Title: Measuring the effectiveness of high-performance Co-Optima biofuels on suppressing soot formation at high temperature

Abstract

Soot emissions in combustion are unwanted consequences of burning hydrocarbon fuels. The presence of soot during and following combustion processes is an indication of incomplete combustion and has several negative consequences including the emission of harmful particulates and increased operational costs. Efforts have been made to reduce soot production in combustion engines through utilizing oxygenated biofuels in lieu of traditional nonoxygenated feedstocks. The ongoing Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines (Co-Optima) initiative from the US Department of Energy (DOE) is focused on accelerating the introduction of affordable, scalable, and sustainable biofuels and high-efficiency, low-emission vehicle engines. The Co-Optima program has identified a handful of biofuel compounds from a list of thousands of potential candidates. In this study, a shock tube was used to evaluate the performance of soot reduction of five high-performance biofuels downselected by the Co-Optima program. Current experiments were performed at test conditions between 1,700 and 2,100 K and 4 and 4.7 atm using shock tube and ultrafast, time-resolve laser absorption diagnostic techniques. The combination of shock heating and nonintrusive laser detection provides a state-of-the-art test platform for high-temperature soot formation under engine conditions. Soot reduction was found in ethanol, cyclopentanone, and methyl acetate; conversely, an α-diisobutylene and methylmore » furan produced more soot compared to the baseline over longer test times. For each biofuel, several reaction pathways that lead towards soot production were identified. In conclusion, the data collected in these experiments are valuable information for the future of renewable biofuel development and their applicability in engines.« less

Authors:

Barak, Samuel; Rahman, Ramees K.; Neupane, Sneha; Ninnemann, Erik; Arafin, Farhan; Laich, Andrew; Terracciano, Anthony C.; Vasu, Subith S.

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Vasu, Subith S."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-4164-3163"

Publication Date:

Mon Feb 03 00:00:00 EST 2020

Research Org.:

Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

OSTI Identifier:

1597120

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1763377

Grant/Contract Number:  

EE0007984; EE0007982

Resource Type:

Published Article

Journal Name:

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Volume: 117 Journal Issue: 7; Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424

Publisher:

National Academy of Sciences

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

09 BIOMASS FUELS; Biofuel; soot; shock tube; laser absorption