An Experimental Analysis of the Influence of Pyrolytic Oil on the Spray Breakup Process

Solid waste presents a very large problem in the developed world. Waste plastics, which make up a large part of solid waste, have high energy value, which is discarded if they are not treated properly. Most of the plastic found in solid waste is produced from petrochemical material, so it can be used in resource recovery processes to produce various materials. One promising resource recovery process is the pyrolysis process, from which pyrolytic oil, gas, and solid residue are obtained. Pyrolytic oils have properties that are similar to conventional fossil fuels, and are promising fuels for use in heat engines or heating applications. In the present work, HDPE plastic in the form of plastic bottles caps was collected from solid waste and used in a thermal pyrolysis process for the production of pyrolytic oil. The obtained oil was characterised, and the obtained results were compared to conventional fuels. The obtained oil was used further in an oil burner fuel injection application, in which the spray breakup characteristics were monitored and analysed using VisiSize particle characterisation systems. The obtained results were compared to those of conventional fuel. The results indicate that the difference in fuel properties influences the spray breakup process slightly, but the differences are rather small. This indicates that from a spray development perspective, pyrolytic oil can be used as a substitute for conventional fuels in oil burners.