article · Results in Engineering
Bio-LPG provides a low-carbon alternative to traditional automotive fuels, offering up to an 80 percent reduction in carbon footprint. Because it is chemically identical to conventional LPG, it can be utilized directly or blended seamlessly with existing LPG infrastructure and fuels. Producing bio-LPG via biorefining is commercially established, but alternative microbial synthesis pathways involving natural or engineered variants struggle to deliver the volumes demanded by energy-intensive sectors. Using bio-LPG in vehicle engines presents specific operational advantages, including benefits for fuel cells and engine oil lubricity. However, automotive adoption faces engineering hurdles such as wall wetting, bubble formation, ice development, and lean misfire. Practical mitigation strategies include chamber redesign, ignition timing adjustments, heating elements to clear freezing, and fuel additives. Wider adoption of HD-5 vehicles offers immediate emissions reductions over petrol and diesel.
Decarbonising road transport is vital for lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Bio-LPG offers a drop-in replacement that works with existing LPG infrastructure while releasing far less carbon dioxide than conventional petrol or diesel. Understanding its technical constraints and synthesis methods helps vehicle manufacturers and energy planners implement cleaner fuels without completely overhauling current fleet systems.
Bio-LPG is near-market through conventional biorefining and functions as a drop-in fuel for HD-5 vehicle operators and the automotive sector. However, microbial synthesis routes remain at an early stage due to volume limitations. Equipment manufacturers face specific applied development needs, such as redesigning combustion chambers, integrating heating elements, and formulating additives to overcome operational issues like icing and wall wetting before wider deployment succeeds.
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Decarbonization for climate protection through bio-LPG production and application is fast gaining attention in the automotive sector because of its numerous benefits. Despite being a promising green alternative to conventional LPG which reduces carbon footprint by 80%, notable challenges associated with the commercialization of some production processes have hindered its potential global application. While bio-refining is already established as the highest technique for commercial LPG production, the addition of microbial techniques among other routes, using either natural or engineered variants has yet to meet the volumetric demand of high-energy sectors. Environmentally, Bio-LPG is considered a means to control ice formation through CO2 reduction active prevention of sea ice-melting, and control of glaciers and sea level rise by approximately 21.34 m. However, in automotive applications, this study highlights bio-LPG fuel synthesis processes including natural propane biosynthesis. Highlights of its benefits, for example, in fuel cells and engine oil lubricity, indicate the prospects, and the limitations, such as wall wetting, icing formation, bubble formation associated risks and lower lean misfire can be addressed by adopting controlled fuel deposition within combustion chamber or utilizing additives, introducing heating element device to de-freeze, advancing ignition timing and redesign of the combustion chamber, respectively. Up-scale or increased utilization of HD-5 vehicles is recommendable since a gallon of LPG emits 5.68 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) compared to the 8.89 and 10.18 kg of CO2 emitted by gasoline and diesel fuels. Bio-LPG is chemically identical and compatible with all LPG products, therefore can be used directly or as blends.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.rineng.2024.101889
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