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Energies
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Alternative Fuels, Energy, and Environment: Recent Advances and Challenges
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Alternative Fuels, Energy, and Environment: Recent Advances and Challenges

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A4: Bio-Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (3 December 2021) | Viewed by 16664

Special Issue Editors

Dr. S M Ashrafur Rahman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Biofuel Engine Research Facility (BERF), Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
Interests: blend properties; engine performance; emission parameters; CI engine
Dr. Islam Md Rizwanul Fattah

grade E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and I.T., University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
Interests: renewable energy; emissions; nanoparticles; combustion; alternative fuel; machine learning; sustainable materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last few decades, the entire world has been facing two of the most critical threats in its recent history. On the one hand, there is global warming, caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, and on the other hand, there is the foreseen shortage of fossil fuels, which are currently the world's primary energy resource. These are expected to force society to accept important challenges related to energy availability. The application of biofuels in the field of combustion initially appeared to be detached from combustion science, and the emphasis was on upstream biological technologies that would produce renewable fuels capable of substantially reducing the carbon footprint. The idea was that the relatively simple thermochemistry of combustion and the intense turbulent motions would take care of the fuel energy conversion when biofuel was used. However, the naivety of this approach became evident in the field of emission when ethanol and biodiesel were introduced. Even though carbonaceous emissions were reduced, the situation regarding NOx was perplexing, which forced researchers to raise intriguing combustion-related questions. As a result, a fruitful line of research into downstream technologies appeared that was related to biofuel use and expanded beyond emission measurements. The latest research focuses on developing novel technologies that will harness the unique physical and chemical characteristics of these novel biofuels. This will result in reducing uncertainty in energy availability as well as mitigating GHG emissions, thereby reducing the impact on the environment.

We hope that the Special Issue will act as a reference for practitioners of related state-of-the-art research, as an instrumental introduction to the related scientific and technological challenges for the uninitiated, and above all, as a catalyst for further study in biofuel combustion. In particular, this Special Issue warmly welcomes scientific and technically advanced works highlighting any of the topics previously mentioned surrounding biofuel use.

Dr. S M Ashrafur Rahman
Dr. Islam Md Rizwanul Fattah
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • alternative fuels
  • combustion of alternative fuels
  • energy and environment
  • biofuel utilization
  • prospects and challenges of biofuel

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 568 KiB  
Article
Influence of Sustainable Aviation Fuels on the Formation of Contrails and Their Properties
by Mafalda Narciso and João M. Melo de Sousa
Energies 2021, 14(17), 5557; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14175557 - 6 Sep 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3703
Abstract
Condensation trails and contrail cirrus are currently responsible for the largest contribution to radiative forcing in the aviation sector, yet they have lifetimes of only a few hours. Their much shorter lifetimes when compared to long-lived greenhouse gases makes them ideal for the [...] Read more.
Condensation trails and contrail cirrus are currently responsible for the largest contribution to radiative forcing in the aviation sector, yet they have lifetimes of only a few hours. Their much shorter lifetimes when compared to long-lived greenhouse gases makes them ideal for the implementation of short-term mitigation measures. The use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) instead of regular jet fuel has been associated to a reduction in soot particle emissions, leading to a decrease in initial ice crystal numbers in contrails, but also to a possible increase in contrail frequency and contrail ice mass due to higher water vapor emissions. A computational model was used to explore the influence of the variations of soot and water vapor emissions when using SAF and SAF blends in the formation of contrails, their ensuing optical depth, and their lifespan. An increase in frequency of contrails was found in cases where regular jet fuel emissions were close to threshold conditions. Reductions in contrail lifetime of up to 76% were found for contrails with lifetimes of over 30 min, while decreases in optical depth of up to 37% were found for contrails formed in air with a relative humidity of 42% or above. This work provides a better understanding of the potential of SAF as a mitigation measure against the impact of contrails on global warming. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Fuels, Energy, and Environment: Recent Advances and Challenges)
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19 pages, 7218 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Study of Biofuels and Fischer–Tropsch Diesel Blends on the Engine Combustion Performance for Reducing Exhaust Gaseous and Particulate Emissions
by Felipe Andrade Torres, Omid Doustdar, Jose Martin Herreros, Runzhao Li, Robert Poku, Athanasios Tsolakis, Jorge Martins and Silvio A. B. Vieira de Melo
Energies 2021, 14(6), 1538; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14061538 - 10 Mar 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3635
Abstract
The worldwide consumption of fossil hydrocarbons in the road transport sector in 2020 corresponded to roughly half of the overall consumption. However, biofuels have been discreetly contributing to mitigate gaseous emissions and participating in sustainable development, and thus leading to the extending of [...] Read more.
The worldwide consumption of fossil hydrocarbons in the road transport sector in 2020 corresponded to roughly half of the overall consumption. However, biofuels have been discreetly contributing to mitigate gaseous emissions and participating in sustainable development, and thus leading to the extending of the commercial utilization of internal combustion engines. In this scenario, the present work aims at exploring the effects of alternative fuels containing a blend of 15% ethanol and 35% biodiesel with a 50% fossil diesel (E15D50B35) or 50% Fischer–Tropsch (F-T) diesel (E15FTD50B35) on the engine combustion, exhaust emissions (CO, HC, and NOx), particulate emissions characteristics as well as the performance of an aftertreatment system of a common rail diesel engine. It was found that one of the blends (E15FTD50B35) showed more than 30% reduction in PM concentration number, more than 25% reduction in mean particle size, and more than 85% reduction in total PM mass with respect to conventional diesel fuel. Additionally, it was found that the E15FTD50B35 blend reduces gaseous emissions of total hydrocarbons (THC) by more than 25% and NO by 3.8%. The oxidation catalyst was effective in carbonaceous emissions reduction, despite the catalyst light-off being slightly delayed in comparison to diesel fuel blends. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Fuels, Energy, and Environment: Recent Advances and Challenges)
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Review

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35 pages, 1779 KiB  
Review
State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives of Environmentally Friendly Machining Using Biodegradable Cutting Fluids
by M. Naveed, A. Arslan, H. M. A. Javed, T. Manzoor, M. M. Quazi, T. Imran, Z. M. Zulfattah, M. Khurram and I. M. R. Fattah
Energies 2021, 14(16), 4816; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14164816 - 7 Aug 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3413
Abstract
The use of cutting fluids has played a vital role in machining operations in lubrication and cooling. Most cutting fluids are mineral oil-based products that are hazardous to the environment and the worker, cause severe diseases and pollute the environment. In addition, petroleum [...] Read more.
The use of cutting fluids has played a vital role in machining operations in lubrication and cooling. Most cutting fluids are mineral oil-based products that are hazardous to the environment and the worker, cause severe diseases and pollute the environment. In addition, petroleum resources are becoming increasingly unsustainable. Due to environmental and health issues, legislations have been established to ensure that the consumption of mineral oil is reduced. Consequently, researchers are making efforts to replace these mineral oil-based products. Vegetable oils are grasping attention due to their better lubricating properties, ease of availability, biodegradability, low prices, and non-toxicity. In this study, a detailed review and critical analysis are conducted of the research works involving vegetable oils as cutting fluids keeping in view the shortcomings and possible solutions to overcome these drawbacks. The purpose of the review is to emphasise the benefits of vegetable oil-based cutting fluids exhibiting comparable performance to that of mineral oil-based products. In addition, an appropriate selection of non-edible vegetable oil-based cutting fluids along with optimum cutting parameters to avoid a scanty supply of edible oils is also discussed. According to this research, vegetable oils are capable of substituting synthetic cutting fluids, and this option might aid in the successful and cost-efficient implementation of green machining. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Fuels, Energy, and Environment: Recent Advances and Challenges)
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24 pages, 413 KiB  
Review
State-of-the-Art of Strategies to Reduce Exhaust Emissions from Diesel Engine Vehicles
by S. M. Ashrafur Rahman, I. M. Rizwanul Fattah , Hwai Chyuan Ong and M. F. M. A. Zamri
Energies 2021, 14(6), 1766; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14061766 - 22 Mar 2021
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4365
Abstract
Compression ignition engines play a significant role in the development of a country. They are widely used due to their innate properties such as high efficiency, high power output, and durability. However, they are considered one of the key contributors to transport-related emission [...] Read more.
Compression ignition engines play a significant role in the development of a country. They are widely used due to their innate properties such as high efficiency, high power output, and durability. However, they are considered one of the key contributors to transport-related emission and have recently been identified as carcinogenic. Thus, it is important to modify the designs and processes before, during, and after combustion to reduce the emissions to meet the strict emission regulations. The paper discusses the pros and cons of different strategies to reduce emissions of a diesel engine. An overview of various techniques to modify the pre-combustion engine design aspects has been discussed first. After that, fuel modifications techniques during combustion to improve the fuel properties to reduce the engine-out emission is discussed. Finally, post-combustion after-treatment devices are briefly discussed, which help improve the air quality of our environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Fuels, Energy, and Environment: Recent Advances and Challenges)
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