Life Cycle Assessment of a Hybrid Self-Power Diesel Engine

Abstract

In the present study, an attempt was made to simulate the hybrid self-power generation process from a diesel engine and propose sustainable power-share management for this self-power hybrid electrical-diesel platform from the viewpoints of environmental and economic aspects (life cycle perspective). This concept means that when the engine works at part-load condition, we need to bring the engine operating conditions to optimal load, and along with doing the necessary work, in parallel, the rest of the power be used to generate electricity to be stored in the battery for more consumption in addition to reducing pollution and reducing fuel consumption by moving towards sustainable energy production. This case study examines the differences between using a diesel engine at idle and maximum load conditions when less engine power is required and if using a diesel engine in a diesel-electricity hybrid cycle. According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that to achieve the most negligible environmental impact, a lower share of generating power can be allocated to electricity generation in higher cycles than the share of generating electrical power in lower cycles. In other words, by increasing the engine speed, the amount of power consumption used to generate electricity relative to the power required from the diesel engine should be reduced so that the system suffers the most negligible environmental impact.

Keywords

• hybrid vehicles
• diesel engine
• life cycle assessment
• hybrid self-power generation
• optimization