Impact of a Synthetic Component on the Emission of Volatile Organic Compounds during the Combustion Process in a Miniature Turbine Engine

This paper refers to the study of biofuel as an alternative power source for turbine aviation engines. Blends of Jet A-1 fuel and synthesized hydrocarbons from Hydrotreated Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA) technology at different proportions, such as 25%, 50% and 75%, were used for tests. All the test results were compared with the neat Jet A-1 fuel. A miniature GTM series turbojet engine was used in the test rig studies. During the tests conducted at a specific rotational speed, selected engine operating parameters as well as the emission of volatile organic compounds were measured. In terms of engine performance, no significant differences were found between the test fuels. The results of volatile organic compound emissions indicate that among the most toxic compounds the highest concentrations were obtained for benzene. The addition of the HEFA synthetic component and increasing its proportion in the blend resulted in the obtained concentration values for benzene showing a decreasing trend. The plotted utility profile indicates that the most optimal blend, i.e., the least toxic, is the blend with the share (v/v) of 62.5% of Jet A-1 fuel and 37.5% of HEFA component.

Vanadia–Zirconia and Vanadia–Hafnia Catalysts for Utilization of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions

Utilization is a sustainable and interesting alternative for the destructive treatment of volatile organic compounds due to avoided CO2 emission. This work concentrates on the development of active and sulfur-tolerant catalysts for the utilization of contaminated methanol. Impregnated and sol–gel prepared vanadia–zirconia and vanadia–hafnia catalysts were thoroughly characterized by N2 sorption, analytical (S)TEM, elemental analysis, XRD and Raman spectroscopy, and their performances were evaluated in formaldehyde production from methanol and methanethiol mixture. The results showed higher activity of the sol–gel prepared catalysts due to formation of mono- and polymeric vanadia species. Unfortunately, the most active vanadia sites were deactivated more easily than the metal-mixed oxide HfV2O7 and ZrV2O7 phases, as well as crystalline V2O5 observed in the impregnated catalysts. Metal-mixed oxide phases were formed in impregnated catalysts through formation of defects in HfO2 and ZrO2 structure during calcination at 600 °C, which was evidenced by Raman spectroscopy. The sol–gel prepared vanadia–zirconia and vanadia–hafnia catalysts were able to produce formaldehyde from contaminated methanol with high selectivity at temperature around 400 °C, while impregnated catalysts required 50–100 °C higher temperatures.