The demand for petroleum oil for commercial use is constantly increasing in China. The supply of petroleum oil however largely relies on the amount imported thus, developing an alternative fuel to diesel fuel is an essential strategy for energy security.

Recently, Professor Yao Chunde led a research team from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin University and explored the Diesel Methanol Compound Combustion (DMCC) which starts an engine with pure diesel and when it fully warms up switches to and runs on the dual fuel of diesel/methanol. DMCC has successfully solved the ignition problems of methanol and has made the burning of fuel in engines cleaner. Notably, the substitution rate of oil achieves a minimum rate of 45% and, often goes above 45% after using methanol as the alternative fuel. This technology won the first prize of the 2016 China Machinery Industry Science and Technology Award.

The working principle of diesel/methanol dual-fuel vehicle and applicable vehicles for the technology.

Yao and his team designed the pivotal part of the methanol injection system and established a well-organized process for independent-research and development. The DMCC engine operates with a fully autonomous and electronically controlled system. When the engine reaches a set temperature, the electronic control system is triggered to inject methanol to the inlet through the nozzle installed in the intake manifold. As a result, methanol and air is well-mixed and burnt together with diesel in the cylinder. This technology not only reduces the emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matters, such as soot, but also meets the emission standards of the National Stage IV and National Stage V without the assistance of urea.

Yao mentioned that this technology is compatible with the present production of diesel engines. The modification process is rather convenient and reliable, as what a new engine needs is a methanol nozzle assembly in the main inlet, a methanol tank installed to the chassis, and an electronically controlled system. The cost of the modification process is around RMB 20,000. According to the investigation of over a hundred heavy-duty vehicles, using the DMCC heavy-duty trucks reduces fuel costs by 20%~25%.