Spray characteristics of steam-assisted oil atomization in Y-jet nozzles

• Nozzle geometry optimization for steam-assisted atomization of oil. • Liquid injection pressure and jets impingement angle greatly impact chamber pressure. • Spray angle narrows with the increase of the steam injection pressure. • Shorter mixing chambers yield smaller droplets. • Steam-liquid impingement angle has the major impact on the nozzle performance. Twin-fluid atomizers, valued for handling viscous fluids and high operating loads, are extensively used in combustion processes and oil refineries. In the latter scenario, internal mixing nozzles are employed in fluid catalytic cracking units for oil dispersion using steam as the dispersing medium. While steam-assisted atomization studies often focus on flue gas analysis, the associated steam/oil internal mixing process and the spray droplet dynamics lack proper investigation. Accordingly, this work explores the Y-jet nozzle performance for oil atomization using steam, aiming to determine favorable conditions for obtaining a stable spray with fine droplet distribution. This analysis is accomplished by characterizing the mixing chamber pressure, investigating the spray boundary instabilities using high-speed images, and exploring the spray droplet size using the shadowgraphy technique. Work relevance relies on performing experiments at industrially representative conditions, characterized by the similarity of important dimensionless numbers. Additionally, the nozzle design is optimized by varying key geometric parameters. The nozzle geometry and the operating condition impact on the steam-assisted atomization performance and spray behavior constitutes the main findings of this work. The outcomes highlight the relevance of the fluid dynamics investigation for optimized nozzle performance, involving a balance between spray stability and fine droplet distribution generation.