Effect of components on the emulsification characteristic of glucose solution emulsified heavy fuel oil

Abstract

Glucose, which can be obtained from the biomass directly, was added into the heavy fuel oil in the form of an aqueous solution to prepare a novel alternative emulsified fuel. The effects of different components (water, glucose and surfactant) on the droplet size distribution, the stability and the viscosity-temperature characteristics were studied experimentally. Results show that the increases in both the water concentration (0–40v/v%) and the hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) value (4.3–14.3) have the negative influence on the stability. By contrast, with the enhanced glucose blend ratio (0–40%), the stability and the homogeneity present the rising trends before they are decreased. It is worth noting that the long-term stability (85 °C, 30 days without separation) along with the minimum mean droplet size can be obtained at the 30% glucose blend ratio. Besides, the long-term stability cannot be not obtained at both surfactant concentration of 1% and 5%. The viscosity of the emulsion with surfactant is reduced in the range of 25–35 °C but increased in the range of 60–95 °C compared with that of emulsion without surfactant. Furthermore, there exists the quite slight change of the viscosity with the addition of glucose.