Alternative f uels I nevitably, the pressure to reduce emissions
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has led Iveco to research alternative fuels as well as ways to make the diesel more environmentally friendly. Experiments have taken place using a mixture of diesel and alcohol — either ethanol or methanol. Two systems were tried. The first used direct injection with the alcohol injected into the inlet port. This resulted in around 40% of the diesel being substituted by alcohol. The second method used two separate injectors per cylinder. Both diesel and alcohol were injected into the combustion chamber. With this system, diesel was used to start the engine and then the fuel was switched to alcohol for normal running. This resulted in 90% of the diesel being substituted by alcohol. On the up-side, smoke emissions are much lower, but there are complications. This engine needs two separate high pressure fuel pumps and distribution systems, with the attendant costs. Iveco has also carried out tests with hydrogen, using direct injection and spark ignition.