CFD Simulation of Biodiesel Spray Atomization with Variation of L/D Semisolid Oil Burner Nozzle

As time progresses, the demand for energy sources continues to increase. However, the availability of fossil fuels, which are non-renewable energy sources, is limited. People still heavily rely on fossil fuels for transportation and power generation purposes. Therefore, there is a growing focus on developing alternative fuels derived from vegetable oil. This development is carried out in stages, starting from B5, B20, and currently circulating in the market, B30. Meanwhile, B100 or FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester) is a long-term project as a renewable fuel. However, the distinct physical properties of B100 compared to fossil fuels remain a challenge in terms of combustion performance. The higher values of density, surface tension, and viscosity in B100 result in poorer particle-breaking ability (atomization). Consequently, the atomization process for B100 produces larger droplet sizes compared to fossil fuels. The larger droplet size negatively affects combustion quality as it becomes challenging for air to react with a larger surface area of droplets. One potential solution to enhance the atomization capability of B100 is by determining an appropriate nozzle geometry. In this study, a CFD simulation was conducted to identify the optimal nozzle geometry for achieving the smallest droplet size of B100. Using the Lagrangian method, it was found that a semi-solid nozzle with an L/D ratio of 0.8 exhibited the best atomization performance for B100 fuel, outperforming L/D ratios of 0.3, 0.5, 1.5, and 2. © 2024 IEEE.