Modelling of high-pressure dense diesel sprays with adaptive local grid refinement

An Eulerian–Lagrangian fluid dynamics model simulating the development of dense liquid plumes formed during injection of fuels against compressed air is described and assessed against experimental data. The numerical model employs an adaptive local grid refinement methodology combined with a calculation procedure distributing the mass, momentum and energy exchanged between the liquid and gaseous phases in the numerical cells found in the vicinity of the moving droplets. The use of appropriate weighting functions resolves numerical as well as physical problems realised when the interaction volume available between the two phases is limited to the cell-containing parcel, whose volume may become comparable to that of the dispersed phase. Calculation of ‘virtual’ cell properties provide better estimates for the flow variables realised by the droplets crossing cells in the wake of those upstream and allows for larger time steps to be employed in the solution of the carrier phase conservation equations. The results suggest that the proposed methodology offers significant improvements compared to the standard Lagrangian one frequently adopted in simulation of combustion systems, without the need to use Eulerian flow models in dense spray regions.     

Screening analysis to detect adulteration in diesel/biodiesel blends using near infrared spectrometry and multivariate classification

This paper proposes an analytical method to detect adulteration of diesel/biodiesel blends based on near infrared (NIR) spectrometry and supervised pattern recognition methods. For this purpose, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) coupled with the successive projections algorithm (SPA) have been employed to build screening models using three different optical paths and the following spectra ranges: 1.0 mm (8814-3799 cm⁻¹), 10 mm (11,329-5944 cm⁻¹ and 5531-4490 cm⁻¹) and 20 mm (11,688-5952 cm⁻¹ and 5381-4679 cm⁻¹). The method is validated in a case study involving the classification of 140 diesel/biodiesel blend samples, which were divided into four different classes, namely: diesel free of biodiesel and raw vegetal oil (D), blends containing diesel, biodiesel and raw oils (OBD), blends of diesel and raw oils (OD), and blends containing a fraction of 5% (v/v) of biodiesel in diesel (B5). LDA-SPA models were found to be the best method to classify the spectral data obtained with optical paths of 1.0 and 20 mm. Otherwise, PLS-DA shows the best results for classification of 10 mm cell data, which achieved a correct prediction rate of 100% in the test set.     

Multivariate optimization of the determination of zinc in diesel oil employing a novel extraction strategy based on emulsion breaking

This paper describes the extraction/pre-concentration of Zn from diesel oil and its determination by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS), proposed as a novel approach for these kinds of analyses and the multivariate optimization of the proposed procedure. The extraction of Zn is based on the emulsification of an aqueous solution containing Triton X-114 and HNO₃ with diesel oil samples followed by breaking of the emulsion by heating. The aqueous phase obtained after the emulsion breaking was collected and used for Zn quantification by FAAS. The methodology was optimized using a Doehlert design and the system variables were the concentrations of surfactant and HNO₃ in the solution employed in the emulsification and the temperature used in the emulsion breaking. The ratio between absorbance and the time required to break the emulsions was taken as response. Two sets of experiments, using different emulsifier agents, were run: the first one using Triton X-100 and the second one using Triton X-114. At optimized conditions, the emulsions were prepared by mixing 10 mL of diesel oil with 2 mL of a solution containing 5% w/v of Triton X-114 and 15% v/v of HNO₃ and broken by heating at 80 °C. The proposed analytical procedure was applied in the analysis of six real samples of diesel oil and a recovery test was carried out by spiking the samples with known amounts of Zn (25 and 50 μg L⁻¹), added as organometallic oiled standard. Recovery percentages achieved in this test were between 92 and 109%.     

Synthesis of Renewable Diesel through Hydrodeoxygenation Using Pd/zeolite Catalysts

Hydrodeoxygenation of oleic acid as model compound of vegetable oils over Pd/zeolite catalysts was investigated under conditions of 375−400 °C and 15 bar in a semi batch stirred autoclave reactor. Pd/zeolite-1 and Pd/zeolite-2 catalysts were prepared using microwave polyol method with different treatment conditions. The liquid hydrocarbon products named Renewable Diesel have suitable density and viscosity, and quite high cetane index in accordance with standard commercial diesel and ASTM D-975. The IR spectrum of Renewable Diesel products have similarities with commercial diesel. The oxygenation removal pathway of oleic acid over Pd/zeolite 1 catalyst was primarily compiled through decarboxylation at 375 °C.     

Development of a species-specific isotope dilution GC-ICP-MS method for the determination of thiophene derivates in petroleum products

A species-specific isotope dilution technique for accurate determination of sulfur species in low- and high-boiling petroleum products was developed by coupling capillary gas chromatography with quadrupole ICP-MS (GC-ICP-IDMS). For the isotope dilution step ³⁴S-labeled thiophene, dibenzothiophene, and mixed dibenzothiophene/4-methyldibenzothiophene spike compounds were synthesized on the milligram scale from elemental ³⁴S-enriched sulfur. Thiophene was determined in gasoline, ‘sulfur-free’ gasoline, and naphtha. By analyzing reference material NIST SRM 2296, the accuracy of species-specific GC-ICP-IDMS was demonstrated by an excellent agreement with the certified value. The detection limit is always limited by the background noise of the isotope chromatograms and was determined for thiophene to be 7 pg absolute, which corresponds to 7 ng sulfur/g sample under the experimental conditions used. Dibenzothiophene and 4-methyldibenzothiophene were determined in different high-boiling petroleum products like gas oil, diesel fuel, and heating oil. In this case a large concentration range from about < 0.04 to more than 2,000 μg g⁻¹ was covered for both sulfur species. By parallel GC-ICP-MS and GC-EI-MS experiments (EI-MS electron impact ionization mass spectrometry) the substantial influence of co-eluting hydrocarbons on the ICP-MS sulfur signal was demonstrated, which can significantly affect results obtained by external calibration but not those by the isotope dilution technique.     

几种常用油品拉曼光谱的检测及分析

采用拉曼光谱技术检测不同种类油品,探索汽油、柴油、石脑油等常用油品的拉曼光谱图的规律性。方法:利用自行研制的785nm激发波长便携式拉曼光谱仪检测150例种类不同的油品,并对这些油品的拉曼光谱图进行拉平及归一法处理。结果:汽油、柴油、石脑油、航煤这四大类油品的拉曼谱图具有各类的特点及规律,根据其中烯烃峰的拉曼位移及对应峰的强度可以对汽油及石脑油进行鉴别,并且可以筛查出一部分不合格汽油。利用拉曼光谱法检测不同种油品其操作简便,无需前处理,需要的样本量小,不同种油品的拉曼位移和强度上存在着差异,拉曼光谱法在建立油品现场快速筛查、检测及鉴别方法上具有很大潜力。     

生物柴油发动机非常规排放的FTIR检测

采用傅里叶变换红外光谱FTIR,研究了汽车发动机燃用生物柴油的非常规排放物。所用燃料分别为纯柴油、纯生物柴油、生物柴油掺混比为20%的B20混合燃料。结果表明,该机燃用纯柴油和B20燃油的甲醛排放差别不大,纯生物柴油的甲醛排放则明显高于柴油。燃用B20燃油的乙醛排放略低于纯柴油;纯生物柴油的乙醛排放在中低负荷低于纯柴油,在高负荷时高于柴油及B20燃油。燃用B20燃油和纯生物柴油的丙酮排放要高于柴油,但排放量均较低。随着生物柴油掺混比例的增加,发动机甲苯和二氧化硫均呈逐渐下降趋势,纯生物柴油的二氧化硫排放大幅降低。燃用生物柴油后,发动机的二氧化碳排放有所降低,表明了生物柴油有利于温室气体的控制。     

Comparison of energy consumptions between ultrasonic, mechanical, and combined soil washing processes

Vigorous physical effects including micro-jet and micro-streaming can be induced in heterogeneous systems by acoustic cavitation. This can be useful for the removal of pollutants from contaminated soil particles. In this study, the diesel removal efficiencies in ultrasonic, mechanical, and combined soil washing processes have been compared considering the electrical energy consumptions for these processes. The combined process showed synergistic effects for both removal efficiency and effective volume also has the advantage of a short operation time compared to the sequential processes. Thus the ultrasonic soil washing process with mechanical mixing is considered a promising technology for industrial use.     

Trace Element Determination in Diesel Particulates by Total-Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis

 Particulate matter of Diesel emissions collected from diluted exhaust during standard test runs with two Diesel fuels of different sulfur content was analysed by total-reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF). The trace elements determined were S, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb. Additionally, some filter materials were tested with respect to their applicability for sample collection. Quartz fibre filters were found to be most suitable, both from a technical and a chemical point of view. A clear reduction of total particulate emissions during the whole test was observed when the fuel with very low sulfur content was used. In addition, it was found that the wear metal content of particulate matter emitted by a cold engine was higher than that observed during normal engine working temperature. Received September 10, 1998. Revision March 2, 1999