COMBUSTION PERFORMANCE OF LIQUID BIO-FUELS IN A SWIRL-STABILIZED BURNER

摘要

Fuels produced from renewable sources offer an economically viable pathway to curtail emissions of greenhouse gases. Two such liquid fuels in common usage are biodiesel and ethanol derived from soybean, corn or other food crops. In recent years, significant effort has been devoted to identify alternate feedstock sources and conversion techniques to diversify the biofuels portfolio. In this study, we have measured emissions from flames of diesel, biodiesel, emulsified biooil, and diesel-biodiesel blends. Experiments are conducted in an atmospheric pressure burner with an air-atomized injector and swirling primary air around it to replicate typical features of a gas turbine combustor. Experiments were conducted for fixed air and fuel flow rates, while the airflow split between the injector and the co-flow swirler was varied. Results show a significant reduction in emissions as the fraction of total air fed into the atomizer is increased. Blue flames, reminiscent of premixed combustion and low emissions of nitric oxides and carbon monoxide were observed for all fuel blends. In general, the emissions from bio-fuel flames were comparable or lower than those from diesel flames.