(421az) Visualization of Alternative Liquid Fuel Combustion In a Drop Tube Furnace

Fuel sources such as waste oil and glycerin, as alternatives to fossil fuels require a vast amount of research to determine its viability for large-scale energy generation. This burn simulator system will be used to visualize and analyze the combustion of alternative liquid fuels to better understand the combustion process of each fuel type. Advancements in this study will help to counter the growing global need for energy, as well as, the depletion of fossil fuel resources. Images will be presented from visualization studies of drops undergoing combustion in a laboratory-scale drop tube furnace. Fuel drops of various sizes were produced with a piezoelectric drop generator and the drops were allowed to fall through a clear quartz drop tube housed in a furnace equipped with viewing ports. The temperature, pressure, and gas composition in the drop tube were controlled. The combustion process was observed and recorded with a high speed and high magnification imaging system. The high resolution color images provide qualitative comparison of energy conversion rates. The images were also used for the development of three-color pyrometry image analysis methods to estimate spatial and dynamic temperature fields. Results are presented for waste oils and glycerin at several temperatures from 700 ⁰C to 900 ⁰C in air and in gases with reduced oxygen concentrations. These conditions were chosen to represent combustion environments for energy production in cement manufacturing and the fuels were chosen because of their potential as replacements for traditional fossil fuels.