Exergoeconomic analysis of a lean burn engine operating with ethanol and hydrogen addition

Abstract

This research applies exergy and exergoeconomic analyses to a turbocharged ethanol-fuelled engine enriched with hydrogen to operate in lean mixture conditions. Utilizing simulation data, the study examines the impacts of up to 6% of hydrogen fraction in the fuel for engine operation in the lean range from stoichiometric to fuel/air mixture equivalence ratio 0.7 are investigated. The exergy analysis revealed that hydrogen enrichment in lean operation can improve global exergy efficiency by nearly 30%. This improvement in efficiency was accompanied by significant reductions in exergy destruction and heat-based exergy transfer. The exergoeconomic evaluation indicated that hydrogen energy density and lean operation can reduce the fuel cost rate by up to 23%. The best operational scenario produced 29% decrease in specific exergoeconomic cost of electricity generation and 31% reduction in total losses.