CFD analysis of biodiesel combustion applied to industrial burners

The aim of this work is the analysis of the characteristics of biodiesel combustion in industrial burners in order to optimize the overall combustion process. A CFD model has been employed to simulate the fuel atomization process and the liquid spray evaporation that occur in a burner. A pressure swirl atomizer has been considered and a “flamelet” model has been implemented to simulate the fuel combustion. The validation of the numerical model has been carried out by a comparison with the experimental data provided by NIST (National Institute for Standards and Technology) for methanol injection and combustion in a cylindrical vessel with an injector axially located. The model has been employed to analyze the behavior of biodiesel fuel, inside the NIST burner, and to make a comparison with the injection and combustion of methanol. Biodiesel has been modelled as methyl-decanoate. A parametric study, by varying the injector included half-angle and the inlet air mass flow rate, has been carried out in order to identify an optimal configuration in terms of flame temperature and pollutant distributions as a result of the combustion process.