Abstract
The alkali and alkaline earth metals display both oxide and hydroxide formation in clean flames. The behavior of these metals, although having some similarities, is quite different for the two groups. Fuel type, be it hydrogen based or a fossil fuel, is not a factor other than its control over temperature, burning velocity and radical concentration levels. For the alkalis, there is a sensitivity to fuel stoichiometry and, under fuel lean conditions they display a complex chemistry involving MOH, MO2, MO and M. However, if fuel rich, the alkali is mainly atomic with only small amounts of hydroxide. The kinetics in these systems are sufficiently fast at atmospheric pressure to attain steady state distributions that track the radical decay. These distributions can be perturbed by halogens, sulfur, boron, cyanides, phosphorus and other elements that can efficiently produce molecules of sufficient stabilities. The nature of these interactions is reviewed and an appraisal made of the current level of understanding.
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