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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Cotton Production and Processing Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #147932
Title: GASEOUS EMISSIONS FROM BURNING DIESEL, CRUDE, AND PBSY COTTONSEED OIL IN A BURNER FOR DRYING SEEDCOTTON

Author
item Holt, Gregory
item HOOKER, J - HOOKER ENG AND CONSULTING

Submitted to: Bioresource Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/18/2003
Publication Date: 1/15/2004
Citation: Holt, G.A., Hooker, J.D. 2004. Gaseous emissions from burning diesel, crude and prime bleachable summer yellow cottonseed oil in a burner for drying seedcotton. BioResource Technology. 92:261-267.

Interpretive Summary: Due to rising fuel costs, energy security, and enhancing agricultural economic interest in pursuing alternatives to current fuel sources have been sought by various industries across the country. The cottonseed oil mill and ginning industries are no exception. One alternative is to utilize a renewable energy source such as cottonseed oil. Utilizing cottonseed oil to produce biodiesel has been researched extensively over the past two decades. However, limited research has been conducted on evaluating the potential use of unprocessed cottonseed oil in a multi-fuel burner for drying applications in either cotton gins or cottonseed oil mills. The purpose of this study was to use crude and PBSY cottonseed oils as a fuel source in a multi-fuel burner and to measure the emissions generated compared to No.2 diesel. The crude and PBSY cottonseed oils were preheated to two temperatures, 83 deg F and 140 deg F, and combusted in a setup similar to those commonly encountered in the cotton ginning industry to dry seedcotton. Results from the study show crude cottonseed oil to have emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and nitrogen dioxide similar to diesel. The PBSY cottonseed oil had the lowest emissions of all fuels evaluated at the highest firing rate. Overall, both cottonseed oils performed well and displayed a promising potential as an alternative fuel source for the cottonseed oil mill and cotton ginning industries.

Technical Abstract: Cottonseed oil has been used as a fuel source either as a blend with diesel in varying proportions or undiluted (100%) in numerous studies evaluating its potential use in internal combustion engines. However, limited research is available on the use of cottonseed oil as a fuel source in a multi-fueled burner similar to those used by cottonseed oil mills and cotton gins in their drying operations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate emissions from five fuel oil treatments while firing a multi-fueled burner in a setup similar to those used for drying operations of both cottonseed oil mills and cotton gins. For each treatment, gaseous emissions were measured while firing the burner at three fuel flow rates. The five fuel oil treatments evaluated were: 1) No. 2 Diesel at 28.3 deg C; 2) Prime Bleachable Summer Yellow (PBSY) cottonseed oil at 28.3 deg C (PBSY-28); 3) Crude cottonseed oil at 28.3 deg C (Crude-28); 4) PBSY at 60 deg C (PBSY-60); and 5) Crude at 60 deg C (Crude-60). Results indicate that PBSY treatments had the lowest overall emissions of all treatments. The other treatments varied in emission rates based on treatment and fuel flow rate. Preheating the oil to 60 deg C resulted in higher nitrogen oxide emissions, but displayed varying results in regards to CO. The CO emissions for the crude treatments were relatively unaffected by the 60 deg C preheat temperature, whereas the preheated PBSY treatments demonstrated lower CO emissions. Overall, both cottonseed oils performed well in the multi-fueled burner and displayed a promising potential as an alternative fuel source for cottonseed oil mills and cotton gins in their drying operations.