Open Access

Study of Emission Characteristics on a CI Engine Using a Cost-effective Cu-Zn-coated Catalytic Converter

N. Udhayakumar, udaymechsix@gmail.com
Department of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, TN, India S. Ramesh Babu, Department of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, TN, India S. Deepak, Department of Chemistry, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, TN, India K. Sivaganesh, Department of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, TN, India L. Senthil, Department of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, TN, India D. Sudharsan, Department of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, TN, India P. Anilkumar Department of Chemistry, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, TN, India

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Abstract

Emissions from automobile exhaust gases contribute to a major part of air pollution. Daily, the usage of the automobile increases to fulfill human comfort. In general, automobile engine exhaust emission is a major contributor to air pollution in India. Carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) and hydrocarbons (HCs) are major exhaust emission components that are frequently examined in emission studies. High concentration of these emissions in the atmosphere affects human health. To overcome this problem, many researchers are working on alternative methods like fuel blends, piston-cylinder coating and exhaust treatment processes. The three-way catalytic converter is used in automobile engines to reduce HCs, CO and NO_x emissions using rare and expensive materials like palladium, platinum and rhodium. In this research work, a 3.7kW single-cylinder 4-stroke diesel engine running at 1500rpm was chosen to study emission characteristics, using a Cu-Zn-coated catalytic converter, for various engine load conditions. At full load conditions, the catalytic converter effectively reduced the emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen by 72%, 60% and 65%, respectively, compared with conventional CI engines without catalytic converters.

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