Abstract :

GUEST LECTURE Title : The Combustion Chemistry of Several Tailor-Made Fuels Biomass (TFMB) Speaker : Dr. Mani Sarathy Affiliation : Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering Clean Combustion Research Centre, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Date & Time : 31st Oct 2012 at 2.00 PM Venue : MSB 211 - Mechanical Sciences Block Abstract Liquid fuels derived from biomass are attractive alternatives to liquid petroleum derived transportation fuels. They can replace petroleum fuels in jet engines and advanced internal combustion engines. The molecules that comprise these alternative fuels have molecular structures that are noticeably different than the hydrocarbons found in conventional fuels. For example, Fischer-Tropsch (FT) fuels and renewable hydrotreated vegetable oils (HVO) have the potential to displace conventional diesel and jet fuels, but the former contain higher concentrations of lightly branched alkanes. Conventional gasoline could potentially be displaced with high molecular weight alcohols derived from biomass (e.g., butanol, pentanol, etc.). Additionally, ester structures are proposed alternatives for diesel compression ignition engines. In order optimize engine performance for these new alternative fuels, it is important to understand their fundamental combustion chemistry. In addition, understanding the role of molecular structure on combustion emissions can help minimize their environmental impact. This research seminar presents examples of fundamental chemical kinetic models for the combustion of several tailor made fuels from biomass. This involves obtaining data from well-defined reacting flow configurations, and developing chemical kinetic models to predict important experimental data (e.g., ignition delay, flame speed, emission profiles,etc.). These validated models are then employed to determine the combustion pathways and to predict combustion performance in practical applications. Speaker’s Bio : Mani Sarathy is an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in the Clean Combustion Research Center (CCRC). During the Summer of 2012, he was a Visiting Researcher in Germany’s TMFB Cluster of Excellence at RWTH Aachen University. Mani was previously a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Combustion Chemistry group at the US Department of Energy Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. During that time he held a prestigious fellowship from NSERC of Canada. Mani received his PhD and MASc degrees in Environmental and Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto and his BASc in Environmental Engineering Chemical Specialization from the University of Waterloo. Mani’s research interest is in developing sustainable energy technologies with decreased net environmental impact. A major thrust of research is simulating the combustion chemistry of Transportation fuels. The goal of Mani’s research is study conventional and alternative fuels (e.g., biofuels, synthetic fuels, etc.), so the environmental impact of combustion systems can be reduced. ALL ARE WELCOME