Methane Carbon Dioxide Mixtures as a Fuel

The presence of carbon dioxide with methane is often encountered to varying proportions in numerous natural, industrial and bio-gases. The paper discusses how such a presence modifies significantly the thermodynamic, kinetic and combustion characteristics of methane in air. Some experimental results are presented showing how the performance of gas fuelled engines of the spark ignition and compression ignition types is adversely affected by the increasing presence of carbon dioxide with the methane. The bases for these trends are discussed and some guidelines towards alleviating the adverse effects of the presence of carbon dioxide in such fuel mixtures are presented