Laminar burning velocity of ethanol-ethyl acetate mixtures in air

Abstract

Alcohols, esters, and their mixtures are ubiquitous in the process industry. However, safety data remain limited, especially for mixtures. In this work, the laminar burning velocity, Sl, of ethanol-ethyl acetate mixtures in air was investigated (at 90 °C and atmospheric pressure) through computations performed using three different detailed chemical kinetic mechanisms, and measurements obtained from pressure time histories recorded during closed vessel explosion experiments. Computations were run varying the equivalence ratio, φ, from 0.6 to 1.7, and the mole fraction of ethanol in the fuel mixture from 0 (only ethyl acetate) to 1 (only ethanol). For all systems, explosion experiments were carried out at φ = 1.1, i.e., the composition at which, according to calculations, Sl achieves its maximum value. Regardless of the kinetic mechanism, reasonable agreement is found between computed and experimental data, including experimental data retrieved from the literature for ethanol and ethyl acetate. Results show that the behavior of ethanol-ethyl acetate is bounded between the behaviors of ethanol and ethyl acetate, approaching the former/latter as the mixture is enriched in ethanol/ethyl acetate. Over the whole range of equivalence ratios explored, the values of Sl for ethanol-ethyl acetate are smaller than those obtained by averaging the corresponding values of ethanol and ethyl acetate according to their mole proportions in the fuel mixture. This is also confirmed experimentally. A simple Le Chatelier’s mixing rule-like formula is proved to predict values of Sl that closely match both computed and experimental data, suggesting that the nature of the interaction between ethanol and ethyl acetate is predominantly thermal rather than chemical.