Ethylene Flames Research Articles

Effect of strain rate on nanoparticles and soot in counterflow flames of ethylene/ethanol and ethylene/OME3

This study delves into the impact of strain rate on soot and nanoparticle formation in counterflow diffusion flames (CDFs). While strain rate is generally known to reduce soot, understanding of nanoparticle formation remains limited. Strain rate (up to 207 s−1) effects in ethylene flames are here investigated along with ethanol and for the first time oxymethylene ether-3 (OME3). Ethanol and OME3 are well known to reduce particulate emission in several combustion conditions, however, especially for OME3, their effects at different strain rates lack comprehensive information. In soot-forming CDFs, two distinct zones emerge: a pyrolytic zone from the fuel nozzle to the stagnation plane (S.P.), and an oxidative zone from the oxidizer nozzle to the S.P., analogous to the centerline and wings of a coflow diffusion flame. The study aims to unravel the intricate relationship between strain rate, oxygenated fuel, and soot and nanoparticle formation in these two zones. Laser-induced fluorescence, attributed to nanoparticles, laser-induced incandescence, attributed to soot, and scattering were used to track particle formation. Both nanoparticles and soot are formed in both pyrolytic and oxidative zones, with smaller sizes in the former, emphasizing dominant nucleation and coagulation processes. Findings indicate a general particle reduction with strain rate for all the fuel blends, suggesting an inhibition effect on particle nucleation and growth. The effect of strain rate differs for pyrolytic and oxidative zones, with particle reduction in the pyrolytic zone slightly more sensitive to strain rate due to lower kinetic timescales present in this zone of the flame. Oxygenated fuels generally decrease particle formation, however, in pyrolytic zones a slight increase of nanoparticles can be detected. This effect is more evident at low strain rates, and it disappears as strain rate increases. OME3 exhibits higher reactivity and lower sensitivity to strain rate. The insights from this study contribute to developing cleaner combustion technologies, especially in blending oxygenated fuels with traditional ones. Further research is recommended for broader applicability, considering high strain rates and a wider range of dilution conditions.

Detailed radiation modeling of two flames relevant to fire simulation using Photon Monte Carlo — Line by Line radiation model

This work reports benchmark data sets for radiative heat transfer in two distinct fire configurations obtained from the Measurement and Computation of Fire Phenomena (MaCFP) working group database. The cases include a 19.2 kW non-sooting turbulent methanol pool fire and a 15 kW sooting ethylene flame (referred to as the FM burner). The base configurations were simulated with large eddy simulation (LES) approaches using two different codes, namely FireFOAM and Fire Dynamics Simulator, respectively. Multiple frozen snapshots from these LES runs were radiatively evaluated using a photon Monte Carlo radiation solver and a line-by-line spectral model. The results were presented at three levels: Firstly, the radiative fields, including radiative emission, reabsorption, and heat flux contours, were shown. Secondly, the global radiative contributions from molecular gas species, soot, and wall boundaries were compared. Thirdly, a detailed spectral analysis of radiative fields for different components within five distinct spectral bands was presented. In the case of the non-sooting methanol pool fire, the radiative emission from CO2 predominates. However, for the radiation reaching the boundaries, both CO2 and H2O contribute almost equally. Conversely, for the sooty FM burner configuration, radiative emission from soot, CO2, and H2O all contribute similarly. In terms of radiation reaching the boundary, soot is the primary contributor in FM Burner. In the methanol pool fire, the pool surface receives a comparable contribution from CO2, H2O, and burner rim radiation, whereas, for the FM burner, the burner inlet surface primarily receives radiation from soot.

Assessment of a PAH-based soot production model in laminar coflow methane diffusion flames doped by gasoline surrogate fuels

This article assesses the capability of the PAH-based soot model developed by the authors and validated in ethylene non-premixed flames to predict soot production in flames fueled with gasoline surrogates. The soot model was coupled to a flamelet model and the Rank-Correlated Full-Spectrum k model to simulate laminar coflow nitrogen-diluted methane/air diffusion flames doped with n-heptane/toluene and iso-octane/toluene mixtures. Consistent with our previous studies, the simulation was conducted using the Kaust Mechanism 1, pyrene as soot precursor, and the same set of model parameters. The model reproduced reasonably-well the peak soot volume fraction. However, the soot production onset was predicted much earlier than measurements owing to the early formation of pyrene induced by the presence of toluene. These discrepancies can be partially corrected by selecting a larger PAH than pyrene with a similar level of concentrations as soot precursor. For the present mechanism, anthanthrene was found to be the best candidate. Model results show that different mechanisms dominate the soot mass growth in ethylene and gasoline surrogate flames. While the HACA is more important in the former, PAH condensation largely prevails in the latter. This suggests that ethylene may be not the most relevant reference fuel for developing semi-empirical soot models for fires. Further investigations are required to confirm this conjecture.

Soot modeling of oxygen-depleted and highly sooty turbulent buoyant flames using the In Situ Adaptive Tabulation (ISAT) method

In this paper, a newly developed LSP-based soot (LSPTwoEq) modeling is systematically assessed in the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of various turbulent buoyant flames against a previously developed LSP-based soot (LSPOneEq) model. Two turbulence-soot interaction (TSI) closure schemes are formulated based on the Eddy Dissipation Concept (EDC). Accordingly, two soot modeling frameworks consisting of the mentioned soot and their corresponding TSI models are applied in the simulations. An in situ Adaptive Tabulation (ISAT) implementation is also proposed to speed up the simulation of the TSI model formulated for the LSPTwoEq model. The results indicate that the proposed soot modeling framework is significantly more accurate for ethylene flames in reduced oxygen concentrations and a highly sooty toluene flame. The accuracy of both frameworks is comparable for the ethylene flame with an air co-flow. The speed-up gained by using the ISAT scheme is found to be a factor of four for the ethylene flame with an air co-flow and the toluene flame. It is larger than nine for the ethylene flames with reduced oxygen co-flow.

Modeling of Soot Emission in Turbulent Diffusion Flames Impinging on a Cold Surface

ABSTRACT A hydrocarbon flame impinging on a cold surface produces an enhanced soot emission compared to the identical free flame. Cooking with biomass fuels is one practical process where soot emissions due to flame impingement has important environmental and health consequences. This problem was examined in a simplified system in which a turbulent non-premixed ethylene flame impinged on a cold surface. Previous experiment on this configuration examined the influence of a number of parameters on soot emission. The present paper uses numerical modeling to investigate the mechanism of soot emission enhancement in this configuration. Variations in the height of the surface above the fuel jet inlet showed going through a maximum, replicating the data. Since soot behavior can be affected by both thermal quench and flow field disruption, we decoupled the processes by replacing the cold surface with an adiabatic surface. These results indicated that most of the emission enhancement was due to the flow field disruption and not due to thermal quench. The modeling suggests that the presence of the surface changes the scalar dissipation rate, which influences C2H2 concentration, a key species in the soot surface growth process. Specifically, the surface causes a spike in the scalar dissipation rate adjacent to the surface, which significantly influences C2H2 concentration and results in increased soot production. The surface also forces the flame to spread radially, allowing more O2 to penetrate the flame immediately, enhancing the soot oxidation process. The combination of the enhanced soot production and oxidation produces the observed behavior.

Effects of Oxygen Concentration on Soot Formation in Ethylene and Ethane Fuel Laminar Diffusion Flames

In studying the effects of oxygen concentration and molecular structure on the morphologies of the soot particles produced by hydrocarbon fuels, ethylene and ethane were chosen as experimental fuels. With a Gülde laminar coaxial diffusion flame device, a soot particle device was used to sample soot particles at different oxygen concentrations (21%, 24%, 26%, 28%, and 31%) and at different heights above a burner (HABs = 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, and 50 mm). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) was used to scrutinize and analyze the soot particles at varying oxygen concentrations. The findings suggest that at the same oxygen concentration, ethylene produces brighter and taller flames. With an increase in the oxygen concentration, ethylene flames and ethane flames gradually decrease in height and become brighter. With an increase in the HAB, the average primary soot particle diameter (Dp) increases initially and then decreases, the fractal dimension (Df) increases, and the aggregates transition from strips and chains to clusters. At the same flame height (HAB = 30 mm), the Dp decreases, the Df increases, the carbon layer torsion resistance (Tf) and the carbon layer spacing (Ds) increase, and the carbon layer changes from a parallel arrangement to a curved arrangement to form denser network aggregations.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and their alternatives in soil cores from a typical flame-retardant production park: Vertical distribution and potential influencing factors

With the prohibition on the production and use of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) and organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) have emerged as their alternatives. However, the vertical transport and associated influencing factors of these chemicals into soil are not clearly understood. To clarify the vertical distribution of the pollutants and related influencing factors, surface soil and soil core samples were collected at a depth in the range of 0.10–5.00 m in a typical 20-year-old flame-retardant production park and surrounding area. PBDEs and DBDPE show a clear point source distribution around the production park with their central concentrations up to 2.88 × 104 and 8.46 × 104 ng/g, respectively. OPFRs are mainly found in residential areas. The production conversion of PBDEs to DBDPE has obvious environmental characteristics. The vertical distribution revealed that most of the pollutants have penetrated into the soil 5.00 m or even deeper. The median concentrations of deca-BDE and DBDPE reached 50.9 and 9.85 × 103 ng/g, respectively, even at a depth of 5.00 m. Soil organic matter plays a crucial role in determining the vertical distribution, while soil clay particles have a greater impact on the high molecular weight and/or highly brominated compounds.

Spline-based Abel Transform (SAT) radial property reconstruction for noise and trapping correction: Application to axisymmetric sooting flames

In combustion research, optical diagnostics often necessitate Abel inversion to deconvolve the measurements of axisymmetric flames, especially to determine local soot temperature fields from integrated flame radiative emission measurements. However, traditional Abel inversion methods can considerably amplify experimental noise, especially towards the flame centerline. Although various strategies exist to mitigate this issue, they typically do not address the correction of signal trapping within the flame. The present paper introduces an adapted Abel inversion tool that combines resistance to experimental noise with a mechanism to correct signal trapping effects. The tool employs noise-free Abel inversion using piecewise spline functions. Its effectiveness is validated through numerical comparisons with conventional methods. The practical application is demonstrated in the measurement of soot temperature in a canonical laminar diffusion ethylene flame. This is achieved by using multi-wavelength line-of-sight attenuation (LOSA) and emission measurements. The tool corrects for the signal trapping effect in emission data by integrating extinction profiles, thus enabling a more precise soot temperature analysis. The current study also compares two techniques of temperature measurement based on thermal emission: traditional two-color pyrometry and a calibrated emission and absorption ratio method. The study further explores the effects of signal trapping, scattering contribution, and the absorption function ratio on soot temperature determination based on experimental profiles. The findings suggest that signal trapping and scattering contributions have a negligible impact on measurements at the wavelengths examined. However, the choice of absorption function ratio significantly influences the outcomes of two-color pyrometry, highlighting the advantage of the one color emission/absorption technique for the determination of sooting flames temperature measurements.

Thermal radiation and soot in buoyant turbulent diffusion flames under different oxygen concentrations: Measurements and implications to radiation modeling

To develop and validate numerical models for sooty fires, we have established a dataset of the thermal radiation and soot in 15 kW buoyant turbulent ethylene flames. The flames are stabilized on a water-cooled round burner with a 15.2 cm outer diameter (D) and 13.7 cm inner diameter at three oxygen concentrations (OC) of 15.2 %, 16.8 %, and 20.9 %. A two-color optical probe is used to measure the spectral radiative intensities at two wavelengths, from which soot volume fraction and temperature are determined. The overall mean soot volume fractions are consistent with results from laser induced incandescence and laser extinction measurements. For a given OC, the mean soot temperature and volume fraction conditioned on the radiative intensity greater than a threshold value (instrumental detection limit) are relatively independent of spatial location. When OC decreases from 20.9 % to 15.2 %, the conditional mean soot volume fraction decreases by a factor of two. However, the conditional mean soot temperature at different locations and OCs are within a narrow range (with a standard deviation of only 22 K). The effect of detection limit is discussed, and the results show that the correlation between soot volume fraction and temperature is weak with a sufficiently low detection limit. Based on the experimental findings, a simplified model for the turbulence-radiation interaction (TRI) is proposed for application in the numerical modeling of soot radiation. The model approximates the turbulent closure term for radiation by taking advantage of the fact that the soot temperature has a relatively unchanged mean value and a narrow quasi-normal distribution within the buoyant turbulent flame, regardless of the spatial location and oxygen concentration. Therefore, the soot emission power can be directly calculated from the mean soot volume fraction and conditional mean soot temperature in a decoupled manner.

On the consideration of signal trapping for soot sizing by angular light scattering in laminar flames

Soot particles are known to be harmful to health and the environment, and reducing their production in industrial systems is a crucial task in the pursuit of green energy production. Characterization and accurate modeling of these particles are essential yet complex. In particular, information on aggregate sizing remains limited. Angular light scattering is an established in-situ method for precise, spatially resolved, non-intrusive characterization of soot aggregates. However, the associated post-processing is prone to various error sources. Specifically, signal trapping during light scattering is suspected to lead significant errors. Moreover, current techniques for reconstructing the line-of-sight integrated scattering signal (Abel inversion) are inherently noisy. This work addresses both issues by implementing a noise-free Abel inversion method based on piecewise spline functions. This method accounts for signal trapping and can be applied to any axisymmetric and spatially continuous flame. The correction for the signal trapping effect relies on extinction measurements from the line-of-sight attenuation (LOSA). The technique is tested on a canonical laminar diffusion ethylene flame at five different angles. The impact of this correction is evaluated on the equivalent monodisperse radius of gyration, denoted as Rg∗, and the forward scattering coefficient, represented as κvv(0∘). The results show that the calculation of Rg∗ is robust regarding signal trapping effect. However, correcting for this effect significantly increases κvv(0∘).

Investigating a new approach for magnetic ionic liquids: Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled to pyrolysis gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry to determine flame retardants in sewage sludge samples

This study addresses the analysis of emerging contaminants, often using chromatographic techniques coupled to mass spectrometry. However, sample preparation is often required prior to instrumental analysis, and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) is a viable strategy in this context. DLLME stands out for its ability to reduce sample and solvent volumes. Notably, dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction using magnetic ionic liquids (MILs) has gained relevance due to the incorporation of paramagnetic components in the chemical structure, thereby eliminating the centrifugation step. A pyrolizer was selected in this work to introduce sample onto the GC column, since the MIL is extremely viscous and incompatible with direct introduction through an autosampler. This study is the first to report the use of a DLLME/MIL technique for sample introduction through a pyrolizer in gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS). This approach enables the MIL to be compatible with gas chromatography systems, resulting in optimized analytical and instrument performance. The analysis of polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants (PBDEs) was focused on the PBDE congeners 28, 47, 99, 100, and 153 in sewage sludge samples. The [P6,6,6,14+]2[MnCl42−] MIL was thoroughly characterized using UV–Vis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy, as well as thermal analysis. In the chromatographic method, a pyrolyzer was used in the sample introduction step (Py-GC–MS), and critical injection settings were optimized using multivariate approaches. Optimized conditions were achieved with a temperature of 220 °C, a pyrolysis time of 0.60 min, and an injection volume of 9.00 μL. DLLME optimization was performed through central compound planning (CCD), and optimized training conditions were achieved with 10.0 mg of MIL, 3.00 μL of acetonitrile (ACN) as dispersive solvent, extraction time of 60 s, and volume of a sample of 8.50 mL. Precision was observed to range from 0.11 % to 12.5 %, with limits of detection (LOD) of 44.4 μg L−1 for PBDE 28, 16.9 μg L−1 for PBDE 47 and PBDE 99, 33.0 μg L−1 for PBDE 100 and 375 μg L−1 for PBDE 153. PBDE 28 was identified and analyzed in the sludge sample at a concentration of 800 μg L−1. The use of MIL in dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry enables identification and quantification of PBDEs in sewage sludge samples at concentrations down to the µg L−1 level.

Effects of Partial Premixing and Coflow Temperature on Flame Stabilization of Lifted Jet Flames of Dimethyl Ether in a Vitiated Coflow Based on Stochastic Multiple Mapping Conditioning Approach

The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS)-based stochastic multiple mapping conditioning (MMC) approach has been used to study partially premixed jet flames of dimethyl ether (DME) introduced into a vitiated coflowing oxidizer stream. This study investigates DME flames with varying degrees of partial premixing within a fuel jet across different coflow temperatures, delving into the underlying flame structure and stabilization mechanisms. Employing a turbulence k-ε model with a customized set of constants, the MMC technique utilizes a mixture fraction as the primary scalar, mapped to the reference variable. Solving a set of ordinary differential equations for the evolution of Lagrangian stochastic particles’ position and composition, the molecular mixing of these particles is executed using the modified Curl’s model. The lift-off height (LOH) derived from RANS-MMC simulations are juxtaposed with experimental data for different degrees of partial premixing of fuel jets and various coflow temperatures. The RANS-MMC methodology adeptly captures LOH for pure DME jets but exhibits an underestimation of flame LOH for partially premixed jet scenarios. Notably, as the degree of premixing escalates, a conspicuous underprediction in LOH becomes apparent. Conditional scatter and contour plots of OH and CH2O unveil that the propagation of partially premixed flames emerges as the dominant mechanism at high coflow temperatures, while autoignition governs flame stabilization at lower coflow temperatures in partially premixed flames. Additionally, for pure DME flames, autoignition remains the primary flame stabilization mechanism across all coflow temperature conditions. The study underscores the importance of considering the degree of premixing in partially premixed jet flames, as it significantly impacts flame stabilization mechanisms and LOH, thereby providing crucial insights into combustion dynamics for various practical applications.

Biomarkers of Organophosphate and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) Flame Retardants of American Workers and Associations with Inhalation and Dermal Exposures.

This study evaluated workers' exposures to flame retardants, including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organophosphate esters (OPEs), and other brominated flame retardants (BFRs), in various industries. The study aimed to characterize OPE metabolite urinary concentrations and PBDE serum concentrations among workers from different industries, compare these concentrations between industries and the general population, and evaluate the likely route of exposure (dermal or inhalation). The results showed that workers from chemical manufacturing had significantly higher (p <0.05) urinary concentrations of OPE metabolites compared to other industries. Spray polyurethane foam workers had significantly higher (p <0.05) urinary concentrations of bis(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BCPP) compared to other industries. Electronic scrap workers had higher serum concentrations of certain PBDE congeners compared to the general population. Correlations were observed between hand wipe samples and air samples containing specific flame-retardant parent chemicals and urinary metabolite concentrations for some industries, suggesting both dermal absorption and inhalation as primary routes of exposure for OPEs. Overall, this study provides insights into occupational exposure to flame retardants in different industries and highlights the need for further research on emerging flame retardants and exposure reduction interventions.

Interactions between methyl octabromo ether flame retardant and expanded polystyrene microplastics in the photoaging process

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) plastic is widely used because of its low density and lightweight properties, enabling it to float on water and increase its exposure to sunlight. In this study, we simulated the photoaging process of flame retardant-added EPS (FR-EPS) and common original EPS (OR-EPS) microplastic (MP) particles with and without methyl octabromoether flame retardant (MOBE) in the laboratory to explore the effect of MOBE on the photodegradation of EPS. Results showed that MOBE accelerated size reduction and surface hole formation on the particles, hastening the shedding and replacement of particle surfaces. FR-EPS particles exhibited a weight loss exceeding that of OR-EPS, reaching 40.85 ± 3.72% after 36 days of irradiation. Moreover, rapid physical peeling of the FR-EPS surface was accompanied by continuous chemical oxidation and fluctuations of the carbonyl index and O/C ratio. A diffusion model based on Fick's second law fitted well for the concentration of MOBE remaining in FR-EPS particles. MOBE's sensitivity to direct photochemical reactions inhibited the early-stage photoaging of EPS MP particles by competing for photons. However, MOBE as chromophores could absorb photons and produce •OH to promote the aging of EPS. Moreover, the capacity of EPS to absorb light energy also accelerated MOBE degradation. These findings suggested that the photoaging behavior of commercial EPS products containing flame retardants in the environment is quite different from that of pure EPS, indicating that additive-plastic interactions significantly alter MP fate and environmental risks.

Characteristics of laminar lifted flames of pure ethane in a non-premixed jet under various pressures

Recent studies have discovered that laminar lifted flames (LLFs) can be stabilized within a triangular stabilization regime (TSR), defined by the parameters of normalized lift-off height and Reynolds number. The stabilization mechanism of an LLF could be explained by using an effective Schmidt number over an extended pressure range. In this study, the existence of LLFs of pure ethane was confirmed for the first time, and their characteristics were investigated. However, the corresponding TSR was significantly shrunk compared to propane and butane. The reasons were discussed in relation to the effective Schmidt number. The variation in effective Schmidt number depending on lift-off height and fuel type was theoretically predicted by considering the relative influence of the volume expansion on flow velocity and fuel concentration. Two additional stabilization modes near the turbulent transition were examined. One is the pathway from LLFs within the TSR to turbulent lifted flames at higher Reynolds numbers, and the criteria for this transition were explained. The other is an additional stabilization mode having much larger lift-off heights near the blowout conditions, and its stabilization mechanism was discussed.

PeleMP: The Multiphysics Solver for the Combustion Pele Adaptive Mesh Refinement Code Suite

Abstract Combustion encompasses multiscale, multiphase reacting flow physics spanning a wide range of scales from the molecular scales, where chemical reactions occur, to the device scales, where the turbulent flow is affected by the geometry of the combustor. This scale disparity and the limited measurement capabilities from experiments make modeling combustion a significant challenge. Recent advancements in high-performance computing (HPC), particularly with the Department of Energy's Exascale Computing Project (ECP), have enabled high-fidelity simulations of practical applications to be performed. The major physics submodels, including chemical reactions, turbulence, sprays, soot, and thermal radiation, exhibit distinctive computational characteristics that need to be examined separately to ensure efficient utilization of computational resources. This paper presents the multiphysics solver for the Pele code suite, called PeleMP, which consists of models for spray, soot, and thermal radiation. The mathematical and algorithmic aspects of the model implementations are described in detail as well as the verification process. The computational performance of these models is benchmarked on multiple supercomputers, including Frontier, an exascale machine. Results are presented from production simulations of a turbulent sooting ethylene flame and a bluff-body swirl stabilized spray flame with sustainable aviation fuels to demonstrate the capability of the Pele codes for modeling practical combustion problems with multiphysics. This work is an important step toward the exascale computing era for high-fidelity combustion simulations providing physical insights and data for predictive modeling of real-world devices.

Influence of velocity on the transient auto-ignition of ethylene jet in a hot coflow

The difficulty of ignition is one of the main problems in the combustion chamber of the air-breathing combined engine. Based on this, the transient auto-ignition in the turbulent non-premixed flames of ethylene in a high-speed jet in hot coflow was studied using a newly developed burner. High-speed hydroxyl (OH) planar laser-induced fluorescence (up to 10 kHz) and large eddy simulations (LES) were performed to investigate the auto-ignition process. The experimental conditions included injection velocities of 334–491 m/s, and the effect of jet velocity on the mixing process, ignition process, and flame stabilization mechanisms were investigated. The results showed that the numerical simulation results were consistent with the experimental data. The velocity could affect the auto-ignition position, whereas it had no effect on the auto-ignition time. The increase in fuel jet velocity is beneficial to the mixing of fuel and high-temperature gas and helps to increase the premixed combustion zone during the formation of fire kernels. Moreover, as the velocity increased, the flame status changed from a transitional flame to a lifted flame, the growth rates of the flame volume and total heat release increased, and the flame stabilization mechanism changed from flame propagation to auto-ignition.

Feasibility on equivalence ratio measurement via OH*, CH*, and C2* chemiluminescence and study of soot emissions in co-flow non-premixed DME/C1–C2 hydrocarbon flames

The effects of dimethyl ether (DME) addition to methane and ethylene fuels on the combustion characteristics of heat release, soot emissions, and flame temperature were investigated experimentally and numerically in a non-premixed laminar flame configuration. The flame-heat release soot-volume fraction was measured experimentally using CH*, OH*, and C2* chemiluminescence and planar two-color soot pyrometry, respectively. The CH*, OH*, and C2* were used to locate flame-heat release regions as well as to investigate the soot signal’s effect on their measurements. The ratios of the chemiluminescence pairs (OH*/CH* and OH*/C2*) were studied for the feasibility of map local equivalence ratios. Numerical calculations across a full range of DME mixing ratios were performed through 1D laminar flame simulations implemented with a detailed mechanism to provide an indication of the flame structures and profiles of key species including OH*, OH, CH*, CH, CH3, C3H3, C2H2, heat release rate (HRR), and flame temperature. An existing developed soot model was used in a 2D computational study to investigate its validity for modeling soot for DME (oxygenated fuel)/C2H4/N2 flames. Parametric studies have been carried out on some key parameters in the soot model to find optimum values that can be used in future studies. Although soot radiation intensities increased at a small amount (25%vol) of DME addition in the DME/methane flames, the soot pyrometry results showed a reduced soot volume fraction with an increased DME mixture ratio in both DME/methane and DME/ethylene flames studied, agreeing with the key conclusion of 1D numerical results. The flame HRR decreases with the increasing addition of DME to methane and ethylene flames and correlates with the trend of OH* and CH* profiles. The 1D simulation showed a non-monotonic correlation between OH*/CH* ratios and equivalence ratios, implying a limited use of OH*/CH* for the equivalence ratio measurement in non-premixed flames with DME additions.

A numerical study of NOX and soot emissions in ethylene-ammonia diffusion flames with oxygen enrichment

Blending ammonia with hydrocarbon fuels is gaining interest due to its potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions from the combustion of these blends. Additionally, studies have provided strong evidence of oxygen enhanced combustion to reduce soot emissions and improve flame stability. The present work attempts to leverage the benefits of both strategies, ammonia doping and oxygen enhanced combustion, by considering ethylene diffusion flames. Simulations are performed using the CHEMKIN-Pro software. A reaction mechanism with 372 species and 13,847 reactions is developed by combining gas phase chemistries for ethylene, NH3 and NOX, along with a detailed soot mode. The mechanism is extensively validated for a range of fuel blends in terms of flame structure, intermediate hydrocarbons, soot precursors and soot. Oxygen enrichment is achieved by removing certain amount of nitrogen from oxidizer stream and adding it to fuel stream, and thereby maintaining a nearly constant flame temperature. Extensive analysis is carried out to characterize the chemical and dilution effects of ammonia doping on flame structure, soot precursors, soot, and NOX in ethylene flames with varying levels of oxygenation. Further, dominant reaction pathways for several soot precursors and NOx are identified through detailed rate of production analyses. Results indicate that ammonia doping in ethylene flames leads to substantial increase in NOX emissions, while oxygenation has negligible influence on NOX emissions. In contrast, both NH3 doping and oxygenation provide significant reduction in the formation of soot precursors and soot. Oxygenation achieves this reduction through both hydrodynamic and flame structure effects, as the flame shifts from oxidizer side to fuel side. On the other hand, NH3 doping reduces the rates of important reactions for the formation of soot precursors, as the concentrations of relevant species (C2H2, C3H3, C3H3-P, C3H3-A etc.) decrease due to their consumption through reactions with species like NCO and CN formed from NH3. Moreover, the effectiveness of NH3 doping is further enhanced when combined with oxygenation. Hence, NH3 doping and oxygenation are found to be effective and synergistic strategies in reducing soot emissions, and their proper combination could provide near zero soot emissions.

An easy but quantitative assessment of soot production rate and its dependence on temperature and pressure

The challenge of soot emission persists in combustion research due to the complexities of tracking the crucial stages of growth from fuel to soot nuclei and ultimately mature particles. Studying soot formation in flames often requires a sophisticated approach, involving detailed measurements of gaseous soot precursors and soot particles using multiple complementary diagnostics. On the other end of the spectrum of studies are simpler methods that capture the sooting tendency using a single index, akin to the cetane number in compression ignition engines and the octane number in spark ignition engines. This article seeks a middle ground, aiming to quantify the soot production rate while maintaining the simplicity of single-index characterizations. The approach involves establishing counterflow diffusion flames, measuring soot volume fraction through pyrometry, and accurately computing velocity and temperature profiles using a commercial code. These data allow for the quantification of the production rate from the soot governing equation. The methodology is applied to counterflow ethylene diffusion flames to examine the temperature dependence of the soot production rate across peak temperatures varying by several hundred degrees and pressures in the 1–32 atm range. The soot production rate per unit flame area falls within the range of 10−7–10−3 g/(cm2s) range and, when normalized with respect to the carbon flux, it ranges between 10−6 and nearly 10−2. On a logarithmic scale, it linearly correlates with the peak temperature at a fixed pressure. Although this study deals only with flames of ethylene, the approach can be generalized to any fuel. The resulting database should be valuable not only for industry practitioners but also to the scientific community for the global validation of detailed soot models.