Effects of Reactive Species Produced by Electrolysis of Water Mist and Air through Non-Thermal Plasma on the Performance and Exhaust Gas of Gasoline Engines

Abstract

Countries are paying increasing attention to environmental issues and are moving towards the goal of energy saving and carbon reduction. This research presents a method to analyse the effects of the use of non-thermal plasma (NTP) and water injection (WI) devices on the efficiency of internal combustion engines. The devices were installed on the intake manifold to investigate the effects of additional substances produced by electrolysis on the engine performance and exhaust emissions. According to the results, the addition of the NTP and WI devices affected the power efficiency and the rate of change of the brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of the internal combustion engines. In addition, the change rate of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the exhaust gases was affected. In conclusion, the study found that the additional substances generated by the NTP-electrolysed water mist or air influenced the fuel combustion efficiency and exhaust emissions.

Keywords

• non-thermal plasma (NTP)
• water injection (WI)
• engine performance
• exhaust emissions
• brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC)
• water electrolysis