Single droplet combustion of alternative fuels

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.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Year dc:date.available

2026

Author dc:creator

• Powell, Karah

Contributors dc:contributor

• Shi, Yunye
• Ranjan, Rateesh; Margraves, Charles H.
• College of Engineering and Computer Science

• Algal biofuels
• Alternative fuels--Combustion
• Biomass energy--Climatic factors
• Butanol as fuel
• Ethanol as fuel

Licence

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English, eng

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/976

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2154