Fuel blend strategies using Ammonia, Biodiesel, and nanoparticles for compression ignition engines: A comparative review of performance and emission characteristics

Document Type

Review

Publication Date

9-15-2026

Abstract

This review examines the performance and emission characteristics of three ammonia-based dual-fuel strategies for compression-ignition engines: ammonia–diesel (AD), ammonia–biodiesel (ABD), and ammonia–biodiesel–nanoparticle (ABN) blends, using diesel as the baseline. A quantitative, trend-based comparative approach is adopted, normalising experimental data from the literature to enable cross-study comparison. For AD operation, ammonia substitution leads to relative changes of −57 to +34% in brake thermal efficiency (BTE), −16.5 to +10.3% in brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), −98 to +2200% in CO, −70% to +184% in NOx, and −89% to +1000% in unburned hydrocarbons (UHC), compared with diesel operation. For the ABD operation, BTE varies between −18% and +6% relative to diesel operation, while BSFC ranges from −12% to +67%. Emission behaviour is mixed, ranging from −50% to +139% in CO, −82% to +24% in NOx, −54% to +134% in UHC, depending on operating conditions. For ABN operation, BTE and BSFC vary from −8.3 to +8.7% and −20.6 to +37.5%, respectively, while emissions range from −42 to −17% for CO, 0 to +12% for NOx, and −43 to −7% for UHC. The novelty of this review lies in its unified, data-driven comparison of AD, ABD, and ABN strategies using normalised experimental metrics, coupled with a structured SWOT assessment to develop a statistically informed feasibility ranking of ammonia-based dual-fuel blends. Overall, ABD systems appear to be the most feasible, while AD and ABN pathways offer promising directions toward cleaner, carbon–neutral engine operation.

Keywords

Ammonia-biodiesel blends, Ammonia-diesel dual-fuel, ANOVA, Carbon-neutral fuels, Nanoparticle fuel additives, Performance–emission characteristics, SWOT analysis

Publication Title

Fuel

ISSN

0016-2361

DOI

10.1016/j.fuel.2026.138762

Volume

420

Publisher

Elsevier

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