Emission evaluation of different types of liquefied wood

Abstract

After initial studies, further research work on the combustion properties of second generation biofuels, obtained through solvolysis in polyhydroxy alcohols is oriented towards different types of liquefied wood that exhibit several favorable properties. In this study, different types were obtained by altering the reactant ratios of the fuels. These were focused on increased wood content and elevated pH value that would increase the techno-economic attractiveness of the fuel. Three different types of fuels were tested in a laboratory scale gas turbine, and evaluated through CO, THC and NOx emissions measurements, while varying multiple operating parameters. To achieve sufficient atomization quality, the high viscosity of the fuels was reduced by preheating to 100 °C. To speed up the droplet evaporation process and additionally to resemble conditions present in commercially available systems, high temperatures of primary air were employed by the use of exhaust gas heat regenerator. CO and THC emissions were found to be highly dependent on wood content and turbine inlet temperature, whereas with partial neutralization of the fuel this dependency was less pronounced and only NO x concentrations were influenced by altered elemental composition of the fuel. Results indicate it is possible to maintain successful combustion in microturbines even with fuels that exhibit higher pH value and reduced reactivity and with fuels containing higher amounts of lignocellulosic biomass. © 2014 Journal of Mechanical Engineering. All rights reserved.