Experimental study of foamed emulsion combustion: Influence of solid microparticles, glycerol and surfactant

The use of water as a part of hydrocarbon fuel represents one of the perspective directions in elaborating new types of combustible systems. This paper considers issues of foamed emulsion combustion on the basis of experimental research. Combustible foamed emulsion is a mixture of oxygen bubbles and heptane drops dispersed in a water solution of stabilizer. Such foamed emulsions possess a set of unique properties and represent a vivid example of multiphase combustible system which could contain a significant amount of water. Thus a foam containing 83 wt% of water is still combustible. Here we consider issues of foamed emulsion stability and combustion depending on the influence of magnesium oxide particles, stabilizer and glycerol concentrations. In this paper for the first time we are presenting that by addition of magnesium oxide particles the total burning rate of the foam can be changed for more than an order of magnitude. The dependence of total burning rate of the foam on the stabilizer concentration is not monotonic with a maximum at certain stabilizer content. The use of glycerol favors the shrinkage of the foamed emulsion and as a result the flame quenching.