Microburner for Deployed Energy Systems

Compact, efficient, and sustainable electric power generators are needed to provide mobile electric power for deployable military bases. Fuel cells with fuel processors that run on logistic fuel are attractive candidates due to inherent efficiency, practicality, sustainability, and safety. In these low-power devices (0.5 kW to 15 kW), fuel atomization and evaporation prove to be limiting factors for heavy liquid fuels such as JP-8. To replace volatile fuels such as propane or gasoline in these small-scale applications, improved atomization and vaporization techniques for heavy liquid fuels are needed. In Phase I, Creare will demonstrate a novel, low-power, robust, fuel atomization technique capable of producing droplets with 10 µm mean diameter at a fuel flow rate appropriate for burners in the 0.5 kW to 15 kW class. We will demonstrate operation with a variety of fuels including JP-8, biodiesel and ethanol. We will characterize output (equivalent thermal power) capability, turndown, and aerosol size via laser diffraction PSD measurement. We will integrate the atomizer in a burner configuration to demonstrate combustion. In Phase II, we will optimize the atomizer/burner design and integrate it with a reforming technology to produce syngas suitable for a deployable fuel cell application.