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Fuels
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Advances in Synthetic Fuel
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Advances in Synthetic Fuel

A special issue of Fuels (ISSN 2673-3994).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2024) | Viewed by 11026

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Nicolaus Dahmen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology (IKFT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
Interests: sustainable fuels; synthetic biofuels; bio-oils from fast pyrolysis; bio-crude from hydrothermal liquefaction; upgrading of bio-oils and -crude; pilot plant construction and operation
Dr. Olaf Toedter

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Leiter neue Technologien und Zündsysteme, KIT Campus Transfer GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany
Interests: ignition; regenerative fuels; sustainability; life cycle assessments

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Synthetic fuels may provide an essential contribution to renewable transportation. They can be sustainably produced from a number of carbon sources such as biomass, waste or carbon dioxide, and renewable energy. A variety of liquid and gaseous fuel options are available in the development of various states and process constellations. For their successful further development and implementation, efficient production technologies and promising process configurations are relevant, but sustainable resource potential, applicability of fuels to existing and future vehicles in terms of emissions, consumption and performance, types of fuels and their demand, and technoeconomic, ecological assessment, and social implications also need to be considered. In this Special Issue, the state of the art of research, development, and innovation in the sector of synthetic fuel production and utilization will be defined. Contributions on any of the abovementioned aspects are welcome, including detailed studies on specific research aspects, successful case studies, and technical developments, and overarching evaluations of scenarios.

Prof. Dr. Nicolaus Dahmen
Dr. Olaf Toedter
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fuels is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • synthetic fuels
  • carbon resources
  • hydrocarbon fuels
  • renewable hydrogen
  • oxygenate fuels
  • combustion behavior
  • internal combustion engines
  • sustainability assessment

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2163 KiB  
Article
Effect of Blending Dimethyl Carbonate and Ethanol with Gasoline on Combustion Characteristics
by Shunsuke Suzuki, Eiichi Takahashi, Mitsuharu Oguma and Kazuhiro Akihama
Fuels 2023, 4(4), 441-453; https://doi.org/10.3390/fuels4040027 - 26 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1741
Abstract
We investigated the effects of blending dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and ethanol with commercial gasoline on combustion characteristics. Our experimental approach involved using a rapid compression and expansion machine (RCEM) to achieve elevated temperatures and pressures. The fuels containing different volumes of oxygenated hydrocarbons [...] Read more.
We investigated the effects of blending dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and ethanol with commercial gasoline on combustion characteristics. Our experimental approach involved using a rapid compression and expansion machine (RCEM) to achieve elevated temperatures and pressures. The fuels containing different volumes of oxygenated hydrocarbons were burned at equivalence ratios of 1.0 or 0.7, an initial temperature of 340 K, and initial pressures of 0.10 or 0.05 MPa. To simulate knocking phenomena, we installed a rectangular channel in the combustion chamber of the RCEM and measured the pressure history inside the chamber. By analyzing the pressure history resulting from the end-gas autoignition, we evaluated the combustion duration and maximum pressure amplitude. Blending both oxygenated fuels with gasoline effectively reduced the maximum-pressure amplitude in the end-gas autoignition, with ethanol exhibiting a more pronounced suppression effect compared to DMC in the same volumetric mixing ratio. At an initial pressure of 0.10 MPa, the combustion durations of DMC/gasoline blends showed non-linear behavior, being shorter than those of pure gasoline and DMC and comparable to those of the ethanol/gasoline blends. However, the blending effect of DMC on combustion durations was greatly mitigated when the initial pressure was reduced to 0.05 MPa. Conversely, the combustion durations for ethanol/gasoline blends showed a nearly monotonic reduction with an increase in the ethanol blending ratio at both initial pressures of 0.10 and 0.05 MPa. Finally, we discussed the differential impact of the blending effect of oxygenated hydrocarbons on combustion characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Synthetic Fuel)
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15 pages, 277 KiB  
Article
Stakeholder Discourse on Synthetic Fuels: A Positioning and Narrative Analysis
by Dirk Scheer and Lisa Schmieder
Fuels 2023, 4(3), 264-278; https://doi.org/10.3390/fuels4030017 - 28 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1456
Abstract
The transition of mobility (in German “Verkehrswende”) as a fundamental part of the overall energy transition is a controversial field among stakeholders—in particular when it comes to synthetic fuels. There are considerable opposing views on the pros and cons of synthetic fuels within [...] Read more.
The transition of mobility (in German “Verkehrswende”) as a fundamental part of the overall energy transition is a controversial field among stakeholders—in particular when it comes to synthetic fuels. There are considerable opposing views on the pros and cons of synthetic fuels within stakeholder communication. Against this background, the aim of this study was to research stakeholder positions and communication by identifying, systemizing, and assessing the bandwidth of stakeholder statements and views in Germany using a document-based positioning analysis. The objective was to provide the broadest possible range of (controversial) assessments on synthetic fuels’ future pathways. Based on a document analysis of 41 sources published by 17 stakeholders from the areas of economy, environment, and civil society in the last ten years, we analyzed commonalities and differences in the assessments of the synthetic fuels’ path as well as the reasons behind it. The results were synthesized in three narrative frames dominating the German discourse on synthetic fuels, namely: (1) synthetic fuels as a key component for the mobility transition; (2) synthetic fuels as an essential strategic niche management component, and (3) mobility transition as sustainable, affordable, safe, and comfortable mobility—with or without synthetic fuels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Synthetic Fuel)
16 pages, 1639 KiB  
Article
Further Development of Gasoline from the bioliq® Process with Focus on Particulate and Hydrocarbon Emissions
by Tobias Michler, Benjamin Niethammer, Constantin Fuchs, Olaf Toedter, Ulrich Arnold, Thomas Koch and Jörg Sauer
Fuels 2023, 4(2), 205-220; https://doi.org/10.3390/fuels4020013 - 15 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1421
Abstract
The production of CO2-neutral fuels is a key technology to achieve the European Union’s targets of greenhouse gas reduction in the transport sector. For a straightforward application such as drop-in fuel, regenerative gasoline must meet emission requirements without causing significant changes [...] Read more.
The production of CO2-neutral fuels is a key technology to achieve the European Union’s targets of greenhouse gas reduction in the transport sector. For a straightforward application such as drop-in fuel, regenerative gasoline must meet emission requirements without causing significant changes in engine parameters. The objective of this work was to demonstrate the emission reduction potential of fuel from the bioliq® plant by reducing the content of heavy aromatics in the product refinement. For three blends with varying contents of bioliq® fuel, the spray behavior was studied in a pressurized chamber and the particulate and hydrocarbon emissions were investigated using a single-cylinder research engine. With increasing bioliq® fuel content, atomization was degraded by lower flash boiling at low pressure. This effect vanished at higher chamber pressures. Measurements of particulate and hydrocarbon emissions showed significant improvements of 50% to 100% and 10%, respectively, compared to previously investigated bioliq® fuel fractions from 2017. The formation of particulate emissions is virtually unaffected by the blending of bioliq® fuel, due to the absence of heavy aromatics in the refined bioliq® product. Hydrocarbon emissions increased by 20% with higher bioliq® fuel content and late injection timings due to inferior mixture formation as a result of slightly reduced atomization. However, near the optimum injection timing, the hydrocarbon emissions are independent of the bioliq® fuel admixture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Synthetic Fuel)
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18 pages, 1287 KiB  
Article
Standard-Compliant Gasoline by Upgrading a DTG-Based Fuel through Hydroprocessing the Heavy-Ends and Blending of Oxygenates
by David Graf, Philipp Neuner and Reinhard Rauch
Fuels 2023, 4(2), 156-173; https://doi.org/10.3390/fuels4020010 - 12 Apr 2023
Viewed by 2047
Abstract
Methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) and dimethyl ether-to-gasoline (DTG) fuels are rich in heavy aromatics such as 1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene, resulting in low volatilities due to a lack of light ends, increased emission tendencies and drivability problems due to crystallization. Approaches addressing these issues mainly focus on single [...] Read more.
Methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) and dimethyl ether-to-gasoline (DTG) fuels are rich in heavy aromatics such as 1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene, resulting in low volatilities due to a lack of light ends, increased emission tendencies and drivability problems due to crystallization. Approaches addressing these issues mainly focus on single aspects or are optimized for petroleum-based feedstocks. This research article introduces an upgrading strategy for MTG and DTG fuels through hydroprocessing (HP) heavy-ends and applying a sophisticated blending concept. Different product qualities were prepared by HP heavy gasoline (HG) and Fischer-Tropsch wax using commercially available Pt/HZSM-5 and Pt/SAPO-11 catalysts in a fixed-bed reactor. The products were used for blending experiments, focusing on gasoline volatility characteristics. Accordingly, methanol, ethanol, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), and ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) were evaluated in a second blending experiment. The results were finally considered for preparing blends meeting EN 228. HP of HG was found to improve the amount of light-ends and the vapor pressure of the DTG fuel with increasing reaction temperature without, however, satisfying EN 228. The front-end volatility was further improved by blending methanol due to the formation of near-azeotropic mixtures, while ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) considerably supported the mid-range volatility. A final blend with an alcohol content of less than 3 vol.%, mostly meeting EN 228, could be provided, making it suitable even for older vehicles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Synthetic Fuel)
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18 pages, 1141 KiB  
Article
Techno-Economic Analysis of Large Scale Production of Poly(oxymethylene) Dimethyl Ether Fuels from Methanol in Water-Tolerant Processes
by Yannic Tönges, Vincent Dieterich, Sebastian Fendt, Hartmut Spliethoff and Jakob Burger
Fuels 2023, 4(1), 1-18; https://doi.org/10.3390/fuels4010001 - 6 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2801
Abstract
Poly(oxymethylene) dimethyl ether (OME) are a much-discussed and promising synthetic and renewable fuel for reducing soot and, if produced as e-fuel, CO2 emissions. OME production is generally based on the platform chemical methanol as an intermediate. Thus, the OME production cost is [...] Read more.
Poly(oxymethylene) dimethyl ether (OME) are a much-discussed and promising synthetic and renewable fuel for reducing soot and, if produced as e-fuel, CO2 emissions. OME production is generally based on the platform chemical methanol as an intermediate. Thus, the OME production cost is strongly dependent on the methanol cost. This work investigates OME production from methanol. Seven routes for providing methanolic formaldehyde solutions are conceptually designed for the first time and simulated in a process simulator. They are coupled with a state-of-the-art OME synthesis to evaluate the economics of the overall production chain from methanol to OME. For a plant size of 100 kt/a, the average levelized product cost of OME is 79.08 EUR/t plus 1.31 times the cost of methanol in EUR/t. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Synthetic Fuel)
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