Combustion Properties of Spray Flames of Canola Methyl Ester and Diesel Blends at Lean Inlet Equivalence Ratios

摘要

The objective of this study was to document the combustion characteristics of spray flames of Canola Methyl Ester (CME) and No 2 diesel (petroleum fuel) blends. Three blends with 25%, 50% and 75% volume concentration of CME were studied. The fuel was atomized and burned in a heated stream of air at supply equivalence ratios of 0.62 and 0.75. Measurements of global CO and NO emissions, in-flame temperature and in-flame concentrations of combustion products were made. The near-injector homogeneous gas-phase reaction zone increased in size with the addition of CME. The global NO emission decreased significantly with the increase in CME content in the fuel blend at the equivalence ratio of 0.62; however, the global NO emission index of all the tested flames was comparable at the equivalence ratio of 0.75. The in-flame NO concentration profiles and flame temperature profiles followed similar trends, suggesting that the thermal mechanism of NO formation was dominant in these flames.