Despite the massive electrification of the energy sector, combustion-based technologies will continue to play a key role for decades to come. Therefore, to meet the ambitious target of decarbonization of the energy sector, adapting current technologies to alternative energy sources, like biofuels, is a must. The proposed work aims at investigating the role of biomass producer gas in compression ignition (CI) engines, as a substitute of diesel fuel. A micro combined heat and power generation system (CHP) consisting of an open-top downdraft gasifier, a single-cylinder water-cooled CI engine and a waste heat recovery circuit have been set-up with the aim to investigate emissions and performance at several Diesel Substitution Rates (DSR), up to 50 %. Maximum substitution levels – which occur due to knocking limitations and combustion instabilities - have been also identified. The main results show: i) a decrease of thermal and electrical efficiencies in the range of 10–30 %; ii) strong NO_x and smoke opacity reductions (with peaks close to 80 %); iii) an increase of CO emissions (above 50 %); iv) the assessment of a decreasing maximum DSR as the power load increase (98 % at the lowest load, up to 46 % at full load). Such findings offer quantitative results through which multi-objective optimization procedures could be implemented. Moreover, experimental results indicate the need for a diesel injection timing optimization strategy to mitigate CO emissions.

尽管能源部门大规模电气化，但基于燃烧的技术将在未来几十年继续发挥关键作用。因此，为了实现能源部门脱碳的宏伟目标，必须将当前技术应用于替代能源，如生物燃料。拟议的工作目标研究生物质产生气在压缩点火 (CI) 发动机中的作用，作为柴油燃料的替代品。由开顶下吸式气化炉、单缸水冷 CI 发动机和余热回收回路组成的微型热电联产系统 (CHP) 已经建立，目的是研究几个方面的排放和性能。柴油替代率 (DSR)，高达 50%。由于爆震限制和燃烧不稳定性而发生的最大替代水平也已确定。主要结果表明：i) 热效率和电效率降低 10-30%；ii) 强 NO _x和烟雾不透明度降低（峰值接近 80%）；iii) 二氧化碳排放量增加（超过 50%）；iv) 评估随着功率负载增加而降低的最大 DSR（最低负载时为 98%，满载时高达 46%）。这些发现提供了定量结果，通过这些结果可以实施多目标优化程序。此外，实验结果表明需要柴油喷射正时优化策略来减少 CO 排放。