Development of port fuel injected methanol (M85)-fuelled two-wheeler for sustainable transport

Due to increasingly stringent environmental pollution norms, there is a need for alternate combustion techniques and alternate fuels to keep up with changing trends. One of the viable solutions for India is the adaptation of methanol as a fuel for automotive sector. Therefore, in this study a functional two-wheeler prototype was developed, which uses M85 (85% v/v methanol and 15% v/v gasoline) in an electronic control unit (ECU) controlled port fuel injected (PFI) engine. This study included comparative investigations of simulated on-road two-wheeler performance on chassis dynamometer using a gasoline-fuelled motorcycle with stock ECU vis-à-vis M85-fuelled motorcycle using recalibrated ECU. ECU recalibration exhibited that M85-fuelled vehicle was operated at relatively more advanced spark timing compared to baseline gasoline-fuelled vehicle. Performance results showed that M85-fuelled motorcycle produced relatively higher engine power and higher maximum vehicle speed compared to gasoline-fuelled motorcycle. Relatively superior acceleration characteristics (especially at higher speeds) of M85-fuelled motorcycle was another important finding of this study, indicating that M85 provided superior throttle response compared to gasoline. Comparative analysis of raw tailpipe emissions showed that modified M85-fuelled motorcycle emitted relatively higher hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) emissions compared to stock gasoline-fuelled motorcycle. However, these emissions can be controlled by using adaptation of suitable after-treatment systems.