Lube-Tech
the development of alternative internal combustion engines, there has been a long-term investigation involved in the improvement of engine efficiency, from engine performance to fuel consumption [7]. Under typical conditions, heavy-duty vehicles demonstrate an energy conversion efficiency of 15-20% from fuel potential to wheel power - indicating significant mechanical loss. [8]. Figure 1 demonstrates this energy conversion efficiency. Further, Figure 1 highlights a significant potential for internal engine friction to reach as high as 50% of the mechanical losses in ICEs [9]. Hence, prioritising this area becomes crucial to benefit fuel economy and overall fuel efficiency. This paper examines a method to reduce ICE mechanical losses, focusing on the use of Low Viscosity Oils, which is a promising approach.
PUBLISHED BY LUBE: THE EUROPEAN LUBRICANTS INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
No.150 page 2
energy demand [10]. Regardless, this portion of the demand is no small feat - Table 2 examines the average daily demand for transport fuels for the third quarter of 2018 [5].
Table 1: The percentage share of global transport energy demand in 2018 across different transport sectors [10]
Table 2: Average global daily demand for transport fuels, third quarter 2018 [5,11]
Figure 1: Diagram of typical energy distribution in an average heavy-duty vehicle. Sourced from [8], under open access
Tribology of low viscosity oils 3.1 The scale of necessity
Over the past century, the oil industry has remained expensive and difficult to replicate. Transportation is heavily linked to petroleum usage, with around 95% of transport energy being reliant on petroleum-based liquid fuels, and 60% of crude oil is used to make transport fuels [10]. Table 1 shows the demand for energy across the global transport sector in 2018.
However, it is important to note that this chart is only relative to marine, aircraft, and land transport, which account for only half of the total global transport
28 LUBE MAGAZINE NO.179 FEBRUARY 2024
According to this data, an exajoule is equivalent to 163.4 million Barrel of Oil Equivalent. The second column, energy, is found by dividing the BOE value by the value of 1 exajoule in terms of BOE. The energy value is then converted into fuel volume by multiplying the corresponding volumetric energy density by the energy. For example, 32.5 MJ/l is used for gasoline, 36 MJ/l is used for diesel and jet fuel, and 40 MJ/l is used for residual fuel oil. Therefore, the planet burns through over 11 billion liters of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel daily [5]. This daily amount of fuel burnt is alarming because it is releasing an equivalent of 42.4 billion grams of carbon dioxide emissions, given 426.10 kg CO2
released per 42-gallon BOE, which adds significant harm to the environment via
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