Kinetic Modeling of Methyl Butanoate in Shock Tube

Abstract

An increased necessity for energy independence and heightened concern about the effects of rising carbon dioxide levels have intensified the search for renewable fuels that could reduce our current consumption of petrol and diesel. One such fuel is biodiesel, which consists of the methyl esters of fatty acids. Methyl butanoate (MB) contains the essential chemical structure of the long-chain fatty acids and a shorter, but similar, alkyl chain. This paper reports on a detailed kinetic mechanism for MB that is assembled using theoretical approaches. Thirteen pathways that include fuel decomposition, isomerization, and propagation steps were computed using ab initio calculations [J. Org. Chem. 2008, 73, 94]. Rate constants from first principles for important reactions in CO(2) formation, namely CH(3)OCO=CH(3) + CO(2) (R1) and CH(3)OCO=CH(3)O + CO (R2) reactions, are computed at high levels of theory and implemented in the mechanism. Using the G3B3 potential energy surface together with the B3LYP/6-31G(d) gradient, Hessian and geometries, the rate constants for reactions R1 and R2 are calculated using the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus theory with corrections from treatments for tunneling, hindered rotation, and variational effects. The calculated rate constants of reaction R1 differ from the data present in the literature by at most 20%, while those of reaction R2 are about a factor of 4 lower than the available values. The new kinetic model derived from ab initio simulations is combined with the kinetic mechanism presented by Fisher et al. [Proc. Combust. Inst. 2000, 28, 1579] together with the addition of the newly found six-centered unimolecular elimination reaction that yields ethylene and methyl acetate, MB = C(2)H(4) + CH(3)COOCH(3). This latter pathway requires the inclusion of the CH(3)COOCH(3) decomposition model suggested by Westbrook et al. [Proc. Combust. Inst. 2008, accepted]. The newly composed kinetic mechanism for MB is used to study the CO(2) formation during the pyrolysis of MB as well as to investigate the autoignition of MB in a shock tube reactor at different temperatures and pressures. The computed results agree very well with experimental data present in the literature. Sensitivity and flux (rate-of-production) analyses are carried out for the CO(2) formation with the new MB mechanism, together with available reaction mechanisms, to assess the importance of various kinetic pathways for each regime. With the new mechanism, the flux analyses for the formation of C(2)H species, one of the most important species for ignition delay time, are also presented at different conditions. In addition to giving a better chemical insight of the pyrolysis/oxidation of MB, the results suggest ways to improve the mechanism's capability to predict CO(2) formation and ignition delay times in pyrolysis and oxidation conditions.