Combustion performance of diesel palm olein fuel: A combined cfd and experimental approach

Abstract

Industrial gas turbine fueled by blended palm olein is a promising option for electricity generation in next generation of gas turbines. In order to evaluate combustion performance of palm olein and blended diesel in a combustion chamber, detailed experimental investigations were done to evaluate the combustion performance of diesel and palm olein blended fuels. The experimental studies were conducted for 100% diesel and blending diesel with 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60% palm olein (PO). The combustion performances were evaluated for blended oil and compared with diesel. The emission of NO ranged from 30–55 ppm while the soot emissions were high for high blended fuel. A maximum blending ratio of 30% PO was recommended to be used in gas turbines in order to avoid any modification in the spray combustion system so that it can be utilized in existing gas turbine systems. The computational fluid dynamic modeling of the combustor was also done, and a comparison was made between the experimental and computational results. This can be helpful in future parametric studies of the combustor performance under different operating conditions. An acceptable level of comparison between numerical simulations and experimental findings was obtained as far as the flame structure is concerned. For high blended fuel, it was found out that increasing amount of soot particles can damage the blades of the turbine which ultimately requires early monitoring and maintenance scheduling.