Analysis of quasi-steady combustion of Jatropha bio-diesel

Abstract Quasi-steady gas-phase combustion of Jatropha bio-diesel in a mixed convective air environment is studied both experimentally and numerically. Porous sphere experiments have been conducted to measure the mass burning rates and observe the flame shapes of spherical particles fed with bio-diesel. A numerical model has been developed to simulate the experiments. The Jatropha bio-diesel has been considered as a single component fuel (C18H34O2). Transient governing equations in the gas-phase alone are solved through the finite volume approach employing non-orthogonal control volumes in a semi-collocated mesh. Thermo-physical properties are evaluated based on the local temperature and the species concentrations. A single step global reaction with five species (C18H34O2, O2, N2, CO2 and H2O) is employed to model the finite rate kinetics. Results have been obtained for a range of mixed convective flow conditions. Comparisons of the results with those of diesel combustion have been made in few cases. It is observed that the burning rate of bio-diesel is less by about 11% than those for diesel for the same air velocity and sphere size.

[1]  R. Natarajan,et al.  Flame shapes and burning rates of spherical fuel particles in a mixed convective environment , 2005 .

[2]  L. G. Schumacher,et al.  Engine Exhaust Emissions Evaluation of a Cummins L10E When Fueled with a Biodiesel Blend , 1995 .

[3]  Mustafa Canakci,et al.  Performance and exhaust emissions of a biodiesel engine , 2006 .

[4]  A. Hansen,et al.  Vapor pressure and normal boiling point predictions for pure methyl esters and biodiesel fuels , 2005 .

[5]  G Antolín,et al.  Optimisation of biodiesel production by sunflower oil transesterification. , 2002, Bioresource technology.

[6]  Robert L. McCormick,et al.  Combustion of fat and vegetable oil derived fuels in diesel engines , 1998 .

[7]  M. Canakci,et al.  Combustion characteristics of a turbocharged DI compression ignition engine fueled with petroleum diesel fuels and biodiesel. , 2007, Bioresource technology.

[8]  Avinash Kumar Agarwal,et al.  Effect of Biodiesel Utilization of Wear of Vital Parts in Compression Ignition Engine , 2003 .

[9]  P. A. Tesner,et al.  Kinetics of dispersed carbon formation , 1971 .

[10]  Juhun Song,et al.  Biodiesel combustion, emissions and emission control , 2007 .

[11]  Cristian Carraretto,et al.  Biodiesel as alternative fuel: Experimental analysis and energetic evaluations , 2004 .

[12]  Dimitrios C. Rakopoulos,et al.  Development and application of multi-zone model for combustion and pollutants formation in direct injection diesel engine running with vegetable oil or its bio-diesel , 2007 .

[13]  Alan Christopher Hansen,et al.  PREDICTING THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF BIODIESEL FOR COMBUSTION MODELING , 2003 .

[14]  Avinash Kumar Agarwal,et al.  Biodiesel Development and Characterization for Use as a Fuel in Compression Ignition Engines , 2001 .

[15]  Avinash Kumar Agarwal,et al.  Experimental investigation of control of NOx emissions in biodiesel-fueled compression ignition engine , 2006 .