Effect of Fuel Additive on Emissions, Power, and Torque in Diesel Internal Combustion Engine

The paper deals with the effects of fuel additive on the performance parameters and emissions of a diesel engine. Experimental measurements were carried out on a Renault Alaskan 2.3 dCi vehicle with 96,500 km mileage, using a MAHA MSR500/3 dynamometer and a MAHA MET MGT 6.3 exhaust gas analyser. The tests compared power, torque, and emissions (CO, CO₂, HC, NO₂, smoke opacity) when using pure diesel fuel and diesel with additive in a 1 : 1000 ratio. The results showed a statistically significant improvement in performance characteristics: average power increased by 11.4% (from 87.41 kW to 97.34 kW) and torque by 14.2% (from 315.30 Nm to 360.19 Nm), with the maximum difference in the mid-range rpm (2000–3000 min⁻¹). Emissions showed a reduction in CO₂ (by 6.6%) and NO₂ (by 10.3%), but the HC content increased almost threefold. Differences in CO and smoke opacity were at the measurement error threshold. The statistical analysis (two-sample t-test) confirmed the high significance of the results (p-values <0.05). The conclusions point to a complex effect of the additive, including an influence on the fuel system and turbocharger, which led to more efficient combustion manifested by higher performance and an altered emission profile.