Feb 2023
Result from partner OWI
This result has been achieved in October 2022 in month 30 of the project (results documented in Work Package 4 of the planned result: Characterisation of lignin based engine fuels).
Partner OWI Science for Fuels gGmbH (OWI) has developed a BigRanci accelerated ageing test rig for marine fuels in the EU research project IDEALFUEL. BigRanci can simulate the oxidation process of the fuel in an open system. In addition, the “aged” fuel in BigRanci can be sampled and tested at any time of the whole oxidation process. More information can be found below.
OWI conducts BigRanci accelerated aging testing in the current project to identify the fuel oxidation stability of developed biogenic heavy fuel oil (Bio-HFO) and to achieve enough “aged” fuels for the further property testing within the IDEALFUEL project. The BigRanci test rig is built according to standard DIN EN 15751 (“Rancimat”). Over a test run time of 24 hours at a temperature of 110°C, the test fuel (7% FAME in heating oil) was oxidized and volatile carboxylic acids were produced, resulting in a change in the conductivity of the distilled water. The conductivity changes of the distilled water are comparable to commercial device Rancimat, which shows an induction time and indicates the oxidative stability of fuels. Different blends of Bio-HFO with the base line fuels will be quickly oxidized in the test rig BigRanci as well.
- Objective: To accelerate the oxidization process of the fuel and predict the long-term degradation properties of the fuel stored in open systems.
- Research: Development of test bench BigRanci (Capacity: 500 g fuel) based on lab-scale Rancimat (Capacity: 7.5 g). The fuel samples can be rapidly oxidized in the BigRanci test rig in a few hours. BigRanci allows the investigation of important fuel properties of oxidized fuels, such as viscosity, acid number and water content, which help to predict the ageing time and behaviour of aged fuels.
- Result: In the BigRanci testbench, conductivity changes are comparable to Rancimat. The next step includes testing the baseline marine fuels and the bio-HFO developed in the IDEALFUEL project.
- What will it be used for: This result will be used to indicate the storage and shipping conditions of the fuel and recommend maximum storage time.
- Impact: A test bench (BigRanci) for rapid oxidation of the fuel has been established, which allows to understand the oxidation process of the novel marine fuel stored in open systems and predict the usage and storage conditions of the lignin marine fuel.
BigRanci test rig at OWI laboratory. Photo: OWI Science4Fuels
