A chemical kinetic study of the alternative transportation fuel, tertiary-butanol

J. K. Lefkowitz, J. S. Heyne, S. H. Won, S. Dooley, H. H. Kim, F. M. Haas, S. Jahangirian, F. L. Dryer, Yiguang Ju

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

The combustion chemistry of tertiary-butanol was studied experimentally in a Variable Pressure Flow Reactor and in counterflow diffusion flames. It was found that t-butanol does not exhibit low temperature chemistry, and thus has no negative temperature coefficient behavior. The onset of gas phase chemistry at high pressure occurs at ∼780 K. In the temperature range of 780-1000 K the primary decomposition pathway of t-butanol was suggested to be hydrogen abstraction/alkyl radical beta-scission to form a methyl radical and propen-2-ol, which undergoes tautomerization to form acetone. In the counterflow configuration, the extinction strain rate of t-butanol and its primary intermediates, acetone and iso-butene, have been measured experimentally. It was found that t-butanol exhibits earlier extinction than either of its primary intermediates, signifying that the initial decomposition route is of paramount importance in the kinetic processes leading to extinction. Sampling studies on the diffusion flame using gas chromatography were conducted. It was found that the primary high temperature consumption routes of t-butanol lead to iso-butene and acetone, with the former existing in larger quantities. Numerical simulation has also been performed and the analysis revealed that the extinction limits are dominantly affected by the iso-butene and acetone sub-mechanisms. Finally, it was concluded that the current understanding of iso-butene chemistry needs to be improved in order to obtain a reliable kinetic model for t-butanol pyrolysis and oxidation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication49th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition
StatePublished - Dec 6 2011
Event49th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition - Orlando, FL, United States
Duration: Jan 4 2011Jan 7 2011

Other

Other49th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityOrlando, FL
Period1/4/111/7/11

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Aerospace Engineering

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