Emulsion Fuels Research Articles

Analysis of composition and dispersion of fuel emulsions

The development of the economy of the state, as well as industrial enterprises, leads to an increase in demand for all types of energy carriers. This is characterized by the constant search and exploration of new progressive types of energy and sources of raw materials, especially for thermal power plant TPPs, CHPs and utilities, which use liquid fuel - usually fuel oil - to operate. For such enterprises, stable and timely supply of fuel raw materials, improvement of methods of its combustion, reduction in the cost of obtaining energy, etc. are relevant. Existing heavy hydrocarbon combustion technologies are of poor quality and it is therefore advisable to develop new ones or to optimize existing ones. This will reduce energy costs for technological preparatory operations for the de-watering of fuels, reduce the amount of polluted water reservoirs, and minimize their harmful effects on the envi-ronment. One of the most promising areas for combustion of heavy water hydrocarbons is the use of water emulsion fuels (WEF). The stability and efficiency of combustion of such a fuel emulsion will greatly depend on the amount and dispersion of water in the WEF. Today, such emulsification technologies and WEF parameters are not yet well understood and are therefore of great scientific and practical importance. The analysis of the theories describing the effect of dispersion and the amount of water in the emulsion on the combustion indices shows that they are contradictory. This can be due to the different physical characteristics of the fuel: composition, viscosity, temperature, etc., which has led to different results. Since studies by different authors were conducted under dif-ferent conditions, modes, equipment and with different fuel emulsions, it is not possible to indicate the optimum value of dispersion and amount of water. Obviously, in each case there will be a different optimal "surface" of the ratio of the size of the droplets of water and its number in the WEF. Future experimental and theoretical studies on the combustion of WEF should focus on the water content range of 3-30% and the dispersion of 1-35 microns.

Experimental Comparison of Smoke Opacity and Particulate Matter Emissions with the Use of Emulsion Fuel

Most studies reported that smoke opacity and particulate matter (PM) are substantially reduced when using emulsion fuel. The goal of this work was to predict the PM reduction of diesel emulsion fuel by measuring the smoke opacity, which is known to be proportional with PM. The smoke/PM measurements were mostly of the particulate trap type, which is lengthy, arduous and only offers cumulative results. In this study, the smoke opacity was measured in real-time by using a smoke opacimeter to obtain faster, simpler and continuous results. The results were compared to the results of Legal Particulate Sampling (LPS). The types of fuel used in this study were an emulsion fuel denoted as E10 and Malaysian EURO2 diesel (D2M). Even though the PM emission of E10 was 20% lower than D2M, the smoke opacity of E10 was 200% higher. It was concluded that the opacimeter could not be used to predict the PM reduction in emulsified D2M.

Hydrothermal liquefaction of Chlorella pyrenoidosa and effect of emulsification on upgrading the bio-oil

This work studied the hydrothermal liquefaction of Chlorella pyrenoidosa and effect of emulsification on upgrading the bio-oil. The fuel properties and storage stability characteristics of emulsion fuels were explored. The combustion characteristic analysis showed that the ignition temperatures of emulsion fuels (139.6–151.3 °C) were lower than that of bio-oil (176.9 °C). Besides, emulsion fuels had higher comprehensive combustion indexes (7.24–14.08 × 10−6 × min−2 × C−3) than bio-oil (1.51 × 10−6 × min−2 × C−3), indicating that emulsion fuels had better combustion performance. The kinetic analysis showed that emulsification could effectively reduce the activation energy, resulting in less energy input for combustion. Based on chemical composition evolution during the storage process, a possible stability mechanism was proposed. The storage stability analysis indicated that the diesel-solvable fractions in bio-oil had better stability. Overall, this work provides a feasible way for bio-oil upgrading through emulsification. In addition, a better understanding of the stability property of emulsion fuel was provided.

Effect of Nano-Graphene Oxide and n-Butanol Fuel Additives Blended with Diesel—Nigella sativa Biodiesel Fuel Emulsion on Diesel Engine Characteristics

The present investigation uses a blend of Nigella sativa biodiesel, diesel, n-butanol, and graphene oxide nanoparticles to enhance the performance, combustion and symmetric characteristics and to reduce the emissions from the diesel engine of a modified common rail direct injection (CRDI). A symmetric toroidal-type combustion chamber and a six-hole solenoid fuel injector were used in the current investigation. The research aimed to study the effect of two fuel additives, n-butanol and synthesized asymmetric graphene oxide nanoparticles, in improving the fuel properties of Nigella sativa biodiesel (NSME25). The concentration of n-butanol (10%) was kept constant, and asymmetric graphene oxide nano-additive and sodium dodecyl benzene sulphonate (SDBS) surfactant were added to n-butanol and NSME25 in the form of nanofluid in varying proportions. The nanofluids were prepared using a probe sonication process to prevent nanoparticles from agglomerating in the base fluid. The process was repeated for biodiesel, n-butanol and nanofluid, and four different stable and symmetric nanofuel mixtures were prepared by varying the graphene oxide (30, 60, 90 and 120 ppm). The nanofuel blend NSME25B10GO90 displayed an enhancement in the brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and a reduction in brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) at maximum load due to high catalytic activity and the enhanced microexplosion phenomenon developed by graphene oxide nanoparticles. The heat release rate (HRR), in-cylinder temperature increased, while exhaust gas temperature (EGT) decreased. Smoke, hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions also fell, in a trade-off with marginally increased NOx, for all nanofuel blends, compared with Nigella sativa biodiesel. The results obtained indicates that 90 ppm of graphene oxide nanoparticles and 10% n-butanol in Nigella sativa biodiesel are comparable with diesel fuel.

The Influence of Water and DEE as Additives with Diesel Fuel in a Light Duty Diesel Engine Generator-An Experimental Investigation

Currently, our global environment has been affected due to the air pollution caused by many sectors (such as automotive, industrial, transportation) in higher magnitudes. Many environmentalists, scientists, researchers and engineers have contributed their efforts to eradicate the air pollution. It is well known noted that most of the harmful pollutants were evolved from diesel engine power engines/plants. Considering the objective of enhancing performance and reducing harmful emissions of diesel engine, the current research work has been conducted on mixing DEE (Di-Ethyl Ether) and normal water with normal diesel fuel in definite quantities. Five stages of investigations were carried out to perform the task of blending water and DEE with the normal diesel fuel. In the first stage, to obtain the baseline readings, normal diesel fuel was experimented in a light duty constant speed diesel engine. Normal water (2% & 4% by vol.) was combined with the normal diesel fuel with the aid of emulsifiers (Span80 & Tween80) and mechanical stirrer (speed of 3000 rpm) to obtain the water blended diesel emulsion fuels in the second stage. In the third stage, DEE was mixed with water-emulsion fuels which were prepared in the second stage. The stability and properties of fuels was determined in the fourth stage. In the fifth stage, the prepared stable DEE-water-diesel emulsion fuels were tested in a light duty constant speed diesel engine generator and eventually compared to those readings of normal diesel fuel. Experimental outcome from all the tested fuels revealed that water and DEE mixed emulsion fuels reflected better performance and reduced harmful emission attributes.

Taguchi‐Grey and ANOVA optimization techniques for engine performance with water in diesel emulsion fuels

AbstractIn the current study, optimization of the performance parameters like effective power (EP), effective power density (EPD), effective efficiency (EE), and different heat losses with respect to six engine control parameters, that is, emulsion fuel, compression ratio, equivalence ratio, engine speed, residual gas fraction, and fuel injection pressure with three levels of each, were performed. Taguchi method is used to design the L27 orthogonal array, using Minitab17 software. Optimization of individual performance parameters is performed with the signal to noise ratio curve, and Grey analysis is used to optimize the overall output performance parameters. Furthermore, an analysis of variance method is investigated to calculate the contribution percentage of control parameters. The theoretical analysis revealed that the overall optimum response of output parameters is found with 10% blend of water (A3), 18 compression ratio (B3), 0.8 equivalence ratio (C1), 2100 rpm engine speed (D3), 10% residual gas fraction (E3), and 100 kPa fuel injection pressure (F1). The EP and EPD are improved by 9.6% and 9.19%, respectively. Also, an average GRG for optimum response setting coincides with the average GRG value of the initial setting. The resulted optimization models are anticipated to be positive instruction for diesel engine operating parameters.

Combustion, performance and emission evaluation of a diesel engine fueled with soybean biodiesel and its water blends

The present study aims to evaluate the combustion, performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fueled with SB and its water blends (10% and 20%), and the results compared with BD. Emulsion fuels were prepared using Sorbitan monolaurate surfactant and high-speed of mechanical agitation, and the properties were measured. Experiments were conducted in a single-cylinder, 4-stroke and naturally aspirated diesel engine with an eddy current dynamometer under different BMEP conditions. The measured physicochemical properties of test fuels are at par with standard limits except for SB20W emulsion fuel’s viscosity. The peak ICP, NHR, RPR and IDP are reduced for SB compared to BD, whereas significant increases are recorded with water emulsified SBs. The BSFC of SB is higher than BD due to its lower calorific value. However, the BSEC of SB and SB10W emulsion fuel is lower than BD due to an enhanced combustion reaction. The pure SB exhibits a higher magnitude of NOx emission and lower magnitude of smoke, CO and HC emissions compared to BD. An increase in water concentration reduces the NOx emission, and SB10W emulsion fuel exhibits better smoke, HC and CO emissions under partial and peak BMEP conditions compared to other test fuels.

Emissions and performance analysis of diesel powered road vehicle equipped with real-time non-surfactant emulsion fuel supply system

Water-in-diesel (W/D) emulsion is one of the promising alternative fuel that improves the combustion efficiency of a diesel engine and simultaneously reduces harmful exhaust emissions. To ensure a stable emulsion, surfactant is used during the formation of W/D emulsion which causes additional costs for this alternative fuel. A device called as Real-Time Non-Surfactant Emulsion Fuel Supply System (RTES) was invented to eliminates the use of surfactant and rapidly supply the W/D emulsion to the engine. The efficiency of 1-ton light-duty diesel truck fueled with W/D emulsion fuel produced by RTES was tested. Two types of the experimental method were used which chassis dynamometer testing and on-road are testing. The optimum water percentage and vehicle speed were evaluated from the result of exhaust emissions and fuel consumption measurement. Chassis dynamometer testing showed that the optimum water percentage for DE2 were 6.5% and vehicle speed aimed at 52 km/h was selected as the optimum vehicle speed. In on-road testing, the urban route gave the deficient results for both exhaust emissions and fuel consumption which agree with chassis dynamometer testing result where emulsion fuel is not suitable to be used at low speed vehicle operation.

Nitrogen Removal in Pig Urine as Emulsifier of Emulsion Fuel

Nitrogen Removal in Pig Urine as Emulsifier of Emulsion Fuel

Consolidating emission indices of a diesel engine powered by carbon nanoparticle-doped diesel/biodiesel emulsion fuels using life cycle assessment framework

This study was aimed at consolidating emission indices of a diesel engine powered by carbon nanoparticles (CNP)-doped diesel/biodiesel emulsion fuels using a life cycle assessment (LCA) framework. The effects of fuel chemistry and engine load on the consolidated LCA-based environmental indicators of the engine (i.e., human health, ecosystem quality, climate change, and resource consumption damage categories) were investigated. Mineral diesel was reconstituted by adding 5 wt% biodiesel, 3 wt% water, and various concentrations of the waste-derived aqueous CNP ranging from 38 to 150 μM. Three CNP-free baseline fuels were also used as control. The engine was loaded in the range of 25–100% and at a fixed speed of 1000 rpm. In general, electricity use in the CNP manufacturing process increased all the investigated damage categories for the fuel blends dosed with the nanoadditive. Nevertheless, the lowest weighted environmental impacts per GJ shaft work were also obtained for the CNP-doped emulsified fuels. More specifically, dosing diesel/biodiesel emulsion fuel with 38 and 150 µM CNP favorably mitigated all the LCA-based environmental indicators considered herein through declining brake specific fuel consumption, boosting brake power, as well as abating lower brake specific nitrogen oxides and brake specific carbon dioxide. The weighted environmental impacts showed that diesel/biodiesel emulsion fuels doped with 150 and 38 µM nanoadditive were the most appealing fuel blends at low and full load operations, respectively. The eco-friendliest blend was diesel/biodiesel emulsion doped with 38 µM nanoadditive with an overall score of 61.3 mPts/GJ shaft work.

The Effect of Fuel Emulsion on Fuel Saving in Fire Tube Boilers of Tartous Company for Cement and Construction Materials

In this work, the combustion of heavy oil and its emulsions with water, in the fire-tube boilers, was investigated in experiments on an industrial scale. The performance of the fire-tube boilers, used in Tartous company for cement and construction materials, was studied when they were employed to be operated with heavy fuel oil (HFO) and with the water phase of emulsified heavy oil containing 8 vol. % water and 92 vol. % heavy fuel oil (HFO). The emulsified water/heavy fuel oil (W/HFO) with 8 vol. % of water content showed no separation and contained the smallest and most homogeneous water-in-HFO (W/HFO) droplets after stability tests. Four boilers, each with 8 ton h-1 steam capacity, have been operated for 4 months with a regular heavy fuel oil HFO and W/HFO. It has been found that the micro-explosion, observed in W/HFO, improved the boiler efficiency and reduced the fuel consumption by 12.99%.

The Effect of Fuel Emulsion on Fuel Saving in Cement Kilns

In this work, the combustion of heavy oil and its emulsions with water, in the cement kilns, was investigated in experiments on an industrial scale. The performance of the cement rotary kilns, used in Tartous Company for cement and construction materials, was studied when they were employed to be operated with heavy fuel oil (HFO) and with the water phase of emulsified heavy oil containing 8 vol. % water and 92 vol. % heavy fuel oil (HFO). The emulsified water/heavy fuel oil (W/HFO) with 8 vol. % of water content showed no separation and contained the smallest and most homogeneous water-in-HFO (W/HFO) droplets after stability tests. Four rotary kilns have been operated for 4 months with a regular heavy fuel oil HFO and W0.08/HFO0.092. It has been found that the micro-explosion, observed in W0.08/HFO0.092, improved the kiln efficiency and reduced the fuel consumption by 10.31% in the case of normal feeding while the fuel saving increases with decreasing the feeding rate and reaches 12.99 at low feeding rate. The effect of emulsified fuel on the composition of Portland cement clinker that produced in Tartous Company for cement and construction materials using these two types of fuels is investigated. It is found that the influence is practically negligible on the Alite and Ferrite phases of clinker composition while the influence on the other two phases is important.

An emission control strategy in a low capacity single cylinder compression ignition engine powered with DEE blended fuels

In this current research analysis, fuel modification technique is preferred on expending water, diesel, surfactants, and an ignition enhancer (Di-Ethyl Ether – DEE). The whole research analysis was conducted in six segments. In the first segment, neat diesel was used as a solitary fuel in a diesel engine to accomplish the reference readings. In the second segment, DEE was mixed with the neat diesel fuel in a fixed proportion (say, 98% neat diesel + 2% DEE & 96% neat diesel + 4% DEE), and in the third segment, water blended diesel emulsion fuels were synthesized (98% neat diesel + 2% water + surfactants & 96% diesel + 4% water + surfactants). In the fourth segment, DEE + water blended emulsion fuels were synthesized (98% neat diesel + 2% water + surfactant + DEE & 96% neat diesel + 4% water + surfactants + DEE) systematically. In the fifth segment, the fuel properties, stability were investigated, and eventually, in the sixth segment, the prepared stable fuels were subjected for the experimental investigations in a CI engine. It was examined that the fuel (which contained 96% Diesel, 4% water, surfactants and DEE) was the best candidate among the tested fuels due to effects of micro explosions and secondary atomization. At the maximum load, the performance attributes (such as brake specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency) of 96D4H2OSDEE observed as 0.274 kg/kWh and 30.82%, whereas, it was 0.331 kg/kWh and 25.52% for the neat diesel respectively. With regards to emission attributes, the emissions of NOx and HC for the 96D4H2OSDEE were 1.2 g/kWh and 0.12 g/kWh, while compared to that of 1.5 g/kWh and 0.14 g/kWh ppm for the neat diesel fuel at the 4000 W. Similar trend was also reflected in terms of smoke opacity, at the full load, the level of smoke opacity observed was 55% for 96D4H2OSDEE, whereas, it was 79%, for the neat diesel fuel.

Effect of Water Droplet Diameter profile in Water-in-Oil Emulsion Fuel on Diesel Engine Operation characteristics

Effect of Water Droplet Diameter profile in Water-in-Oil Emulsion Fuel on Diesel Engine Operation characteristics

Effect of Water Content in Light Oil-Water Emulsion Fuel on Diesel Engine Operating Performance

Effect of Water Content in Light Oil-Water Emulsion Fuel on Diesel Engine Operating Performance

Evaluation of Atomization Timing and Optimal Water Content of a Water Emulsified Fuel Droplet

Evaluation of Atomization Timing and Optimal Water Content of a Water Emulsified Fuel Droplet

Potential Benefits of Diesel Aloe Vera Emulsified Fuel in A Non-Road Diesel Engine

In this paper, an experimental attempt has been made to improve the performance and emission of a non-road diesel engine using adiesel aloe vera emulsified fuel (A10). Two fuel samples such as neat diesel (D100) and diesel aloe vera emulsified fuel referred to as A10 (10% aloe vera, 89% diesel, 1% surfactant) was used to conduct the experiments and the obtained results were compared. The experiments were carried out on a single cylinder non-road Genset diesel engine at low load (BMEP 1.54 bar), mid load (BMEP 3.09 bar) and high load(BMEP 4.63 &6.18 bar) conditions.The experimental results show that the dieselaloe vera emulsified fuel resulted in reduced nitric oxide (NO) with increased brake thermal efficiency (BTE). overall, a 19.24% reduction in NO emission and a 9.82% increase in BTE was observed. Also, it was noticed that the A10 prolonged the ignition delay and improved the air-fuel mixing inside the combustion chamber.

Performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine operating on different water in diesel emulsion fuels: optimization using response surface methodology (RSM)

The nitrogen oxide (NOx) release of diesel engines can be reduced using water in diesel emulsion fuel without any engine modification. In the present paper, different formulations of water in diesel emulsion fuels were prepared by ultrasonic irradiation. The water droplet size in the emulsion, polydisperisty index, and the stability of prepared fuel was examined, experimentally. Afterwards, the performance characteristics and exhaust emission of a single cylinder air-cooled diesel engine were investigated using different water in diesel emulsion fuels. The effect of water content (in the range of 5%–10% by volume), surfactant content (in the range of 0.5%–2% by volume), and hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) (in the range of 5–8) was examined using Box-Behnken design (BBD) as a subset of response surface methodology (RSM). Considering multi-objective optimization, the best formulation for the emulsion fuel was found to be 5% water, 2% surfactant, and HLB of 6.8. A comparison was made between the best emulsion fuel and the neat diesel fuel for engine performance and emission characteristics. A considerable decrease in the nitrogen oxide emission (−18.24%) was observed for the best emulsion fuel compared to neat diesel fuel.

Reductions of Particulate Matter Emissions of a Diesel Engine Fueled with Oxygenated and Emulsion Fuels

Reductions of Particulate Matter Emissions of a Diesel Engine Fueled with Oxygenated and Emulsion Fuels

Diesel Emulsion Fuels with Ultralong Stability

Water-in-diesel emulsions have garnered attention in recent years as a potential route to mitigate vehicular pollution. In this work, the formation, flow behavior, and microstructure of water-in-diesel microemulsions using an anionic surfactant, sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT), is investigated and compared with the water–decane–AOT microemulsion system. Rheological measurements on the microemulsions indicate Newtonian behavior over a moderate range of shear rate. The viscosity of the microemulsions shows a weak dependence on the molar ratio of water-to-surfactant (ω) but increases significantly with the increase in the dispersed phase volume fraction (Φ). Dynamic light scattering (DLS) investigation of the microemulsions indicates a single exponential decay of the intensity autocorrelation functions over a wide range of water and AOT concentrations, indicating that the dispersed phase consists of a monodispersed population of water droplets. Results suggest that optimizing ω can regulate the...