Investigation of the Potential for Biofuel Blends in Residual Oil-Fired Power Generation Units as an Emissions Reduction Strategy for New York State

摘要

There is a significant amount of oil, about 12.6 million barrels per year, used for power generation in New York State. The majority of it is residual oil. The primary reason for using residual oil probably is economic, as these fuels are cheaper than distillates. However, the stack emissions from the use of such fuels, especially in densely populated urban areas, can be a cause for concern. The emissions of concern include sulfur and nitrogen oxides and particulates, particularly PM 2.5. Blending with distillate (ASTM No. 2) fuels may not reduce some or all of these emissions. Hence, a case can be made for blending with biofuels, such as biodiesel, as they tend to have very little fuel bound sulfur and nitrogen and have been shown in prior work at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) to reduce NOx emissions as well in small boilers. Some of the research carried out at CANMET in Canada has shown potential reductions in PM with blending of biodiesel in distillate oil.