Impact of Alternative Fuels on Emissions Characteristics of a Gas Turbine Engine. Part 1: Gaseous and Particulate Matter Emissions

Author

Prem Lobo, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
Lucas Rye
Paul I. Williams
Simon Christie
I. Uryga-Bugajska
Chris W. Wilson
Donald E. Hagen, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
Philip D. Whitefield, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
Simon Blakey
H. Coe
David W. Raper
M. Pourkashanian

Abstract

Growing concern over emissions from increased airport operations has resulted in a need to assess the impact of aviation related activities on local air quality in and around airports, and to develop strategies to mitigate these effects. One such strategy being investigated is the use of alternative fuels in aircraft engines and auxiliary power units (APUs) as a means to diversify fuel supplies and reduce emissions. This paper summarizes the results of a study to characterize the emissions of an APU, a small gas turbine engine, burning conventional Jet A-1, a fully synthetic jet fuel, and other alternative fuels with varying compositions. Gas phase emissions were measured at the engine exit plane while PM emissions were recorded at the exit plane as well as 10 m downstream of the engine. Five percent reduction in NO_x emissions and 5-10% reduction in CO emissions were observed for the alternative fuels. Significant reductions in PM emissions at the engine exit plane were achieved with the alternative fuels. However, as the exhaust plume expanded and cooled, organic species were found to condense on the PM. This increase in organic PM elevated the PM mass but had little impact on PM number.

Recommended Citation

P. Lobo and L. Rye and P. I. Williams and S. Christie and I. Uryga-Bugajska and C. W. Wilson and D. E. Hagen and P. D. Whitefield and S. Blakey and H. Coe and D. W. Raper and M. Pourkashanian, "Impact of Alternative Fuels on Emissions Characteristics of a Gas Turbine Engine. Part 1: Gaseous and Particulate Matter Emissions," Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 46, no. 19, pp. 10805 - 10811, American Chemical Society (ACS), Oct 2012.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1021/es301898u

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Second Department

Physics

Third Department

Chemistry

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0013-936X

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2012 American Chemical Society (ACS), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Oct 2012