Due to the impact of fossil fuel use on the environment, renewable jet fuel has been pursued as an alternative fuel for aircraft engines. To reduce consumption of fossil fuels, alternative bio-based fuels derived from renewable sources such as animal feedstock, biomass, and plants are desirable strategically in terms of diversifying sourcing streams and reducing dependence on petroleum fuels. Several renewable jet fuels are developed with minimal carbon footprint and pollutants emission to replace petroleum jet fuels. To improve certain combustion characteristics such as burning rate and ignition delay, addition of carbon-based nanoparticles to liquid fuels has proven to be a successful mechanism. But the influence of carbon-based nanoparticles on the combustion behaviors of renewable jet fuels at different concentrations has not yet been investigated. Researches have been exploring was to improve the combustion performances of renewable jet fuel, and in this work, the addition of carbon-based nano particles (Graphene Nano Particles) is examined as a potential performance enhancing additive. The effects of Graphene Nano Particles (GNP) on the ignition and combustion characteristics of soy oil and canola oil based renewable jet fuel at different mass concentrations loading are investigated in this manuscript. Ignition and combustion characteristics of renewable jet fuel are compared with petroleum-based jet fuel. Sub-millimeter diameter droplets of colloidal suspensions of renewable jet fuel and Graphene Nano Particles (GNP) with different mass concentrations are suspended on three 16-µm silicon carbide (SiC) wires and ignited using hot wire loops. Graphene Nano Particles (GNP) used in this experiment are platelets with an average width of 5 μm, thickness of 6–8 nm and specific surface area (SSA) of 120–150 m^2^/g. These fuel (or fuel blend) droplets are burned, and the process is captured with a high-speed CCD (Charged Coupled Device) camera at 1000 frames/second. The impact of different mass concentrations loading of Graphene Nano Particles (GNP) on the combustion behavior is then analyzed by post-processing the high-speed images. Trends for ignition delay, burning rate, and total combustion time for the various jet fuel suspensions are plotted and assessed. It is found that the particles generally enhance the combustion characteristics of the fuel. The experiments focus on combustion property determination and serve to compare a first-generation petroleum jet fuel with a new generation renewable jet fuel. It is hoped that present research will drive further interest in fuel behavior modification of renewable jet fuel and will provide experimental data for future computational modeling.


Experimental Investigation of Effects of Graphene Nano Particles (GNP) on the Combustion Behaviors of Renewable Jet Fuel Droplets

Division / Sponsors: 
Aerospace, Bioengineering, Applied Mechanics, Design Engineering Division, Advanced Energy Systems, Manufacturing Engineering Division, Noise Control and Acoustics, Nondestructive Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Prognosis (NDPD), Nuclear Engineering Division, Process Industries Division, Fluids Engineering, Heat Transfer, Materials, Microelectromechanical Systems, Safety Engineering and Risk Analysis, Computers & Information in Engineering


Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/IMECE/IMECE2020/volume/84478

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