New insight into the oxidation of propene at elevated pressure

Abstract

Comprehensive experimental and kinetic studies of propene (C3H6) oxidation were conducted by using a jet-stirred reactor at 12.0 atm within 725–1020 K under both fuel-lean (Φ = 0.5) and fuel-rich (Φ = 3.0) conditions. Molecular species concentration profiles were obtained by using online gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, including CO, CO2, CH4, C2H4, C2H6, A-C3H4, C3H8, 1,3-C4H6, 1-C4H8, nC4H10, CH3CHO, C2H3CHO, CH3COCH3, C3H6O1-2 CH3CH2CHO, and C6H6. Sixteen products and intermediates including light hydrocarbons, oxygenated and aromatic species were identified and quantified. Based on Aramco Mech 3.0 and previous works, the rate coefficients of some key elementary reactions were updated, and a detailed kinetic reaction model was developed with reasonable predictions involving 587 and 3037 reactions. Rate-of-production analysis indicates the four main pathways for high-pressure oxidation of C3H6, namely hydrogen atom abstraction reactions, OH addition reactions, H atom addition reactions, and the formation of C3H6O1-2. Sensitivity analysis reveals that H2O2(+M) <=> 2OH(+M) and the H-abstraction of C3H6 by OH radicals are the most promoting and inhibiting reactions for C3H6 consumption, respectively. The benzene formation during C3H6 oxidation was analyzed, mainly generated by the C1 + C5 channel and consumed by OH addition. It was found that increasing pressure can decrease the initial reaction temperature and increase the conversion of C3H6. The importance of addition and hydrogen abstraction reactions in the oxidation of C3H6 was identified by analyzing the pressure effect. To confirm its validity, the proposed kinetic model could be used to the previous literature data, including JSR oxidation at around 1 atm and ignition delay times for C3H6. These experimental and modeling efforts provide a basis for gaining a more comprehensive insight into the oxidation of propene.