion, as well as other topics in lubrication science. Most of the projects are interlinked – that is the nature of these specialisms – so knowledge transfer and dissemination are vital.

Kalghatgi: For instance, Neal Morgan (Cambridge University, UK) is modelling how soot growth varies according to a fuel’s chemical composition. This project is intrinsically linked to a study by Crina Heghes (Heidelberg University, Germany) of the chemical mechanisms for pre-ignition, as well as the work of Johan Andrae (Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, Sweden) on developing chemical kinetic schemes for gasoline-like fuels.

Each research fellow spends up to two years, funded by the EU, at the Shell Technology Centre in Chester, UK, or at Shell PAE Labor in Hamburg, Germany. To facilitate technology transfer, the Shell Group (Shell) will pay for a further year’s research back at the fellow’s home institution.

eS: Why is Shell doing this?

Clarke: As a major energy supplier, Shell strives to develop cleaner, more environmentally friendly fuels and lubricants.

But we also need to understand whether such radical developments will indeed happen or simply remain on the drawing board. They could have huge implications for fuel manufacturing and marketing, but engine design and new fuels R&D work on very long cycles. We have to be looking ahead to make certain that we have an informed view of what the future holds. All the indications are that these Marie Curie research programmes are helping us to unlock knowledge that will be valuable to the industry as a whole.