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Renewable Energy: A. Hoxie, M. Anderson
Renewable Energy: A. Hoxie, M. Anderson
Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: Vegetable oil was examined to determine if high volume blends with No. 2 ultra-low-sulfur diesel could
Received 29 May 2015 be successfully utilized in micro gas turbine engines. Property data, and atomization and micro-gas
Received in revised form turbine engine studies were examined for blends of up to 75% by volume soybean oil with No. 2
12 September 2016
ultra-low-sulfur-diesel (ULSD). Kay's and Grunberg-Nissan mixing rules were found to predict specific
Accepted 23 September 2016
gravity and viscosity, respectively, based on composition to a high level of accuracy. For Kay's mixing rule
the AADs were below 1%, while AADs for the Grunberg-Nissan equation stayed under 4%. Atomization
tests showed an increase in cone angle of 18 for a 30-degree nozzle with a mixture of 50% soybean oil/
Keywords:
Vegetable oil
ULSD over that of pure soybean oil. The pour point for blends of V50 and V75 were found to meet the
Diesel ASTM D2880-13b Fuel Oil Specifications for gas turbine engines. For a V50 blend the spray angle was
Biofuel increased by 50% over that of pure SBO. The micro-gas turbine engine performed well for fuel blends up
Micro-gas turbine engine to 75% vegetable oil, with comparable engine efficiencies to that of ULSD. Engine efficiency and thrust
Atomization increase with increasing RPM. The studies indicate that high volume blends of straight vegetable oil with
ULSD are suitable in micro-gas turbine engines.
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2016.09.054
0960-1481/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A. Hoxie, M. Anderson / Renewable Energy 101 (2017) 886e893 887
Table 2
Regression coefficients, R2, and AAD values for Kay's Mixing Rule.
Fig. 3. Viscosity dependence on temperature for SBO/ULSD fuel blends. Fig. 4. Viscosity dependence on SBO composition for multiple temperatures.
Table 3 Table 4
Regression coefficients, R2, and AAD for viscosity temperature dependence. Flash point and cold flow properties of SBO/ULSD blends.
Fuel A B C R2 AAD (%) Fuel Flash point C Pour point C Cloud point C Cold filter
plugging point C
V100 6.742 3197 828.585 0.984 1.075
V75 1.524 80.939 454,800 0.985 0.015 V0 71 43 ± 1 23 ± 0.5 22 ± 0.5
V50 5.641 2469 0.181 0.987 1.018 V25 74 38 ± 2 16 ± 0.5 25 ± 1.5
V25 2.36 2731 780,300 0.972 0.263 V50 79 30 ± 1 12 ± 1 8 ± 3.5
V0 5.218 1939 0.783 0.982 2.755 V75 91 15 ± 0.5 7 ± 0.5 4 ± 1.5
V100 217 10 ± 2 0 ± 1.5 2 ± 0.5
where the subscripts, V and D, stand for SBO and ULSD respectively.
The mixture property of interest, in this case specific gravity is
indicated by, 4m . AADs obtained using Kay's mixing rule for esti-
mating specific gravity of SBO-ULSD mixtures are shown in Table 1.
The estimated values fall within the ±0.003 error region.
Specific gravity versus temperature for the pure fuels and RBD
SBO-ULSD mixtures was also found to be linear. The predictive
formula for specific gravity as a function of temperature follow the
form shown in Eq. (2): Fig. 5. HHV of SBO/ULSD blends.
A. Hoxie, M. Anderson / Renewable Energy 101 (2017) 886e893 889
Fig. 6. Time integrated laser-sheet images of fuel sprays under comparable delivery conditions: a) diesel; b) soybean oil.
equation is:
X
n X
n X
n
ln mm ¼ xi ln mi þ xi xj Gij (4)
i¼1 i¼1 j¼1
ln hm ¼ VD ln hD þ VS ln hS (5)
were measured and the results are shown in Table 4. The cold filter show the atomization behavior of both pure ULSD and RBD SBO
plugging point of the pure SBO is referenced from literature [28]. at room temperature. Fuel was supplied to the nozzle at nominally
Each of the cold flow properties varies nearly linearly with percent identical conditions. The images document qualitatively the chal-
SBO content. Fuel blends up to V75 meet the ASTM D2880-13b lenges of using biomass-derived fuels. ULSD produces a uniform
Grade No. 2-GT fuel standard for pour point, while blends up to droplet distribution, as seen in Fig. 6a. This is the type of atomi-
V50 meet the Grade No. 1-GT standard [29]. zation needed for efficient combustion. In contrast RBD SBO re-
mains a liquid column under the same conditions; a situation that
3.2. Atomization-flow visualization is clearly unsatisfactory for efficient fuel-air mixing and combus-
tion. A comparison of fuel properties between ULSD and SBO in-
3.2.1. Pure fuels dicates nearly constant densities (4% higher for SBO) and
Rapid atomization is a necessary precursor for efficient com- comparable surface tensions (23% higher for soy), but considerable
bustion in a gas turbine engine. The atomization of pure RBD SBO differences in viscosity where the dynamic viscosity of SBO is 25-
was investigated; methods for improving atomization, such as times greater than that of ULSD.
elevating the fuel temperature, increasing fuel pressure, and mix- The dynamic effect of increased viscosity is to significantly
ing with a less viscous fuel were examined. The images in Fig. 6 reduce the Reynolds number, Re, of the SBO jet, leaving the nozzle,
Table 5
SR-30 engine parameters and efficiency for SBO-ULSD blends as compared to pure ULSD.
Fuel type Mass flow rate air (kg/s) Mass flow rate fuel (kg/s) Air/fuel ratio Enthalpy flux (kW) Kinetic power (kW) Engine efficiency (%)
Fig. 10. Engine efficiency for increasing RPM for V25 as compared to ULSD.
relative to that of ULSD. In general, atomization of a liquid spray is also have the added benefit of enhancing the ignition and combus-
governed by its fluid properties, density, viscosity and surface tion characteristics of SBO. Blends ranging from pure SBO to pure
tension as well as the inertial forces created by the delivery setup. ULSD were examined with Hago precision nozzle similar to that
Two non-dimensional numbers describe the development of jet- used in the SR-30 microturbine. Fig. 8 shows instantaneous images
breakup. The Ohnesorge number, Oh, is a ratio of the viscous to of the spray for pure SBO, V100, along with 75% and 50% by volume
surface tension and the Reynolds number is the ratio of inertial to mixtures with ULSD. The fuel flow rate supplied to the nozzles was
viscous forces. Fig. 7, provides the different breakup regimes kept constant, at 48 ml/min, for each case. The fuel pressure varied
possible for a liquid jet as described by the governing parameters, from 380 to 550 kPa, in order to keep the flow rate constant. This
originally from Lefebvre, together with the experimental data from variation in pressure does not have a significant impact on the spray-
this study [30]. The ULSD spray shown in Fig. 6a is shown in Fig. 7 as spreading angle. However, the fuel blend composition does have a
an inset with the dark circle marking its position on the Oh-Re plot. large impact on atomization. A significant change in atomization
The spray pictures in Fig. 7 are at fuel pressures that replicate those characteristics is clearly seen in Fig. 8. Simple mixing increased the
typical in the SR-30 microturbine and combustion test rig, leading cone angle by 16 for a 50/50 mixture over pure SBO.
to an Oh z 0.1 and Re z 10,000 for ULSD fuel. At these conditions
the ULSD readily breaks up into small droplets at the nozzle exit,
thus experiencing rapid atomization. In general moving toward the 3.3. Engine testing: the SR-30
lower-left, on the Oh-Re plot, inhibits atomization, while moving to
the upper right promotes atomization. Pure ULSD along with blends up to 75% SBO by volume were
For the more viscous SBO, at room temperature, the Reynolds tested in the SR-30 turbojet at an RPM of 78,000. The engine was
number is much smaller, on the order of 10. This prevents breakup started on ULSD and then transitioned to a SBO/ULSD blend. The
and leads to a smooth column of fuel issuing from the nozzle. As the ULSD flowrate was determined via a calibration of the specific
SBO is heated the viscosity decreases moving the fuel into a new gravity and fuel pressure at the injector. The SBO flow rate was
atomization regime. At an elevated temperature of 60 C, a 40- determined gravimetrically by weighing the fuel tank before and
degree increase, the Reynolds number increases by two orders of after the test run. All temperature and pressure measurements
magnitude and the Ohnesorge number drops by one order of were automated for real time data capture. At each stage of the
magnitude. The result is a shift into a more advantageous breakup engine, temperature and pressure were captured at a rate of 2
regime. The two light circles, in Fig. 7, represent measurements samples per second. This allowed for monitoring the transient
made using SBO, where moving to the lower right on the figure was start-up process as well as determining the onset of thermody-
achieved by preheating the SBO. Preheating effectively reduces the namic equilibrium. A thermal analysis of engine performance for
oil viscosity and increases the Reynolds number. The accompanying both the straight ULSD and SBO/ULSD test runs was conducted. The
picture shows the liquid column widens and waves form on its engine was analyzed burning pure ULSD as the baseline condition.
surface, which eventually leads to a break down to droplets. The engine ran smoothly with fuel blends up to 75% SBO by
volume. There was little visual or audible difference in engine
operation. During one of the tests at V75 the engine experienced a
3.2.2. Blended fuels flame out upon transition to a SBO/ULSD blend. This occurred
Simple mixing was also investigated as a low cost, low energy during the first test of V75, however subsequent transitions to V75
method for reducing viscosity. ULSD was chosen for blending due to occurred smoothly and without incident.
its familiarity and mainstream use. Mixing with ULSD fuel should A thermocouple and pitot probe was traversed across the
892 A. Hoxie, M. Anderson / Renewable Energy 101 (2017) 886e893
Fig. 11. Thrust and EGT versus engine RPM for V25 as compare to ULSD.
exhaust stream to measure thrust, kinetic energy and enthalpy flux struts likely interfere with the exhaust stream leading to increased
leaving the engine. Fig. 9, shows the temperature traces across the swirl and turbulence.
exhaust stream for pure ULSD, V25, V50 and V75 at an RPM of As mentioned, the SR-30 is a turbojet engine built for educa-
78,000. It can be seen in Fig. 9 that the average exhaust stream tional purposes. Its thermal efficiency is extremely low, generally
temperature is similar for all the fuels tested. However, the SBO/ around only 4 or 5%. This is in large part due to the poor nozzle
ULSD blends show more variation across the exhaust compared to design. As a result, the engine efficiencies reported here are based
pure ULSD. This may be a result of the decreased atomization that on a total thermal analysis of the engine. Energy entering the en-
occurs with higher levels of SBO in the mixture as shown in this gine via the air and fuel intake was compared to the energy leaving
paper. The variation in temperature across all the fuels tested is the engine via kinetic energy and enthalpy flux. The kinetic energy
partly due to the construction of the engine. The SR-30 was built as and enthalpy flux was calculated based on temperature and pres-
an educational engine and as such was not designed for high effi- sure measurements traversed across the exhaust gasses. As such
ciency. Three struts exist in the nozzle section for support. These the efficiency represents combustion efficiency rather then a
A. Hoxie, M. Anderson / Renewable Energy 101 (2017) 886e893 893
measure of the thrust producing capabilities of the turbojet. Table 5 the Environment, for the partial financial support received for the
provides the experimental parameters leading to the resulting ef- work described herein.
ficiency at an RPM of 78,000 for each fuel tested. The efficiency of
the engine is shown to slightly increase with the SBO blends over
the baseline ULSD. However, based on the error estimates, the in-
crease does not appear to be significant. References
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