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The Use of Ethanol as an Alternative Fuel for Small Turbojet Engines

2021; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 13; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/su13052541

2071-1050

Rudolf Andoga, Ladislav Főző, Martin Schrötter, Stanislav Szabó,

Aerospace Engineering and Control Systems

The use of alternative fuels to traditional kerosene-based ones in turbo-jet engines is currently being widely explored and researched. However, the application of alternative fuels in the area of small turbojet engines with thrust ratings up to 2 kilo-newtons, which are used as auxiliary power units or to propel small aircraft or drones, is not as well researched. This paper explores the use of ethanol as a sustainable fuel and its effects on the operation of a small turbojet engine under laboratory conditions. Several concentrations of ethanol and JET A-1 mixtures are explored to study the effects of this fuel on the basic parameters of a small turbojet engine. The influence of the different concentrations of the mixture on the start-up process, speed of the engine, exhaust gas temperature, and compressor pressure are evaluated. The measurements shown in the article represent a pilot study, the results of which show that ethanol can be reliably used as an alternative fuel only when its concentration in a mixture with traditional fuel is lower than 40%, yielding positive effects on the operating temperatures and small negative effects on the speed or thrust of the engine.