Combustion Characteristics of Waste Tyre Pyrolysis Fuel as Industrial Burner Fuel

This study examined the potential of using waste tyre pyrolysis fuel oil as an industrial burner fuel. The combustion characteristics of tyre-derived fuel (TDF) oil were evaluated using Cuenod NC4 forced draught oil burner equipped with a built-in fuel atomizer and an onboard control system. TDF oil obtained from a local waste tyre treatment facility was blended with petroleum diesel (DF) at TDF volumetric concentration of 40% (TDF40), which was tested against pure petroleum diesel and refined modified tyre-derived fuel (TDF*). Critical combustion parameters such as thermal power output, fuel consumption, flame stability, flue gas temperature, and emissions were investigated to evaluate the performance of the combustion equipment. Using DF as a reference fuel, it was observed that TDF40 required high air-to-fuel ratio (AFR) in order to produce a stable flame with high flame temperature and less emissions. TDF* produced a reasonably stable flame with less sulphur dioxide emissions compared to TDF40; however, its specific fuel consumption (SFC) was higher than that of DF. It was also discovered that the burner’s SFC was higher when fuelled with TDF40. Total contamination and viscosity of TDF oil contribute significantly to the flow characteristics of the fuel, resulting in reduced pressure and subsequently poor fuel atomization. Rapid soot formation at atomizer nozzle was also observed when the burner was fuelled with TDF40. TDF oil and its derivatives (TDF*) produce SO2, NO2 and CO emission levels higher than the acceptable limits as prescribed by the European Air quality standard (EU2015/2193). It was concluded that TDF oil could be used as a potential industrial burner fuel if diluted with petroleum diesel fuel at TDF volumetric concentration of