Gaseous and Particle Emissions from a Turbo-Jet Engine Operating on Alternative Fuels at Simulated Altitudes

Gaseous and particle emission assessments on a 1.15 kN-thrust turbojet engine were conducted at five altitudes in an altitude chamber with Jet A-1 fuel, pure Fischer Tropsch (FT), and two mixed fuels of JP-8 with FT or Camelina-based hydro-processed jet fuels. In general, lower emissions in CO₂, NO_x, and particle number as well as higher emissions in CO and THC were observed at higher altitudes compared to lower altitudes. These observations, which were similar for all test fuels, were attributed to the reduced combustion efficiency and temperature at higher altitudes. The use of alternative fuels resulted in lower CO₂ emissions, ranging from 0.7% to 1.7% for 50% to 100% synthetic fuel in the fuel mixture at various altitudes. In terms of CO, the use of 100% FT fuel resulted in CO reduction up to 9.7% at 1525 m altitude and up to 5.9% at 9145 m altitude. Significant reduction in particle diameter, number and mass emission rates were observed with the use of alternative fuels due to the low aromatic and sulfur content in the fuels. Higher reductions were observed for increasing percentage of the alternative synthetic fuel in the fuel mixture. With the use of pure FT fuel, up to 80% and 96% reductions in particle number emissions were observed at 1525 m and 9145 m altitudes, respectively. In comparison, a larger particle reduction benefit was observed for the Camelina-based hydro-processed jet fuel than for the FT fuel.