Autoignition of diethyl ether and a diethyl ether/ethanol blend

Abstract

Binary blends of fast-reacting diethyl ether (DEE) and slow-reacting ethanol (EtOH) are quite promising as renewable replacements for conventional fuels in modern compression ignition engines. In this work, pure diethyl ether and a 50/50 M binary blend of diethyl ether and ethanol (DEE/EtOH) were investigated in a shock tube and a rapid compression machine. Ignition delay times were measured over the temperature range of 550–1000 K, pressures of 20–40 bar, and equivalence ratios of 0.5–1. Literature reaction mechanisms of diethyl ether and ethanol were combined to simulate the reactivity trends of the blends. Species rate-of-production and sensitivity analyses were performed to analyze the interplay between radicals originating from the two fuels. Multistage ignition behavior was observed in both experiments and simulations, with peculiar 3-stage ignition visible at fuel-lean conditions. Kinetic analyses were used to identify the reactions controlling various stages of ignition. Reactivity comparison of DEE/EtOH and dimethyl ether/ethanol (DME/EtOH) blends showed that the oxidation of DEE blends is controlled by acetaldehyde whereas formaldehyde controls the oxidation of DME blends.