Experimental and Numerical Study of Ethyl Valerate Flat Flames at Low Pressure

Abstract

ABSTRACTThree flat flames of ethyl valerate (C7H14O2) at different equivalence ratios, 0.81, 0.95, and 1.31, have been stabilized at 55 mbar and analyzed using gas chromatography. Based on the experimental results, a detailed kinetic model of ethyl valerate combustion, containing 211 species and 1368 reactions, has been elaborated. The model predictions agree well with the experimental results for the temperature range of 1100–2000 K. In the lean flame, the main decomposition pathways leads to C7H14O2 → CH3(CH2)3COOCHCH3 → CH3CHO → CH3CO → CH3 → CH2O → HCO. For the stoichiometric flame, the ethyl valerate consumption pathway produces C7H14O2 → C4H9COOH → CH3CHCH2CH2COOH → C4H7COOH → CH2COOH → CH2CO → CH3 → CH2O → HCO. In the rich flame, from ethyl valerate to pentenoic acid (C4H7COOH), the decomposition pathway is the same as in the stoichiometric flame. The pentenoic acid leads to the formation of C2H4 via C4H6 and C3H6. Finally, the new model has been tested on the experimental data obtained in a jet-stirred reactor at high pressure (10 atm) and low temperatures (560–1160 K). The mechanism predicts fairly well all the species, except H2 and C2H2. Future work should improve the mechanism to extend its validity range up to high pressure and low temperature range.