Chemistry of high temperature combustion of alkanes up to octane

A comprehensive and compact n-heptane oxidation model derived using chemical lumping

A detailed reaction mechanism for n-heptane oxidation has been compiled and subsequently simplified. The model is based on a kinetic model for C1-C4 fuel oxidation of Hoyermann et al. [Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2004, 6, 3824] and a detailed mechanism for n-heptane oxidation developed by Curran et al. [Combust. Flame, 1998, 114, 149]. The generated mechanism is kept compact by limiting the application of the low temperature oxidation pathways to the fuel molecule. The first reaction steps and the complex low temperature paths in the oxidation process have been simplified and reorganized by linear chemical lumping. The reported procedure allows a decrease in number of species and reactions with only a minor loss of model accuracy. The simplified model is of very compact size and gives an advantageous starting point for further model reduction. By this chemically lumped general mechanism without further adjustments the large set of experimental data for the high and low temperature oxidation (ignition delay times, species concentration profiles, heat release and engine pressure profiles, flame speeds and flame structure data) for conditions ranging from very low to high temperatures (550-2300 K), very lean to extremely fuel rich (0.22 < phi < 3) mixtures and pressures between 1 and 42 bar is consistently described providing a basis for reliable predictions for future applications, (i) building reaction mechanisms for similar but chemically more complex fuels (e.g. iso-octane, n-decane,...) and (ii) calculating complex flow fields ("fluid dynamics") after further simplification with advanced reduction tools.

Spectroscopic behavior of oxygenated combustion by-products

The oxygenated species, massively produced in the energy production plants based on combustion processes, constitute one of the most numerous categories of hazardous air pollutants. Therefore, development of real time diagnostic tools are needed in order to study their formation during combustion processes and to reveal their presence both in the exhaust and in the atmosphere. In this work, oxygenated compounds were identified inside fuel-rich premixed ethylene/air flames by means of ultraviolet fluorescence spectroscopy with the support of qualitative chemical analysis of the sampled combustion gases. Strong band progression, typical of aldehydic functionality, were recognized in fluorescence spectra (lambda(exc)=355 nm) measured in the early oxidation region of premixed flames varying the equivalence ratio from 3.0 up 21.6. Downstream of the oxidation region, spectroscopic signatures of pyrolytic species were found to prevail on those peculiar of oxygenated compound. The position and the extension of the two main flame zones were found to depend on the flame conditions (C/O ratio) due to the effect of the C/O ratio on the temperature history along the flame axis. This correlation was interpreted on the basis of the measured axial temperature profiles.

Emission of alcohols and carbonyl compounds from a spark ignition engine. Influence of fuel and air/fuel equivalence ratio

A spark ignition engine was used to study the impact of fuel composition and of the air/fuel equivalence (lambda) ratio on exhaust emissions of alcohols and aldehydes/ketones. Fuel blends contained eight hydrocarbons (n-hexane, 1-hexene, cyclohexane, n-octane, isooctane, toluene, o-xylene, and ethylbenzene (ETB)) and four oxygenated compounds (methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, and methyl tert butyl ether (MTBE)). Exhaust methanol is principally produced from fuel methanol and MTBE but also from ethanol, 2-propanol, isooctane, and hexane. Exhaust ethanol and 2-propanol are produced only from the respective fuel compounds. Exhaust formaldehyde is mainly produced from fuel methanol, acetaldehyde from fuel ethanol, and propionaldehyde from straight-chain hydrocarbons. Exhaust acroleine comes from fuel 1-hexene, acetone from 2-propanol, n-hexane, n-octane, isooctane, and MTBE. Exhaust crotonaldehyde comes from fuel 1-hexene, cyclohexane, n-hexane, and n-octane, methacroleine from fuel isooctane, and benzaldehyde from fuel aromatics. Light pollutants (C1-C2) are most likely formed from intermediate species which are quite independent of the fuel composition. An increase in A increases the exhaust concentration of acroleine, crotonaldehyde, methacroleine, and decreases these of the three alcohols for the alcohol-blended fuels. The concentration of methanol, formaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and benzaldehyde is a maximum atstoichiometry. The exhaust concentration of acetaldehyde and acetone presents a complex behavior: it increases in some cases, decreases in others, or presents a maximum at stoichiometry. The concentration of four aldehydes (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and benzaldehyde) is also linked with the exhaust temperature and fuel H/C ratio.

Identification of oxygenated compounds in combustion systems

An attempt for the spectroscopic identification of oxygenated compounds produced in combustion processes under different environmental conditions is reported in this paper. A deeper knowledge about presence and evolution of such species in dependence of the operating conditions of practical burner represents a fundamental hint to the objective of an advancement of the control of combustion process and reduction of pollutant emissions. This paper mainly focuses on species characterized by the presence of carbonyl functionality since aldehydes, ketones and diketones are among the principal intermediate species and products of hydrocarbon oxidation. They are by themselves to be considered atmospheric pollutants and are also indicators of actual pathways followed during the chemical reactions occurring in the combustion process. For these reasons they are most suitable for the exploitation of the above indicated objectives. In this paper, a classification of spectroscopic features and markers of these classes of carbonyl compounds is presented on the basis of both literature and spectra collected from sample species. This interpretative scheme is then used for the attribution of fluorescence signals collected from a tetradecane spray in different environmental conditions.

The Influence of Gasoline Formulation on Specific Pollutant Emissions

Many recent works have dealt with the influence of fuel composition on regulated and specific pollutant emissions from spark ignition engines. While many qualitative correlations have been already proposed, only a few quantitative ones are known (benzene remains an exception). This paper describes qualitative and quantitative correlations between fuel composition and specific pollutant emissions (individual hydrocarbons, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, and organic acids) of a spark ignition engine. The aim of this work was to find the precursors of the main specific pollutants. Then, for each of them, a multilinear equation has been calculated, illustrating the correlation between its concentration in exhaust gases and its content in the fuel. The results of these calculations point out which initial compound favors the formation of a determined pollutant. As lean conditions are probably going to be used in future commercial engines, the fuel effect has been studied for a broad range of equivalence ratios (from 0.8 to 1.2).

Article

The different behaviour of hydrocarbons with respect to autoignition phenomena is, at present, not yet fully explained. We have therefore investigated the oxidation of two alkanes that have different octane numbers: neopentane (85.5) and isopentane (92.3), to obtain a better understanding of their reaction mechanisms, in particular, those reactions that are responsible for the onset of knock in spark ignition engines. The experimental study was performed at 873 K in a jet-stirred flow reaction vessel. The oxidation mechanisms were simplified by using the CHEMKIN programme of simulation of reaction mechanisms. These mechanisms were compared to those accounting for the oxidation of n-pentane, cyclopentane, n-heptane, and isooctane that we have previously studied. This comparison shows that the different behaviour of these hydrocarbons can be explained, at least in part, by the presence, in the reaction medium, of resonance-stabilized radicals.Key words: oxidation, neopentane, isopentane, autoignition, modelling.