{"id":{"repo_id":"utc","oai_identifier":"oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2154"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/utc/oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2154","repository":{"repo_id":"utc","name":"University of Tennessee - Chattanooga","base_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Single droplet combustion of alternative fuels","abstract":"As the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions grows, research into alternative fuels is becoming increasingly important. Biofuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol, are already used in the transportation sector. Rising biodiesel production generates byproducts like glycerol and surplus alcohols, which are also candidates for combustion applications. This study explores both conventional and alternative fuels, including butanol and biocrude from Algal. Droplet combustion experiments were performed to analyze the combustion characteristics of the fuels. Using the suspended droplet method, various droplet sizes were tested. The results show that combustion progresses through distinct stages: preheating, swelling, and burning. While hydrocarbon fuels exhibited swelling and followed the D² law, fuels like ethanol, methanol, and algal oil displayed micro-explosions, deviating from this behavior. Flame characteristics also varied across fuel types. For example, blending butanol with gasoline reduced soot formation, and incorporating biodiesel into high-cetane diesel affected the burning rate and decreased soot emissions.","abstract_html":"As the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions grows, research into alternative fuels is becoming increasingly important. Biofuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol, are already used in the transportation sector. Rising biodiesel production generates byproducts like glycerol and surplus alcohols, which are also candidates for combustion applications. This study explores both conventional and alternative fuels, including butanol and biocrude from Algal. Droplet combustion experiments were performed to analyze the combustion characteristics of the fuels. Using the suspended droplet method, various droplet sizes were tested. The results show that combustion progresses through distinct stages: preheating, swelling, and burning. While hydrocarbon fuels exhibited swelling and followed the D² law, fuels like ethanol, methanol, and algal oil displayed micro-explosions, deviating from this behavior. Flame characteristics also varied across fuel types. For example, blending butanol with gasoline reduced soot formation, and incorporating biodiesel into high-cetane diesel affected the burning rate and decreased soot emissions.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Powell, Karah"],"institution":"University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Shi, Yunye","Ranjan, Rateesh; Margraves, Charles H.","College of Engineering and Computer Science"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2026-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:47:21Z","subjects":["Algal biofuels","Alternative fuels--Combustion","Biomass energy--Climatic factors","Butanol as fuel","Ethanol as fuel"],"languages":["English","eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/976","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Shi, Yunye","Ranjan, Rateesh; Margraves, Charles H.","College of Engineering and Computer Science"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Powell, Karah"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2024-12-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2026-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"]},{"key":"dc:relation","label":"Dc Relation","values":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Masters theses","Text"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Algal biofuels","Alternative fuels--Combustion","Biomass energy--Climatic factors","Butanol as fuel","Ethanol as fuel"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/976"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Dept. of Engineering","M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["As the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions grows, research into alternative fuels is becoming increasingly important. Biofuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol, are already used in the transportation sector. Rising biodiesel production generates byproducts like glycerol and surplus alcohols, which are also candidates for combustion applications. This study explores both conventional and alternative fuels, including butanol and biocrude from Algal. Droplet combustion experiments were performed to analyze the combustion characteristics of the fuels. Using the suspended droplet method, various droplet sizes were tested. The results show that combustion progresses through distinct stages: preheating, swelling, and burning. While hydrocarbon fuels exhibited swelling and followed the D² law, fuels like ethanol, methanol, and algal oil displayed micro-explosions, deviating from this behavior. Flame characteristics also varied across fuel types. For example, blending butanol with gasoline reduced soot formation, and incorporating biodiesel into high-cetane diesel affected the burning rate and decreased soot emissions."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Single droplet combustion of alternative fuels"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Shi, Yunye","Ranjan, Rateesh; Margraves, Charles H.","College of Engineering and Computer Science"],"dc:creator":["Powell, Karah"],"dc:date":["2024-12-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:date.available":["2026-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["Dept. of Engineering","M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science."],"dc:description.abstract":["As the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions grows, research into alternative fuels is becoming increasingly important. Biofuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol, are already used in the transportation sector. Rising biodiesel production generates byproducts like glycerol and surplus alcohols, which are also candidates for combustion applications. This study explores both conventional and alternative fuels, including butanol and biocrude from Algal. Droplet combustion experiments were performed to analyze the combustion characteristics of the fuels. Using the suspended droplet method, various droplet sizes were tested. The results show that combustion progresses through distinct stages: preheating, swelling, and burning. While hydrocarbon fuels exhibited swelling and followed the D² law, fuels like ethanol, methanol, and algal oil displayed micro-explosions, deviating from this behavior. Flame characteristics also varied across fuel types. For example, blending butanol with gasoline reduced soot formation, and incorporating biodiesel into high-cetane diesel affected the burning rate and decreased soot emissions."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/976"],"dc:language":["English","eng"],"dc:publisher":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"],"dc:relation":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"],"dc:rights":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Algal biofuels","Alternative fuels--Combustion","Biomass energy--Climatic factors","Butanol as fuel","Ethanol as fuel"],"dc:title":["Single droplet combustion of alternative fuels"],"dc:type":["Masters theses","Text"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:47:21Z"}