Optical diagnostics to develop combustion and emission design tools for sustainable low-carbon fuels

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Canada has committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels to a low-carbon economy in order to mitigate climate change. A key challenge of this energy transition is the need to store renewable energy, from solar, wind and hydroelectric resources, for use in off-grid applications and to provide backup power for when the variable and intermittent power generation systems fall short of demand. The Alternative Fuels Laboratory (AFL) at McGill University is investigating several parallel solutions for addressing this technology gap, including using hydrogen, ammonia, biogas, and metals, such as aluminum, as recyclable fuels.    This RTI grant application is for two cameras used daily in our laser diagnostic measurements and one IR external cavity diode laser system, which will be integrated into our laminar flame facility for studies of alternative fuels. The first is a sCMOS camera with global shutter capability for measuring velocity fields in laminar and turbulent flames, using particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) or particle-image velocimetry (PIV), which are critical to understanding the changing reactivity of different fuel mixtures and their impact on flame stabilization in practical engines. The second is an intensified sCMOS camera (IsCMOS) that is sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths that we use to measure spatial profiles of nitric oxide using laser-induced fluorescence. These measurements enable us to improve our understanding of how nitric oxide pollutant emissions (NOx) depend on the fuel blend used. By varying the wavelength of the excitation laser, we also use the UV-IsCMOS to measure temperature profiles. The IR external cavity diode laser can probe the strong rovibrational transition of inert species present in the alternative fuels of interest: H2O found in applications with exhaust-gas recirculated hydrogen combustion, wet biomass, and hydrogen-steam generated from the aluminum-water reaction; and CO2 found in bio-derived gaseous fuels. The IR laser system can provide concentration measurements of the inert species to quantify their impact on reactivity and pollutant emissions to identify promising clean-fuel mixtures to accelerate the energy transition. The equipment will be used daily in our research by approximately 7 HQP per year.    These measurements enable us to validate and refine combustion chemistry tools used by our industrial partners within three collaborative projects with Siemens Energy (hydrogen) and Phoenix Biopower (syngas and ammonia), and government partners at the National Research Council of Canada (biogas, syngas, hydrogen) to design advanced, low-emissions combustion systems and engines that can operate on low-carbon fuels. The desired equipment will be used in projects to fill the remaining gaps to enable the vision for circular fuels.