Open AccessExperimental and economic assessment of alkaline electrolyzer for dual-fuel operation in low-displacement diesel engines
Author(s) -
Daniel Maestre-Cambronel,
Brando Hernández,
Jorge Duarte Forero
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
dyna
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.164
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 2346-2183
pISSN - 0012-7353
DOI - 10.15446/dyna.v88n219.92439
Subject(s) - diesel fuel , electrolysis , electrolyte , fuel efficiency , biodiesel , automotive engineering , alkaline water electrolysis , environmental science , hydrogen production , brake specific fuel consumption , diesel engine , waste management , hydrogen , materials science , chemistry , engineering , catalysis , electrode , biochemistry , organic chemistry
This investigation evaluated the integration of an alkaline electrolyzer for dual-fuel operation in an experimental test bench of a diesel engine from a techno-economic viewpoint. The characterization of the electrolyzer operation indicated that higher electrolyte (KOH) concentrations (30 – 40% w/w) improve the overall performance since less voltage is required for electrolysis, thus featuring higher efficiencies (50 – 60%) and hydrogen production (4 – 6 LPM). The economic analysis demonstrated that hydrogen cost remains competitive (4.3 - 5.6 USD/kg), and it is greatly dependent on the electrolyte concentration. Additionally, the operation of the engine with hydrogen injection at 20 LPM and a palm biodiesel blend reduced the fuel consumption rate between 10 – 31% depending on the load rate when compared to pure diesel. In contrast, dual-fuel operation generated a minor reduction in fuel conversion efficiency (< 5%), which reflects on the power output. Overall, this technology stands as a promising avenue to improve the fuel utilization ratio.