Projects per year
Abstract
As countries seek ways to meet climate change commitments, hydrogen fuel offers a low-carbon alternative for sectors where battery electrification may not be viable. Blending hydrogen with fossil fuels requires only modest technological adaptation, however since combustion is retained, nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions remain a potential disbenefit. We review the potential air quality impacts arising from the use of hydrogen–diesel blends in heavy-duty diesel engines, a powertrain which lends itself to hydrogen co-fuelling. Engine load is identified as a key factor influencing NOx emissions from hydrogen–diesel combustion in heavy-duty engines, although variation in other experimental parameters across studies complicates this relationship. Combining results from peer-reviewed literature allows an estimation to be made of plausible NOx emissions from hydrogen–diesel combustion, relative to pure-diesel combustion. At 0–30% engine load, which encompasses the average load for mobile engine applications, NOx emissions changes were in the range −59 to +24% for a fuel blend with 40 e% hydrogen. However, at 50–100% load, which approximately corresponds to stationary engine applications, NOx emissions changes were in the range −28 to +107%. Exhaust gas recirculation may be able to reduce NOx emissions at very high and very low loads when hydrogen is blended with diesel, and existing exhaust aftertreatment technologies are also likely to be effective. Recent commercial reporting on the development of hydrogen and hydrogen–diesel dual fuel combustion in large diesel engines are also summarised. There is currently some disconnection between manufacturer reported impacts of hydrogen-fuelling on NOx emissions (always lower emissions) and the conclusions drawn from the peer reviewed literature (frequently higher emissions).
Original language | Undefined/Unknown |
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Pages (from-to) | - |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Environmental Science: Atmospheres |
Early online date | 21 Jul 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 21 Jul 2022 |
Bibliographical note
© 2022 The Author(s)Projects
- 3 Finished
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NCAS 2022/23
Lewis, A. (Principal investigator), Carpenter, L. J. (Co-investigator), Edwards, P. (Co-investigator) & Lee, J. D. (Co-investigator)
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
1/04/22 → 31/03/23
Project: Research project (funded) › Research
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UK-China Collaboration to Optimise net zero Policy options for Air Quality and health (COP-AQ)
Lee, J. D. (Principal investigator), Carslaw, D. (Co-investigator) & Lewis, A. (Co-investigator)
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
19/11/21 → 31/03/22
Project: Research project (funded) › Research
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Integrated Research Observation System for Clean Air (OSCA)
Lewis, A. (Principal investigator), Lee, J. D. (Co-investigator) & Moller, S. J. (Co-investigator)
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
13/02/19 → 30/11/23
Project: Research project (funded) › Research