Research on Gas Engines at Osaka Gas

Abstract

With a view to limiting global warming, a growing volume of research is being conducted on the use of natural gas, hydrogen, ammonia, biogas and other gaseous fuels in internal combustion engines. The efficient use of gaseous fuels calls for appropriate control of the combustion process, taking account of fuel characteristics. Osaka Gas is also conducting studies with a range of different gas fuels. This report summarizes the results of our work, citing recent studies on engines fueled by natural gas, especially dual fuel and pre-chamber ignition engines. For dual fuel engines, the advantages and disadvantages of dual fuel combustion were examined, and tests indicated that performance could potentially be improved by selecting the appropriate diesel injection conditions. For pre-chamber ignition engines, pre-chamber gas pressure, main chamber gas pressure, OH* and CH* were measured with a view to suggest for pre-chamber design. In future, it is likely that gaseous fuels will be put to effective use, with the most appropriate fuels being selected on the basis of a range of criteria, including social environment, fuel costs and degree of infrastructure provision, as well as applications.