Experimental and Numerical Study of F-T/Biodiesel/Bioethanol Surrogate Fuel Oxidation in Jet-Stirred Reactor

Blends of Fischer–Tropsch (F-T) fuels, biodiesel, and ethanol seem to be a promising fuel for compression ignition (CI) engine applications. An advanced control of current diesel engines requires a detailed comprehension of the fuel chemistry in terms of auto-ignition and pollutant formation. However, neither experimental data, nor convenient combustion models are available for such an alternative fuel. Therefore, the kinetics of oxidation of F-T, F-T/biodiesel, and F-T/biodiesel/bioethanol surrogate fuel (n-decane, iso-octane, methyl octanoate, and ethanol) were studied experimentally in a jet-stirred reactor (JSR) at 10 atm and constant residence time of 1 s, over the temperature range of 560–1160 K, and for several equivalence ratios (0.5–2.0). The oxidation of these fuels was modeled using a detailed chemical kinetic reaction mechanism consisting of 9919 reactions and 2202 species. The proposed kinetic reaction mechanism yields a good representation of the kinetics of oxidation of the tested biofuel blends. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Combustion Science and Technology to view the free supplemental file.