Combustion Kinetics of Light Hydrocarbons in the Presence of Nitrogen Oxide

Abstract

An experimental analysis of the interactions between different hydrocarbons and NO is reported. All the experiments have been carried out in a perfectly stirred reactor, operated isothermally in the temperature range 1050-1250 K, with stoichiometric ratios ranging between 1.0 and 1.3. It has been found that, close to the higher temperature values investigated, the NO conversion as a function of the stoichiometric ratio shows a maximum around 1.15-1.20, both in the case of pure methane and methane-ethane mixtures in the feed. Moreover, the addition of NO significantly enhances the system reactivity at the lower temperatures investigated. The ethane content in the feed plays a different role depending upon the temperature value considered. At the lowest temperatures investigated the larger the amount of ethane, the higher the NO abatement, while at the higher temperatures the methane-ethane mixtures always show a larger NO conversion than that of pure methane. However, when increasing the ethane content in the feed, the NO conversion decreases. Finally, various detailed kinetic models (with particular reference to that developed by Miller and Bowman [Prog. Energy Combust. Sci. 1989, 15, 287]) have been discussed and used to interpret the experimental results.