Investigation the Stability of Water in Oil Biofuel Emulsions Using Sunflower Oil

Sahota, Ravin; Dakka, Sam M.

Abstract

Targets to reduce CO2 emissions by 75% and NOx emissions by 90% by 2050 in aviation have been set by The Advisory Council for Aviation Research and Innovation in Europe. Sustainable fuels, e.g., emulsified biofuel, have demonstrated promise in reducing emissions and greenhouse gases. The aim of this project is to investigate the stability of a water in oil emulsion using sunflower oil. The primary objective is to achieve an emulsion which is stable for at least 4 days, and the secondary objective is to investigate how altering the emulsification parameter values of the surfactant hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB), energy density and sonotrode depth in an ultrasonication procedure can impact the stability. The stability of each emulsion was measured over a period of 14 days. The main outcome is that two of the 14 emulsions made remained stable for at least 14 days using a surfactant HLB of five, which proved to be the optimum value from those tested. The results also show that, by using the sonotrode in a higher starting position, emulsions achieved a greater stability. Furthermore, over-processing of the emulsion was determined, with the point of over-processing lying between an energy density of 75 and 200 W.s/mL.

Citation

Sahota, R., & Dakka, S. M. (2020). Investigation the Stability of Water in Oil Biofuel Emulsions Using Sunflower Oil. ChemEngineering, 4(2), Article 36. https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering4020036

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 4, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jun 5, 2020
• Publication Date: Jun 5, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jun 9, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 10, 2020
• Journal: ChemEngineering
• Electronic ISSN: 2305-7084
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 2
• Article Number: 36
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering4020036
• Keywords: biofuel; sunflower oil; emulsion; fuel emulsification; emission reduction; ultrasonication; surfactant; energy density; sonotrode depth; emulsion stability
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4612323
• Publisher URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2305-7084/4/2/36