Renewable Energy 136 (2019) 358e364

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Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Effects of blending crude Jatropha oil and heavy fuel oil on the soot
behavior of a steam atomizing burner
Kazuki Tainaka*, Yong Fan 1, Nozomu Hashimoto 2, Hiroyuki Nishida
Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, 2-6-1, Nagasaka, Yokosuka-shi, Kanagawa, 240-0196, Japan

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

Article history: The aim of this study is to investigate the detailed soot formation characteristics of crude Jatropha oil
Received 16 May 2018 (CJO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO) blends (lower heating value (LHV) basis: 50%/50%) in a 550 kW-class
Received in revised form combustion test furnace equipped with an industry-scale steam atomizing burner using optical mea-
9 October 2018
surement systems. In the present study, time-resolved flame images through the high-speed photog-
Accepted 30 December 2018
raphy, flame radiation intensity through Hottel & Broughton (H&B) two-color method, instantaneous
Available online 7 January 2019
soot volume fraction and the velocity field around the fuel nozzle through laser induced incandescence
(LII) and particle image velocimetry (PIV), and the soot absorbance through the dust analyzer were
Keywords:
Crude Jatropha oil
obtained. The results of this study show that soot volume fraction around the fuel nozzle became lower
Heavy fuel oil with blending CJO in HFO, thereby the flame radiation intensity decreasing. This seems to be caused by
Spray combustion fewer polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the CJO. By the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), a
Laser induced incandescence larger soot volume fraction around the fuel nozzle and a lower soot volume fraction in the downstream
Particle image velocimetry region were obtained, which are probably due to a decrease in oxygen concentration slowing the soot
Soot oxidation rate around the fuel nozzle and the increase in oxygen concentration behind overfire air holes,
respectively.
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, all nuclear power
plants in Japan were shut down. Most of the electric power deficit
due to the shutdown of nuclear power plants was compensated by
the thermal power generation using liquefied natural gas (LNG) and
oil. The share of thermal power generation in total electric power
generation in Japan remains as high as 90% in 2013. On the other
hand, the ever-increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the
combustion of fossil fuels are major concerns [1].
It was reported in the 5th assessment report of the Intergov-
ernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that the global surface
temperature has a strong correlation with cumulative anthropo-
genic CO2 emissions since 1870 [2]. Regulations of CO2 emissions
are likely to be stricter in the near future according to this report. In
* Corresponding author. 2-6-1 Nagasaka, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 240-0196, Japan.
E-mail address: tainaka@criepi.denken.or.jp (K. Tainaka).
1
(Currently) The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656,
Japan.
2
(Currently) Hokkaido University, N13-W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido, 060-
8628, Japan.
fact, Japan has already set a target of 80% reduction in CO2 emis-
sions of 1990 by 2050 [3].
The use of carbon-neutral and renewable biofuels has been
recognized as an effective way to reduce the CO2 emission. How-
ever, plant-derived biofuels have several problems that interfere
with their wide adoption. These problems include price instability,
market competition between food and fuel usage of crop plants,
diversion of cultivable land that could be used to grow edible plants
in food deficit countries, and increases in CO2 emissions due to fuel
processing steps such as esterification. Recently, as a non-edible
biofuel to solve these problems, Jatropha oil extracted from the
Jatropha curcas seed has drawn considerable attention.
Jatropha curcas is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge
family (Euphorbiaceae). It is a drought-resistant perennial that can
even be planted in land unsuited for cultivation such as deserts [4].
Jatropha curcas seed is toxic and thus cannot be used as human
food or animal feed. Therefore, the price has no direct influence on
the food price. Crude Jatropha oil (CJO) is the direct product from oil
extraction of the Jatropha curcas seed before its esterification to
produce the biodiesel. CJO has a lower heating value (LHV) com-
parable to that of heavy fuel oil (HFO; heavy fuel oil C JIS (Japanese
Industrial Standards) K2205). Because of these advantages, CJO is

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.12.113
0960-1481/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 K. Tainaka et al. / Renewable Energy 136 (2019) 358e364
more attractive than other biofuels. Tsuchiya et al. [5] conducted
the assessment of the energy balance of Jatropha plantations in
Palawan, the Philippines. They estimated that CO2 emissions from
CJO was 20 g(CO2)/MJ, with a low negative environmental impact.
Desmira et al. [6] conducted combustion experiments with CJO to
develop a monitoring technique for the flame. Fan et al. [7] inves-
tigated spray characteristics of CJO using a pressure-swirl atomizer
with assist air. Spray visualization employing the pulse-laser
backlight illumination and droplet size distribution measurement
by a laser diffraction spray analyzer were carried out, although not
in the combustion field. A local minimum of the Sauter mean
diameter (SMD), a measure of average droplet size, in the SMD vs.
liquid viscosity curve was observed in the transitional region where
the transition of spray shape from a twisted jet to a hollow cone
happens. Martínez et al. [8] reported fuel properties of Jatropha
methyl ester (JME), which is the product from esterification of CJO.
Considering the difficulty in stable CJO supply, CJO shall be used
as an additive to oil blends of the fossil fuel in thermal power
plants. Chhetri et al. [9] reported fuel properties of CJO/diesel oil
blend. Farfan-Cabrera et al. [10] posed the damage to automotive
seals by the exposure of CJO/diesel oil blend. Combustion charac-
teristics of CJO/liquid fuel blends in diesel engines have been
investigated by many researchers. In most of the studies, CJO/diesel
oil blend was used as fuel [11e17]. Agarwal et al. [12] conducted
combustion experiments on CJO/diesel oil blends employing a
diesel engine. They reported that, at an equal engine load, the
concentrations of CO2, carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrocarbons
(HC) in the exhaust gas increased with the proportion of CJO in the
oil blends. They also claimed that the composition of emissions
from burning the oil blend became close to that from burning the
pure diesel oil when the kinematic viscosity of CJO was lowered by
preheating. Singh et al. [17] overviewed the performance and
emission characteristics of CJO and the other biofuels. In other
research, CJO was used, mixed with methanol [18e21], producer
gas [22], and hydrogen peroxide [23]. Co-combustion experiments
with reformed CJO also were conducted [24e28].
While most previous studies of CJO were conducted in diesel
engines where the combustion is intermittent, studies in contin-
uous combustion fields were limited to simple laboratory-scale
setups [29,30]. Rehman et al. [29] tested JME and diesel oil
blends in a Rover IS/60 gas turbine combustor. It was found that CO
and HC concentrations decreased, but nitrogen monoxide (NO)
concentration increased in the exhaust gas with increasing the JME
blending ratio because the high oxygen content of JME improves
the combustion and thereby increases the gas temperature. Spray
combustion in an industrial oil-fired boiler is a highly complex
phenomenon where the fuel atomization, dispersion of droplets,
evaporation, fuel-air mixing, and combustion reaction take place
simultaneously and interact with each other in a swirling flow field.
Such complexity suggests that the results obtained from simple
laboratory-scale burners may not be completely applicable to
industry-scale burners. In addition, it is difficult to apply laser
measurements to industry-scale combustion fields, and such
studies are few Therefore, our research group investigated the ef-
fect of blending CJO in HFO on soot emissions and heat absorption
balance characteristics with an industry-scale burner [31]. How-
ever, it is not clear how overfire air and exhaust gas recirculation
(EGR) effect on the soot behavior.
In the present study, investigation on the effect of blending CJO
in HFO was carried out in combustion experiments using a liquid-
fuel test facility at Central Research Institute of the Electric Power
Industry (CRIEPI) in Japan. A steam atomizing burner commonly
used in industry-scale oil-fired boilers was employed in this facility.
Rated heat input is 550 kW. The combustion characteristics were
evaluated through the measurement of flame radiation intensity
359
and soot absorbance in the exhaust gas. Soot behavior around the
fuel nozzle was examined through simultaneous measurements of
the soot volume fraction and the flow velocity field by laser induced
incandescence (LII) and particle image velocimetry (PIV), respec-
tively. Discussions are made on the influence of soot behavior on
the heat transport around the burner and the soot aerosol con-
centration in the exhaust gas.
2. Experimental apparatus
Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the experimental apparatus
used in the present study. The apparatus consists of the fuel supply
system, the air supply system, the combustion furnace, the steam
atomizing burner, and the exhaust-gas treatment system.
The fuel supply system has two oil tanks capable of supplying a
mixture of two types of oils in arbitrary proportions. A heater is
attached to the fuel line to the burner in order to control the oil
temperature, thereby controlling the kinematic viscosity.
Three fans: a forced draft fan (FDF), an overfire air fan (OFAF),
and a gas recirculating fan (GRF) are used for the supply of primary
and secondary air to the combustor and EGR, respectively. The
overfire air is vertically introduced at 2575 mm from the burner
top. The exhaust gas is recirculated back to the burner (primary air)
and the overfire air port (secondary air) at equal EGR ratios. The
purpose of two-stage combustion and EGR employed in this
apparatus is to reduce the thermal nitrogen oxides (NOx) by
decreasing the flame temperature, as in many industry-scale low-
NOx boilers [32]. A fuel-rich primary zone and a fuel-lean second-
ary zone are formed in the combustor. In both zones, the flame
temperature is lowered by the off-stoichiometric combustion. On
the other hand, the decrease in flame temperature by applying EGR
is a combined result of a decrease in O2 concentration and an in-
crease in heat capacity of combustion air due to the EGR dilution.
The combustion furnace is a horizontal cylinder with an inner
diameter of 1000 mm and length of 8500 mm. The furnace has one
burner section and four furnace sections as shown in Fig. 1. The
furnace sections were numbered starting at 1 in order away from
the burner section. Each section has a jacket water cooling system.
The heat balance of each section is examined using measured flow
rate and temperature rise of the cooling water. The furnace had
quartz windows for optical measurements.
Figs. 2 and 3 respectively show respectively a schematic diagram
of the burner section and a closeup view of the fuel nozzle. The
present burner has a water steam atomizer in common oil-fired
boilers. In such a burner, liquid fuel is atomized through the mix-
ing of the water steam in the mixing chamber. Combustion air is
supplied through swirl vanes. As a result, spray combustion with a
swirling flow takes place in the furnace.
The exhaust-gas treatment system is composed of a NOx
removal equipment and a bag filter. The exhaust gas passes through
the treatment system first, and then the induced draft fan (IDF).
After that, the exhaust gas is desulfurized in an alkaline scrubber.
3. Measurement methods
The combustion characteristics were evaluated through time-
resolved images of the flame, the flame radiation intensity, the
soot volume fraction and the velocity field in furnace section 1, and
the soot absorbance in the outlet of the furnace section 2.
Time-resolved images of the flame were captured using a high-
speed camera (nac Image Technology. Inc., GX-8F) with the peak
spectral sensitivity in 400e700 nm. Nearly instantaneous images
were taken at an exposure time of 2.7 ms and a frame rate of 10 kHz.
Flame radiation intensity was measured using the Hottel &
Broughton (H&B) two-color method [33] with a second camera
360 K. Tainaka et al. / Renewable Energy 136 (2019) 358e364

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the experimental apparatus.

 
kL
εl ¼ 1  exp  a ; (2)
l

C
Ebl ¼ 1 : (3)
l5 exp C2
lT  1

Here, k is the monochromatic absorption coefficient of a flame; L is

the geometric flame thickness along the light path; a is the
empirical constant, which means the wavelength dependency of εl .
In the present study, a ¼ 1.38 was employed, as proposed by Matsui
et al. [34]; C1 and C2 are the constants of the Planck's equation; and
T is the flame temperature. Eliminating kL from Eqs. (2) and (3) for
two different wavelengths, l1 and l2 , gives the following equation:

8  9la1 8  9la2
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the burner section [31].
< l51 El1 exp lC12T  1 = < l52 El2 exp lC22T  1 =
1  1 ¼ 0:
: C1 ; : C1 ;

(4)

T was obtained by solving Eq. (4) numerically with measured El at

l1 ¼ 550 nm and l2 ¼ 650 nm. Then, kL was calculated from Eqs.
(2) and (3) using T. After that, E was calculated by Eq. (1). The
exposure time of the camera for the two-color method was set at
4 ms. These measurements were conducted in the furnace section
Fig. 3. Closeup view of the fuel nozzle [31]. 1. The accuracy for this measurement value of E is 3%.
Soot behavior was examined based on the soot volume fraction
from the LII measurement in furnace section 1 and the soot
(Mitsui Photonics. Ltd., Thermera). The flame radiation intensity, E, absorbance at the outlet of furnace section 2. The velocity field in
was calculated by integrating numerically the following furnace section 1 was measured simultaneously through the PIV
integration: technique in order to examine the effect of flow field on the soot
volume fraction. Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the LII/PIV
measurement system. A frequency-doubled double pulse Nd: YAG
laser (Litron Lasers, DPIV-L135) at a wavelength of 532 nm was
ð
∞ ð
∞
employed. The laser power was 20 mJ/pulse. A parallel laser sheet
E¼ El dl ¼ εl Ebl dl; (1) of 31.1 mm wide and 0.35 mm thick was formed by three cylindrical
0 0 lenses. The resulting laser fluence was around 0.18 J/cm2, which is
enough to obtain saturated LII signal [35e38]. The laser sheet was
where El is the monochromatic emissive power of a flame; l is the introduced at 159.5 mme190.6 mm away from the burner top. Soot
wavelength; εl is the monochromatic emissivity of a flame; and Ebl particles in this region were heated by the first laser pulse and the
is the monochromatic emissive power of a black body by the resulting incandescence radiation of the soot particles was
Planck's equation. εl and Ebl are respectively given by the following captured by an ICCD camera (Andor Technology Ltd., DH334T-18F-
empirical equation and Planck's equation. E3). An optical band-pass filter at a center wavelength of 400 nm
 K. Tainaka et al. / Renewable Energy 136 (2019) 358e364 361

light with/without passing soot particles in the exhaust gas were

measured by two separate detectors and the soot absorbance was
estimated. The measurement position was 3775 mm from the
burner top). The accuracy for this measurement value is 2%.

4. Experimental conditions

Tables 1 and 2 show the properties of CJO and HFO and the
experimental conditions, respectively. Both a pure HFO and a CJO/
HFO blend (LHV basis: 50%/50%) were used as the two fuels. The
fuel before entering the fuel nozzle was preheated using the electric
heater. The temperature of the pure HFO was kept at 140  C, while

Table 1
Properties of CJO and HFO.

CJO HFO
3 
Density [g/cm ] @30 C 0.908 0.963
Dynamic viscosity [Pa$s] @30  C 0.048 0.378
Kinematic viscosity [mm2/s] @30  C 52.6 392.0
Lower heating value [MJ/kg] 37.0 40.5
Water content [wt. ppm] 1100 300
Carbon content [wt. %] 76.5 86.9
Hydrogen content [wt. %] 11.7 10.7
Oxygen content [wt. %] 11.1 <0.5
Nitrogen content [wt. ppm] 35 2000
Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of the simultaneous LII/PIV measurement system.
Sulfur content [wt. ppm] 3 23000

and an FWHM (full width at half maximum) of 60 nm was used. The

Table 2
image exposure started at 70 ns after the first laser pulse time and
Experimental conditions.
the exposure time was set to 30 ns. 500 images of the soot radiation
intensity were taken in each case. Unlike the flame luminosity and Case 1 2 3 4
flame radiation intensity which are also influenced by the flame Fuel HFO CJO/HFO (LHV
temperature, the soot radiation intensity measured by LII is pro- basis: 50%/
portional to the soot volume fraction. Soot particles formed in the 50%)

combustion field were also used as tracer particles in the PIV EGR ratio [wt. %] 0.0 15.0 0.0 15.0
measurement. The soot particles were illuminated by double laser Outlet O2 conc. [vol. %] 4.0 4.5 4.0 4.5
Heat input [kW] 550.0
pulses at an interval of 10 ms. A pair of two images showing the
Kinematic viscosity of fuel [mm2/s] 6.5
scattering intensity distribution were captured by a sCMOS camera Overfire air ratio [wt. %] 15.0
(LaVision GmbH., Imager sCMOS) with a band-pass filter at a center
wavelength of 532 nm and an FWHM of 3 nm. In this area, fuel
droplets had already evaporated; thus, the light scattering came
only from the soot particles. The imaging area in the PIV mea-
surement were made the same as in the LII measurement through
the use of a half-silvered mirror. 500 image pairs are taken in each
case. The velocity field was estimated using the Adaptive PIV
method [39]. The accuracy for this measurement value is 1.2 m/s.
Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of the soot absorbance mea-
surement using the dust monitor (SICK AG, T200). Intensities of LED

Fig. 5. Schematic diagram of the dust analyzer. Fig. 6. Direct images of the flame.
362 K. Tainaka et al. / Renewable Energy 136 (2019) 358e364
Fig. 7. Flame radiation intensity, kL value, and flame temperature measured by the
H&B two-color method in the furnace section 1. (For interpretation of the references to
color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)
the CJO/HFO blend at 124  C. In this way, the kinematic viscosities
of the two fuels were adjusted to an equal value of 6.5 mm2/s so
that roughly the same atomization characteristics were obtained
for the two fuels. In order to mimic the combustion field in an oil-
fired boiler, the overfire air ratio was set to 15 wt% of the total air
flow and the EGR ratio was set to 15 wt% of the total flue gas flow,
respectively [40]. Effects of EGR were examined in the experiments
with/without EGR. Several combustion tests were carried out for
each case, and the lowest value of outlet O2 concentration among
successful tests with a steady flame was listed in Table 2 to create
the combustion atmosphere in an oil-fired boiler.
5. Results and discussion
Figs. 6 and 7 show direct images of the flame and the flame
radiation intensity, flame temperature, and kL value measured by
Fig. 8. Velocity field and distribution of soot volume fraction from simultaneous LII/PIV measurement.
the H&B two-color method in the furnace section 1, respectively. As
shown in Fig. 6, the flame luminosity of the CJO/HFO blends (cases 3
and 4) is lower than that of the pure HFO (cases 1 and 2), and the
flame luminosity decreases with applying the EGR. Because lumi-
nescence comes from the incandescence of heated soot particles in
the flame, lower luminosity means either or both of a lower con-
centration of soot particles or a lower soot temperature (flame
temperature). As show in Fig. 7, flame radiation intensity of the CJO/
HFO blends (cases 3 and 4) is around 70% lower than that of the
pure HFO (cases 1 and 2), and the flame radiation intensity de-
creases by applying the EGR. Because the flame radiation intensity
measured by the H&B two-color method, similar as the brightness
of the luminous flame, is influenced by both the soot concentration
and soot temperature, lower flame radiation intensity indicates
either or both of a lower concentration of soot particles or a lower
soot temperature. The decrease of flame luminescence and flame
radiation intensity with blending CJO is probably due to a
decreased soot concentration, because CJO, compared with HFO,
contains much fewer polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
which are soot precursors. The same soot reduction effect with
mixing CJO was also found in a previous study of Hashimoto et al.
using a laboratory-scale gas turbine combustor [30]. The fact that
the flame radiation intensity decreases with mixing CJO also im-
plies that the heat balance in the boiler was changed in a way that
the thermal radiation close to the burner decreases. The decrease of
flame luminosity and flame radiation intensity with applying EGR is
due to a decreased soot temperature, because EGR leads to low local
O2 concentration and off-stoichiometric combustion, and hence the
flame temperature decreased.
Fig. 8 shows the velocity field and distribution of soot volume
fraction from simultaneous LII/PIV measurements. The upper and
the lower parts of Fig. 8 are representative instantaneous results
and average results, respectively. Since the present PIV measure-
ment uses soot particles as the tracer, velocity vectors are only
obtained in areas with adequate soot particles. The average results
are obtained from a set of 500 instantaneous measurements at
200 ms interval. The averaged noise intensity is 500 a.u. Velocity
 K. Tainaka et al. / Renewable Energy 136 (2019) 358e364 363

in oil-fired boilers is an effective way to reduce net CO2 emissions.

In the present study, soot behavior of a CJO/HFO blend (LHV basis:
50%/50%) and a pure HFO in a 550 kW-class burner with/without
EGR were evaluated through measurements of the flame radiation
intensity, soot behavior. The soot behavior was investigated using a
simultaneous measurement of soot volume fraction by LII and soot
velocity field by PIV around the fuel nozzle and soot absorbance
measurement by a dust monitor in the exhaust. The main conclu-
sions are follows:

C The flame radiation intensity is around 70% lower with

blending 50% CJO. Smaller thermal radiation from the flame
indicates that more heat from the convention is necessary for
the steam generation in a boiler.
C Both the soot volume fractions measured around the fuel
nozzle and in the exhaust reduced by blending 50% CJO, due
to fewer PAH contents of CJO. The soot volume fraction is low
near the center axis of the burner where the spray cone is
hollow.
C In the cases of EGR, the soot volume fraction increased
Fig. 9. Absorbance by soot in the exhaust gas. around the fuel nozzle and decreased in the exhaust in both
fuel conditions, although there is a difference in the outlet O2
concentrations. This is probably due to the fact that the
field and soot distribution are only plotted in the front half of laser decrease in O2 concentration with EGR slowed down the soot
illuminated area, considering the fact of axisymmetry and incident oxidation around the fuel nozzle (primary combustion zone),
laser attenuation due to the absorption by the soot and droplet while the increase in O2 concentration behind overfire air
particles. As shown in Fig. 8, the average soot volume fraction in- holes (secondary combustion zone) accelerating the soot
creases along the radial direction, though there are local high soot oxidation.
volume fraction spots in instantaneous results. This is because a V-
shaped hollow cone atomizer was used. The average velocity fields List of Abbreviations
in the measurement area, as shown in Fig. 8, are almost the same in
the four cases, though their instantaneous velocity fields are quite CRIEPI Central Research Institute of the Electric Power Industry
different. Note that the flow rate of inlet gas from EGR and air in CJO Crude Jatropha oil
each case was adjusted in order to keep a constant outlet O2 con- CO Carbon monoxide
centration. However, the average velocity field in the measurement CO2 Carbon dioxide
area was not greatly changed by the inlet gas flow rate because the EGR Exhaust gas recirculation
soot velocity in this near fuel nozzle area is mainly controlled by the FDF Forced draft fan
fuel injection. It is also shown that measured soot volume fraction GRF Gas recirculating fan
around the fuel nozzle using the CJO/HFO blends (cases 3 and 4) is HC Hydrocarbons
lower than that using pure HFO (cases 1 and 2), which agrees with HFO Heavy fuel oil
results of flame luminescence and radiation in Figs. 6e7. This is H&B Hottel & Broughton
again due to the fact that CJO has very few PAHs. It was observed IDF Induced draft fan
that the soot volume fraction with EGR (cases 2 and 4) is slightly IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
higher than that without EGR (cases 1 and 3). One explanation for JME Jatropha methyl ester
this observation is that the decrease in O2 concentration slowed the LHV Lower heating value
soot oxidation rate down around the fuel nozzle. LII Laser induced incandescence
Fig. 9 shows the absorbance by soot in the exhaust gas, which is LNG Liquefied natural gas
measured by the dust monitor. Assuming the soot diameter is NO Nitrogen monoxide
constant, the increase in the absorbance indicates larger soot vol- NOx Nitrogen oxides
ume fraction. As shown in Fig. 9, measured soot volume fraction in OFAF Overfire air fan
the exhaust for the CJO/HFO blends (cases 3 and 4) is lower than PAHs Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
that for pure HFO (cases 1 and 2), which agrees with measured soot PIV Particle image velocimetry
volume fraction around the fuel nozzle in Figs. 6e8. The soot vol- SMD Sauter mean diameter
ume fraction in the exhaust gas with EGR (cases 2 and 4) is lower
than that without EGR (cases 1 and 3), which is opposite to LII Appendix A. Supplementary data
results of Fig. 8 showing the soot volume fraction around the fuel
nozzle (primary combustion zone). It is conjectured that the O2 Supplementary data to this article can be found online at
concentration in the secondary combustion zone of fuel-lean https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.12.113.
mixture (located after the overfire air inlet) increased with
applying EGR, which speeded up the rate of soot oxidation resulting
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