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Moita, Ana Sofia Oliveira Henriques

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  • Combustion characteristics of a single droplet of hydroprocessed vegetable oil blended with aluminum nanoparticles in a drop tube furnace
    Publication . Ferrão, Inês; Silva, André; Moita, A. S.; Mendes, Miguel; Costa, Mário
    This study examines the burning characteristics and disruptive burning phenomena of single droplets of aluminum nanoparticles (n-Al) stably suspended in a biofuel (HVO). The biofuel used in the present work is a promising alternative fuel already tested in the aviation sector to reduce greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions. Experiments were conducted with two particle sizes (40nm and 70nm) and two particle concentrations (0.5 wt.% and 1.0 wt.%) to study its influence when added to the biofuel. The effect of size and concentration of the aluminum nanoparticles was studied at 1100 °C in a drop tube furnace. This experimental facility allows the study of combustion characteristics of falling droplets, ensuring there is no influence of the supporting fiber on the burning rate and disruptive burning phenomena occurrence. A CMOS high - speed camera coupled with a high magnification lens was used to evaluate the droplet size, burning rate, and micro-explosions. Based on this procedure, pure biofuel droplets were compared with those of biofuel blended with nanoparticles. The results suggest that the combustion characteristics of pure HVO can be enhanced with the addition of aluminum nanoparticles. Furthermore, by decreasing the particle size, a slight increase in the burning rate of nanofuels was noticed. Additionally, an increase in the particle concentration leads to a pronounced increase in the burning rate. The particle concentration also influences the delay and intensity of micro-explosions, disruptive burning phenomena detected at the end of the droplet lifetime.
  • The Impact of High Particles Concentration in a Biofuel Droplet Combustion
    Publication . Mendes, Tomás S. M.; Ferrão, Inês; Mendes, Miguel; Moita, A. S.; Silva, A. R. R.
    Aviation is one of the largest transportation sectors and is operated on fossil fuels, being responsible for about 2% of global CO2 emissions. In order to reduce the environmental impact, biofuels emerged as a promising solution. Additionally, a possible approach to improve the performance of biofuels is to add nanoparticles, leading to the concept of nanofuel. The present work evaluates the nanofuel droplet combustion of a biofuel containing high aluminum particle concentrations. To enhance the nanofuel stability, a preliminary study focusing on the addition of a surfactant was mandatory. Particle size of 40 nm and three particle concentrations from 1.0 to 4.0 wt.% were considered. The results show that the oleic acid effectively improves the stability, and no visible oxidation of the nanoparticles was reported. Regarding the single droplet combustion, the observations show that the addition of nanoparticles promotes micro-explosions, contrary to the combustion of pure biofuel, and increases the overall droplet burning rate.