EFFECT OF LOWER ETHANOL GASOLINE BLENDS ON PERFORMANCE AND EMISSION CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SINGLE CYLINDER SI ENGINE

Alcohols, basically ethanol is considered as a leading alternative fuel for automotive application because of its ability to reduce the air pollution and cost of the fuel. This paper investigates the effect of lower ethanol gasoline blends (up to 20% by volume) on performance and emission characteristics of the single cylinder four stroke SI engine. Tests were carried out for power, torque, fuel consumption and brake mean effective pressure, while exhaust emissions were analyzed for CO, CO2, and HC by using different ethanol gasoline blends on volume basis at wide open throttle and variable engine speed from 4000 to 8000 rpm. Results were compared with the pure gasoline. It showed that as the ethanol content increases the power, torque, fuel consumption, brake mean effective pressure and CO2 emission while reduces HC and CO emission