FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH OF MICROBUBBLES’

ATTRIBUTES IN DIESEL FUEL

PREPARED BY : MUHAMMAD AMIRUL AMRI BIN ABDULLAH
SUPERVISOR : DR. ERNY AFIZA BINTI ALIAS

INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVE EXPERIMENT EQUIPMENT

• Diesel fuel is difficult to be effectively pre-mixed with Therefore, the objectives of this study are: • Digital Microscope 500X Series
oxygen compared to gasoline, which cause incomplete i. To gain knowledge about the characteristics of bubbles • Mean Well Power Supply RS-35-12
combustion. By adding the bubbles containing oxygen in water medium as the reference. • Micro Diaphragm Pump
into diesel fuel, it has been considered to be an ii. To obtain the practical understanding of the • Micro bubble generator [Foam Taro] [BL12AA-12-R4]
effective way to reduce the particulate emission with characteristics of bubbles in diesel medium. • Petri Dish
small penalties on NOx and fuel consumption. This iii. Compare the reference characteristics of bubbles by
method might be one of the simplest way and cost using diesel medium. CHANGE IN BUBBLE’S SIZE
saving, thus provide the solutions for improving
existing diesel engines to meet increasingly strict
emission regulations.
PROJECT SCOPE
• To analyze the characteristics of microbubbles whether
PROBLEM STATEMENT it is suitable to be used in diesel fuel to increase the rate
of combustion in diesel engine.
In general :
• According to previous experiments, the size of the
i. The diesel fuel engine is less efficient than petrol
bubbles is an important factor in frictional drag Before : 0 hour at 32 °C After : 12 hours at 27 °C
engine due to incomplete combustion
reduction by microbubbles r = 5.5 mm r = 2.5 mm
ii. The environmental pollution due to the emission of
• Usually bubbles larger than a certain diameter (for
PM and NOx from incomplete combustion of the diesel
example 1 mm) have no effect on frictional drag
fuel.
reduction.
In specific:
• Moreover, the bubble size does not increase with
iii. To analyze the characteristics of the microbubbles in
increasing flow rate, this is a favorable characteristic for
both water and diesel medium
practical purposes.
iv. To observe whether the microbubbles are suitable to
be used in diesel fuel to increase efficiency

METHODOLOGY

Water Diesel Water Diesel Water Diesel

Bubble Bubble Bubble Bubble Bubble Bubble
1 1 2 2 3 3
Hours (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm)
0 5 5.5 7.5 6.5 12.5 12.5
2 4 5 7.5 6 12 11.5
4 3 4.5 7.5 5.5 12.5 11.5
6 2 4 7 5 12 11
8 0 3.5 6 4.5 11.5 10.5
10 0 3 5 4 11 11
12 0 2.5 4 3.5 10.5 10.5

DATA COLLECTION EXPERIMENT SET RECORD SET UP RESULT DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION
The shrink and UP There are 3 sets of data Life span and size If the size of the microbubble is
enlargement size of The experiment was with different initial size distribution of bubble in small, the higher its density thus
the bubble were set up by using the of bubble for bubble’s both water and diesel the higher the pressure and
record listed equipment life span data medium temperature

RESULTS

DISCUSSION
 Considerable increment or decrement of size of the microbubbles was observed after 3
days.
 When size of the microbubbles is small, the higher its density in bubbles thus the
higher the pressure and temperature.
 The shrinking and enlargement of the bubbles were assume to relate with the surface
tension at the layer of the water, which increases with density of the medium.
 It possibly also related with sensible heat. Sensible heat is the heat exchange by a
thermodynamic system that changes the temperature of the system without changing
some variables such as volume and pressure.
 The bigger bubbles are not effective due to its characteristics that are not stable and
easily burst.
 It also has low density and not suitable to increase frictional drag reduction in the
diesel engine.
 From the life span graph above, the author concluded that bubbles in diesel shrink
slower than in water medium. This is related with the density of the medium.
 From the size distribution graph, the author analyze that the bubbles were highly
produced within range 2 mm - 7 mm in diesel medium compared to water medium.
CONCLUSION
• The frictional drag reduction is important because it related to the compression ignition
in the diesel engine
• Without the need of basic modification to the diesel engine design, the author add the
presence of oxygen in the diesel fuel which gives them possible improvement on
ignition and reduced ignition delay compared to normal diesel.
• The smaller bubbles are assumed to be the best option compare to the bigger bubbles
due to its properties that high in density, which is suitable to increase frictional drag
reduction.
• Thus can improve combustion in diesel engine.
• As a result, produce a better reducing resistance in diesel fuel engine.
REFERENCES
1. N. Kurup and P. Naik, “Microbubbles: a Novel Delivery System,” JPRHC Informatics Journals, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 228–234,
2010.
2. R. Parmar and S. K. Majumder, “Microbubble generation and microbubble-aided transport process intensification-A
state-of-the-art report,” Chem. Eng. Process. Process Intensif., vol. 64, pp. 79–97, 2013.
3. P. Baskar and A. Senthilkumar, “Effects of oxygen enriched combustion on pollution and performance characteristics of a
diesel engine,” Eng. Sci. Technol. an Int. J., vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 438–443, 2016.