Investigations on the combustion of hydrocarbons I-The influence of molecular structure on hydrocarbon combustion

Abstract

In the combustion of hydrocarbons the number of intermediary processes which might occur before a combustion, such as C 5 H 12 + 8O 2 = 5CO 2 + 6 H 2 O, is completed is very large. In order to collect some of the more important facts hearing on the subject from the large literature which is accumulating, a brief review is first made of the methods which have been adopted to attack the problem. The fundamental processes involved in the attack of a hydrocarbon molecule by oxygen will then be discussed. It then becomes possible to put forward a reasonable mechanism for the combustion of the longer chain hydrocarbons, further evidence for which is obtained in the experimental portion of the work set out in Part II. ( a ) Chemical —The chemical method of studying combustion mechanism involves the isolation of intermediates, such as alcohols, aldehydes, peroxides, and acids. The formation of unsaturated substances and of hydrogen is likewise important. The principal aim of early theories of combustion, such as the hydroxylation theorzy, and to some extent the peroxide theory,) is to account for the formation of these intermediates in terms of a combustion mechanism.