We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Investigation of the Combustion of Stearic Acid-Coated Pure Aluminum Powder as Additives in Biodiesel and Diesel Blends
Summary
Researchers found that adding tiny amounts of specially coated aluminum powder to diesel and biodiesel (made partly from used cooking oil and coffee grounds) helps engines burn fuel more efficiently, boosting performance by up to about 4.6%. This matters because more efficient combustion generally means less wasted fuel and fewer harmful emissions, which is good news for both engine performance and air quality that affects public health.
In the present study, research was conducted to increase the combustion efficiency in a diesel engine by adding 100 and 200 ppm aluminum powder to diesel and biodiesel (produced from 10% spent coffee ground oil and 90% waste cooking oil) blends. Aluminum powder is a flammable metal. Due to this feature, it has been used as an additive to liquid fuels in many studies in the literature. In general, it has been reported that thermal efficiency increases with the addition of aluminum particles. However, the high explosion sensitivity of aluminum can affect its stable combustion. In addition, Al is a metal that can be easily oxidized. Therefore, coating aluminum is considered a good solution. Stearic acid has been suggested in the literature as a suitable material for coating aluminum. In this study, stearic acid, a saturated fatty acid, was used to coat aluminum particles. Stearic acid is a good surfactant, hydrophobic substance, and plasticizer. It is also a more environmentally friendly substance compared to its counterparts. In this study, aluminum particles were coated with stearic acid to increase the combustion efficiency of Al particles. To make the coating, stearic acid was dissolved in ethanol and mixed with Al particles. Then, the stearic acid coating was achieved by self-assembly using the evaporation technique. As a result of experiments conducted by adding aluminum and stearic acid-coated aluminum to diesel and biodiesel blends, the thermal efficiencies of DAl200, DAl100, and DSA@Al100 fuels were 2.99%, 3.21%, and 4.59% higher than that of standard diesel fuel, respectively. Likewise, the thermal efficiencies of B10D90Al200, B10D90Al100, and B10D90SA@Al100 fuels were 2.73%, 2.99%, and 3.62% higher than that of standard diesel fuel, respectively.