Abstract
Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) has the properties of high viscosity and poor volatility. Therefore, the atomization of its spray seems to be inhibited, which results in problems such as severe engine deposits and injector coking. In this research, an improvement of the fuel properties is aimed by mixing the low boiling fuel in FAME. This method has the effect that physical characteristic such as viscosity or volatility is improved. In this research, light cycle oil (LCO) is used as the fuel to mix with FAME. LCO tends to the surplus in the process of the refinery because it includes much aromatic components and sulfur content. From the viewpoint of effective utilization of LCO and improvement of spray characteristics of FAME, FAME is mixed with LCO. This paper describes spray characteristics of the mixed fuel of FAME and LCO. In the experiment, the spray characteristics were measured by shadowgraph photography and Mie-scattered light photography. From the experimental results, it is found that the liquid phase penetration is shortened and the spray angle is broadened as mixing ratio of LCO increase.
