Progress of Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) as Biofuel in Gasoline and Diesel Engine: A Review

Ibham Veza*, Mohd Farid Muhammad Said, Zulkarnain Abdul Latiff

Automotive Development Centre, School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Highlights

* A comprehensive review on ABE addition in gasoline and diesel engine was done.
* The effect of ABE blends on the engine performance, combustion and emission was critically discussed.
* The physico-chemical properties of ABE play important roles and are competing each other.
* Properties that are more dominant will determine the overall results.
* Research gaps and possible future contributions were highlighted.

Abstract

The properties of butanol offer more promising results compared to those of lower chain alcohol such as methanol or ethanol. However, butanol as a biofuel has not yet been commercially produced due to its costly process. Butanol is generally produced via the process of Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) fermentation and can only be acquired after it was recovered from the ABE solvent. Despite the efforts and recent developments, obtaining higher butanol concentration from ABE fermentation is still relatively expensive and challenging. The idea of using ABE directly in internal combustion engines is then proposed to eliminate the recovery process. Several preliminary studies have reported several promising results of using ABE blends in both gasoline and diesel engines. However, researches in this area are still in the early stages, and thorough investigations are required. This review paper aims to provide essential findings from the latest development in the addition of ABE both with gasoline and diesel fuel in Spark Ignition (SI) and Compression Ignition (CI) engines. A brief discussion on ABE properties will be firstly given before the effects of its addition on SI and CI engine is comprehensively reviewed. The end of this article highlights some possible contributions and research gaps.

Keywords

Butanol; Biofuel; Acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE); Gasoline; Diesel; SI; CI

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2019.106179