Feasibility Study of Pulse Detonation Engine Fueled by Biogas

Abstract

The hottest issue toward the environment today is the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Green House Gases (GHG) which influenced climate change. At the same time, the world is facing the crisis of limited reserves of petroleum-based fuel resource which is being continuously depleted. Therefore, these three issues can possibly be overcome by using alternative fuels such as biogas, biodiesel, biomass, biofuel, alcohol, vegetable oils etc. The use of biogas as fuel for Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE) possibly promise great advantages on power production with less emission. This is because PDE operates with higher thermodynamic efficiency by operating on constant volume pressure. Biogas usage will somewhat contributed to the CDM and and lessen the GHG issues. Here through detailed literature review, the challenges such as lower flame speed (compared to hydrocarbon fuel) and biogas impurities are discussed. Combustion characteristics of biogas in detonation mode are also investigated. Strategy is presented here for looking at the possibility of PDE operation using biogas.