Small Combustion Chamber for Marine Fuel Oil and Analysis of Exhaust Gas Characteristics of Marine Gas Oil

Abstract

A small combustion chamber was developed and manufactured for empirical combustion testing of several alternative fuels developed to meet IMO emission limits for fuel oil used in ships. The combustion chamber consists of four independent tanks and a circulation system with a two-stage heating function owing to the high viscosity and temperature of ship fuel. A gun-type burner is mounted on the side of the combustion chamber, which possesses a cylindrical shape and a capacity of less than 300 L. This device was manufactured in accordance with several variables such that the basic stage performance and simulation tests of each fuel could be sufficiently completed before performing the combustion test to simulate the engines of large ships. To conduct an initial experiment using the developed combustion chamber, low-sulfur MGO with a sulfur content less than or equal to 0.05% was chosen, and ideal operating parameters were selected according to the measurement tests based on load control. The exhaust gas temperature differed by approximately 10.7% as a result of burning MGO at a burner load state of 80–100%. The use of a normal oxygen concentration of 4% helped remove approximately 14.31 ppm of nitrogen oxide and 1.91% of carbon dioxide. The maximum combustion efficiency was 70.17%, indicating the chamber’s potential for use in a variety of combustion tests of alternative fuels for ships in the forthcoming years. © 2023 by the authors.