Effect of phospholipids on the oxidative reactivity and microstructure of soot particles from Jatropha biodiesel combustion

Excessive phosphorus content can aggravate the formation and emission of particulate matter (PM) during biodiesel combustion, which can lead to the performance degradation of automobile exhaust catalytic converters and make it difficult to control pollutant emissions. However, the influential mechanism of phosphorus in bio-diesel on PM formation is not clear yet. Therefore, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and Raman spectroscopy are used to study the formation, oxidation characteristics, and nanostructures of soot particles produced from Jatropha biodiesel (JB100) combustion under different phospholipid (PE:phosphati-dylethanolamine, main phospholipid type in JB100) contents. The results show that with increasing PE content in JB100, the amount of soot particles first increases and then decreases. When the PE content is 400 ppm, the amount of soot particles is the largest, almost 13.40% higher than that produced from neat JB100. Further, the activation energy (AE) of soot oxidation first increases and then decreases with increasing PE content. The apparent AE is the largest (131.40 kJ/mol) at 400 ppm. Furthermore, when the PE content is 400 ppm, the strength of oxygen-containing functional groups in the soot particles is the weakest, and the ratio of nanocrystal height to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) interlayer spacing (Lc/d002) (4.396), the average lattice spacing of PAHs (0.367 nm), and the ratio of D1 and G peaks integral intensity (ID1/IG) (2.566) are minimum. This verifies that the PE content in JB100 can affect the strength of active oxygen-containing functional groups and the size and structure of PAHs in the soot particles and that the oxidative reactivity of soot particles is lowest at 400 ppm.

Automated summary

The study finds that the phosphorus content in biodiesel has a significant influence on the formation and oxidation characteristics of soot particles. A higher content of phospholipid leads to an increase in the number and activation energy of soot particles, while decreasing their strength and oxidative reactivity.