Methyl ether engine research for ultraclean combustion under efficient injection and ignition control

废气排放的控制面临着一个不断变化的目标，一旦达到现有的监管标准，这个目标就会变得更加严格。汽车发动机的主要受管制污染物是氮氧化物（NOx）、颗粒物（PM）、总碳氢化合物（THC）和一氧化碳（CO）。燃油效率和二氧化碳排放的规定是在欧VI和美国5排放法规中，与低碳汽车的研究相一致。为了满足全球对低碳、更高效、更清洁发动机的液体运输燃料日益增长的需求，甲基醚，即二甲醚（DME）和甲氧甲烷醚（OME）已成为柴油燃料的最佳替代品，因为生物燃料生产的产量越来越高。该研究项目的重点是系统调查和评估甲基醚作为柴油发动机替代燃料的可行性，使用福特卡车发动机模型。二甲醚和OME是无烟燃烧燃料。二甲醚发动机的能量密度较低，加油和喷射系统与液化丙烷发动机相似，但在柴油应用中具有兼容的发动机性能，因此在后处理和燃料管理方面相对具有成本效益。在福特欧洲项目专注于二甲醚乘用车的同时，福特加拿大公司正在率先引入燃料供应商、发动机专业知识和供应链来开发二甲醚/二甲醚皮卡，并展示二甲醚发动机在加拿大进行道路测试的生产能力。拟议的研究将包括二甲醚/OME燃料对清洁燃烧控制和排放特性的影响，从加油管理、增压、喷射、喷雾、点火、空气管理到燃烧行为和污染物形成历史。拟议的工业-学术合作将解决开发DME/OME引擎技术的挑战。目标发动机将在2-3年后用于示范车辆。5年后的结果将是福特示范DME车辆的道路测试。

The control of exhaust emissions are facing a moving target that gets ever more stringent once an existing regulation standard is about to be met. The primary regulated pollutants for automotive engines are the nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matters (PM), total hydrocarbons (THC), and carbon monoxide (CO). The regulations on fuel efficiency and CO2 emission are in the Euro VI and US5 emission regulations in concert with low carbon vehicles research. To meet the growing global demand for liquid transportation fuels with lower-carbon footage, more efficient, and cleaner-burning engines, methyl ether, i.e., dimethyl ether (DME) and oxymethylene ether (OME) have become an optimal replacement for diesel fuel as the fuel production from bio-sources are gaining better yield. The research project focuses on the systematic investigation and assessment of the feasibility of methyl ethers as alternative fuels in diesel engines using Ford truck engine models. DME and OME are soot-free burning fuels. The DME engines have compatible engine performance in diesel application despite of lower energy density and similar fueling and injection system to liquefied propane gas (LPG) engines, thus relatively cost-effective in after-treatment and fuel management. In parallel with the Ford Europe project which focuses on DME passenger cars, Ford Canada is taking the lead on bringing the fuel suppliers, engine expertise and supply chains to develop DME/OME pick-up trucks, and to demonstrate the DME engine production ability for on-road testing in Canada. The proposed research will include DME/OME fuel impacts on clean combustion control and emission characteristics from fueling management, boost, injection, spray, ignition, and air management to combustion behavior and pollutant formation history. The proposed industry-academic collaborations will address the challenges in developing the DME/OME engine technologies. The targeted engine will be used on the demonstration vehicles after 2-3 years. The outcomes after 5 years will be Ford demonstration DME vehicles on the road tests.