Effect of water percentage and water droplet size of emulsion fuel made without surfactant on diesel engine performance and emissions

Abstract

Emulsion fuel is a fuel that combines two or more immiscible liquids to become a solution that can generate a micro-explosion effect during combustion which will leads to a complete combustion and reduce exhaust emissions. In order to combine these two or more immiscible liquids which will separated in nature and keep it stable for a long period of time, an additive know as surfactant need to be added. The cost of surfactant is very high and restrains emulsion fuel for further utilization as an alternative fuel. With the aim to remove dependency on surfactant to produce emulsion fuel, a mechanical approach concept has been considered. The concept named here as Real-Time Emulsion Fuel Supply System (RTES). A combination of high shear mixing, ultrasonic agitation and water mist injection could be arranged near to fuel pump of diesel engine. It is expected that further improvement of exhaust emissions and fuel consumption can be obtained with higher water percentage and optimum water droplet size of emulsion fuel. This research propose an investigation on the effect of emulsion fuel water droplet size and water percentage through variation of parameters towards diesel engine combustion performance and exhaust emissions. Droplet size will be measured using a super resolution digital microscope. Since the size of water droplet will change rapidly against time, a special experimental rig will be developed attached to the microscope.