The production of glycerol as a by-product of the production of biodiesel, which is biofuel of the 1st generation, has increased markedly in recent years. It represents about 10 % of the product weight, which worldwide amounts to than 3 million tons of glycerol per year at a price of 0.05 € / kWh. The thesis analyzes the combustion of glycerol in an experimental turbine engine as it potentially represents an affordable biofuel. Since glycerol is a medium with high viscosity and high oxygen content, its use in turbine engines, typically designed for fuels with a lower viscosity, introduces major technical challenges. The thesis thus presents required technical solutions for achieving successful combustion while using glycerol. Very low NOx and PM emissions were measured due to the high oxygen content of the fuel, which positively affects the suppression of listed species. The CO and THC emissions were relatively high due to the less favourable chemical-physical properties of the glycerol, but could be reduced by increasing the temperature of primary air or turbine inlet temperature. Based on literature survey it is further anticipated that, in the case of use in turbine engines, crude glycerol should be refined to remove traces of inorganic catalysts which would otherwise cause corrosion and consequently significantly reduce the service life of the engine.
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