The effect of water on the ignition and combustion characteristics of single droplets of glycerol was studied
experimentally. Distilled water was added into a pure glycerol at concentrations ranging from 5% to 20% v/v. The
single droplets of glycerol with and without water addition were suspended on the tip of a silicon fibre, and ignited
and combusted in air at 1023K. The ignition and combustion processes of the single droplets were recorded using a
CCD camera. The droplet size, burning rate, ignition delay time, burnout time, and total combustion time were
determined. It was found that the burning rate and the ignition delay time of glycerol droplets increased with
increasing water concentration. However, the addition of water in the glycerol resulted in shorter burnout times and
had negligible effect on the total combustion time of the glycerol droplets.