Emission of burning emulsified diesel oil with sodium sulfate in salty atmospheric air

The effects of sodium sulfate in fuel oil and salty atmospheric air on the emission characteristics of furnaces or boilers burned with emulsified diesel oils are considered in this study. An industrial cylindrical furnace made of stainless steel associated with an automatic oil-fired burner was used for the emission measurements. Both neat diesel oil and emulsified diesel oil with distilled water were used as the tested oils. A homogenizing and emulsifying machine was employed to stir the diesel oil and sodium sulfate powder into a homogeneous oil mixture, and to prepare emulsions of micro-droplets of water dispersed in diesel oil. The experimental results showed that the existence of sodium chloride in atmospheric air enhanced SO2 formation. The use of emulsified diesel oil with 300-ppm sodium sulfate as fuel reduced the burning gas temperature and NOx emission while increased O-2 emission. Moreover, the presence of sodium chloride in atmospheric air hindered the completeness of the combustion process and thus resulted in lower burning efficiency and larger excess oxygen emission.