India’s first 100 per cent dimethyl ether (DME) fuelled vehicle for on- and off-road applications has been developed by IIT Kanpur.
Key points
- The country imports most of its crude oil requirements to energise various sectors of the domestic economy.
- Dimethyl ether (DME) is a suitable alternative since it is renewable. It can be produced indigenously, and several countries, like Japan, USA, China, Sweden, Denmark, and Korea, are already using DME to power their vehicles.
- However, the use of DME in IC engines remains uncharted territory in the Indian subcontinent. To bring the country up to speed in renewable energy sector, researchers at IIT Kanpur developed a 100% DME-fuelled engine with a mechanical fuel injection system. It exhibited higher thermal efficiency and lower emissions than the baseline diesel engine.
- The DME-fuelled engine emitted extremely low particulate and soot emissions and almost no smoke without using expensive exhaust gas after-treatment devices and advanced engine technologies, making it a viable alternative fuel and engine technology to adapt to conventional diesel engines used in our economy’s agricultural and transport sectors.
- The DME-fuelled engine exhibited higher brake thermal efficiency. It produced negligible soot while significantly reducing HC, CO, and CO2 emissions.
- The developed engine prototype was installed into the tractor and successfully operated by the industrial partner, TAFE TMTL, Alwar.
- The developed DME Tractor is projected to be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution for agricultural applications.
