Emissions from a generator fueled by blends of diesel, biodiesel, acetone, and isopropyl alcohol: analyses of emitted PM, particulate carbon, and PAHs

Abstract

Biodiesel is one of alternative energies that have been extensively discussed and studied. This research investigates the characteristics of particulate matter (PM), particulate carbon, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted from a generator fueled by waste-edible-oil-biodiesel with acetone and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) addition. The tested biodieselhols consisted of pure diesel oil (D100) with 1-3 vol.% pure acetone (denoted as A), 1-70 vol.% waste-edible-oil-biodiesel (denoted as W), and 1 vol.% pure isopropyl alcohol (the stabilizer, denoted as P). The results show that in comparison to W1D99, W3D97, W5D95, W10D90, and W20D80, the use of biodieselhols achieved additional reduction of PM and particulate organic carbon (OC) emission, and such reduction increased as the addition percentage of pure acetone increased. Regardless of the percentages of added waste-edible-oil-biodiesel, acetone, and isopropyl alcohol, the use of biodieselhol in place of D100 could reduce the emissions of Total-PAHs (by 6.13-42.5% (average = 24.1%)) and Total-BaPeq (by 16.6-74.8% (average = 53.2%)) from the diesel engine generator. Accordingly, the W/D blended fuels (W<20 vol.%) containing acetone (1-3 vol.%) and isopropyl alcohol (1 vol.%) are a potential alternative fuel for diesel engine generators because they substantially reduce emissions of PM, particulate OC, Total-PAHs, and Total-BaPeq.

Keywords: Acetone; Biodieselhol; Diesel generator; PAH; Waste-edible-oil-biodiesel.