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Analysis on Synthesis, Storage & Combustion
characteristics of DME as fuel in CI engines
Baskaran R
Department of Automobile Engineering, Bharathidasan Institute of Technology Anna University- Tiruchirappalli.

Abstract: This article reviews on various methods of production of Di-Methyl Ether (DME) avail in present scenario, its
storage difficulties and the reasons for holding DME still under research as an alternative fuel. The demand for the
development of alternative clean energy sources has risen with increase in the rate of depletion of oil reserves. DME, an
ultraclean alternative fuel with less emission, higher cetane number has attracted the world researchers. DME is produced
from a variety of raw materials starting from biomass, coal and natural gas. Despite of its greater compatibility with diesel,
it has some undesirable properties that make it uncomfortable to use in present compression ignition (CI) engines. This
paper presents a brief review of the possible DME production processes and its combustion characteristics.
Keywords: DME, Alternative fuel, ultraclean fuel, combustion properties.

I. INTRODUCTION

Di-methyl ether is one of the most promising non-petroleum fuel alternatives. DME is non-carcinogenic, non-corrosive, non-
mutagenic, non-toxic and a sulphur free fuel [1]. The cetane number is the measure of the auto-ignition temperature of a fuel. A
number of experimental studies showed that DME fuel has high cetane number (55-60), high oxygen content (35% by mass)
and less noise with enhanced engine performance and emissions [2]. DME has low viscosity i.e one thirty of diesel, low
lubricity and low density. Successful cold starting is available with DME down to -24C with high vapour pressure, low heating
value and low boiling point. The functional group that characterizes DME is not chemically active. So, DME is often considered
to be chemically inert. The thermodynamic characteristic of DME differs much from diesel which leads to difference in DME
spray characters [3]. DME is a gas at ambient temperature and pressure but it can be liquefied under low pressures (0.5 MPa at
25°C) [4]. DME in a gaseous state is invisible under standard atmospheric conditions (0.1 MPa at 298 K) [5]. When it is
pressurized above 0.5 MPa, it condenses to the liquid phase. Gaseous DME is denser than air while liquid DME has a density
two thirds that of water. DME is non-toxic and environmentally benign. The well-to-wheels energy efficiency of heavy and
light-duty DME-fuelled vehicles are projected to be 22.5% and 19%, respectively [5]. DME is not a suitable fuel for spark-
ignition (SI) engines due to its high cetane number, though the burning velocity is similar to hydrocarbon fuels the easily-
induced knock would limit the operation of SI engines. DME displays a visible blue flame when burning over a wide range of
air–fuel ratios, similar to natural gas, which is an important safety characteristic. Nevertheless, the operation of DME
combustion system needs the adoption of rigorous procedures for safe operation due to the wide flammability limits [5]. The
SO2 formation will be zero, because of the absence of sulphur in DME. However, with reduced well to wheel greenhouse gas
emission and enhanced fuel performance DME serves to be the best alternative candidate among H2, CH4, CH3OH etc.

II. DME SYNTHESIS

DME is produced from a vast variety of feedstock such as natural gas, coal, crude oil, residual oil, waste products and biomass.
It has superior engine combustion and emissions characteristics, but was not considered in the past because of its high cost.
Recent developments in advanced manufacturing technology of dimethyl ether showed that it could be mass-produced at an
affordable cost. DME is commercially manufactured by first converting coal or natural gas to syngas (synthesis gas), which is
converted to methanol in the presence of a catalyst. Methanol is then dehydrated to form DME as an end product. A significant
portion of DME is also manufactured by simply dehydrating marketed methanol in order to avoid huge plant establishment cost
The global DME market has been witnessing many developments in recent years. DME is a preferred and widely accepted
alternative fuel due to its clean burning properties and the focus of various regulatory bodies to reduce the dependence on oil
and gas by-products for meeting the current and future energy needs [6]. However, DME production has grown from 100,000 to
150,000 tons per annum in 1990s to 200,000 in 2000’s throughout the world. A roughly worldwide usage of DME is about
150,000 tons per year and in Japan, it is about 10,000 tons per year. [8]. China has consumed more than 90% of the global DME
in 2012[6].. In India, DME holds great potential especially when the country has discovered the large natural gas reserve in the
Krishna Godavari basin [7]. Technologies are now available to produce DME directly from synthesis gas without passing

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methanol as intermediate feedstock [6-8].Currently, most DME is being produced by dehydration of methanol. Besides the
production of DME from methanol, other production routes for DME exist. Naqvi et al (2010) studied DME production
technology by using black liquor gasification, integrated with the pulp mill facility. For using biomass as feedstock, gasification
is the key conversion technology to produce syngas [40]. The economical production routes that can be considered for large
scale DME production is to produce synthesis gas by using coal and natural gas [8]. DME is produced either by direct synthesis
starting from synthesis gas or by dehydration of methanol in the presence of solid-acid catalysts. Different types of solid acid
catalysts, Na modified H-ZSM-5 zeolites, γ -Al2O3 and phosphorus modified γ-Al 2O3, Amberlyst 35, and Nafion have been
tested in DME synthesis by dehydration of methanol [9]. DME production methods are (a) De-hydrogenation of methanol and
(b) Direct conversion from synthesis gas (syngas).The biomass to DME route has greater advantages. Biomass
gasification/synthesis technology integrates bio-DME synthesis, fertilizer production, electricity generation, and waste heat
utilization to convert waste biomass residues to DME [10].

A. Double stage synthesis

Conventionally, DME is produced via two-step process, in which synthesis gas (syngas) is first converted to methanol, followed
by the dehydration of methanol over an acidic catalyst in order to form DME. Methanol dehydration reaction occurs easily over
almost any dehydration catalyst at relatively low temperature ranges between 250-300°C in vapour phase and the reaction is
pressure insensitive [11]. In two step synthesis of DME, natural gas or bio-gas is first converted into synthesis gas(syngas).The
syngas in general, contains hydrogen(H2) and carbon monoxide(CO) and sometimes carbon-di-oxide(CO2).The produced syngas
is converted into methanol by using various catalysts such as copper. The two step synthesis is by adopting two distinct steps,
namely, synthesis of methanol by synthetic gas, methanol dehydration by the function of solid catalyst to make DME such as,
ZSM-5 molecular sieve catalyst that contains γ-Al2O3/SiO2. During this reaction, process conditions have great significant to
methanol transformation ratio and DME selectivity. DME formation achieves maximum activity of 41.1% using HZSM-5
catalyst at low temperature of 175°C [12]. With thorough research to double stage process, mature and simple technique, and
fine performance of ZSM-5 molecular sieve catalyst, high purity DME [13] can be prepared.

B. Single stage synthesis

It is a new system in which, methanol synthesis and dehydration processes are combined in the same reactor for DME synthesis.
This method is referred as direct synthesis and is economically favourable since the cost of methanol separation and its
preparation as a feedstock for DME synthesis reactor is avoided [11]. In the direct synthesis process, DME is synthesized
directly from the synthesis gas. Research and development on technologies capable of mass-producing DME at low cost are
being carried out by the JFE Group, Haldor Topsoe A/S (Denmark), Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (United States), and
others[14]. The direct conversion method is the simultaneous production of DME and methanol from syngas using appropriate
catalysts. The first step of direct DME production is the conversion of the feedstock to syngas, most common by steam
reforming of natural gas and for coal, oil residues and bio-mass by partial oxidation through gasification with pure oxygen. The
second step for the direct route is via methanol synthesis using a copper-based catalyst while the third step is the de-hydration of
methanol to DME using alumina- or zeolite-based catalysts. With the direct conversion of syngas to DME, the second and third
steps can occur simultaneously in one reactor using appropriate catalysts [5]. The reaction product is a mixture of methanol and
DME. After separating mixture by distillation plant, DME comes out, and unreacted methanol returns to synthesis reactor. Here,
bi-functional catalyst are used, which is physical mixing outcome of two kinds of catalysts. Synthetic methanol catalyst, and
methanol dehydration catalyst are the two kinds of catalysts mixed. Synthetic methanol catalyst includes: Cu-Zn-Al (O) group
catalyst, such as BASF, S3-85 and ICI-512.Methanol dehydration catalyst includes: Alumina, multi porous SiO2-Al2O3, Y-type
molecular sieve, ZSM-5 molecular sieve, mordenite, etc. [13]. The final step is the purification of the raw product, which may
also contain some methanol and water. When comparing both the synthesis process, the single stage process stands out to be
better, since it involves production of DME and methanol as side products.

C. Dehydration catalysts
Usually, in dehydration of methanol into DME, solid-acid catalysts are used. Synthesis of high purity DME through Methanol
can be achieved using γ-Al2O3 catalyst in a multistage adiabatic fixed bed reactor [15]. Mesoporous Aluminosilicate catalyst has
higher activity to DME. There are different types of Al/Si catalytic ratios among them the ratio of 0.09 stands to be optimum. It
is a non-crystalline solid and has a selectivity of DME equal to 0.99 at 300°C.The selectivity of DME is defined as the ratio of
moles of methanol that is converted into DME to total moles of converted methanol from syngas. This is due to greater surface
area of the catalyst. The yield value of DME is 0.70% at 250°C [9]. Heteropolyacids (HPA) differs much from the conventional
acid catalyst. They show higher catalytic activity than solid acid catalyst. The main drawbacks of heteropolyacids are that they

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are non-porous and lower surface area values(less than 1 m2/g). By impregnated on high surface area supports, the surface area
of heteropolyacid-based catalysts can be increased. Because of their solubility in polar solvents, heteropolyacids are preferred in
vapour phase reactions. Among HPAs, silicotungstic acid catalyst shows higher yield at a temperature of 250°C [9]. The STA
impregnated catalyst shows higher activity than pure STA catalyst. Because of improved porous and higher surface area, the
activity of it increases. The maximum yield reaches to 0.84 at the temperature of 250°C [9].The DME synthesis can also be
made by dehydration of methanol using Clinoptilolite catalyst, experimental results showed that the optimum temperature is
350°C [16]. Several researches were performed in order to formulate better the use of catalyst solids such as crystalline solids,
amorphous, zeolites, and quasicrystalline solids. The principal aim of these researches was not only to ensure a higher stability
during the catalytic reaction but also to optimize DME production. Recently, quasicrystals are being applied in catalyst reactions
due to its stable equilibrium phases even at high temperatures. The quasicrystalline materials occupy a position between crystal
and amorphous materials [17]. The quasicrystal Al62,2Cu25,5Fe12,3 catalyst has been proved to be adequate for dehydrating
methanol to DME due to the good reaction performance[17].

D. Production from CO2

Methanol, as discussed, can be efficiently produced from a wide variety of sources including still available fossil fuels (coal, oil
shale, tar sands, etc.) and also from varied biomass. Methanol can also be produced in a new way from chemical recycling of
carbon dioxide.CO2 which stands to a major threat to present environment, emitted enormously from flue gases of fossil fuel
burning power plants or exhausts of cement, fermentation, and other industrial plants has proven to be a source of methanol
production. Even the low concentrated CO2 from our air, presently around 380 ppm, can be captured and recycled to methanol.
Flue gas emitted from exhaust of automobiles is taken .It may also contain sulphur and other gases which are to be removed and
only CO2 is taken. Hydrogen (H2) which can be obtained from the electrolysis of water is also taken.CO2 and H2 on catalytic
regeneration with copper and zinc oxides at a constant temperature of 260°C yields methanol [18]. The most direct and studied
route to methanol from CO2 is the catalytic regenerative conversion of CO2 with hydrogen .The methanol, which in turn can be
converted into DME by dehydration process using any of the acidic catalyst. There is another way of production of DME
directly from CO2 and H2 in which a bi-functional catalyst is used. The bi-functional catalyst is composed of a CuO-ZnO-Al2O 3
metallic function and γ-Al2O3 acid function. The metallic part CuO-ZnO-Al2O3 is for hydrogenation of CO 2 and the acidic part
γ-Al2O3 is for the dehydration of methanol to DME. The reaction equipment is provided with a fixed bed, and allows for
operating at high temperature and pressure [30].The optimum mixing ratio of two catalysts is 50:50 wt%. With increase in
temperature, the methanol + DME yield and DME selectivity increases. However, when methanol yield reaches equilibrium, the
methanol + DME yield declines with higher temperature. A two layer structure consisting of an upper layer of methanol
synthesis catalyst and lower layer of mixture of methanol synthesis and methanol dehydrating catalyst stands the most effective
structure for the hybrid catalyst [20]. When the amount of H2 in the feed is increased, the conversion of CO2 and the yield of
products (DME and methanol) steadily increases .When the feed ratio of H2 /CO2 is 4/1 the production of DME is maximum
[30].

E. Improved methanol production methods

Methanol can be basically produced from carbon di-oxide and hydrogen with suitable conditions. But there exists some
improved techniques for methanol production.

1) Carnol process: CO2 emission in the atmosphere can be reduced by using fossil fuels itself using the process called the
“Carnol process” in which H2 is produced by thermal decomposition of CH4 with carbon formed as by product. This H2
reacts with CO2 recovered from emission of the fossil fuel power plant to produce methanol [18]. So, the net emission of
CO2 is close to zero, because CO2 released by the methanol used as a fuel is recycled from existing emission sources.
2) Methane decomposition & dry reforming: In this process, the environmental benefit is lower than the Carnol process, but it
is better for the economic cost. This process results in the combination of CH4 decomposition and dry reforming. The
products are methanol and carbon. The dry reforming does not involved steam, CO2 is reacted with natural gas to produce
syngas (more endothermic than steam reforming). With the dry reforming, natural gas resources are used more efficiently.
However, this syngas composition is not suitable for the production of methanol using existing technology in which a
H2/CO ratio close to 2 is needed [18].
3) Steam reforming & dry reforming: This way overcomes the previous disadvantage because it is possible to get a H2/CO
ratio close to 2. It uses steam reforming with a H2/CO ratio of 3 [18]. The combination of steam and dry reforming can be
used for the conversion of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels burning power plant. It is also advantageous for reforming
natural gas and geothermal sources which often are accompanied by substantial amounts of CO2.

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4) Combining reduction and hydrogenation of CO2: The principle process is the combination of CO2 and H2 to give methanol
and water as a by-product, but a third of the hydrogen and the electricity are used to produce it. So, to use hydrogen more
efficiently, initial chemical or electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO is considered. This reaction can be stated as Reverse
Boudouard reaction. The direct conversion of CO2 to CO using a thermochemical cycle and solar energy is also being
studied (Ga´lvez et al. 2008), (Travnor and Jensen 2002). Then, methanol is obtained by adding hydrogen. It is also
possible to produce methanol from CO 2 and H2O with an electrochemical process [18].

III. DME STORAGE

DME with low boiling point of -25̊°C exist in vapour state under normal atmospheric condition. DME is a flammable liquid and
gas under pressure. It can form explosive mixture with air so it resembles LPG to greater extend. Like LPG for gasoline
engines, DME is stored in the liquid state under relatively low pressure of 0.5 MPa. Storage should be done in a tightly closed
container in a cool, well-ventilated area and air should be prevented from entering into the container. Sources of ignition such as
smoking, open flames are avoided while working with DME [21]. Metal containers involving the transfer of DME should be
grounded and bonded. Non-sparking tools and equipment should be used for opening and closing of DME containers [21]. The
department of transportation (DOT) has listed DME as a hazardous substance. The transportation of DME is similar to LPG in a
sealed container truck. Leakage should be tested with soapy water and not with a flame. Storage area must meet national electric
codes for class 1 hazardous areas. Storage area temperature must not exceed 52°C (125°F).Avoid long time storage of cylinders,
use a first in first out inventory system [22].

A. Issues in fuel supply system

The fuel supply system consist of pressurized fuel tank, appropriate pipelines, valves, fuel feed pump and injectors which is
capable of delivering fuel to the high pressure pump at a pressure of upto1.5 MPa to prevent cavitation and vapour chock within
the fuel pipeline and injection system. To keep the output of the DME engine as same as that of the diesel engine, it is necessary
to increase the injection rate and quantity. The development of fuel supply system that can supply stable fuel pressure and fuel
flow rate is necessary. Only the fuel system can improve, the DME engine start ability and acceleration performance which is
inferior to diesel engines [23].

B. Liquid fuel tank

Although the DME tank can be designed similar to those used for LPG, a low-pressure pump and cooling system is needed
between the DME fuel tank and the injection pump, this complicates the fuel supply design. To simplify this McCandless et al.
developed a liquid DME fuel tank by considering the thermodynamic behaviour of DME[5].A fuel tank, made of cast
aluminium with a capacity of 40l, essentially a thermodynamic pump containing two fluids: liquid DME and a vapour–liquid
mixture of driving fluid (mainly propane) with a diaphragm separating the two fluids. The propane can pressurize the DME into
a sub-cooled-liquid state and functions as a driving fluid that pumps liquid DME from tank to the injection pump by means of
its vapour pressure [5].Compressed nitrogen can be used to keep DME in liquid state in the fuel tank and flow line [23].

C. Fuel line
Although DME is kept in the liquid phase under atmospheric temperature conditions, when pressurized to above 0.5 MPa the
fuel-supply pressure (the feed pressure from the storage tank to the fuel pump) must be between 1.2 and 3 MPa to avoid
cavitation in the fuel line[5]. Lower calorific value and lower density of DME requires higher volumetric flow rate of DME than
the diesel fuel. DME has low viscosity so in order to ensure reliability and durability of the parts of the fuel system, some
additive (castor) oil is added to DME [24]. DME is not compatible with most of the elastomers and can chemically attack some
commonly used sealing materials and other plastic components, raising questions about the durability of injection systems
handling DME. Low viscosity of DME causes the leakage from the fuel supply system which relies on small clearances for
sealing [25]. So, in order to prevent deterioration after long time exposure, tolerant seals can be made from
polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE) based materials and so on. However, the peak pipeline pressure, pressure rise rate and acoustic
velocity of DME are lower than diesel [26].

D. Fuel injector
DME gasifies immediately during injection, due to its low boiling point, even though it is injected as a liquid. Therefore, the
high fuel injection pressures, such as 50–150 MPa, used in modern diesel injection systems are not required for DME and there
is a consensus that 20–30 MPa is sufficient as long as the required amount of DME can be supplied during the corresponding

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injection period even at high engine speeds [5]. DME is non-corrosive to metals and does not require special material for fuel
injection equipment and component[23].But, low lubricity of DME can cause intensified surface wear of moving parts within
the fuel-injection system and hence conventional fuel delivery and fuel injection systems are not compatible with dimethyl
ether[25]. DME has a high vapour pressure so the fuel needs to be pressurized to maintain DME in a liquid state. Moreover, the
fuel system has to be modified considering the chemical properties of DME, such as its incompatibility with many
elastomers[31].To keep the output of the DME engine the same as that of the diesel engine, it is necessary to increase the
injection rate and quantity. Therefore, the plunger diameter and its stroke along with the nozzle diameter have to be enlarged
and adjustments have to be made in nozzle opening pressure [26]. Lower acoustic velocity, larger injection delay and high
compression pump work is needed which are due to larger compressibility. Due to low viscosity additives are to be added. Due
to lower heating value, a long injection duration or bigger nozzle hole is needed [27]. The shorter ignition delay of DME is due
to higher cetane number. The start of ignition timing is also retarded which is caused by relatively larger injection
delay[26].DME has low calorific value and density, therefore larger fuel has to be supplied through the increased plunger
diameter . Lower injector pressure reduces the power required for fuel pump, but this causes longer injection duration and
lowers the brake thermal efficiency. Therefore, an optimum nozzle opening pressure is required i.e 15 MPa [28].The drop in
nozzle pressure for DME can lead to cavitation. The reduced viscosity of DME enhances cavitation. Cavitation affects the
performance of the injector and damages the inner surface of nozzle and forms vapour bubbles [29].

IV. COMBUSTION SYSTEM

Recent work on DME has focused on its use in advanced technology, direct-injection (DI) engines as a neat fuel. Due to the
presence of an oxygen atom in DME’s molecular structure, the absence of a carbon-carbon bond and its high cetane number, the
DME fuelled engine appears to circumvent the traditional trade-off between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulates that
plagues the CI engine running on diesel fuel. The high cetane number of DME also helps in reducing combustion noise, which
is another drawback of the diesel fuel fired CI engine [31].

.
Fig 1.Comparision of injection delay
As discussed, DME engine shows a longer fuel injection delay than that of the diesel engine at the same engine speed this is
because the pressure wave propagation will take longer in the DME engine compared with the diesel engine, and consequently
the DME engine shows longer fuel injection delay. DME has a greater sensitivity of ignition delay to engine speed. The higher
cetane number, lower auto-ignition temperature, good atomization and ignition properties are the reasons for shorter ignition
delay period and lower combustion noise that are experienced with DME [24].

Fig 2. Comparison of ignition delay

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Due to rapid mixing of DME with air, the rate of diffusion combustion of DME is much faster than that of the diesel and has
shorter combustion duration. The heat release pattern of the DME engine stands to be the ideal pattern that is expected in a
compression ignition engine [32]. The brake specific fuel consumption of DME is also lower than diesel at low and medium
speed. Increased brake thermal efficiency is achieved with higher injection volume. Smokeless combustion is achieved under all
operating condition of DME engine. A lower maximum pressure and rate of pressure rise for DME combustion leads to lower
mechanical load and combustion noise. However, with higher oxygen content (36% weight) lower combustion enthalpy is
achieved, in order to overcome this, a larger volume of fuel is usually injected into the combustion cylinder. While burning
DME displays a visible blue flame like natural gas which is a crucial safety indicator. The lower heat radiation and better
combustion efficiency attributed to lower incomplete combustion [7,11,28,32,33]. Thus, complete combustion is achieved with
DME in most of the cases.
V. EMISSION SYSTEM

DME fuelled engine produces larger amount of mechanical work and smaller amount of wasted internal energy in exhaust gas,
which is found experimentally that the exhaust gas temperature is as low as 50˚C[34]. It has been demonstrated through varied
experiments that emissions of particulate matter (PM), NOx, and combustion noise from compression-ignition engines are
significantly lower when DME is used instead of diesel fuel as shown in fig 3. The particulate matters are found only when
certain additives are added to DME [5]. NOx is not a direct fuel-combustion product but a side effect of combustion. Because
nitrogen is basically chemically inert at temperatures lower than 1370 ° C, NOx formation requires a high temperature (T >
1370° C),pressure and plentiful oxygen [3]. However decrease in temperature result in increase in particulate and HC emission.
The cetane number will not have impact on NOx emission but increase in cetane number decreases the CO and HC emission
[35]. There is no complete agreement for NOx emission from DME. Sorenson et al reported much lower NOx with DME
whereas Kajitani et al reported same as NOx as diesel [36].

Fig 3. Smoke, THC and NOx emi ssion for DME and diesel from a
single cylinder DI compression-ignition engine
Whatever the amount of NOx emitted, the quantity can be further decreased by using various treatment catalysts. The
conventional NOx reduction catalyst (three-way catalytic convertor) technique, used in SI engine cannot be used in diesel
engine because of excess oxygen in exhaust of DME engine. The conventional system works only in fuel-rich condition, with
lean condition SCR(Selective Catalytic Reduction) technique, EGR(Exhaust gas recirculation) technique, etc. can be
used[37].Exhaust gas recirculation(EGR) is nothing but mixing of some exhaust gas with the intake air system. This then flows
into the cylinder, where they dilute and cool the combusting gases. EGR increases PM emission on other hand. However due to
increase in percentage of EGR rate, the combustion velocity increases which in turn increases the brake thermal efficiency.

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With increase in intake charge temperature EGR decreases the exhaust gas temperature also [38]. The after treatment technique
for NOx includes SCR, HC-SCR (lean NOx or DeNOx catalyst) catalyst, NOx absorbers etc. For a lean NOx catalyst such as
zeolite or a copper substituted zeolite ZSM5 catalyst a reducing agent is usually needed to act on NOx. DME itself can act as a
suitable reducing agent for this catalytic activity [39].With these techniques NOx emission and temperature of exhaust gas can
be much reduced. It is studied that HC emissions from DME are usually lower than or equal to those from the combustion of
diesel fuel. DME has good mixing characteristics, so the location of the fuel rich regions in the combustion period is less,
resulting in lower CO emission.
VI. SUMMARY

With huge investigations on DME-fuelled compression ignition engines, DME has proven to be an excellent alternative fuel in
the automotive sector. This liquefied gas produced from various feed stocks is an environmental benign. The main features of
DME such as high cetane number, high oxygen content, low boiling point helps in achieving better combustion through better
mixing with air. Noiseless combustion, low emission, soot-free and sulphur free combustion stands to be its outstanding
characters. However low density, low lubricity and combustion enthalpy promotes higher volume of fuel supply and need for
additives whereas, optimisation of the fuel injection equipment can overcome these problems. Above all with considering the
merits of DME the production of DME in large scale with suitable methodology should be promoted to achieve an eco-friendly
automotive world.
VII. SOLUTION
Considering higher emission and fossil fuel depletion as threats to Diesel engine which has higher thermal efficiency and
delivering a larger travel distance per unit of the fuel consumed than SI engine, DME stands to be one of the best alternatives.
With the objective of improving both engine thermal efficiency and exhaust emissions, DME can be used as fuel with new
engine-design concepts such as low compression ratio DI diesel engines [34] and homogeneous charge compression ignition
(HCCI) engines including suitable fuel system or blending methods to meet the conditions and qualities of the present working
fuel which is diesel [41,42]. As the latest SI engines also has a direct fuel injection system they can be modified easily to use
DME as fuel. This paves the way for making use of DME as a fuel in all type of internal combustion engines in future.

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