Xiaolei Gu

Bio: Xiaolei Gu is an academic researcher from Xi'an Jiaotong University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Laminar flame speed & Laminar flow. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 10 publications receiving 1171 citations. Previous affiliations of Xiaolei Gu include University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Measurements of Laminar Burning Velocities and Markstein Lengths of n-Butanol−Air Premixed Mixtures at Elevated Temperatures and Pressures

Abstract: Measurements of laminar burning velocities and Markstein lengths of n-butanol−air premixed mixtures was made over a wide range of equivalence ratios at initial temperatures of 413, 443, and 473 K and initial pressures of 0.1 and 0.25 MPa using the high-speed schlieren photography and outwardly propagating flame. Effects of laminar flame thickness, thermal expansion ratio, and flame Lewis number on flame stability response were studied. Schlieren photos of flame propagation are recorded. The results show that laminar burning velocities of n-butanol−air premixed mixtures are increased with the increase of initial temperature, and they decrease with the increase of initial pressure. Markstein lengths are decreased with the increase of the equivalence ratio, and they decrease with the increase of initial temperature, and all these indicate that the flame instability is increased with the increase of equivalence ratio, the decrease of initial pressure, and the increase of initial temperature.

Progress in the production and application of n-butanol as a biofuel

Abstract: Butanol is a very competitive renewable biofuel for use in internal combustion engines given its many advantages. In this review, the properties of butanol are compared with the conventional gasoline, diesel fuel, and some widely used biofuels, i.e. methanol, ethanol, biodiesel. The comparison of fuel properties indicates that n-butanol has the potential to overcome the drawbacks brought by low-carbon alcohols or biodiesel. Then, the development of butanol production is reviewed and various methods for increasing fermentative butanol production are introduced in detailed, i.e. metabolic engineering of the Clostridia, advanced fermentation technique. The most costive part of the fermentation is the substrate, so methods involved in renewed substrates are also mentioned. Next, the applications of butanol as a biofuel are summarized from three aspects: (1) fundamental combustion experiments in some well-defined burning reactors; (2) a substitute for gasoline in spark ignition engine; (3) a substitute for diesel fuel in compression ignition engine. These studies demonstrate that butanol, as a potential second generation biofuel, is a better alternative for the gasoline or diesel fuel, from the viewpoints of combustion characteristics, engine performance, and exhaust emissions. However, butanol has not been intensively studied when compared to ethanol or biodiesel, for which considerable numbers of reports are available. Finally, some challenges and future research directions are outlined in the last section of this review.