An Experimental Investigation of Burning Droplets of Emulsified Marine Fuel Oils with Water

An experimental investigation is presented of the influences of emulsification of marine fuel oils A and C with water on the micro-explosion phenomenon and combustion characteristics of a burning droplet. The amount of surfactant and water-to-oil ratio by volume in the emulsion are varied to observe the variations of ignition delay, flame length, time required to attain the maximum flame length, duration as well as intensity of micro-explosion, flame appearance, and overall burning time. The measurements show that the emulsification effects on the combustion of marine fuel oils A and C are different. A droplet of C-oil emulsion is shown to be influenced by the addition of water and surfactant more significantly. The micro-explosion phenomena of droplets of A-and C-oil emulsions are seen to occur after and before their ignition, respectively. In addition, separate combinations of water and surfactant content exist for these fuel oils to achieve better emulsification effects on combustion. Droplets of emulsions with W/O = 15/85, E% = 2% for fuel oil A and W/O = 25/75, E% = 1% for fuel oil C are found to have the most violent droplet-disruption phenomenon and the longest flame length.