Stability Behavior of Water-in-Diesel Fuel Emulsion

Abstract

The presence of water within diesel fuel in the form of water-in-diesel (W/D) emulsion lowers the pollution level of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Emulsion of W/D was prepared by high-speed mixing and gradually adding water into the diesel fuel containing a small amount of emulsified agent. We measured the physical properties of diesel fuel and W/D emulsions with a pycnometer for density, Fann V.G. rotational viscometer (Chandler Engineering, Model 3500, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA) for viscosity, and a Fisher Surface Tensiomat (Fisher Scientific Co., Model 21, Hampton, New Hampshire, USA) for surface tension. We used a computer image analyzer system to investigate the water droplet fuel interaction and the water droplet distribution within the diesel phase. The results of this study show that the emulsions of 10% and 20% W/D were stabilized for 4 weeks and 10 days, respectively, under the conditions of 0.2% surfactant, 15,000 rpm, and 2 minutes of mixing time. Under the same conditions, the stability period is limited to 5 hours for emulsions with a water concentration higher than 20%. An optimum surfactant concentration of 2% was found for 40% W/D due to the polydispersity behavior of the added surfactant. The water droplet distribution and average diameter were significantly affected by the total number of mixing revolutions. We measured and investigated the physical properties of the stable W/D emulsions in terms of density, surface tension, and viscosity.