Uncompromisingly Fun to Drive thanks to Synthetic Fuel Blend

Authors

Dr.-Ing. O. Scharrer, Dr.-Ing. P. Wieske, Dr. sc. techn. M. Warth, MAHLE International GmbH, Stuttgart;
Dipl.-Ing. D. Schwarzenthal, Dipl.-Ing. (FH) K. Dums, Dipl.-Ing. T. Wasserbäch, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Weissach

Year

2019

Print Info

Fortschritt-Berichte VDI, Reihe 12, Nr. 811

Summary

Alternative fuels from biological or electrical sources have the currently untapped potential to further reduce transportation-related CO₂ emissions in, for example, the existing vehicle population. As a supplement to e-mobility, they are absolutely necessary to achieve the Paris climate goals.
The two greatest challenges are the current lack of industrial capacity to produce large
quantities of synthetic fuels and the absence of investment incentives. At present, it is thus not possible to apply the CO₂ benefits of these fuels to OEM fleet consumption levels. A market launch of synthetic fuels should therefore be the first step, via a balanced admixture to current fuels under the EN 228 standard. In a second step, additional synthetic fuels could be considered in an expansion of EN 228. One candidate is dimethyl carbonate (DMC), which can be attractive for further efficiency improvements in future developments due to its high knock resistance and mixture heating value. Together with PORSCHE, MAHLE is investigating the feasibility of DMC blends on an engine test bench and in a vehicle. In a first step, the backward compatibility of DMC blends with no changes in hardware or software is being determined on an engine test bench and in the vehicle. Drivability and emission effects are being examined by means of test drives and vehicle roller tests. The outlook shows the potential of DMC blends with adapted hardware and software on the engine test bench and derives any effects on the engine components.