Achieving Clean Non-Premixed Combustion through Hydrogen Addition

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Progress in compression ignition engines and industrial burners that use non-premixed flames has been made mostly due to advanced aftertreatment technologies. The hydrogen addition or use of hydrogen as a clean fuel for premixed spark-ignited (SI) engines is fairly well understood and developed. The same is not true for non-premixed combustion in compression-ignited (CI, diesel) engines and industrial burners. The proposed research aims to prevent pollutants formation through combustion process modification, so there will be no need for the aftertreatment or at least the requirements for the aftertreatment can be relaxed. This research will demonstrate that significant soot reduction can be achieved when hydrogen is added to the liquid fuel stream, to form a two-phase mixture. The hydrogen addition has the potential to reduce soot by modifying the chemical paths that lead to soot formation and growth, in effect lowering the particulate matter levels and making combustion process more complete. The addition of hydrogen to the liquid fuel stream will place hydrogen in the locations and at the time that ensure its acting as an inhibitor in the soot formation process and as a catalyst for more complete combustion. The methodology of forming liquid fuel/hydrogen mixture and its injection process are the major issues to be resolved in the proposed research. Using an optically accessible mixing chamber the injection and combustion of two-phase will be investigated. Various optical visualization techniques with a high speed digital camera will be used at this stage. The final implementation of the two-phase mixture fuelling will be done on a three-cylinder compression ignition engine. The fuelling system of the engine will be rebuilt to enable the two-phase mixture formation and injection. The engine's cylinders are fitted with piezoelectric transducers to obtain pressure measurements that are subsequently analyzed for heat release and combustion phasing parameters. With nationally and internationally growing interest and investments in new hydrogen economy, students who will graduate from the proposed research on hydrogen supplementation will be easily employable and in high demand.