NDLI: Gas Turbines and Biodiesel: A Clarification of the Relative NOX Indices of FAME, Gasoil, and Natural Gas

Content Provider	The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Digital Collection
Author	Pierre, A. Glaude Fournet, Rene´ Bounaceur, Roda Moliere, Michel
Copyright Year	2009
Abstract	There is currently a sustained interest in biofuels as they represent a potential alternative to petroleum derived fuels. Biofuels are likely to help decrease greenhouse gases emissions and the dependence on oil resources. Biodiesels are Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAMEs) that are mainly derived from vegetable oils; their compositions depend from the parent vegetables: rapeseed (“RME”), soybean (“SME”), sunflower, palm etc. A fraction of biodiesel has also an animal origin (“tallow”). A key factor for the use of biofuels in gas turbines is their Emissions Indices (NOx, CO, VOC, PM) in comparison with those of conventional “petroleum gasoils”. While biodiesels reduce carbon-containing pollutants, experimental data from diesel engines show a slight increase in NOx. The literature relating to gas turbines is very scarce. Two recent, independent field tests carried out in Europe (RME) and in the USA (SME) showed slightly lower NOx while a lab test on a microturbine showed the opposite effect. To clarify the NOx index of biodiesels in gas turbines, a study has been undertaken, taking gasoil and natural gas (NG) as reference fuels. In this study, a calculation of the flame temperature developed by the 3 classes of fuels has been performed and the effect of their respective compositions has been investigated. The five FAMEs studied were RME, SME and methyl esters of sunflower, palm and tallow; these are representative of most widespread vegetable and animal oil bases worldwide. The software THERGAS has been used to calculate the enthalpy and free energy properties of the fuels and GASEQ for the flame temperature (Tf), acknowledging the fact that “thermal NOx” represents the predominant form of NOx in gas turbines. To complete the approach to structural effects, we have modeled two NG compositions (rich and weak gas) and three types of gasoil using variable blends of eleven linear/branched/cyclic molecules. The results are consistent with the two recent field tests and show that the FAMEs lie close to petroleum gasoils and higher than NG in terms of NOx emission. The composition of the biodiesel and regular diesel fuel influences their combustion heat: methyl esters with double bonds see a slight increase of their Tf and their NOx index while that of gasoil is sensitive to the aromatic content.
Sponsorship	International Gas Turbine Institute
Starting Page	419
Ending Page	425
Page Count	7
File Format	PDF
ISBN	9780791848821
DOI	10.1115/GT2009-59623
e-ISBN	9780791838495
Volume Number	Volume 1: Aircraft Engine; Ceramics; Coal, Biomass and Alternative Fuels; Controls, Diagnostics and Instrumentation; Education; Electric Power; Awards and Honors
Conference Proceedings	ASME Turbo Expo 2009: Power for Land, Sea, and Air
Language	English
Publisher Date	2009-06-08
Publisher Place	Orlando, Florida, USA
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Subject Keyword	Vegetable oils Temperature Computer software Enthalpy Biofuel Combustion Fuels Biodiesel Carbon Petroleum Emissions Ester Gases Flames Heat Pollution Gas turbines Diesel engines Tallow Nitrogen oxides Diesel Natural gas Microturbines
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in