Characterization of soot emitted from the atmospheric combustion of diethyl ether-diesel blends

Abstract

In accordance with the European commission’s renewable energy proposal for 2030, advanced biofuels should be blended at a minimum of 3.6 % with conventional fuels used for powering internal combustion engines. Ethers, which may be produced using modern production methods from sustainable sources like biomass, may be crucial in this regard in the future. This study demonstrates the impact of diethyl ether as a blend component (mixed with diesel) on the characteristics of the soot generated from the diethyl ether-atmospheric diesel's combustion. The soot used in this work came from a smoke point lamp that burned a mixture of diesel and diethyl ether as per ASTM D1322 standard. Diethyl ether (DEE) and diesel (D) were combined in the following blends: DEE5D (5 % diethyl ether and 95 % diesel v/v), and DEE20D (20 % diethyl ether and 80 % diesel v/v). The obtained soot was characterized in detail using the following: elemental analyzer, X-Ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), RAMAN spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy. According to the results from XRD and Raman spectroscopy, the soot nanostructure is influenced by the amount of diethyl ether present in the mixture, which raises the reactivity. The results of the elemental analyzer and 1H NMR matched those of the TGA's soot reactivity (oxidations). The results from the SEM and TEM tests, however, were not enoughto support the experimental findings.