Reciprocating Engines running Ethane
Reciprocating Engines running Ethane
(OP)
With Ethane prices so ridiculously low and all the characteristics pointing to a good energy density & combustion properties, why are more vehicles not running this $0.30/gal fuel?
I'll be hooking up an Ethane K-bottle to a 4 cylinder GM Ecotec engine with natural gas fuel injectors this week. Wanted to save a few 'ah ha!' moments. I will not be taking emissions samples for this run.
I'll be hooking up an Ethane K-bottle to a 4 cylinder GM Ecotec engine with natural gas fuel injectors this week. Wanted to save a few 'ah ha!' moments. I will not be taking emissions samples for this run.





RE: Reciprocating Engines running Ethane
Gasoline can be gotten anywhere. Diesel can be gotten anywhere. Natural gas, a bit sketchier, but possible. Propane, same situation. Ethanol (blended as motor fuel), possible depending on where you live. But even electricity is more available than "ethane".
I know of NO place, anywhere, short of perhaps a gas processing plant itself, where one could fill up with "ethane".
RE: Reciprocating Engines running Ethane
Start expanding the demand for ethane, and a demand for expanded distribution infrastructure, and the product price will rise to meet the demand.
If you can make do with today's infrastructure, you'll do well, for a while.
Go for it. ... and keep it quiet.
Oh. Let us know how many HP-hr you get out of a K bottle.
... and how many such bottles you can squeeze into your car.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Reciprocating Engines running Ethane
Will this ethane have any oil content? CNG has ~25 PPM of compressor oil which lubricates the injectors. Totally dry media like H2 will kill a CNG injector dead very quickly.
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RE: Reciprocating Engines running Ethane
If one has a guaranteed low-cost source of ethane in a form suitable for storage and use on-board a vehicle, it may be worth doing the engineering to run a single vehicle or small fleet on this fuel. But unless I'm missing something, there is no outlook for ethane to become a mainstream [so to speak] alternative fuel with sufficient availability to compete with, e.g., natural gas.
"Schiefgehen will, was schiefgehen kann" - das Murphygesetz
RE: Reciprocating Engines running Ethane
Ethane is more resistant to autoignition than gasoline ---- compare their RON and MON numbers.
So you may be able to advance the spark timing a bit and improve efficiency without getting into knock
On the other hand, compressor oil autoignites very easily. If there is much compressor oil in the ethane, knock might be an issue.
j2bprometheus
RE: Reciprocating Engines running Ethane
The well head gas we are dealing with has a very high ethane content. Our device removed the Natural Gas Liquids, but leaves me with a blend of 50/50 CH4 & C2H6, enough to run a 150kW genset that provides power for the device. The calculated methane number for our mixture is around 53, which is well below the standard 65-80 required of most gensets. I will be attempting to alter the timing and possibly lowering the compression ratio for this blend.
The Bosch NGI-2 are just fine for running any of my fuel combinations thus far (H2, CH4, C2H6) and do not require lubrication. I only use MPFI on my test engines, an Impco style fueling system will be used for the final product.
RE: Reciprocating Engines running Ethane
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Reciprocating Engines running Ethane
If you have the ability to adjust the lambda target with long-term accuracy, you might consider enleanment as an alternative or complementary strategy for regaining knock margin.
There are many variables which play a role in defining the lean limit for a given application, but I would expect an increased ethane/methane ratio in the fuel to allow leaner lambda operation for the same limiting conditions (engine out HC; COV of IMEP). Retarding timing, reducing compression ratio, and enleanment all have the effect of retarding combustion and increasing knock margin, but enleanment typically does not have a strong upward effect on exhaust temperature.
In order to make the same peak power, any of these measures will result in higher manifold pressure; so the engine's throttle margin will be reduced accordingly. Therefore I'd recommend you monitor throttle margin, speed stability, and load acceptance if you make any of these modifications, and ensure that the engine is still able to perform as required.
I also wouldn't be surprised to see a decrease in spark plug longevity with retarded timing or higher lambda; in terms of when the required voltage at the gap [as the spark plug wears over time] exceeds the ignition system's capability. However, ethane's superior ignitability relative to methane will tend to offset the effect of higher ignition pressure [i.e. due to the above-mentioned measures]; so the jury is out on this one until you try it (or a pertinent study comes to light).
"Schiefgehen will, was schiefgehen kann" - das Murphygesetz
RE: Reciprocating Engines running Ethane
RE: Reciprocating Engines running Ethane
RE: Reciprocating Engines running Ethane
Any clues or ideas of what makes a good prelube?
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The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.
RE: Reciprocating Engines running Ethane