A new X-ray technique to measure temperatures in combustion flames could lead to cleaner biofuels.
September 12, 2022
A new X-ray technique to measure temperatures in combustion flames could lead to cleaner biofuels.
Understanding the dynamics of combustion of biofuels—fuels made from plants, algae or animal waste—is essential for building clean, efficient biofuel-powered engines. An important driver of these dynamics is temperature.
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, Yale University and Penn State University have refined and used an X-ray technique to measure temperatures in an extremely hot, soot-laden flame produced by combustion. Such measurements have historically been challenging. The new technique can potentially help reduce emissions from biofuel-powered engines. The study was published in Science Advances.
A need to optimize biofuels
Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants due to fossil fuel combustion will require major changes in energy systems. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that there are well over a billion fossil-powered vehicles worldwide, projecting that the conventional vehicle fleet will peak in 2038.
Advanced, cleaner-burning biofuels can potentially help reduce pollutants in the meantime. This is particularly true for airplanes, ships and other heavy-duty vehicles that remain difficult to electrify with current technologies.
But developing new combustion systems for advanced biofuels is no easy task. A key barrier has been accurately measuring temperatures in flames produced by biofuel combustion. Temperatures are critical inputs in the models that researchers use to simulate combustion flames and their emissions.
« Temperature has a big influence on chemical reaction rates in flames, » said Alan Kastengren, an Argonne physicist who was one of the authors of the study. « If the models don’t have accurate temperatures, they’re probably not predicting the chemistry correctly. Better combustion models allow researchers to design better combustion systems—whether it be internal combustion engines or electricity generation systems.
