Supercritical fuel injection could reduce diesel emissions

摘要

Map of diesel combustion reactions shows the local fuel-air composition, or equivalence ratio, at various temperatures. Incomplete mixing leads to soot, whereas high temperatures create nitrogen oxides - a situation known as the "diesel dilemma." In the Syracuse method, a supercritical fuel-EGR mixture combines completely before igniting (at a lower fuel/air ratio) and the temperature can rise as the mixture remains near stoichiometric composition, thus avoiding soot and NOx. Future diesel engines that exploit a novel state of matter in which heated and compressed diesel fuel behaves both like a liquid and a gas could release as much as 80% fewer exhaust emissions while running 10% more efficiently, according to chemists at Syracuse University.