Internal combustion engine performance with ammonia fuel blends

Ammonia (NH3) has been looked at as a possible hydrogen carrier working as an alternative or supplement to fossil fuels in internal combustion engines. Its lack of carbon and sulfur make it an attractive alternative to other gaseous based fuels and its lower pressure liquid storage properties make it a leading hydrogen carrier compared to pure hydrogen. Additionally, millions of tons of ammonia are produced and shipped internationally as the second most produced chemical in the world.

This is an analysis of the impact of ammonia-gasoline blends in modern, electronically controlled internal combustion engines. The ammonia is blended into standard pump gasoline fuel including 90 Octane alcohol free Gasoline, base 86 Octane E10 Gasoline (10% Ethanol). Engine performance is measured with and without the ammonia mixture in the fuel. The engine used is a GM LE5 Ecotec 2.4L four-cylinder engine with the factory controls and hardware unchanged.

This test demonstrates that small concentrations of ammonia can be compensated for by the factory controllers without loss of power and that ammonia, with the right fuel blend, can increase power in existing systems.