High Octane Fuels, Making Better use of Ethanol
Brian West Fuels, Engines, and Emissions Research Center
Annual ACE Conference Omaha, NE
August 15-17, 2017
Work supported by DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
National Corn Growers Association Illinois Corn Marketing Board
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Acknowledgements • DOE Vehicle Technologies Office
• DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office
• National Corn Growers Association
• Illinois Corn Marketing Board
• Industry Partners and National Lab Peers
• Fuels, Engines, Emissions Research Center (FEERC) colleagues
3 ACE 2017
US DOE has 17 National Laboratories Labs support defense, science, and energy efficiency missions
Managed by UT-Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy
ORNL in 1943 The Clinton Pile was the world’s first
continuously operated nuclear reactor
Oak Ridge National Laboratory evolved from the Manhattan Project
Managed by UT-Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy
5 ACE 2017
ORNL is the largest multi-program science and energy lab
3,200 research guests annually
Nation’s largest
materials research portfolio
$1.5B budget
Nation’s most diverse
energy portfolio
Forefront scientific
computing facilities
World- class
research reactor
$750M modernization
investment
4,750 employees
World’s most intense
neutron source Managing
major DOE projects: US ITER, exascale
computing
2,203 journal articles
published in CY15 185
invention disclosures
in FY16
83 patents issued in FY16
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ORNL’s Science and National User Facilities support transportation research missions • National Transportation Research Center
– Fuels, engine, emissions labs – Power electronics – Vehicle and Transportation Systems – Battery manufacturing
• Manufacturing Demonstration Facility
• Materials Characterization Laboratories – Characterizing the microstructure, microchemistry,
and physical and mechanical properties of materials
• Spallation Neutron Source, and HFIR – Diffraction (batteries, materials) – Neutron Imaging (emission controls, batteries)
• Leadership Computing – Materials engineering, batteries, climate, combustion
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ORNL Sustainable Transportation Program (STP)
Pursuing a diversity of technologies to reduce environmental impact while establishing predictable, reliable, and secure personal mobility and freight movement
ACCELERATING ELECTRIFICATION • Wireless power transfer • Advanced power electronics and
electric motors • Next generation battery materials
and manufacturing • Fuel cells
IMPROVING VEHICLE EFFICIENCY • Advanced engine and emissions
controls • Hybrid powertrains and vehicle
systems integration • Lightweight and propulsion
materials • Advanced lubricants
DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE FUELS • Co-development of fuel and engine
technologies • Alternative fuel GHG analysis • Critical data for the introduction of
new fuels
ENABLING INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS AND OPERATIONS • Predictive data for decision making • Data sciences and cyber security • fueleconomy.gov • Congestion management • Efficient operation of commercial vehicles
REVOLUTIONIZING MANUFACTURING • Additive manufacturing for
components to full vehicles • More efficient processes
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Examples of significant ORNL contributions to transportation
Material Science & Technology • CF8C-plus steel, Al alloys, and ceramics used
in millions of engines • Leading development of affordable carbon
fiber • Diagnostics in support of emissions controls
Data, Analysis, Modeling • NAS and congressional testimony
• Transportation Energy Databook
• Freight analysis framework (DOT)
• “Billion Ton” biomass study
• Logistics modeling (DOD)
• FuelEconomy.gov
Fuel Supply and Emissions Certification
• Data cited in EPA 15 ppm sulfur diesel fuel rule
• Data cited by EPA in 15% ethanol waiver decision
• NMOG correlation codified in CARB LEV III and EPA Tier 3 rule
Vehicle Propulsion Systems • Innovative emissions diagnostics enables clean
diesel engine
• 15+ years of high efficiency combustion research
• Go-to laboratory for demonstrating DOE program engine efficiency goals
• Development and benchmarking of HEV components
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Ethanol is a very effective octane booster • ~2/3rd of octane benefit from first 1/3rd of
ethanol volume percent
• U.S. EPA opened the door for a high octane ~E30 fuel in Tier 3 rule
– “…we allow vehicle manufacturers to request approval for … fuel such as a high-octane 30 percent ethanol … blend (E30) for vehicles … optimized for such fuel”
• Road fuel infrastructure for a mid-level ethanol blend is not trivial (but significantly less complex than many other alternatives)
– Around 3000 E85 dispensers in service, and growing; over 20M Flex Fuel Vehicles on the road that could use an E25-E40 fuel today
Low-Octane BOB Regular Gasoline Premium Gasoline
Managed by UT-Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy
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Industry and DOE Investing In Programs to Quantify Efficiency and GHG Benefits of High Octane Fuels
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15
20
25
30
35
40
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 Brake Mean Effective Pressure (kPa)
92 RON (E0) CR10.1 101 RON (E30) CR 10.1 101 RON (E30) CR12
DOE Work supported by • Vehicle Technologies Office • Bioenergy Technologies Office
Industry Cost-Share, Funds-in, and Tech Support • Ford • General Motors • Fiat Chrysler • Coordinating Research Council • Illinois Corn Marketing Board • National Corn Growers Association
Thermal Efficiency of Ford EcoBoost (data from Sluder, ORNL)
Brak
e Th
erm
al E
ffici
ency
(%)
Managed by UT-Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy
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1200 1600 2000 2400 2800 3200
IMEP
• = data point
E30 (12:1) 87 AKI E0
101 RON E30
E0 (9.2:1)
E0 (12:1)
Engine Speed (RPM)
Recent Experiments Highlight Efficiency Benefits of High Octane Fuel for SI engines
• Engines can make more torque and power with higher octane fuel
• Ethanol is very effective at boosting octane number
– 87 AKI E0 + 30% Ethanol = 101 RON Fuel
• Increased torque enables downspeeding and downsizing for improved fuel economy – For future vehicles, engine and
system efficiency can balance lower energy density of ethanol blends
In a high compression research engine, high-octane E30 enables doubling of available torque compared to 87 AKI E0 fuel - Splitter and Szybist, ORNL
Constant Power
Best Efficiency
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A New High Octane Fuel Could Make Better Use of Ethanol’s Properties, Moving The U.S. Toward Multiple Goals
• Engine efficiency can be improved with increasing ethanol and octane rating • E25-E40 blend in future vehicles can return equivalent “tank mileage” as E10
in today’s comparable vehicles – Energy density penalty is linear with increasing ethanol concentration – Power and efficiency gains are non-linear – Volumetric Fuel Economy Parity means every gallon of ethanol displaces a gallon of gasoline
• Efficiency/fuel economy benefit to OEM is significant
– Can help U.S. Comply with Renewable Fuel Standard
– Legal to use in >20M legacy FFVs
100 MINIMUM OCTANE RATING
RON METHOD
HIGH OCTANE
FUEL PREMIUM PLUS REGULAR
14 Managed by UT-Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy
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• Objective: Demonstrate High Octane fuel benefits at the vehicle level
• Late model vehicle with 2.0 liter, 4-cylinder • Efficiency gains of 5-10% demonstrated with
high-octane mid-level blends
High Octane Vehicle Demonstration Project Supported by DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office and follow-on work by NCGA
Cadillac ATS equipped with a 2.0 liter turbocharged, direct-injection engine and
manual transmission
9.5:1 Production 10.5:1 Prototype
Piston Blank
Range bars denote max and min of multiple tests
250
300
350
400
24.0
25.0
26.0
27.0
Baseline E10 Downsped E10 Downsped E30
CO2
Emis
sion
s (g/
mi)
Fuel
Eco
nom
y (E
0mpg
equ
ival
ent)
E0_equiv mpg
CO2 g/mi
FTP(City Test)
Factory Setup 10.5:1 Compression Pistons, Downspeeding
-6.6% +8.5%
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12.5
12.6
12.7
12.8
12.9
13.0
13.1
13.2
13.3
E10 E30
Tim
e (s
)
15 MPH to 80 MPH WOT Acceleration Time(GMC Sierra FFV, 12 run average)
E10
Regu
lar
RSP
0.45 seconds
High Octane E30
Legacy FFVs Realize Performance Gain with High Octane Mid-Level Ethanol Blends
• Motivation: Measureable performance improvement in legacy FFVs could enable early adoption of “High Octane Fuel for Your FFV”
• Tested 4 “ethanol tolerant” FFVs – GMC Sierra – Chevrolet Impala – Ford F150 – Dodge Caravan
• Prep and Baseline “wide open throttle” (WOT) test with Regular E10
• Prep and WOT test with ~100 RON E30
10.1 CR (factory)
100 MINIMUM OCTANE RATING
RON METHOD
HIGH OCTANE FUEL
For your FFV
Work supported by DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office
Car and Driver FFV test shows 0.4 second faster 0-60 mph time with E85
www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2014-chevrolet-silverado-v-6-instrumented-test-review
If half of FFVs on road today filled up with E25 half the time, easily consume over half-billion
gallons more ethanol
• Report available: – 3 of 4 FFVs show acceleration
improvement with E30 • ORNL’s Sierra results with E30
similar to Car and Driver test with E85
http://info.ornl.gov/sites/publications/Files/Pub54888.pdf
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Illinois Corn Marketing Board Supporting Mini Cooper E25 Demonstration
• Vehicle Specs: – 2.0 liter turbo GDI – Factory pistons and drivetrain, manual
transmission – Why Mini? Owner’s manual calls out
E25:
– Why manual trans?
• Enable “short shifting” (downspeeding)
• Tier 3 E10 and “Tier 3 E25” fuels • High-Octane E25 provides efficiency
and performance gains
Property Test Method Tier 3 E10 Value
‘Tier 3 E25’ Value
Research Octane Number ASTM D2699 92.3 98.9
Motor Octane Number ASTM D2700 84.5 87.5
AKI (RON+MON)/2 88.4 93.2 Sensitivity RON-MON 7.8 11.4
*Acknowledgement to BMW for informal technical support
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9.01
8.61
13.02
12.58
10.60
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
11.0
12.0
13.0
14.0
15-8
0 m
ph E
laps
ed T
ime
(s)
E10-Mini
E25-Mini
E10-Charger
E25-Charger
E25-Charger withPower Module
Mini Cooper Dodge Charger Dyno Settings
Extreme downsizing can improve fuel economy at the expense of acceleration performance. Mini is 0.4s quicker with high-octane E25 than with E10. With Charger test weight, vehicle considerably slower; high-octane E25 again provides 0.4s quicker acceleration. Aftermarket “Power Module” increases boost, improves acceleration time by 2.4 s with HO E25 fuel.
E10 E10 E25 E25 E25
2006 Dodge Charger dynamometer settings used with Mini Cooper to simulate downsizing
NM Engineering Power Module (PM) intercepts T–MAP sensor and increases boost. PM installed by previous owner; PM was disconnected for all tests except these final E25 WOT tests. http://www.nm-eng.com/338/0/0/3128/nm648846-nm-eng-power-module.html
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Summary • High-octane fuels can enable improved
vehicle efficiency (in vehicles designed for their use)
– Vehicle-level demonstrations have shown efficiency gains can more than offset lowered energy density of added ethanol
– Vehicle efficiency gains of up to 12% demonstrated
• Improved torque and power can provide performance improvement (or permit smaller engines)
– Legacy FFVs, turbo GDI engines (Mini Cooper) show improved acceleration, demonstrate potential for OEMs if fuel widely available
Managed by UT-Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy
12.5
12.6
12.7
12.8
12.9
13.0
13.1
13.2
13.3
E10 E30
Tim
e (s
)
15 MPH to 80 MPH WOT Acceleration Time(GMC Sierra FFV, 12 run average)
E10
Regu
lar
RSP
0.45 seconds
High Octane E30
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Contact Information
Brian West Deputy Director Fuels, Engines, and Emissions Research Center (865) 946-1231
Managed by UT-Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy