Seminar 10/23/2009 Fuel Chemistry and Combustion: A Tale of Soot and the Oxides of Carbon, Nitrogen and Sulfur

Department of Chemical Engineering
West Virginia University

Seminar

Fuel Chemistry and Combustion: A Tale of Soot and the Oxides of Carbon, Nitrogen and Sulfur



Mike Timko
Aerodyne Research Inc.
Billerica, MA

ABSTRACT

Combustion of fossil fuels will provide the vast majority of power for transportation applications for the foreseeable future. Even complete combustion of fossil fuels releases CO2, NOX, and SOX – incomplete combustion leads to soot, hydrocarbon, and CO emissions. All of these pollutants pose potential threats to human health, regional air quality, and the global climate. In this presentation, I will describe the combustion pollutants and provide examples from Aerodyne work studying aircraft engine combustion. Then, I will describe two efforts to reduce combustion emissions – replacing fossil jet fuel with synthetic fuels manufactured using the Fischer-Tropsch process and removing fuel sulfur compounds to enable power production via fuel cells. Combustion of Fischer-Tropsch fuels in aircraft engines dramatically reduces particulate material emissions, and I will provide data from recent field tests that quantifies the improved emissions performance. Fuel cell energy production via desulfurized jet fuels has the potential to decrease fuel use and emissions. I will detail recent work at Aerodyne to develop inexpensive catalysts for oxidative desulfurization of jet fuel prior to its use in a fuel cell.

Friday, October 23, 2009 9:30am - 10:45am
Room 401, Engineering Sciences Building
Refreshments served at 9:15 am

Questions or Directions call: 304-293-9344.

10/23/2009