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8751500 
Journal Article 
An experimental investigation of LPG as an alternative fuel for a retrofitted Spark Ignition engine 
Nwaokocha, CN; Giwa, SO; Layeni, AT; Akinyemi, OO; Kuye, SI 
2016 
24 
1 
121-130 
English 
Economic and technological development of a nation is strongly connected to energy. The energy focus of a developing clime like Nigeria depends on petroleum products. The depletion of petroleum products and its significant contribution to global warming and climate change has led to numerous researches being carried out worldwide in the area of alternative fuels such as biodiesel, biomass, bio-ethanol, tidal energy, solar energy, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). The use of natural gas in internal combustion engines is limited to transit vehicle applications or Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs). This led to the underutilization of natural gas as a Spark Ignition (SI) engine fuel. The research aimed at retrofitting a stationary 2.5 kW portable electric generator (gasoline) to enable the use of LPG as an alternative fuel. Conversion of the electric generator to utilize LPG was carried out with slight design modification or retrofitting, giving rise to a bi-fuel engine. The generator performance with regards to fuel consumption and CO2 emission of gasoline and propane as fuels were investigated. Fuel consumption rates were investigated at the following load values: at no-load, 139 W and 750 W load. The gasoline fuel consumption rate was 0.50 kg/h, 0.52 kg/h and 0.62 kg/h respectively, while LPG consumption flow rate was 0.30 kg/h, 0.32 kg/h and 0.59 kg/h at no-load, 139 W and 750 W loads, respectively. These values represent 40%, 38%, and 4.8% fuel consumption reduction per kilogram of fuel for no-load, 139 W and 750 W conditions, respectively. For this study, 22% reduction in CO2 emission was obtained at no-load condition for LPG. This comparative analysis revealed the advantage of using LPG over gasoline in terms of fuel economy and CO2 emission from the exhaust. This conversion to bi-fuel engine will be a strategy for reducing gas flared by creating an alternative use and market for its usage and also reduce emission from generators, thereby promoting a cleaner indoor and outdoor air in Nigeria. © 2016 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. 
CO2; Emission; Nigeria