Performance, emissions, life cycle assessment and circular economy analysis of microalgae biodiesel blends in micro gas turbine engines

IF 5.8 2区生物学 Q1 AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

Biomass & Bioenergy Pub Date : 2025-08-29 DOI:10.1016/j.biombioe.2025.108316

A. Pugazhendhi , S.K. Kamarudin , Beata Gavurova , T.R. Praveenkumar , Manigandan Sekar

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Conventional aviation fuels contribute significantly to carbon emissions and environmental pollution. Developing sustainable alternative fuels and propulsion technologies, including microalgae based fuels and fuel cell systems, is critical to reducing the aviation industry's carbon footprint. This study investigates microalgae fuel blends' performance and ecological characteristics in a micro gas turbine (MGT) engine. In addition, life cycle assessment (LCA) and circular economy (CE) analysis were performed to calibrate the effect of the fuel blends on the environment. Four microalgae blends based on the concentration ranging from 20% to 35% (A20, A25, A30, and A35), are prepared by mixing Nannochloropsis sp. microalgae biodiesel with neat Jet A fuel in various proportions. A series of tests were conducted on performance, combustion, and emission characteristics, along with LCA. The MGT was tested at speeds ranging from 30,000 to 70,000 RPM. The LCA and CE study assess the environmental performance of the fuel blends, considering energy efficiency, global warming potential, and well-to-wheel emissions of both carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrogen oxide (NOx). The experimental results indicate that microalgae blends lead to a reduction in the production of thrust and an increase in thrust-specific fuel consumption compared to Jet A fuel. However, the Nannochloropsis sp. blends exhibit lower turbine inlet and exhaust gas temperatures due to the cooling effect caused by the moisture content in the blends. This has a direct implication on engine component durability. The blends' NOx emissions are slightly higher than those of Jet A fuels, while CO₂ emissions are consistently lower. The LCA and CE results show that the microalgae biodiesel blends have lower energy efficiency but exhibit reduced global warming potential and well-to-wheel CO₂ emissions compared to Jet A fuel. In this study, the combination of experimental testing, LCA and CE provided key insights into the performance and environmental characteristics of these alternative fuels in the MGT.

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微藻生物柴油混合燃料在微型燃气轮机发动机中的性能、排放、生命周期评估及循环经济分析

传统航空燃料对碳排放和环境污染贡献巨大。开发可持续替代燃料和推进技术，包括基于微藻的燃料和燃料电池系统，对于减少航空业的碳足迹至关重要。本文研究了微藻燃料混合物在微型燃气轮机发动机中的性能和生态特性。此外，还进行了生命周期评估（LCA）和循环经济（CE）分析，以校准燃料混合物对环境的影响。将Nannochloropsis sp.微藻生物柴油与纯净的Jet A燃料按不同比例混合，制备了浓度为20% ~ 35%的4种微藻混合物（A20、A25、A30和A35）。在性能、燃烧和排放特性以及LCA方面进行了一系列测试。MGT在3万到7万RPM的转速范围内进行了测试。LCA和CE研究评估了混合燃料的环保性能，考虑了能源效率、全球变暖潜力以及从油井到车轮的二氧化碳（CO2）和氮氧化物（NOx）排放。实验结果表明，与喷气机a燃料相比，微藻混合物导致推力产生的减少和推力特定燃料消耗的增加。然而，由于共混物中的水分含量引起的冷却作用，纳米叶绿素sp.共混物表现出较低的涡轮进排气温度。这对发动机部件的耐久性有直接的影响。混合燃料的氮氧化物排放量略高于喷气A燃料，而二氧化碳排放量一直较低。LCA和CE结果表明，与Jet A燃料相比，微藻生物柴油混合物具有较低的能源效率，但具有较低的全球变暖潜势和井到车轮的二氧化碳排放。在本研究中，实验测试、LCA和CE的结合为MGT中这些替代燃料的性能和环境特性提供了关键见解。

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来源期刊

Biomass & Bioenergy 工程技术-能源与燃料

CiteScore

11.50

自引率

3.30%

发文量

258

审稿时长

60 days

期刊介绍： Biomass & Bioenergy is an international journal publishing original research papers and short communications, review articles and case studies on biological resources, chemical and biological processes, and biomass products for new renewable sources of energy and materials. The scope of the journal extends to the environmental, management and economic aspects of biomass and bioenergy. Key areas covered by the journal: • Biomass: sources, energy crop production processes, genetic improvements, composition. Please note that research on these biomass subjects must be linked directly to bioenergy generation. • Biological Residues: residues/rests from agricultural production, forestry and plantations (palm, sugar etc), processing industries, and municipal sources (MSW). Papers on the use of biomass residues through innovative processes/technological novelty and/or consideration of feedstock/system sustainability (or unsustainability) are welcomed. However waste treatment processes and pollution control or mitigation which are only tangentially related to bioenergy are not in the scope of the journal, as they are more suited to publications in the environmental arena. Papers that describe conventional waste streams (ie well described in existing literature) that do not empirically address ''new'' added value from the process are not suitable for submission to the journal. • Bioenergy Processes: fermentations, thermochemical conversions, liquid and gaseous fuels, and petrochemical substitutes • Bioenergy Utilization: direct combustion, gasification, electricity production, chemical processes, and by-product remediation • Biomass and the Environment: carbon cycle, the net energy efficiency of bioenergy systems, assessment of sustainability, and biodiversity issues.