The Effect of Magnetic Intensity on the Characteristics of a Mixed

LPG and Gasoline + Bioethanol Engine

Tatun Hayatun Nufus

, Dianta Mustofa Kamal

and Candra Damis Widiawati

Program Study of Energy Conversion Engineering, Politeknik Negeri Jakarta, Jl. G. A. Siwabessy, 16425, Indonesia

Master in Applied Engineering Energy Manufacturing Technology, Politeknik Negeri Jakarta, 16425, Indonesia

Program Study of Electrical Engineering, Politeknik Negeri Jakarta, Jl. G. A. Siwabessy, 16425, Indonesia

Keywords: Bioethanol, LPG, Torque, Exhaust Emissions.

Abstract: LPG fuel has a high calorific value, is widely available in the market and has low exhaust emissions of CO,

CO2 and HC. However, NOx levels are high due to high combustion temperatures so that engine performance

decreases. To overcome this, this machine is equipped with magnets and LPG fuel combined with a mixture

of bioethanol-gasoline. The purpose of this study was to analyze the magnetic field strength of the engine

performance using a mixture of LPG and bioethanol-gasoline. The object of this research is a gasoline engine.

The composition of the bioethanol-gasoline fuel is (10:90, 15:85, 20:80). The magnet used has a magnetic

intensity of 1500 Gauss. The independent variable is the variation of the fuel mixture and magnetic field,

while the fixed variable is engine performance (exhaust emissions, power and torque). As a result, the average

engine power increases by 8-16%, engine torque increases by 5-15% and exhaust emissions of HC, NOx and

CO are reduced by 47%, 44% and 62%, respectively. In the future, LPG and gasoline-bioethanol mixtures

can be used in vehicles as an alternative to electric vehicles. The drawback, the aesthetics of this LPG-fueled

vehicle is less attractive.

1 INTRODUCTION

Several research results show that the use of a

magnetic field in the engine can improve combustion

efficiency and reduce emissions of combustion

products (Cetin, 2011). Increased combustion

efficiency can maintain energy security because it can

save the amount of fuel used. Reducing emissions can

make combustion more environmentally friendly. In

addition to the use of magnets in the engine, the use

of alternative fuels such as LPG and bioethanol is one

of the efforts to improve combustion quality and

environmentally friendly exhaust emissions.

The selection of LPG fuel as one of the objects of

research is because LPG exhaust emissions are

environmentally friendly, abundant in market

availability and relatively cheap prices. The use of

LPG in engines can provide engine life up to twice

that of gasoline engines and is relatively safe (Sayin

Kul and Ciniviz, 2020). The disadvantage of LPG is

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5360-361X

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that it produces high levels of NOx because it has a

fairly high combustion temperature (Dhande, Sinaga

and Dahe, 2021). To overcome this deficiency, one of

them is mixing LPG with bioethanol. In certain

compositions, the addition of bioethanol to the engine

has been proven to not cause technical problems and

is very environmentally friendly (Silitonga et al.,

2018). The combustion temperature of bioethanol is

low so that it can neutralize NOx formed from LPG

gas. On the other hand, the performance of engines

fueled by bioethanol is lower than that of engines

fueled by LPG because bioethanol has a low calorific

value.

The description above shows the lack of these two

fuels, namely that they have not been able to produce

optimum engine performance, therefore the presence

of a magnetic field is very necessary, because the

magnetic field through the cluster-decluster effect is

proven to improve the quality of combustion which in

turn increases engine performance. In addition,

388

Nufus, T., Kamal, D. and Widiawati, C.

The Effect of Magnetic Intensity on The Characteristics of A Mixed LPG and Gasoline + Bioethanol Engine.

DOI: 10.5220/0011809400003575

In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Applied Science and Technology on Engineering Science (iCAST-ES 2022), pages 388-395

ISBN: 978-989-758-619-4; ISSN: 2975-8246

mixing the two fuels is carried out with the aim of

improving engine performance, so the purpose of this

study is to analyze the effect of magnetic fields on

engine performance using a mixture of LPG and

bioethanol. In the future, this research will be used as

an engine model with maximum performance and

minimum exhaust emissions using environmentally

friendly fuels.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Excellent fuel structure for internal combustion

engine is the most challenging approach to achieve

good engine performance and lower gas emissions.

Therefore, some researchers have made efforts to

modify the characteristics of the fuel to increase

combustion efficiency and reduce pollutant products

using a magnetic field. Among the fuels structural

modification method, utilizing electromagnetic field

is one of the powerful techniques that has been used

to produce better fuel conditioning (TH. Nufus, R. P.

A. Setiawan, W. Hermawan, 2017). Strategy

facilitates the alternation of fuel properties with

changes in molecular structure. Magnetic fuel

treatment affects better atomization which reduces

the amount of HC, CO and NOx.

The study reveal that, a significant improvement

in performance of coated engine operating on dual

fuel mode (LPG-biodiesel) with additive by an

increase in efficiency of 4.5% and decrease in brake

specific fuel consumption of 4.2% at 80% of full load,

HC and CO emissions are reduced between 9% and

12% at entire load spectrum compared to uncoated

engine operating on diesel fuel. NOx emission is

drastically reduced up to 32% for dual fuel with

additive compared to without additive in coated

engine operation and very close to diesel fuel in

uncoated engine operation (Musthafa, 2019).

In this study; an experiment was carried out to

examine the effects of LPG-ethanol fuel blends on the

emission performance of a four cylinder SI engine.

Performance tests were conducted to determine

the correct air/fuel ratio (lambda = 1). Exhaust

emissions were analyzed for CO, CO2, NOx, HC, O2

using LPG-ethanol blends with different percentages

of fuel blends at variable engine speeds ranging

between 1000 and 5000 rpm. It was observed that

depending on the rate of ethanol increase in mixture,

the CO2, CO, NOx and HC emission concentrations

in the engine exhaust gases decreased (TH Nufus et

al., 2020).

Automobile fuel system created with the concept

of dual fuel, which allows the car can be operated

with gasoline or LPG and bioethanol mixture

alternately. the result is the lowest CO emission is

obtained at 30% gas valve opening and 750 rpm

engine speed. The lowest HC emission is obtained at

50% gas valve opening and 3000 rpm engine speed.

Optimum torque is obtained at 50% gas valve

opening and 3000 rpm engine speed. While the

bioethanol valve opening has no significant effect

(Nibin, Raj and Geo, 2021).

The present investigation was conducted on a 4-

cylinder diesel engine fueled with either pilot diesel,

or pilot waste cooking oil biodiesel (WCOB), and

fumigated liquified petroleum gas (LPG) at three

loads. The LPG addition is expressed in terms of a

LPG power substitution percentage (LPSP), ranging

from 10 to 30% at each load. the result that both types

of dual fuel operation can lead to reduction in both

NOx and PM emissions, with LPG-Diesel operation

being more effect in reducing NOx emissions while

LPG-WCOB operation more effective in reducing

particulate emissions (Duc and Duy, 2018).

Diesel engine using diesel/biodiesel mixture with

liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and cooled exhaust

gas recirculation (EGR) inducted in the intake port.

The optimal operating factors for acquiring the largest

fuel consumption time, the lowest smoke and NOX

are decided for 1500 rpm and different loads. The

results display that predictions by Taguchi method are

in fair consistence with the confirmation results, and

this method decreases the number of experimental

runs in this study. The best fuel consumption time,

smoke, and NOX at each load is acquired at a

combination of B10 (A1), 40% LPG (B3) and 20%

EGR ratio (C1) (Vinoth et al., 2017).

3 RESEARCH METHODS

The materials used in this study were bioethanol from

cassava with a content of 98% and gasoline with an

octane number of 90 as a mixture of bioethanol. The

fuel system is made with a dual fuel concept that can

be operated with gasoline or with fuel mixture of LPG

and bioethanol alternately. The test engine is a 125cc

motorcycle. The engine performance test is carried

out using a dynamometer with the scheme shown in

Figure 1. The parameters measured in this test are

torque, engine power at various percentages of

mixtures, and exhaust emissions. Measurements were

made in the engine speed range of 1500-3500 RPM.

The magnitude of the magnetic field used the strength

of the magnetic field used is 1500 Gauss. As a control

is an engine without fuel magnetization.

The Effect of Magnetic Intensity on The Characteristics of A Mixed LPG and Gasoline + Bioethanol Engine

389

Figure 1: Gasoline engine performance testing installation.

The tools and materials used in this study are

specified in Tables 1 and 2. The composition of a

mixture of gasoline and bioethanol E0, E10, E15 and

E20. Other tools, namely the combustion quality

improvement device and a 12 volt battery voltage

source. Motorcycle performance testing using a

dynamometer connected to data acquisition. The

research begins with the calibration of the required

equipment, inspection of diesel engine components

such as: lubricating oil, lubricating oil filter, fuel

filter. Parameters observed are Torque, Power and

fuel consumption. The test starts by starting the

engine at 1000 rpm and then holding it for ± 10

minutes to get a normal engine working temperature.

After the machine is operating normally, data

retrieval begins. Data collection is done by looking at

the measuring instrument and taking notes on the note

sheet.

Table 1: Engine Specification (TH Nufus et al., 2020).

Parameter Value

Diameter x Stroke 52.4 x 57.9mm

Cylinder Volume 125 cc

Compression ratio 9.5: 1

Maximum Power 7 kW / 8000 rpm

Maximum Torque 9.6 Nm / 5500 rpm

Engine oil 0.84 liter

Transmission System CVT Outomatic

Tipe Kopling dry, Centrifugal Automatic

Ignation System TCI/ Fuel Injection

Data Processing

Power (break horse power) Brake horse power is the

power generated from the engine output shaft.

bhp = . ω.T

bhp = 2π . n . T / 746 (hp)

with:

T = Torque (N.m)

n = rotation of the waterbrake dynamometer shaft (rps)

Fuel consumption is the amount of fuel used by the

engine for a certain unit of time. While sfc (specific

fuel consumption) is the amount of engine fuel

consumption during a certain unit of time to produce

effective power. If in the test data is obtained

regarding the use of fuel m (kg) in s (seconds) and the

power produced is bhp (hp), then the fuel

consumption per hour is: Power (end horsepower),

Brake horsepower is the power generated of the

engine output shaft. Specific fuel consumption

(specific fuel consumption):

SFC= (3600. mbb)/bhp (kg/kW.hr)

with:

mbb = fuel consumption per unit time (kg/hour)

s = fuel consumption time (seconds)

sfc = specific fuel consumption (kg/kW.hour)

Table 2: Properties of gasoline and bioethanol (Silitonga et

al., 2018).

Fuel Type Gasoline Bioethanol

Formula (liquid) C

Molecular weight (g/mol) 11.15 46.07

Density (kg/m3) 765 785

Viscosity (cSt) 9.792 6.891

Heat of vaporization

(kJ/k

)

305 840

Specific heat (kJ/kgK)

liqui

2.4 1.7

Specific heat (kJ/kgK)

vapou

2.5 1.93

Lower heating value 44000 26900

Stoichiometric air-fuel

ratio b

mass

14.6 9

Research octane number 92 108.6

Motor octane number 85 89.7

Enthalphy of formation

(MJ/kmol) liquid

259.28 224.10

4 RESEARCH RESULT

Figure 2 presents a graph of the relationship between

torque and engine torque, it appears that the increase

in torque is proportional to the increase in engine

speed until it reaches the maximum value so that the

amount of fuel entering the combustion chamber

increases as a result of which the fuel energy is

iCAST-ES 2022 - International Conference on Applied Science and Technology on Engineering Science

390

converted into the mechanical energy (torque)

generated through the combustion process is getting

bigger. After reaching the maximum value, the torque

produced by the engine decreases because the time

available for combustion at high rpm is very short.

However, in the graph above, there is no visible

decrease in torque, this is because the engine speed

has not reached a critical or maximum speed due to

the limited capabilities of the testing equipment in the

laboratory.

The torque generated by the engine with the

magnetized fuel is higher than that of the

unmagnetized fuel. For E0 fuel (100% gasoline) there

is an increase of around 6-15%. For E10 fuel, the

increase in torque is around 5-11%, for E15 fuel, the

torque increase is around 6-12%, for E20 fuel, the

torque increase is around 5-10%. The increase in

torque due to fuel magnetization is due to the

magnetic field affecting the molecular structure of the

hydrocarbons contained in the fuel causing the

breakdown of the hydrocarbon chain into smaller

parts or the fuel molecules changing from cluster to

de cluster. In addition, the arrangement of the fuel

atoms is parallel to the direction of the given external

magnetic field or the fuel molecules are neatly

arranged, so that it will be easier to react with oxygen

obtained from the outside air and produce a more

complete combustion. Complete combustion will

result in increased torque.

Figure 3 presents a graph of the relationship

between power and engine torque, it appears that the

increase in power is proportional to the increase in

engine speed until it reaches the maximum value so

that the amount of fuel that enters the combustion

chamber increases as a result of which the fuel energy

is converted into The mechanical energy (power)

produced through the combustion process is greater.

After reaching the maximum value, the power

produced by the engine decreases because the time

available for combustion at high rpm is very short.

However, in the graph above, there is no visible

decrease in power, this is because the engine speed

has not reached a critical or maximum speed due to

the limited capabilities of the testing equipment in the

laboratory.

Figure 3 shows the power generated by an engine

with a magnetized fuel being higher than that of an

unmagnetized fuel. For E0 fuel (100% gasoline) there

is an increase in power ranging from 8-17%. The

increase in E10 fuel is around 6-10%, E15 fuel

increases in power by 5-13%, and E20 fuel has an

increase in power of 5 -10%.

Figure 2: Torque testing result: a – E0; b – E10; c – E15;

d – E20.

The increase in power due to fuel magnetization

is due to the magnetic field affecting the molecular

structure of the hydrocarbons contained in the fuel

causing the breakdown of the hydrocarbon chain into

smaller parts or the fuel molecule changing from

cluster to de cluster. In addition, the arrangement of

the fuel atoms is parallel to the direction of the given

external magnetic field or the fuel molecules are

neatly arranged, so that it will be easier to react with

oxygen obtained from the outside air and produce a

more complete combustion.

The Effect of Magnetic Intensity on The Characteristics of A Mixed LPG and Gasoline + Bioethanol Engine

391

Figure 3: Power testing result: a – E0; b – E10; c – E15;

d – E20.

Complete combustion will result in increased

torque. Based on the description above, the largest

increase in torque is experienced by gasoline fuel

compared to other fuels mixed with bioethanol,

considering that bioethanol has lower energy than

gasoline, however, bioethanol has a higher octane

value than gasoline, while a mixture of gasoline and

Bioethanol which experienced the largest increase

was E15, the same as torque.We strongly encourage

authors to use this document for the preparation of the

camera-ready. Please follow the instructions closely

in order to make the volume look as uniform as

possible (Lee and Park, 2020).

Figure 4: Emission HC testing result: a – LNG; b – E0;

c – E10; d – E15; e – E20.

Figure 4 shows the results of the HC emission test,

it appears that the HC value in an LPG-fueled engine

is smaller than that of gasoline. This is because LPG

is an environmentally friendly gas and the difference

is around 9.43-22.04%. On the other hand, an LPG-

fueled engine when compared to a mixture of

gasoline and bioethanol, the HC level is lower in a

mixture of gasoline + bioethanol, this is because the

molecular bonds of bioethanol contain oxygen which

causes the combustion to become more complete so

that HC exhaust emissions are reduced, the difference

is around 22-46 %. The higher the bioethanol content,

the lower the HC emission level. Likewise, if the fuel,

iCAST-ES 2022 - International Conference on Applied Science and Technology on Engineering Science

392

either LPG, gasoline or bioethanol, is passed through

a magnetic field, the HC content will be even smaller,

this is due to the cluster-decluster effect which is

reduced by up to 47%.

Figure 5: Emission NOx testing result: a – LNG; b – E0;

c – E10; d – E15; e – E20.

Air consists of 80% by volume of nitrogen and

20% by volume of oxygen. At room temperature,

there is little tendency for nitrogen and oxygen to

react with each other. Nitrogen contained in the

combustion air can be oxidized and form toxic NOx,

if the combustion process occurs at a high enough

temperature.

Figure 5. Showing the results of the NOx emission

test, it appears that the NOx value in the LPG-fueled

engine is smaller than that of gasoline. This is because

LPG is an environmentally friendly gas and the

difference is around 10-34%. On the other hand, an

LPG-fueled engine when compared to a mixture of

gasoline and bioethanol, the NOx level is lower in a

gasoline + bioethanol mixture, this is because the

molecular bonds of bioethanol contain oxygen which

causes the combustion to become more complete so

that NOx exhaust emissions are reduced, the difference

is around 9-24 %. The higher the bioethanol content,

the lower the NOx emission level. Likewise, if this fuel

is passed through a magnetic field, the NOx content

will be even smaller, this is due to the cluster-decluster

effect, which reduces to 44.61%.

Figure 6. Showing the results of the CO emission

test, it appears that the value of CO in the LPG-fueled

engine is smaller than that of gasoline. This is because

LPG is an environmentally friendly gas and the

difference is 18-44%. On the other hand, an LPG-

fueled engine when compared to a mixture of

gasoline and bioethanol, the CO content is lower in a

gasoline + bioethanol mixture, this is because the

molecular bonds of bioethanol contain oxygen which

causes the combustion to become more complete so

that CO exhaust emissions are reduced, the difference

is around 6-47 %. The higher the bioethanol content,

the lower the CO emission level. Likewise, if this fuel

is passed through a magnetic field, the HC content

will be even smaller, this is due to the cluster-

decluster effect which is reduced by up to 62%.

In addition, LPG's carbon-hydrogen ratio is lower

thangasoline and LPG gas state actually burns more

homogeneously mixture. As a result, CO and HC

emissions are reduced. moreover,volumetric calorific

value of LPG is lower than gasoline and reduced

energy supplied contribute to the reductionNOx

emission. In addition, the LPG. carbon-hydrogen

ratio low fuel and LPG in a gaseous state burns

effectively with a more homogeneous fuel mixture.

At low speed, when the engine speed is increased,

NOx Emissions are gradually increasing for gasoline

and LPG due to increased of the temperature inside

the cylinder; On the other hand, HC and CO

emissions reduced as high temperatures contribute to

combustion process. On the other hand, at high speed,

restrictions in the air line increased dramatically. This

causes a reduction in of the volumetric efficiency, so

that the combustion temperature reduced due to a

decrease in the air-fuel mixture quantity. As a result,

when the engine speed overtakes the value of speed,

NOx emissions are reduced but HC and CO.

emissions slightly increased.

The Effect of Magnetic Intensity on The Characteristics of A Mixed LPG and Gasoline + Bioethanol Engine

393

Figure 6: Emission CO testing result: a – LNG; b – E0;

c – E10; d – E15; e – E20.

The magnetic field used in the fuel, gas emissions

reduced to lesser, and the value keeps decreasing with

increasing engine speed as shown on picture. 5. It is

well known that hydrocarbon molecules is a

diamagnetic molecule. So, the presence of magnets

the field on the hydrocarbon molecule can interfere

and affect H-C bond. It can pull and stretch the bond

between molecules, even though the bonds between

the H–C atoms are not separate from each other. Bond

strength will weaken slightly due to the stretching of

the bond so that, hydrogen and carbon atoms will be

more easily attracted into oxygen in the combustion

process (Sayin Kul and Ciniviz, 2020). Next up,

gasoline fuel is made up of molecules that are bonded

to each other long hydrocarbon chains. For this

reaction to take place simultaneously in the

combustion chamber, the first thing that all you have

to do is break the chemical bonds in the

hydrocarbons. Therefore, sparks are needed by spark

plugs as a spark plug external energy source to break

chemical bonds.

5 CONCLUSION

At low to medium speed there is an increase in torque

and power generated by the engine from all types of

mixed fuel tested compared to gasoline fuel. The

greatest torque and power are obtained in mixed fuels

with a percentage of 15% bioethanol. The

performance of gasoline engines (motorcycles) with

a mixture of gasoline-bioethanol fuel (E0, E10, E15,

E20) and being magnetized causes:

a. The average engine power increased by 8-16%,

b. Engine torque increased by 5-15%

c. HC emission levels reduced by up to 47%

d. NOx emission levels reduced by up to 44.61%

e. CO emission levels reduced by up to 62%

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