Author
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Holt, Gregory |
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HOOKER, J - CIMCO, INCORPORATED |
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Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 1/9/2002 Publication Date: 1/9/2002 Citation: HOLT, G.A., HOOKER, J.D. OIL BURNER EMISSIONS: COTTONSEED OIL VERSUS DIESEL. PROCEEDINGS OF THE BELTWIDE COTTON CONFERENCES. COTTON ENGINEERING-SYSTEMS CONFERENCE. CD-ROM. MEMPHIS, TN: THE NATIONAL COTTON COUNCIL OF AMERICA. 2002. Interpretive Summary: With ever rising fuel prices, both the cottonseed oil mill and cotton ginning industries were looking for ways to reduce fuel costs. One possibility presented was to use cottonseed oil as a fuel when firing the burners commonly used for drying operaations in the cottonseed oil mill and ginning industries. However, the question arose as to whether or not the emissions from using a cottonseed oil in such a burner would be better, or worse, than if diesel were used. In this research, emissions were measured from a multi-fuel burner while firing No. 2 diesel, Prime Bleachable Summer Yellow (PBSY) cottonseed oil, and crude cottonseed oil. The cottonseed oils were evaluated at two temperatures, 83 degrees F and 140 degrees F. The reason for preheating the oil was to determine if the theory that "...heating the oil reduces emissions" was true or not. Tests were performed at three burner fuel flow rates of 2, 14, and 23 gallons/hour. During all testing, the burner was operated at the manufacturer's recommended settings for burning diesel fuel. The gaseous emissions measured were carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), oxygen (02), carbon dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Results indicate that PBSY had the lowest overall emissions of CO and NOx. The diesel and crude cottonseed oil treatments varied as to which fuel had the lowest emissions, depending on the fuel flow firing rate. Sulfur emissions were negligible for all fuels. Preheating the oil did not significantly affect emissions. Overall, the cottonseed oils performed well while burning at the recommended settings for diesel. Further emission reductions could result while burning cottonseed oil using a lower atomization pressure and different air-to-fuel ratios than those used in this study. Technical Abstract: Cottonseed oil has been used as a fuel source, either as a blend with diesel in varying proportions, or undiluted (100%), in numerous studies evaluating its potential use in internal combustion engines. However, limited research is available on the use of cottonseed oil as a fuel source in a multi-fueled burner similar to those used by cottonseed oil mills and cotton gins in their drying operations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate emissions from five fuel oil treatments while firing a multi-fueled burner similar to those used for drying operations of both cottonseed oil mills and cotton gins. Four of the treatments were cottonseed oils. The five fuel oil treatments evaluated were: 1) No. 2 Diesel at 83 deg F; 2) Prime Bleachable Summer Yellow (PBSY) cottonseed oil at 83 deg F (PBSY-83); 3) Crude cottonseed oil at 83 deg F (Crude-83); 4) PBSY at 140 deg F (PBSY-140); and 5) Crude at 140 deg F (Crude-140). For each treatment, gaseous emissions of oxygen (02), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide NO2) were measured while firing the burner with 1, 14, and 23 gallons/hour of fuel oil. Results indicate that PBSY treatments had the lowest overall emissions of all treatments. The other treatments varied in emission rates based on treatment and fuel flow rate. Preheating the oil to 140 deg F resulted in higher nitrogen oxide emissions, but displayed varying results in regards to CO. Overall, both cottonseed oils performed well in the multi-fueled burner and displayed a promising potential as an alternative fuel source for cottonseed oil mills and cotton gins in their drying operations. |
