Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Our industry partner, Zenyatta, is a Canadian mining company that is based in Thunder Bay (Ontario) and produces a pure form of graphite (99.9% purity), referred to as Albany. The proposed project aims to generate nanoparticles of graphene oxide from Albany, suspend it into jet-A (aircraft fuel), and study burning rate of the dope jet-A flames. Graphene-oxide doped jet-fuels can potentially enhance aircraft propulsion, helping Canada meet it's targets for fuel efficiency improvements. In order to address the above objective, graphite (provided by Zenyatta) will be added to jet-A and sonicated along with an oxygen containing agent in order to produce graphene oxide. One Master's and one Ph.D. student will be trained to complete the proposed project. During this, both students will gain hands-on experience with laser-based diagnostics, and will engage in multidisciplinary research (materials and combustion) whose outcomes can potentially improve aircraft propulsion. The knowledge generated from the proposed project will provide insight into thermal structure of preheated, premixed, pre-vaporized, doped liquid fuels, which is of importance to combustion science community. Upon successful completion of the proposed project and through a follow up grant application, the University of British Columbia, the National Research Council of Canada, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and Zenyatta will also aim to study the doped jet-fuel emission characteristics and potentially certify the fuel in North America and Europe.