title: Experimental study of combustion characteristics of nanoscale metal and metal oxide additives in biofuel (ethanol).
abstract: An experimental investigation of the combustion behavior of nano-aluminum (n-Al) and nano-aluminum oxide (n-Al2O3) particles stably suspended in biofuel (ethanol) as a secondary energy carrier was conducted. The heat of combustion (HoC) was studied using a modified static bomb calorimeter system. Combustion element composition and surface morphology were evaluated using a SEM/EDS system. N-Al and n-Al2O3 particles of 50- and 36-nm diameters, respectively, were utilized in this investigation. Combustion experiments were performed with volume fractions of 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10% for n-Al, and 0.5, 1, 3, and 5% for n-Al2O3. The results indicate that the amount of heat released from ethanol combustion increases almost linearly with n-Al concentration. N-Al volume fractions of 1 and 3% did not show enhancement in the average volumetric HoC, but higher volume fractions of 5, 7, and 10% increased the volumetric HoC by 5.82, 8.65, and 15.31%, respectively. N-Al2O3 and heavily passivated n-Al additives did not participate in combustion reactively, and there was no contribution from Al2O3 to the HoC in the tests. A combustion model that utilized Chemical Equilibrium with Applications was conducted as well and was shown to be in good agreement with the experimental results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA. calvin.li@villanova.edu.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Calvin H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Abdollah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Afjeh
authors.forename: Gp
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Peterson