Utilisation of Synthetic Fuels for "Difficult-to-Decarbonise" Propulsion

Started

Hydrogen and Fuel Cells(Hydrogen, Hydrogen end uses (incl. combustion; excl. fuel cells))
Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Oil and gas combustion)

Basic and strategic applied research

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Physics)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Chemical Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Dr A Megaritis
Sch of Engineering and Design
Brunel University

Standard

EPSRC

01 August 2023

31 December 2026

41 months

£560,363

Energy

London

Energy and Decarbonisation

Dr A Megaritis, Sch of Engineering and Design, Brunel University

Dr LC Ganippa, Sch of Engineering and Design, Brunel University

Decarbonising the transport sector is a top priority worldwide. The difficult-to-decarbonise transport applications (including mainly shipping, road freight and aviation) emit more than 50% CO2 of the entire transport sector. Among efforts on developing low-emission fuels, liquid synthetic fuels that can massively reduce pollutant emissions are drawing increasing attention, as they can be integrated into the current transportation system using existing infrastructure and combusted in existing engines (such as diesel engines for optimal fuel economy) with minor adjustments as drop-in fuels. Liquid synthetic fuels such as oxymethylene ethers (OMEx, which possess liquid properties similar to diesel when x=3-5) can be produced from a range of waste feedstocks and biomass, thereby avoiding new fossil carbon from entering the supply chain. OMEx can also be produced as an electrofuel (or e-fuel), thereby used as a sustainable energy carrier. However, due to the lack of complete knowledge of the physicochemical properties associated with the fuel composition variability, i.e. variation in the oligomer length (the x value of OMEx) and the composition variation of OMEx-diesel blends in real engine environment, there are challenges in utilising OMEx in practical engines, mainly in engine and its operation adjustments for optimal performance and minimal pollutant emissions. To address the technical issues of OMEx utilisation, accurate information on physicochemical properties and pollutant emissions of the synthetic fuels over the engine operational ranges is mandatory, but this is not readily available.

10/09/25