Applied Energy 101 (2013) 349–356

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Exhaust emissions from liquid fuel micro gas turbine fed with diesel oil,
biodiesel and vegetable oil
David Chiaramonti ⇑, Andrea Maria Rizzo, Adriano Spadi, Matteo Prussi, Giovanni Riccio,
Francesco Martelli
CREAR c/o Dipartimento di Energetica, Università degli Studi di Firenze and Consorzio RE-CORD via Santa Marta 3, 50139 Firenze, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Micro gas turbine units are reliable and versatile units for on-site combined heat and power production
Received 25 July 2011 (CHP). Compared to internal combustion engines, CHP units based on micro gas turbines offer several
Received in revised form 18 December 2011 advantages, among which the compactness, the high power-to-weight ratio, the lower pollutant emis-
Accepted 27 January 2012
sions and maintenance costs. Depending on the specific type of gas turbine, also fuel flexibility could
Available online 18 February 2012
be better than diesel engines, as the fuel is continuously burnt in a hot environment and there is not pos-
sible mixing among fuel and lubricating oil. Within the framework of the EU-Russian Federation FP7
Keywords:
cooperative and specifically the Bioliquids-CHP project, a Garrett GTP 30–67 liquid fuel (diesel) micro
Biodiesel
Vegetable oil
gas turbine was characterised with diesel and then tested with different first generation biofuels, such
Biofuels as vegetable oil and biodiesel. An in-house test bench was designed, engineered, instrumented and built.
Exhaust emission In this research work, exhaust emissions from experimental campaign on the micro gas turbine run with
Micro gas turbine diesel oil and biofuels are presented. Emissions were measured at various load. The experiments demon-
strated that the MGT can be successfully operated with these biofuels, with emissions comparable to the
standard diesel oil. The experiences gained on the operation of the micro gas turbine on first generation
biofuels will serve as a basis for modifying the MGT to be operated with bio-oil from fast pyrolysis.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction at investigating such applications and technologies. The main rea-

son is that micro gas turbines (MGTs) offer several advantages com-
Significant attention has been recently given to micro gas tur- pared to compression ignition engines. Among others, typical
bines for decentralised renewable energy generation, thanks to problems in feeding vegetable oils (VO) to diesel engines can be
their potential applications and excellent environmental and ener- summarised as follows:
getic performances [1]. In fact, the development and deployment of
small scale distributed cogeneration systems fuelled by renewable  possible contamination of the lubricating oil with the bioliquid
fuels stimulated this renewed interest in micro gas turbines, as (and therefore need for very frequent full substitution of the
they represent an attractive option thanks to their performance lubricating oil)
in terms of efficiency, low emissions, and reliability (as well as a  formation of deposits in the injector and some hot parts
limited request maintenance) [2].  the need to implement high frequency injection requires to
The use of liquid biofuels (namely ‘‘bioliquids’’) in engines for achieve a very fast ignition in the combustion chamber (i.e.
stationary power generation is rapidly diffusing in the EU, and a fur- need for a sufficiently high fuel cetane number), etc.
ther large deployment can be expected in the near future [3,4]. Fuel
properties and engine performances have been studied, tested and Several issues must be addressed in order to adapt MGTs to bio-
monitored in a large number of research works, and reviews are fuels: in fact, while natural gas, kerosene, diesel oil or even clean bio-
available in literature [5–8]. Commercial systems have been oper- gas can be directly used in micro gas turbines without major
ated either on biodiesel (esterified vegetable oil) or on straight veg- modifications, biofuels from thermo-chemical conversion of bio-
etable oil (e.g., as rape, sunflower, camelina, palm oil). Feeding mass or very raw liquid biofuels such as vegetable oil require more
liquid biofuels to micro gas turbines, however, is still at an experi- significant re-design and greater changes of standard technologies
mental and not yet commercial stage: several research projects aim before being used. In fact, these low quality renewable fuels present
some critical factors mainly related to their unfavourable physical
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 055 4796436; fax: +39 055 4796342. and chemical characteristics, such as low LHV, high viscosity, poor
E-mail address: david.chiaramonti@unifi.it (D. Chiaramonti). atomization, and corrosive properties: moreover, their chemical–

0306-2619/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.01.066
350 D. Chiaramonti et al. / Applied Energy 101 (2013) 349–356

Nomenclature

vol.% percentage by volume BD biodiesel

%w/w percentage by weight CO carbon monoxide
cSt centiStokes FAEE fatty acid ethyl ester
ppm part per million FAME fatty acid methyl ester
rpm round per minute (rotational speed) MGT micro gas turbine
b compressor pressure ratio NOx nitrogen oxides
UHC unburned hydrocarbons
List of abbreviations VO vegetable oil
AC alternate current

physical characteristics tend to decay during storage, and fouling on The Biofuel-MGT test bench consists of a lightweight alumin-
the mechanical moving parts can occur due to their tar content or ium frame mounted on four rubber wheels; it is equipped with
deposits. For example, viscosity largely affects the properties of the engine and generator on the upper layer, fuels storages, batter-
the spray during injection, generally increasing mean droplet size ies and controls on the lower one. The generator is connected to a
diameter and decreasing spray cone angle [9], thus leading to in- resistive load which dissipates the generated power. In this set-up,
creased spray penetration and poor combustion quality. Being most the engine is equipped with three separate fuel tanks, to accommo-
of these issues common to diesel engines, the experience acquired in date diesel, BD and VO. The following scheme summarises the
the adaptation of engines to bioliquids during the lst decade can be main components of the test bench.
transferred to the new sector of MGT modification. The use of
bioliquids in MGTs offers several advantages, as: 2.1. Diesel, biodiesel and vegetable oil for testing

 possibility fuel preheating temperature higher than diesel The reference fuel for MGT testing was commercial automotive-
engines grade diesel. The measured biofuel density was equal to 830 kg/m3.
 no possibility for VO/lubricating oil mixing due to the presence Diesel composition was derived from literature [12].
of air-lubrication of the rotating parts, Biodiesel (BD) is a mixture of fatty acid ethyl or methyl esters
 continuous injection and combustion (FAEE or FAME): it is derived by modifying oil molecular struc-
 lower pollutant emission). ture through a trans-esterification process; trans-esterification
involves a reaction in a triglyceride and alcohol in presence of a
ASTM- or EN-compliant biodiesel is a liquid biofuel that is catalyst to produce glycerol and ester [13]. Biodiesel quality
mainly used as a low-blend component for automotive diesel (only and property requirements are regulated by two international
very rarely it is used in transport at higher percentage blend or standards, i.e. ASTM D 6751 and EN 14214; whereas the Euro-
even as neat biofuel) [10] and exhibits limited differences to the pean norm EN 14214 only accounts for FAME, ASTM D 6751
reference fossil fuel, i.e. diesel oil. Straight (or Pure) Vegetable oil states that biodiesel is composed by ‘‘mono-alkyl esters of long-
is instead a low quality renewable fuel, and its use requires a dee- chain fatty acids derived from plant oils or animal fats’’ and its
per adaptation of the MGT given its physical properties (high vis- definition does not depend on the oil or fat used to produce
cosity, high density, poor lubricity, etc.) and chemical composition. the biodiesel or the specific production process employed [12].
The present work aims at investigating the behaviour of bio- Plant- and animal-derived oils make up the majority of actual
mass-derived biofuels as fossil fuel substitute in micro gas turbines and potential sources for biodiesel production [13,14], and to
for power generation, through the construction of a dedicated test date the vast majority of biodiesel is produced from rapeseed,
bench and the completion of experimental test campaign. The palm, soy and sunflower oil. The use of esterified cooked/waste/
measurement of MGTs performances and main exhaust emissions fried oils as feedstock for biodiesel production is also increasing
is here used as a mean to evaluate the quality of the MGT conver- in EU as they are double-counted towards compliance of EC tar-
sion. The adaptation of the micro gas turbine to VO has already gets. Biodiesel shows physical and chemical characteristics rather
been addressed in previous papers [3,11] and will not be discussed close to petroleum-derived diesel oil and is therefore rated as a
in the present work. This paper concentrates on the characterisa- strong potential alternative to diesel [15], however concerns
tion of the performance of a micro gas turbine fed with vegetable about it sustainability exist, depending on the feedstock used
oil, biodiesel, and their mixtures, and compares results with base- for biodiesel production. The sample used for our tests was pro-
line performance on diesel fuel. The analysis is carried out by com- duced by Novaol (Italy) in April 2010 from a feedstock of mixed
paring fuel consumption and pollutant (CO and NOx) emissions, as vegetable oils.
indicators to evaluate the quality of the MGT adaptation and the From a chemical point of view, vegetable oil (VO) is a mixture
combustion process. of free fatty acid, di- and tri-glycerides, glycerol, phosphorus com-
pounds and waxes. The ratio between linoleic and oleic acid (two
2. Material and methods fatty acids) is of paramount importance in diesel engine use, as
the linoleic acid is a measure of the degree of saturation, i.e.
A test bench aimed at investigating the behaviour of a MGT the amount of double bound in the chain. The presence of an
when fed with bioliquids has been designed, built and equipped excessive number of double bonds can lead to the formation of
with instruments and actuators to implement MGT control and deposits in engine hot parts (especially valves), while a very
monitoring. Bioliquids such as Biodiesel (BD), Vegetable Oil (VO) low number of double bonds makes the oil almost solid at ambi-
and their mixtures are more difficult to ignite than standard diesel: ent temperature (e.g. palm oil below 10 °C). Acid fats composition
moreover, they present some requirements in terms of material of vegetable oil depends on the specific type of seed. Refined veg-
compatibility, and require higher flow rates to deliver equal power etable oil from rapeseed was supplied by Novaol (Italy) in April
due to their lower energy content. 2010.
 D. Chiaramonti et al. / Applied Energy 101 (2013) 349–356 351

Table 1
Selected results from analysis of tested BD and VO from Novaol and reference values from EN 14214 (FAME), DIN 51605 (rapeseed oil) and EN 590 (diesel).

Property Unit Reference norms Tested fuels

Diesel oil (EN590) FAME (EN14214) VO (DIN 51605) Tested diesel Tested biodiesel Tested vegetable oil
(from mixed oils) (rapeseed)
Density 15 °C kg/m3 820–845 860–900 900–930 830 881 916.2
Cetane number – Min. 51 Min. 51 Min. 39 – Comply 54
Kinematic viscosity mm2/s
25 °C – – – 3.62 5.93 80.7
40 °C 2.00–4.50 3.50–5.00 Max. 36.0 2.62 3.66 39.1
60 °C – – – – 2.51 80.7
80 °C – – – – 1.81 –
Flash point °C Min. 55 Min. 120 Min. 220 – – 238.5
LHV MJ/kg 42a 37a 36 – 40.2 37.2
HHV MJ/kg 45.61 ± 0.08 39.87 ± 0.03 40.0 ± 0.05
Iodine number gI2/100 g – Max. 120 95–125 – 110 84
Proximate analysis %w/w
Carbon – – 87c 77.3 ± 1.4 77.5 ± 1.3
Hydrogen – – 13c 12.1 ± 0.3 11.9 ± 0.2
Nitrogen – – – <0.01 <0.01
Oxygenb – – – 10.6 10.6
a
Typical value, not included in the norm.
b
By difference.
c
Not indicated in the norm, extracted from [12].

Mixtures of biodiesel and vegetable oils from 25%w/w up to 2.2. The micro gas turbine
75%w/w VO in biodiesel were produced and tested in MGT.
Selected results from the chemical analysis, along with the ref- The micro gas turbine selected for the test is an overhauled mil-
erence values from EN 14214 for FAME, DIN 51605 (pure rapeseed itary auxiliary power unit (APU) model Garrett GTP 30–67. It con-
oil as transport fuel) and EN 590 (diesel) are reported in Table 1. sists of the gear drive assembly, the centrifugal compressor and
Analysis of the vegetable oil according to DIN 51605 was carried turbine rotating assembly, the combustor, the enclosing plenum
out in a specialised analytical laboratory (ASG Analytic-Service and housing, the oil lubrication system, the fuel system and the
Gesellschaft mbH, Germany). It can be seen that tested vegetable electrical system. The gear drive assembly consists of a reduction
oil complies with standard, except for values of Iodine value and gear train which drives the AC generator. The combustion chamber
viscosity, that are slightly out of range, but to a very limited extent (CC) is a single silo, reverse flow type (see Figs. 1–3). The presence
which seems not relevant for operation in the micro gas turbine. of a silo type combustion chamber is one of the main reasons for
Analysis of the biodiesel was carried out at Novaol laboratory the selection of this specific type of MGT, as it allows easier mod-
according to EN 14214 requirements. Properties of commercially ification to adapt the system to the unconventional fuels under
available Diesel that could not be measured were assumed as those evaluation. However, for the scope of the present research work,
given in EN 590. no modification has been applied to the MGT CC to run with BD,
Kinematic viscosity of diesel, biodiesel and vegetable oil was VO and mixtures. During operation of the engine at nominal speed,
measured with a Lauda viscometer made by an Ubbelohde capil- the flyweight-type controller in the engine Fuel Control Unit (FCU)
lary tube controlled by iVisc software and a Proline PV 15 thermo- regulates the fuel flow. The nominal fuel flow rate with diesel var-
static bath filled with deionized water. Sample was introduced in ies approx. between 18 and 33 l/h from full speed no load (FSNL) to
the capillary tube and allowed to reach the selected temperature full load, with resulting variations in the temperature of exhaust
in the thermostatic bath before starting to analyze. Each measure- gas between 350 and 550 °C. A minimum of additional controls,
ment was carried out at the selected temperature for five times: external to the engine, are required in order to operate the engine:
two times in order to condition the capillary tube, then the last an electro-mechanical control panel was built to start and stop the
three times for analyses: an interval of 90 s occurred between
every measurement. The kinematic viscosity of the biodiesel was
measured at 25, 40, 60 and 80 °C, that of diesel was measured at
25 and 40 °C and the one of vegetable oil at 25, 40 and 60 °C.
Higher heating value of diesel, biodiesel and vegetable oil was
obtained by means of a Leco AC500 isoperibol calorimeter. A sam-
ple of about 0.7 g of liquid was weighed with a precision of 0.1 mg
in a crucible: then the crucible and a nickel ignition wire were
placed into the bomb. The bomb was closed and pressurised to
29 bar with high purity oxygen (99,999%), then settled into the
bucket (previously filled with a fixed volume of distillated water).
After a period needed to reach thermal equilibrium, the ignition
was automatically started and temperature was measured by
means of an electronic thermometer with accuracy of 0.0001 °C.
The higher heating value automatically calculated by the instru-
ment requires a correction according to the residual length of the
nickel wire. Each measurement of higher heating value was re-
peated in triplicate and errors are given as half of the difference be-
tween the maximum and minimum results. Fig. 1. Test bench block diagram.
352 D. Chiaramonti et al. / Applied Energy 101 (2013) 349–356

Fig. 2. Liner and schematic of the air passages and flow of the Garrett GTP 30–67 combustor.

The atomizer is a pressure swirl type, fitted at the top of the liner
and consists of a single orifice that generates a diffusive flame.
With the support of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simula-
tions, the aerodynamic pattern of the combustor was evaluated. The
analysis showed that approximately 35% by mass of the air flow
enters the primary zone, and that 15% passes through the swirl
vanes, causing the recirculation flow. Through the wall of the flame
tube, adjacent to the combustion zone, a number of holes allows for
further 9% of the total air entering the primary combustion zone. Air
flows through these holes and through the swirlers and generates
the recirculation zone, which has the effect of stabilizing the flame.
The remaining amount of air flows through the annulus (the gap
that lies between the flame tube and the outer casing of the combus-
tor) into the dilution zone. The fuel is injected into the CC through a
single injector positioned in the centre of the recirculation. The high
Fig. 3. Measurements sites on the test bench. level of turbulence in the primary zone promotes the mixing of the
fuel droplets and the air–fuel mixture . During start up, and until the
MGT reaches 40% of the rated speed, the spark placed on the surface
Table 2 transverse to the axis of the CC assist the ignition the fuel.
Standard MGT fuels and their LHV.

Fuel LHV (MJ/kg) Note

2.3. The biofuel test bench
JP-4 43.2 Standard
JP-5 42.8–43.2 Alternative
2.3.1. Fuel feeding lines
Kerosene 43.2 Alternative
Diesel 42 Emergency The viscosity of VO is about one order of magnitude higher than
diesel, whereas BD is only approximately twice than diesel. To cope
with this aspect, the biofuel under testing is heated up to the re-
quired process temperature by two Watlow Cast-X cartridge heat-
Table 3
Specifications of Garrett GTP 30–67 and fuel consumption at standard conditions ers. The heating procedure is split into two phases, in relation to
according to the engine manufacturer [16]. the maximum working temperature of the FCU that is limited to
57 °C. The heaters consist of a cylindrical aluminium body, which
Property Unit Value
embeds a 316 stainless steel tubing arranged in a spiral in which
Turbine wheel sustained speed rpm 52,870
the fluid flows. In the heater core there is a cylindrical cartridge
Output drive shaft speed rpm 8000
Fuel consumption full load (see level) kg/h 32.8 heating of 500 W for the first step and 1500 W for the second. To
Fuel consumption no load (see level) kg/h 19.1 withstand the increased aggressiveness of the biofuels under test,
Fuel inlet temperature at FCU °C 57 the new fuel lines were built in 1/800 OD stainless steel tubing (AISI
Fuel inlet pressure at FCU bar 0.34–1.38 316).
During operation, fluid is withdrawn from one of the three stor-
age tanks through a 40 lm cartridge filter from an alternative
boost pump, battery powered. It passes through the metering sec-
engine, to handle ignition cut-out situations, and to monitor
tion, consisting of a positive displacement oval-gear flow metre
operation.
and a by-pass, then goes through a first auxiliary heater before
This APU-derived MGT could be operated on several fossil fuels
entering the FCU. The FCU increases the fluid pressure to the rated
with a viscosity up to 15 cSt, which is about 4–5 times the corre-
value for injection, and regulates the fluid flow rate to maintain a
sponding value for diesel. A summary of possible feeding fuels is
constant rotational speed. Before entering the injector, fluid passes
reported in Table 2 along with their lower heating values (LHV).
the admission valve, which is electrically actuated, and the second
The machine runs at the nominal rotational speed of
auxiliary heater, which raises the temperature of the fluid to im-
52,870 rpm and compression ratio (b) of 2.3. The three-phase,
prove atomization. Switching from one fuel to another is per-
brushless generator is rated for 25 kVA at 400 Hz, and is connected
formed manually, operating the respective admission valves.
to the engine through a reduction gear train. A summary of the
main MGT specifications is reported in Table 3.
The CC is equipped with a spark plug for fuel ignition, a drain 2.3.2. Power section
valve for the fuel purging, an atomizer for the fuel injection; the A brushless generator (8000 rpm CCW, 120/208 V, 3 phase,
CC is assembled tangentially to the rotation plane of the turbine. 400 Hz) is connected to the compressor wheel through a reduction
 D. Chiaramonti et al. / Applied Energy 101 (2013) 349–356 353

gear train; the frequency of the delivered electrical power is pro- at full scale equal to ±2%, and an accuracy of ±0.5% of the
portional to the engine’s rpm. For testing purpose, the MGT was reading.
equipped with a resistive load made of non-inductive resistors, Temperature measurements are carried out through T and K
which are intrinsically insensitive to frequency variations and with type thermocouples, which present an outer wire diameter of
on-board control unit and replace its important function with an 0.25 mm and 3.0 mm respectively. Three T-type thermocouples
ad hoc device, i.e. a separate exciter for the voltage regulation of are used to measure environmental, compressor delivery and fuel
the generator. This device recognises the frequency and amplitude temperatures (after each auxiliary heater), whereas K type is
of one of the three phases of the generator, and regulates accord- adopted for measuring the turbine outlet temperature. All thermo-
ingly the excitation current of the brushless generator. It is pro- couples are stainless steel sheathed.
tected from under -and over-voltage, and features a low-speed Fuel flow rate is measured by a positive displacement oval flow
protection, i.e. the excitation is inhibited until a minimum rpm is metre. Since the slip between the rotors and the measurement
achieved. A package of two 12 V/40 Ah lead-batteries connected chamber wall is minimal, the flow metre is essentially unaffected
in series provides the DC power to the boost pumps of each fuel by changes in viscosity and lubricity of the liquid. Meter’s body, ro-
line. tors, rotor’s shaft and bearings are made of 316L (stainless steel)
and O-ring is in VitonÒ. The metre is calibrated, and a precision
2.4. Measurements and data acquisition of less than 1% of the reading is ensured.
The analysis of gas concentration is implemented through an
In order to determine the performance of the engine when on-line gas analyser, which measures CO, O2, and NO concentra-
operated on conventional and unconventional fuels, a number of tions. Resolution and accuracy of electrochemical sensors are
measurements were carried out on the machine: pressure, fluid respectively 0.1 vol.% and ±0.1 vol.% (O2 sensor), 1 ppm and ±4%
flow, gas species concentration, temperature, and rotational speed. (CO sensor) and 1 ppm and ±5 ppm (NO sensor).
Data acquisition on the test bench is performed through three It is well known that in MGTs the vast majority of NOx is consti-
National Instrument USB modules, supported by the NI c-DAQ tuted by NO [18]; in this work, therefore, NOx concentration is cal-
9178 chassis. The installed modules are NI 9401 for digital input/ culated from the measured NO concentration assuming that NO2
output, NI 9207 for voltage and current measurements, NI 9213 account for only the 3% of the total. The probe to pick the flue
for thermocouple acquisition. Data acquisition hardware is man- gas samples is located at the turbine discharge cone, two centime-
aged by LabviewÒ software. tres after the access for the temperature measurement. In addition
Gas composition is a fundamental source of information for to environmental implications, exhaust gas composition mainly in
both combustion analysis and indirect measurement of air flow terms of O2 contents plays an important role in the indirect mea-
rate. In general terms, and depending on the type of fuel, the pres- surement of airflow.
ence of unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) in the flue gas is an indica-
tion of low quality atomization, carbon monoxide (CO) suggests 3. Experimental results
incomplete mixing or cold zones in the combustor, while NOx
can indicate the presence of hot spots and temperature peaks. 3.1. Test plan
Measurement of oxygen concentration in exhaust can be used to
estimate the air flow rate once the proximate analysis and flow The MGT mounted on the test bench was initially characterised
rate of the fuel are known, in a similar way to that adopted by in terms of main operating parameters: hourly consumption of
EPA method 19 [17]. From the fuel composition, one can calculate fuel, fuel injection pressure, exhaust temperature, and O2, CO and
a F-factor (Fd) as follows: NOx concentrations at the stack were measured. In particular, for
the present study the latter parameters have been chosen as indi-
%C  kc þ %H  kh þ %N  kn þ %S  ks  %0  ko
F d ½Sm3 %=kg ¼ cators for a qualitative evaluation of the combustion process. Once
100 the standard diesel–fuel fed MGT was characterised, the experi-
mental activity focused on the use of BD,VO and their mixtures.
where the amount of Carbon, Hydrogen, Sulphur, Nitrogen and Oxy- The influence of fuel preheating temperature on the concentration
gen are indicated by % and kc, ko, ks, kn and kh are constants. The gas of CO and NOx in the exhaust was measured for BD at various tem-
flow rate (Q) at the stack is then obtained by: perature, namely 80, 100 and 120 °C, whereas in case of diesel only
" # one test was carried at a preheating temperature of 120 °C. How-
_ Sm3 20:9 ever due to safety reason (related to fuel flash point) is not recom-
Q ¼ qfuel  m
_ fuel  F d 
h 20:9  ½%O2 M mended to maintain so high temperature of diesel fuel prior to
injection, and therefore only one load condition was tested for a
where m _ fuel and qfuel are fuel flow rate and density respectively, and short time.
[%O2]M is the measured O2 concentration in the exhaust. In the pres- The test conditions are summarised in Table 4.
ent study, the air/gas flow rate is used to calculate mean flow veloc- Measured concentration of pollutants are not comparable if re-
ities in the sections of interest for CFD analysis on the combustor ported as absolute value because they depend strongly on excess
annulus and turbine outlet. The exhaust temperature is acquired of air used in the combustion process. Usually from gas turbine
with a K-type thermocouple to make estimation on turbine stage (working with large air-excess) the measured data are corrected
efficiency. to 15% Oxygen level to prevent the concentration of pollutant being
A group of anti-inductive ceramic resistors composes the three- achieved by dilution of the exhaust with air. The formula that was
phases resistive load section. This part of the system converts to adopted to refer CO and NOx concentration is the following:
heat the electric energy produced by the generator; in this section,
each phase is monitored. Current, frequency and voltage measure- 20:9  ½%O2 R
½XR ¼ ½XM
ments are carried out with a single multimeter designed to work at 20:9  ½%O2 M
400 Hz.
Two pressure measuring points are located respectively on Where [X] is the gas specie concentration, R the reference, M the
the compressor discharge and on the fuel line just before the measured, [%O2]R the reference O2 concentration in vol.% and
injector. Pressure transducers have a maximum total error range [%O2]M is the measured O2 concentration in vol.%.
354 D. Chiaramonti et al. / Applied Energy 101 (2013) 349–356

Table 4

NOx concentration [ppm] @15%O2

30
Summary of the test runs.

Run Fuel (–) Preheating temperature (°C) Load (kW) 25

1 Diesel 20 0–25
2 Diesel 120 20
20
3 BD 20 0–25
4 BD 80–100–120 0–20 15
5 25% VO, 75% BD 120 0–20
50% VO, 50% BD 10
75% VO, 25% BD
6 VO 120 5–20 5

0
0 5 10 15 20 25
3.2. MGT performance with diesel oil net power output [kWel]

Fig. 4 shows the trend of fuel consumption in case of diesel fuel. Fig. 6. NOx emissions at 15% O2 versus electrical load for the diesel fed MGT.
During these tests the fuel was injected in the CC without pre-
heating; the fuel flow rate increases with the electric load almost
with a linear trend, from 19.2 l/h up to 33.7 l/h. operates. Being the main objective of this work the comparison
As regards exhaust emissions, CO decreases with load whereas of the emissions levels for different fuels, this first characterisation
NOx emissions increase (Figs. 5 and 6) as expected [18,19]. In fact, was essential to define the baseline for comparisons with VO, BD
higher electrical load corresponds to higher temperature in the and their mixtures.
combustion chamber, which improves the combustion in terms With respect to NOx emissions, the measured value was extre-
of reduced emission of UHC and CO however higher temperature mely low under all tested conditions, and only few tens of ppm
also implies some increase in NOx. were detected: this is probably due to a low temperature in CC.
The CO emissions level is rather high compared to common It has to be pointed out that the accuracy of the gas analyser is
commercial MGT standards [20]: for instance, CO concentration comparable to the measured NOx concentration, and therefore
of 25 and 6 ppm (at 15% O2) were recently measured by the these results should not be seen in absolute terms.
authors in a Capstone C30 fed with diesel respectively at 15 and
30 kW electrical output [21]; in our case, the difference can be 3.3. MGT performance with biodiesel at different fuel pre-heating
due to the very small size of the engine, the simple technology of temperature
the injection system and the large air excess at which the MGT
Biodiesel feeding exhibits consistently higher carbon monoxide
emissions than those measured with diesel fuel at the same fuel
40 injection temperature (ambient temperature: here fuels were not
heated), as showed in Fig. 7. This effect can be explained by two
35 main reasons: the lower adiabatic flame temperature of biodiesel,
diesel flowrate [l/h]

as calculated by Glaude et al. [22], and worse fuel atomization,

30
mainly due to the slightly higher viscosity (Table 1), which leads
25 to higher average drop diameters. Nevertheless, as the operation
of the turbomachine approaches the full load condition, the differ-
20 ence is considerably reduced, while at partial load these effects are
more evident.
15 It has to be remarked that at the same load, the flow rate of bio-
diesel is higher than that for diesel, as expected due to the differ-
10
0 5 10 15 20 25
ence in calorific value between the two fuels (37 MJ/kg against
net power output [kWel] 42 MJ/kg), which is in agreement with literature [23].
In order to understand the effect of fuel injection temperature
Fig. 4. Fuel flow rate versus electrical load of MGT fuelled by diesel. on emission performances of biodiesel, measurements were

3000
CO concentration [ppm] @15% O2

2500 Diesel
Biodiesel
2500
CO concentration @ 15%

2000
2000
O2 ref. [ppm]

1500
1500
1000
1000

500
500

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 0 5 10 15 20 25
net power output [kWel] net power output [kWel]

Fig. 5. CO emissions @ 15% O2 versus electrical load for the diesel fed MGT. Fig. 7. Diesel–biodiesel CO emissions (at 15% O2) versus electrical load.
 D. Chiaramonti et al. / Applied Energy 101 (2013) 349–356 355

carried out at increasing injection temperature, from 20 °C to performed with fuel preheating: temperature after pre-heating
120 °C, from no load to 20 kW. was limited to 120 °C.
Fig. 8 reports CO emissions at various loads for several biodiesel In case of preheating temperature below 120 °C, the combus-
and diesel preheating temperatures, namely 80, 100 and 120 °C for tion of VO or VO/BD mixtures was very critical, and some flame-
BD and 120 °C for diesel. outs occurred. However, at idle conditions, even at 120 °C VO
Without preheating, feeding the MGT with biodiesel results in preheating temperature, it was not possible to keep the MGT in
increased CO emission when compared to diesel, that is approx. operation, as flame-out occurred (probably due to the very low
+30% at all loads. Fuel preheating significantly reduces CO concen- temperatures in the CC that did not allow proper combustion).
tration; in particular, from the experimental analysis it can be seen CO emissions of VO, BD and their mixtures (25%, 50% and 75%) ver-
that for both fuels a reduction of 63–64% can be obtained by pre- sus load for fuel injection temperature of 120 °C are reported in
heating either biodiesel or diesel up to 120 °C when compared to Fig. 9. It was found that the effect of VO on combustion quality,
test performed at 20 °C. For biodiesel, a significant reduction of in terms of CO concentration, can be seen from 25% VO in blend
CO in the exhaust can also be obtained by either increasing the with a substantial increase, mainly at lower loads. At 20 kW, CO
load, or increasing the preheating temperature. For example, refer- concentrations for 50%, 75% and 100% VO are almost identical,
ring to biodiesel at 20 °C, preheating the fuel at 80 and 120 °C led and correspond to almost the double than biodiesel at 120 °C,
to a 52% and 64% in CO concentration respectively. whereas the blend with 25% VO shows an intermediate behaviour.
The suggested explanation for the effect of preheating on CO However, it must be observed that preheating biodiesel at 120 °C is
concentration is that as the fuel temperature increases, the viscos- a very unusual situation, as injection conditions for biodiesel are
ity decreases and the fuel atomization is improved. This effect is normally the same as for diesel oil, since their viscosity is compa-
more noticeable at lower loads where the injection pressure is low- rable. This is a remarkable difference to VO adapted prime movers,
er and the effect of temperature is more relevant. where a consistent fuel preheating is always adopted.
In this respect MGTs offer advantages towards diesel engines, as
3.4. MGT performance with VO and comparison with BD and diesel oil VO can be heated above the usual 70–80 °C in diesel engines. This
is a typical limitation for alternative engines, where the spill return
The following activity in the tests campaign aimed at investigat- flow from the injector can cause degenerative modifications to the
ing the behaviour of the MGT fuelled by VO and mixtures of BD and biofuel quality due to cyclic overheating. This situation does not
VO. Concerning vegetable oil, due to its physical properties rather occur in MGTs, where fuel form the injection in not returned to
distant from diesel and biodiesel (mainly in terms of viscosity and the fuel tank.
surface tension), tests with different VO/BD blends (from 25% to Fig. 10 summarises CO emissions for VO and BD, both preheated
100% of the mixture) were initially carried out. These tests were at 120 °C, at 10, 15 and 20 kW load. Under all circumstances, VO
generates approximately the double amount of CO compared to
2500 BD.
CO concentration [ppm] @15% O2

2000
2000
CO concentration @15%O2 [ppm]

1800
1600 VO_120°C
1500
1400 BD_120°C

1200
1000
1000
Diesel_20°C diesel_120°C 800
500 BD_20°C BD_80°C
BD_100°C BD_120°C 600
400
0
0 5 10 15 20 200
net power output [kWel] 0
10 15 20
Fig. 8. CO emissions at different fuel preheating temperatures versus load for net power output [kWel]
biodiesel and diesel.
Fig. 10. BD-VO CO emissions (15% O2) at various electrical load.

2500
CO concentration [ppm] @15% O2

1200
CO concentration @15%O2 [ppm]

2000
1000

1500 800

1000 600

VO 100 % VO 75 % 400
500 VO 50 % VO 25 %
BD 100% Diesel
200
0
0 5 10 15 20 0
net power output [kWel] Diesel (20 °C) BD (20 °C) Diesel (120 °C) BD (120 °C) VO (120 °C)

Fig. 9. CO emissions @ 120 °C (15% O2) versus load for Biodiesel-VO and their Fig. 11. CO concentration al 20 kW for diesel and BD (preheated at 120 °C and at
blends. 20 °C) and VO (preheated at 120 °C).
356 D. Chiaramonti et al. / Applied Energy 101 (2013) 349–356

Table 5 In addition, despite the implementation of fuel preheating on

Fuel consumption (20 kW load). the turbomachine, at idle state the MGT could not always run on
Fuel flow rate (l/h) pure vegetable oil.
Diesel 30.5 NOx emissions for all fuels did not differ in a significant way,
BD 33.05 and the extremely low measured values are only slightly higher
BD (Tinj = 120 °C) 32.5 than the instrument accuracy.
VO (Tinj = 120 °C) 32 Based on this experience, and in good agreement with litera-
ture, high load (and therefore CC temperatures) is the most appro-
priate condition to operate fuel switching.
Fig. 11 reports CO emissions at 20 kW for diesel and BD (pre- Based on this research work, bioliquids appear to be a promis-
heated at 120 °C and at 20 °C) and VO (preheated at 120 °C). It can ing opportunity for operating micro gas turbines in renewable
be seen that fuel injection temperature has a great effect on CO decentralised cogeneration systems; however, further tests and
emissions for any fuel, while at the same preheating temperature long duration trials are needed to evaluate potential issues of form-
and without special adaptations to the turbomachine VO generates ing and carbonisation, and to assess the feasibility and reliability of
significantly higher CO emissions (+118% compared to diesel at the fossil fuel substitution with bioliquids in stationary micro-power
same temperature), whereas the difference between BD and diesel is generation.
not as large (+28% compared to diesel). Nevertheless, this figure also
shows that preheated VO can behave similarly to diesel and biodie-
sel at standard conditions (20 °C), which is a remarkable result. Acknowledgements
Measured fuel consumption is reported in Table 5, which shows
the relevant effect of the type of fuel on the mass flow rate: com- Authors wish to thank the European Commission for the partial
parison of diesel and BD (at environmental temperature injection) financial support received for research activities through the Euro-
shows a difference of 9%, a slightly lower variation than expected pean project Bioliquids-CHP (FP7), as well as the project coordina-
considering the fuel differences in terms of LHV (see Table 1); in tor BTG. We gratefully acknowledge Novaol for providing biofuels
case of BD, it is worth to note that when the injection temperature samples.
is increased to 120 °C the fuel mass flow rate is decreased by 11%.
Finally the difference between BD and VO (at 120 °C of injection References
temperature) is negligible, as expected from the very small differ-
ence in terms of LHV. [1] Pilavachi P. Mini- and micro-gas turbines for combined heat and power. Appl
Therm Eng 2002;22:2003–14.
[2] Obernberg I. Trends and opportunities of micro-CHP technologies based on
4. Conclusions biomass combustion. In: Proceeding of the 18th European biomass conference
and exhibition, Lyon, ETA-Florence Renewable Energies, Italy; 2010. p. 1–9.
[3] Chiaramonti D, Prussi M. Pure vegetable oil for energy and transport. Int J Oil,
A micro gas turbine, originally designed for liquid fossil fuels, Gas Coal Technol 2009;2.
has been characterised and then tested with various biofuels (bio- [4] Demirbas A. Competitive liquid biofuels from biomass. Appl Eng
2011;88:17–28.
liquids) and blends, such as vegetable oil, biodiesel and their mix-
[5] No S-Y. Inedible vegetable oils and their derivatives for alternative diesel fuels
tures. The scope was to examine variations in exhaust emissions so in CI engines: A review. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2011;15:131–49.
to derive a qualitative understanding of the minor modifications [6] Sidibé SS, Blin J, Vaitilingom G, Azoumah Y. Use of crude filtered vegetable oil
implemented on the MGT. A test bench has therefore been de- as a fuel in diesel engines state of the art: Literature review. Renew Sustain
Energy Rev 2010;14:2748–59.
signed and developed for the specific case. The test bench was ini- [7] Ramadhas AS, Jayaraj S, Muraleedharan C. Use of vegetable oils as I.C. engine
tially operated with the reference diesel oil to determine a baseline fuels–A review. Renew Energy 2004;29:727–42.
condition for comparison with bioliquids. Then, the MGT was fed [8] Misra RD, Murthy MS. Straight vegetable oils usage in a compression ignition
engine—A review. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2010;14:3005–13.
with biodiesel (with and without fuel preheating), with pure veg- [9] Chiaramonti D, Oasmaa A, Solantausta Y. Power generation using fast pyrolysis
etable oil, and mixtures of these two (25%, 50% and 75% of vegeta- liquids from biomass. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2007;11:1056–86.
ble oil in mixture), and exhaust emissions were monitored. [10] EN 14214:2008+A1:2009 – Automotive fuels – Fatty acid methyl esters
(FAME) for diesel engines – Requirements and test methods; 2008.
Compared to diesel, biodiesel, vegetable oil and biodiesel/vege- [11] Prussi M, Development of a multi-fuel micro gas turbine for pure vegetable oil.
table oil mixtures showed higher levels of CO in the exhaust under University of Florence; 2010.
the same fuel feeding conditions. However, while biodiesel can be [12] Tuttle J, von Kuegelgen T. Biodiesel handling and use guidelines. 4th
ed. National Renew Energy Lab; 2009.
used without pre-heating of fuel, the use of vegetable oil as fuel re- [13] Gupta KK, Rehman A, Sarviya RM. Bio-fuels for the gas turbine: A review.
quires preheating at temperature of at least 120 °C. Lower fuel Renew Susta Energy Rev 2010;14:2946–55.
temperatures do not allow smooth operation of the MGT. [14] Drapcho C, Nghiem J, Walker T. Biofuels Engineering Process Technology
2008.
Generally, CO emission from all fuels can be considerable re-
[15] Ahmad AL, Yasin NHM, Derek CJC, Lim JK. Microalgae as a sustainable energy
duced by fuel preheating, expecially at partial load. One of the source for biodiesel production: A review. Renew Sustain Energy Rev
most important conclusion of the present work is however that 2011;15:584–93.
preheated VO (at 120 °C) generates CO emissions very similar to [16] Technical Manual – Field maintenance instructions. Garrett/Honeywell
1974.
diesel at standard (20 °C) conditions: this is a very promising re- [17] EPA Method 19 – SO2 Removal & PM, SO2, NOx Rates from Electric Utility, n.d.
sult, as it demonstrates that a properly modified VO MGT can be [18] Boyce MP. Gas turbine engineering handbook. second ed. Gulf Professional
operated with the same environmental performances as a standard Publishing; 2002.
[19] Lefebvre AH. Gas turbine combustion. second ed. Taylor & Francis, Ltd.; 1993.
diesel MGT. Biodiesel, being instead very close to diesel oil in terms [20] Kolanowski BF. Guide to microturbines. Fairmont Press, Inc.; 2004.
of physical and chemical properties, did not show particular diffi- [21] Prussi M, Chiaramonti D, Riccio G. Numerical and practical experiences on a 30
culties in its use, even in the unmodified standard turbomachine. kW MGT fed by pure vegetable oil. In: Proc. of the 17th European biomass
conference and exhibition. Lyon, Hamburg, ETA-Florence Renewable Energies,
From the operational point of view, VO and VO/BD mixture pre- Italy; 2009. p. 2057–2063.
heating was found to be a necessary condition to achieve stable [22] Glaude P-A, Fournet R, Bounaceur R, Molière M. Adiabatic flame temperature
operation, and to avoid engine shut-down. Depending on the fluid from biofuels and fossil fuels and derived effect on NOx emissions. Fuel
Process Technol 2010;91:229–35.
viscosity, the temperature of the fluid to avoid flameout is equal to [23] Nascimento M, Lora E, Correa P, Andreade R, Rendon M, Venturini O, et al.
ambient temperature for both diesel and biodiesel, whereas it is Biodiesel fuel in diesel micro-turbine engines: Modelling and experimental
equal to 120–130 °C for VO. evaluation. Energy 2008;33:233–40.