Comparative study of combustion characteristics and exhaust emissions of waste cooking-diesel oil blends

Abstract

The depletion of fossil fuels have seriously encouraged extensive search for alternative renewable resources. Among these resources are the use of biodiesel (highly expensive, low yield) and the blending of waste cooking oil (WCO) with light diesel oil (LDO). The present paper undertakes an experimental investigation to study the effects of varying the blending ratio of WCO/LDO on the flame characteristics, combustor efficiency, and exhaust emissions. This blending ratio is varied from 0% to 100%. For any particular blend, the equivalence ratio is varied from 0.6 to 1.05. The experiments are conducted inside a water cooled, cylindrical, combustor fitted with a coaxially mounted waste oil burner. The measurements include the inflame and exhaust mean gas temperatures and the dry volumetric species concentrations (CO, NOx, CxHy and O2) at the combustor exit. The present results indicate that the blending ratio should not exceed 20% to ensure acceptable combustor efficiency and lower emissions. Keywords: Waste cooking oil (WCO), Swirled burner, Combustor, Inflame thermal contouring map, Exhaust emissions, Equivalence ratio, Blended fuel oils