Performance, Emissions, Optimization of Ammonia and Biodiesel Utilization in Compression Ignition Diesel Engines: A Review

Abstract

The global energy crisis and decarbonization demands emphasize the need for low-carbon fuels that remain compatible with conventional diesel engines. Ammonia and biodiesel have emerged as complementary candidates for compression ignition engine applications. This article summarizes 56 publications discussing engine performance, emission characteristics, and optimization strategies for their use, both separately and in dual-fuel configurations. The study results show that a blend of 40% ammonia and 60% biodiesel can increase thermal efficiency by up to 21.3%, decrease specific fuel consumption by 4.06%, and reduce CO₂ emissions by 6.6% compared to pure diesel. A dual injection strategy with a timing of 25° BTDC proved effective in shortening the ignition delay and increasing heat release. Predictive approaches based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Response Surface Method (RSM) also demonstrated high accuracy (R² > 0.99). However, significant technical challenges remain, particularly increased NOx emissions, ammonia slip, and N₂O formation. This study confirms the potential of ammonia–biodiesel as a transition fuel towards a low-carbon energy system, requiring the implementation of emission control technologies, precision injection engineering, and adaptive combustion strategies. Open research areas include long-term durability testing, performance in multi-cylinder engines under transient conditions, and the development of a multi-objective optimization algorithm based on the integration of ANN, RSM, and evolutionary methods.

Keywords

• Biodiesel
• ammonia
• ci diesel engine
• exhaust emissions
• injection optimization

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