Optimization of bio-butanol fuel blend composition based on spray and combustion performance

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

A transformative approach for the development of novel bio-fuels will be developed that will constitute a departure from current technological practice that focuses on the production of pure fuels from agricultural sources (e.g. ethanol). Production and utilization of butanol will be used in order to establish this new paradigm. In particular, it has been shown that during the production of bio-butanol, which has the potential of combining production from renewable sources with almost-gasoline-level energy density, mixtures of butanol, ethanol, and acetone are produced, usually referred to as baelene. These mixtures can clearly be used themselves as fuels, without the need to resort to pure bio-butanol. In fact, the underlying biological processes can be controlled in order to produce the butanol/acetone/ethanol proportion that is optimal for the energy conversion process in the engine chamber. The main objective of the research is to introduce a methodology that will control bio-fuel production processes through knowledge of the properties of the fuel mixture that relate to its atomization and combustion. To this extent a characterization of baelene sprays will be performed as a function of its composition utilizing a novel Planar Droplet Sizing technique that will be based on the high acetone content of the fuels under consideration. Also, novel atomization technologies will be developed that will be based on the increased electric conductivity of the bio-butanol containing mixtures, which paves the way for electrostatic manipulation of atomization and combustion. Additionally, ignition delay and turbulent flame propagation will be measured in an accurately controlled combustion chamber for a wide range of fuel compositions. The approach will be both experimental with the use of advanced, mostly laser-based diagnostics and computational with emphasis on modeling fuel properties and sprays and providing an extensive data base of high-quality data that will guide ?upstream? fuel production. The research will establish an alternative to the currently dominant mentality in bio-fuel production which involves the production of well-defined chemicals (bio-ethanol, methyl-esters) that are required to operate in engines that have been designed for drastically different fuels. Instead, a methodology will be developed that will take intermediate products of the biological processes, utilize them as fuels, optimize their composition for atomization and combustion performance, and then guide the biological process towards the production of optimized intermediates without the need to resort to pure chemicals. In this manner, clean and efficient combustion of renewable fuels will be achieved with a reduced cost of processing the raw agricultural material.