Over the last years, global concerns about energy security and climate change have resulted in many efforts focusing on the potential utilization of nonpetroleum-based, i.e., bioderived, fuels. In this context, n-butanol has recently received high attention because it can be produced sustainably. A comprehensive knowledge about its combustion properties is inevitable to ensure an efficient and smart use of n-butanol if selected as a future energy carrier. In the present work, two major combustion characteristics, here laminar flame speeds applying the cone-angle method and ignition delay times applying the shock tube technique, have been studied, experimentally, and by modeling exploiting detailed chemical kinetic reaction models, at ambient and elevated pressures. The in-house reaction model was constructed applying the reaction model generation (RMG)-method. A linear transformation method recently developed, linTM, was exploited to generate a reduced reaction model needed for an efficient, comprehensive parametric study of the combustion behavior of n-butanol-hydrocarbon mixtures. All experimental data were found to agree with the model predictions of the in-house reaction model, for all temperatures, pressures, and fuel-air ratios. On the other hand, calculations using reaction models from the open literature mostly overpredict the measured ignition delay times by about a factor of two. The results are compared to those of ethanol, with ignition delay times very similar and laminar flame speeds of n-butanol slightly lower, at atmospheric pressure.
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September 2018
Research-Article
An Investigation of Combustion Properties of Butanol and Its Potential for Power Generation
Torsten Methling,
Torsten Methling
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
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Sandra Richter,
Sandra Richter
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
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Trupti Kathrotia,
Trupti Kathrotia
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Combustion Technology, Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Institute of Combustion Technology, Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
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Marina Braun-Unkhoff,
Marina Braun-Unkhoff
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
e-mail: Marina.Braun-Unkhoff@dlr.de
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
e-mail: Marina.Braun-Unkhoff@dlr.de
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Clemens Naumann,
Clemens Naumann
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
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Uwe Riedel
Uwe Riedel
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Search for other works by this author on:
Torsten Methling
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Sandra Richter
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Trupti Kathrotia
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Combustion Technology, Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Institute of Combustion Technology, Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Marina Braun-Unkhoff
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
e-mail: Marina.Braun-Unkhoff@dlr.de
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
e-mail: Marina.Braun-Unkhoff@dlr.de
Clemens Naumann
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Uwe Riedel
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
Institute of Combustion Technology,
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40,
Stuttgart 70569, Germany
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Combustion and Fuels Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING FOR GAS TURBINES AND POWER. Manuscript received January 9, 2018; final manuscript received February 19, 2018; published online June 15, 2018. Editor: David Wisler.
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Sep 2018, 140(9): 091505 (10 pages)
Published Online: June 15, 2018
Article history
Received:
January 9, 2018
Revised:
February 19, 2018
Citation
Methling, T., Richter, S., Kathrotia, T., Braun-Unkhoff, M., Naumann, C., and Riedel, U. (June 15, 2018). "An Investigation of Combustion Properties of Butanol and Its Potential for Power Generation." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. September 2018; 140(9): 091505. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4039731
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