Influence of Injection Strategy on the Combustion and Emissions Characteristics of Carinata Biodiesel and n-Butanol

Location

Room 2911

Session Format

Paper Presentation

Research Area Topic:

Engineering and Material Sciences - Mechanical

Abstract

The goal of the study is to determine the influence of injection strategy on combustion and emissions of two renewable and alternative biofuels and to reduce harmful emissions. The study will compare direct injection of carinata biodiesel/n-butanol blends to a direct injection of carinata biodiesel and a port fuel injection of n-butanol. As emissions, such as soot and NOx, become more regulated by the EPA and state governments, there is an increased need for advanced combustion research that leads to harmful emissions mitigation during combustion. In the preliminary stage of this research, a direct injection of a biodiesel/n-butanol blend was investigated. The biodiesel blend, C90, included 90% brassica carinata (nearly 50% erucic acid methyl ester) and 10% n-butanol bio-alcohol by mass. The biodiesel, or fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), was produced through a sodium hydroxide (NaOH) catalyst transesterification with brassica carinata crude oil. Carinata is a non-food feedstock, thus there is no limit on how much biofuel can be made from a carinata crop. The lower heating value of C90 was 37.25 MJ/kg, compared to 42.6 MJ/kg for jultra-low sulfur diesel#2 (ULSD#2). The ignition delay of ULSD#2 was 10.7 crank angle degrees (CAD) and decreased to 9.4 CAD for C90, which can be attributed to the higher cetane number of the biodiesel blend. The crank angle at which 50% of the total fuel mass was burned (CA50) was found to be advanced by 0.6 CAD for C90 when compared to ULSD#2. Nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions decreased by 7% for the C90 blend, from 18.7 g/kWh for ULSD#2 to 17.4 g/kWh for C90. ULSD#2 produced 6.2 g/kWh of unburned hydrocarbons (UHC) while C90 produced 6.0 g/kWh. The particulate matter (PM) emissions for C90 exhibited a decrease of 55%, from 0.21 g/kWh for ULSD#2 to 0.01 g/kWh for C90. The decrease in soot emissions is attributed to the increased oxygen content in the biodiesel and in the bio-alcohol when compared to ULSD#2. The renewable fuels used in the study proved to be capable of reducing soot by 55% without exhaust gas after treatment systems and without reducing combustion efficiency. Since carinata can be grown in Georgia, the research could benefit the community by increasing awareness of the feedstock and creating new jobs. The next phase of this research is to investigate the secondary injection strategy, which includes a direct injection of carinata biodiesel (90% total fuel mass) and port fuel injection of n-butanol (10% total fuel mass). With the secondary injection strategy, even greater soot and NOx reductions are expected.

Presentation Type and Release Option

Presentation (Open Access)

Start Date

4-16-2016 9:30 AM

End Date

4-16-2016 10:30 AM

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Apr 16th, 9:30 AM Apr 16th, 10:30 AM

Influence of Injection Strategy on the Combustion and Emissions Characteristics of Carinata Biodiesel and n-Butanol

Room 2911

The goal of the study is to determine the influence of injection strategy on combustion and emissions of two renewable and alternative biofuels and to reduce harmful emissions. The study will compare direct injection of carinata biodiesel/n-butanol blends to a direct injection of carinata biodiesel and a port fuel injection of n-butanol. As emissions, such as soot and NOx, become more regulated by the EPA and state governments, there is an increased need for advanced combustion research that leads to harmful emissions mitigation during combustion. In the preliminary stage of this research, a direct injection of a biodiesel/n-butanol blend was investigated. The biodiesel blend, C90, included 90% brassica carinata (nearly 50% erucic acid methyl ester) and 10% n-butanol bio-alcohol by mass. The biodiesel, or fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), was produced through a sodium hydroxide (NaOH) catalyst transesterification with brassica carinata crude oil. Carinata is a non-food feedstock, thus there is no limit on how much biofuel can be made from a carinata crop. The lower heating value of C90 was 37.25 MJ/kg, compared to 42.6 MJ/kg for jultra-low sulfur diesel#2 (ULSD#2). The ignition delay of ULSD#2 was 10.7 crank angle degrees (CAD) and decreased to 9.4 CAD for C90, which can be attributed to the higher cetane number of the biodiesel blend. The crank angle at which 50% of the total fuel mass was burned (CA50) was found to be advanced by 0.6 CAD for C90 when compared to ULSD#2. Nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions decreased by 7% for the C90 blend, from 18.7 g/kWh for ULSD#2 to 17.4 g/kWh for C90. ULSD#2 produced 6.2 g/kWh of unburned hydrocarbons (UHC) while C90 produced 6.0 g/kWh. The particulate matter (PM) emissions for C90 exhibited a decrease of 55%, from 0.21 g/kWh for ULSD#2 to 0.01 g/kWh for C90. The decrease in soot emissions is attributed to the increased oxygen content in the biodiesel and in the bio-alcohol when compared to ULSD#2. The renewable fuels used in the study proved to be capable of reducing soot by 55% without exhaust gas after treatment systems and without reducing combustion efficiency. Since carinata can be grown in Georgia, the research could benefit the community by increasing awareness of the feedstock and creating new jobs. The next phase of this research is to investigate the secondary injection strategy, which includes a direct injection of carinata biodiesel (90% total fuel mass) and port fuel injection of n-butanol (10% total fuel mass). With the secondary injection strategy, even greater soot and NOx reductions are expected.