Effect of Methane on Combustion of Glycerol and Methanol Blends Using a Novel Swirl Burst Injector in a Model Dual-Fuel Gas Turbine Combustor

Glycerol, a byproduct of biodiesel, has moderate energy but high viscosity, making clean combustion challenging. Quickly evaporating fine fuel sprays mix well with air and burn cleanly and efficiently. Unlike conventional air-blast atomizers discharging a jet core/film, a newly developed swirl burst...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: S. M. Rafiul Islam, Ishaan Patel, Lulin Jiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Clean Technologies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/6/4/69
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850086368579944448
author S. M. Rafiul Islam
Ishaan Patel
Lulin Jiang
author_facet S. M. Rafiul Islam
Ishaan Patel
Lulin Jiang
author_sort S. M. Rafiul Islam
collection DOAJ
description Glycerol, a byproduct of biodiesel, has moderate energy but high viscosity, making clean combustion challenging. Quickly evaporating fine fuel sprays mix well with air and burn cleanly and efficiently. Unlike conventional air-blast atomizers discharging a jet core/film, a newly developed swirl burst (SB) injector generates fine sprays at the injector’s immediate exit, even for high-viscosity fuels, without preheating, using a unique two-phase atomization mechanism. It thus resulted in ultra-clean combustion for glycerol/methanol (G/M) blends, with complete combustion for G/M of 50/50 ratios by heat release rate (HRR). Lower combustion efficiencies were observed for G/M 60/40 and 70/30, representing crude glycerol. Hence, this study investigates the effect of premixed methane amount from 0–3 kW, and the effect of atomizing gas to liquid mass ratio (ALR) on the dual-fuel combustion efficiency of G/M 60/40-methane in a 7-kW lab-scale swirl-stabilized gas turbine combustor to facilitate crude glycerol use. Results show that more methane and increased ALR cause varying flame lift-off height, length, and gas product temperature. Regardless, mainly lean-premixed combustion, near-zero CO and NOx emissions (≤2 ppm), and ~100% combustion efficiency are enabled for all the cases by SB atomization with the assistance of a small amount of methane.
format Article
id doaj-art-e25577c67d404ed5ace2c9610e9c7550
institution DOAJ
issn 2571-8797
language English
publishDate 2024-10-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Clean Technologies
spelling doaj-art-e25577c67d404ed5ace2c9610e9c75502025-08-20T02:43:29ZengMDPI AGClean Technologies2571-87972024-10-01641445146410.3390/cleantechnol6040069Effect of Methane on Combustion of Glycerol and Methanol Blends Using a Novel Swirl Burst Injector in a Model Dual-Fuel Gas Turbine CombustorS. M. Rafiul Islam0Ishaan Patel1Lulin Jiang2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USAGlycerol, a byproduct of biodiesel, has moderate energy but high viscosity, making clean combustion challenging. Quickly evaporating fine fuel sprays mix well with air and burn cleanly and efficiently. Unlike conventional air-blast atomizers discharging a jet core/film, a newly developed swirl burst (SB) injector generates fine sprays at the injector’s immediate exit, even for high-viscosity fuels, without preheating, using a unique two-phase atomization mechanism. It thus resulted in ultra-clean combustion for glycerol/methanol (G/M) blends, with complete combustion for G/M of 50/50 ratios by heat release rate (HRR). Lower combustion efficiencies were observed for G/M 60/40 and 70/30, representing crude glycerol. Hence, this study investigates the effect of premixed methane amount from 0–3 kW, and the effect of atomizing gas to liquid mass ratio (ALR) on the dual-fuel combustion efficiency of G/M 60/40-methane in a 7-kW lab-scale swirl-stabilized gas turbine combustor to facilitate crude glycerol use. Results show that more methane and increased ALR cause varying flame lift-off height, length, and gas product temperature. Regardless, mainly lean-premixed combustion, near-zero CO and NOx emissions (≤2 ppm), and ~100% combustion efficiency are enabled for all the cases by SB atomization with the assistance of a small amount of methane.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/6/4/69swirl burst (SB) injectorlean-premixed combustiondual-fuel combustionhigh viscositynear-zero emissions
spellingShingle S. M. Rafiul Islam
Ishaan Patel
Lulin Jiang
Effect of Methane on Combustion of Glycerol and Methanol Blends Using a Novel Swirl Burst Injector in a Model Dual-Fuel Gas Turbine Combustor
Clean Technologies
swirl burst (SB) injector
lean-premixed combustion
dual-fuel combustion
high viscosity
near-zero emissions
title Effect of Methane on Combustion of Glycerol and Methanol Blends Using a Novel Swirl Burst Injector in a Model Dual-Fuel Gas Turbine Combustor
title_full Effect of Methane on Combustion of Glycerol and Methanol Blends Using a Novel Swirl Burst Injector in a Model Dual-Fuel Gas Turbine Combustor
title_fullStr Effect of Methane on Combustion of Glycerol and Methanol Blends Using a Novel Swirl Burst Injector in a Model Dual-Fuel Gas Turbine Combustor
title_full_unstemmed Effect of Methane on Combustion of Glycerol and Methanol Blends Using a Novel Swirl Burst Injector in a Model Dual-Fuel Gas Turbine Combustor
title_short Effect of Methane on Combustion of Glycerol and Methanol Blends Using a Novel Swirl Burst Injector in a Model Dual-Fuel Gas Turbine Combustor
title_sort effect of methane on combustion of glycerol and methanol blends using a novel swirl burst injector in a model dual fuel gas turbine combustor
topic swirl burst (SB) injector
lean-premixed combustion
dual-fuel combustion
high viscosity
near-zero emissions
url https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/6/4/69
work_keys_str_mv AT smrafiulislam effectofmethaneoncombustionofglycerolandmethanolblendsusinganovelswirlburstinjectorinamodeldualfuelgasturbinecombustor
AT ishaanpatel effectofmethaneoncombustionofglycerolandmethanolblendsusinganovelswirlburstinjectorinamodeldualfuelgasturbinecombustor
AT lulinjiang effectofmethaneoncombustionofglycerolandmethanolblendsusinganovelswirlburstinjectorinamodeldualfuelgasturbinecombustor