The effect of ethanol-blended fuel on the emissions of motorcycles in Thailand | |
| Author | Manwipa Kuson |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-01-27 |
| Subject(s) | Alcohol--Toxicology Alcohol as fuel--Thailand Motorcycles--Thailand--Motors (Two-stroke cycle) |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The main fuel used for vehicular transportation is gasoline and the use of ethanol is now recognized as an alternative fuel for lower emissions in order to decrease the environmental impact of transportation operations. Although there have been several studies examining emissions of toxic air pollutants from in-use alternative fuel vehicles, little is know about these pollutants from motorcycles, especially in Thailand. This study was undertaken to measure and compare the concentration of toxic air pollutants when using unleaded gasoline, ElO, and E15 fuels. ElO and E15 fuels are unleaded gasolines with 10% and 15% (by volume) of ethanol added respectively. Eight used motorcycles were selected for testing: two of two-stroke engine motorcycles without catalytic converters, three of two-stroke engine motorcycles with catalytic converters and three of four-stroke engine motorcycles without catalytic converters. The motorcycles were tested using a chassis dynamometer and a Bangkok Driving Cycle test mode. The em1ss1ons measured included benzene, toluene, m-xylene, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde. The results indicated that a reduction in emission rates of benzene, toluene, and m-xylene occurred in tests that used ElO and E15 fuels. However, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde emissions increased significantly when E15 fuel was used. The ElO fuel had the lowest emission values and all five toxic emissions were lower for all types of motorcycles. The El5 fuel had the highest formaldehyde and acetaldehyde emissions when compared with unleaded gasoline and E 10 fuel. From the test results, it appears that increasing the content of ethanol had a significant effect on toxic emission rates. Moreover, the toxic emissions were converted to other detoxic or less toxic forms by catalysts. Engine systems such as the two-stroke engine motorcycles with catalytic converters had lower emissions than two-stroke engine motorcycles without catalyst and the four-stroke engine motorcycles without catalytic converters emitted lower emissions than two-stroke engine motorcycles with catalytic converters. From the test results, it can be concluded that ElO fuel is the preferred motorcycle fuel for use in Thailand. |
| Year | 2001 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Samorn Muttamara; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Supat Wangwongwatana;Oanh, Nguyen Thi Kim ; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | National Energy Policy Office (NEPO) ; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2001 |