Carbon-free gasoline engine operation

Abstract

The poor quality of motor fuels in countries with transition economies leads to increased carbon formation in internal combustion engines, and this adversely affects the environmental safety and operational efficiency of vehicles. Carbon deposits increase an engine's requirements for a gasoline octane rating, the specific fuel consumption and emissions of toxic substances in the exhaust gases, while the engine's power is actually reduced. The aim of this work is to substantiate a low-cost method for carbon-free gasoline engine operation, which will guarantee a significant improvement to the environmental and operational characteristics of vehicles. It was shown that the removal of carbon formation is possible by applying to the engine's working surfaces an ultrafine metal catalytic layer that promotes carbon gasification. The method of coating the inner surface of an engine with such a catalytically active metal nanolayer was developed and its formation was confirmed by microscopic examination. The results confirming the high efficiency of this method with respect to the environmental impact and performance of the vehicles are presented. © 2015 WIT Press.