Inhibition of a fuel lean ethylene/air flame in a jet stirred combustor by methyl chloride: Experimental and mechanistic analyses

R. B. Barat, A. F. Sarofim, J. P. Longwell, J. W. Bozzelli

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Probability density functions (PDFs) of instantaneous temperature have been obtained for fuel lean C2H4/air burning in a toroidal jet stirred combustor (TJSC) using pulsed laser Rayleigh scattering. The PDFs provide a very sensitive measure of departures from perfectly stirred reactor (PSR) behavior. Narrow PDFs were obtained under stable operating conditions. As the mean combustion temperature was reduced or the reaction kinetics decelerated by the addition of CH3C1, the PDFs exhibited a bimodal distribution indicative of localized blowout. Modeling of the reactions indicates that chlorine primarily destabilizes this hydrocarbon oxidation system by inhibiting the burnout of CO. This inhibition is affected through significant depletion of OH in the presence of relatively high levels of HC1 by the reaction OH + HC1 = H2O + Cl. Inhibition is further affected by the termination reaction Cl + HO2= HC1 + O2because HO2is a source of OH.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)361-378
Number of pages18
JournalCombustion Science and Technology
Volume74
Issue number1-6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 1990
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Fuel Technology
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • General Physics and Astronomy

Keywords

  • Rayleigh scattering
  • chlorinated hydrocarbon
  • inhibition
  • mechanism
  • stability
  • stirred reactor

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