Low Temperature Combustion Research Articles

Parametric study on reaction characteristics of methane/air mixture in microchannels

Micro-combustion is a promising technology for addressing global energy consumption challenges; however, its practical implementation is hindered by a limited understanding of the underlying reaction characteristics. To address this, a comprehensive numerical investigation was conducted using a well-established two-dimensional (2D) steady model to examine the influence of key operating parameters (e.g., inlet velocity, equivalence ratio, and inlet temperature) on catalytic methane/air combustion in micro-channels. The results show that the heterogeneous reaction exhibits limited sensitivity to changes in inlet velocity, whereas the homogeneous reaction shows substantial enhancement with increasing inlet temperature. With the increment of inlet velocity, the peak value of stage III- heterogeneous ignition (conversion of CO to CO2 and H2 to H2O) decreases and levels off once uin ≥ 0.50 m/s. Simultaneously, the minimum value of S (the ratio of heat released by the heterogeneous reaction to that of the total reaction) decreases as well. As the equivalence ratio is increased, the combustion zone shifts towards the upstream direction. The value of S initially increases and then decreases, reaching a maximum of 17.61 % at Φ = 0.95. Raising the inlet temperature results in the upstream movement of the flame, accompanied by reduced combustion heat release, lower combustion temperature, and diminished intensity of homogeneous combustion. The influence of the heterogeneous reaction on combustion is more pronounced under operating conditions with lower inlet velocities, an equivalence ratio approaching 0.95, and higher inlet temperature. Additionally, under the condition of higher inlet velocities, an equivalence ratio close to 1.0, and elevated inlet temperature, the heterogeneous reaction aids in igniting the homogeneous reaction more effectively.

Impact of Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Oxide Nanomaterials on the Performance and Emissions of Diesel Engine Fueled with Diesel/Biodiesel Blend

Biodiesel produced from waste cooked oil (WCO) resources mixed with various nanoparticle additives and used as a fuel blend in diesel engine combustion is a hopeful research trend. All previous studies indicate that alternative fuels can provide better fuel properties with enhanced engine combustion, performance, and lower emissions than fossil diesel fuel. This study uses three fuel blends to compare the diesel engine’s combustion, performance, and emissions attributes at different loading values. Pure diesel fuel, B40, which is a blend of 40% WCO biodiesel and 60% diesel fuel, and mixtures of 40% WCO biodiesel, 56% diesel, and 4% toluene with carbon nanotubes (B40-CNTs) or graphene oxide nano-additive (B40-GO) at three concentrations of 50, 100, and 150 ppm were used. The results show enhancements in the diesel engine attribute values using B40-CNTs and B40-GO blends at different concentrations and engine load values better than the diesel engine attribute result values using B0 or B40 without nanoparticle additives. The combustion, performance, and emission attribute showed improvements using nanoparticles due to the increase in the evaporation rate, the oxygen rate, the surface area to volume ratio, and the thermal properties of the mixture. The highest in-cylinder peak pressure is recorded at 61 bar in B40 with 150 PPM of GO nanoparticles. The brake thermal efficiency records 43.6%, with the highest percentage found using B40-150GO at the maximum engine load value. The NOx emissions are dropped from 1240 PPM using pure diesel fuel to 884 PPM using B40 with 150 PPM of GO nanoparticles at the maximum engine load due to the lower combustion temperatures and duration.

A Review of Isobutanol as a Fuel for Internal Combustion Engines

Isobutanol, one of the four isomers of butanol (C4H9OH), possesses some favorable properties that make it an attractive fuel for internal combustion engines. For instance, when compared to ethanol, isobutanol features a higher heating value and lower hygroscopicity (which prevents corrosion and enables it to be transported via pipelines). Moreover, its addition to gasoline does not distort the fuel blend’s vapor pressure to the same extent as ethanol does. All of this while having a high octane rating. Those advantages over ethanol suggest that isobutanol has the potential to be used as a gasoline oxygenate or even as a neat fuel. Furthermore, the advances made in biotechnology have enabled isobutanol to be produced from biomass more efficiently, allowing it to be used in compliance with existing renewable energy mandates. This article reviews some of the relevant literature dedicated to isobutanol as a motor fuel, covering its merits and drawbacks. Several studies on its combustion characteristics are also discussed. Most of the included literature refers to the use of isobutanol in spark-ignition (SI) engines, as its properties naturally lend themselves to such applications. However, isobutanol’s utilization in diesel engines is also addressed, along with a couple of low-temperature combustion examples.

Understanding fundamental effects of biofuel structure on ignition and physical fuel properties

The development of biochemicals and biofuels with advantaged properties of higher combustion efficiency at lower emission levels can be aided by a priori prediction of critical global characteristics based on molecular structure. Existing predictive techniques are incomplete for comprehensive ignition and physical fuel property prediction. This investigation focuses on filling this knowledge gap by developing a priori prediction techniques for predicting important ignition as well as physical fuel properties of promising advantaged biofuels. We demonstrate the utility of this a priori prediction technique on saturated (≤C5) alcohols, both linear and branched in nature by correlating their molecular structure with both important ignition and physical properties of the fuels. This work utilizes a semi-automated method of predicting ignition characteristics via accurate fundamental-based calculations of the fuel radical cascades that govern low-temperature combustion. This numerical methodology is supported by the relevant fuel ignition delay time (IDT) and research octane number (RON) data experimentally measured by the Advanced Fuel Ignition Delay Analyzer (AFIDA). Phyiscal fuel property trends are also analyzed by correlating the molecular structure of the fuel to its physical characteristics. Based on their molecular structure, recommendations are made on an a priori method for selecting biofuels that have advantaged properties for the selected fuel application. Lastly, the utility of this investigation is extended beyond the subset of alcohols considered by analyzing the IDT trends of i-Pentanol and n-Hexanol, revealing the fidelity of the novel kinetic modelling approach and the accuracy of the predicted trends in this study.

Effect on minor addition of aromatic (benzyl alcohol) and diethyl ether in Calophyllum inophyllum blended diesel fuel in a CI engine operates by hydrogen energy as a secondary fuel

Strict regulations on vehicle emissions are in place to lessen pollution and environmental damage. The depletion of fossil fuels also threatens energy security. Renewable, cleaner-burning and sustainable fuels could aid the researcher in solving these problems. Because of their limited supply, renewable fuels cannot resolve the issue independently. Therefore, much research is being done on enhanced combustion technologies, such as dual-fuel engines, homogenous charge compression ignition, and low-temperature combustion. The Calophyllum inophyllum oil (P20) mixed with diesel, diethyl ether, and aromatic alcohol (benzyl alcohol) was tested in this study using a dual-fuel engine. Hydrogen gas is added to the air intake manifold as a second energy source. Aromatic alcohol is an organic fuel that can be produced naturally by hydrolysis of lignin. The OH hydroxyl group is attached to the aromatic ring and promotes free radical propagation. Minor addition of oxygenates affects the performance, combustion, and emission of engines operating on various loads. Maximum brake thermal efficiency and lower brake-specific fuel consumption were observed with 20 % aromatic alcohol, 32.45 %, and 0.2 kg/kW-hr, respectively. Brake thermal efficiency improved to 6.54 % compared to neat diesel. Reduction in brake-specific fuel consumption by 28 % compared to diesel fuel. Compared to other blends, aromatic alcohol additions are linked to reduced smoke, HC, and CO emissions. However, using aromatic alcohol results in slightly increased nitrogen oxide emissions compared to diesel. Blends of biofuel and benzyl alcohol have shown favorable effects in terms of enhanced combustion, reduced emissions, and increased efficiency.

Comparison of the flame stabilities during oxy-methane and air-methane combustion in a two-layer porous burner

The development of the oxy-fuel porous media combustion technique not only takes advantage of the characteristics of porous media combustion, such as a relatively low lean-burn limit and small volume, but also dramatically facilitates carbon capture and storage. In this paper, a two-layer porous burner model is established, in which a two-temperature equation model is adopted for calculation purposes. Differences in combustion behaviour between oxy-fuel and air-fuel conditions are compared. The results show that the difference in physical properties between CO2 and air is the main reason for the significant variation of combustion behaviours under the conditions of oxy-fuel compared to air-fuel. The specific performance is lower combustion temperature and flame propagation speed. The temperature under oxy-fuel combustion conditions is 300 K lower than that under air-fuel combustion conditions at an equivalence ratio of 0.6, and the stable range of oxy-fuel combustion is only approximately 50% of air-fuel combustion. The impact of porous media material parameters on combustion behavior has been investigated. These variables include the equivalence ratio, material thermal conductivity, volume heat transfer coefficient, and extinction coefficient, while the ratio of O2/CO2 remains fixed at 0.21/0.79. The influence of these variables on the stable velocity range and temperature field is consistent, but a large difference in values occurs. Reducing the thermal resistance of the burner by adjusting the properties of the porous matrix can increase the velocity limit of stable combustion. However, even if the thermal conductivity and extinction coefficient are increased by 5 times, there will be no significant impact on the stable range. Reducing the pore size of the combustion zone by 50% will increase the stable range by over 100%.

Char dominates black carbon aerosol emission and its historic reduction in China

Emission factors and inventories of black carbon (BC) aerosols are crucial for estimating their adverse atmospheric effect. However, it is imperative to separate BC emissions into char and soot subgroups due to their significantly different physicochemical properties and potential effects. Here, we present a substantial dataset of char and soot emission factors derived from field and laboratory measurements. Based on the latest results of the char-to-soot ratio, we further reconstructed the emission inventories of char and soot for the years 1960–2017 in China. Our findings indicate that char dominates annual BC emissions and its huge historical reduction, which can be attributable to the rapid changes in energy structure, combustion technology and emission standards in recent decades. Our results suggest that further BC emission reductions in both China and the world should focus on char, which mainly derives from lower-temperature combustion and is easier to decrease compared to soot.

Real-time predictive model for reactivity controlled compression ignition marine engines

Model-based design is proven to be essential for the development of control systems. This paper presents a real-time predictive control-orientated model (COM) for low-temperature combustion (LTC), dual-fuel, reactivity-controlled compression ignition (RCCI) engines. A comprehensive model-based design methodology must be capable of constructing an RCCI control-orientated model with high accuracy, high noise immunity, good response, predictivity in governing mechanisms, and low computation time. This work attains all of these for the first time for a cutting-edge RCCI marine engine. The real-time model (RTM) captures the key sensitivities of RCCI by controlling the total fuel energy and the blend ratio (BR) of two fuels, while also considering uncertainties arising from variations of inlet temperature and the gas exchange process. It provides not only the cycle-wise combustion indicators but also the crank-angle-based cylinder pressure trend. The RTM is derived by direct linearisation of a physics-based model and is successfully validated against experimental results from a large-bore, RCCI engine and the previously acknowledged UVATZ (University of Vaasa Advanced Thermo-kinetic Multi-zone) model. Validation covers both steady-state and transient modes. With high accuracy in several case studies representing typical load transients and air-path disturbance rejection tests, the model predicts maximum cylinder pressure (Pmax), crank-angle of 5 % burnt (CA5), crank-angle of 50 % burnt (CA50) and indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) with root means square (RMS) errors of 8.6 %, 0.3 %, 0.6 %, and 0.6 % respectively. The average simulation time without any code optimisation is around 5 ms/cycle, offering sufficient real-time surplus to incorporate a semi-predictive emission submodel within the current approach.

Injection strategy of methanol for high loads and low NOx emissions in a neat methanol LTC engine

Methanol is a low carbon and clean burning renewable fuel. Though low temperature combustion (LTC) of neat methanol results in almost no smoke with ultra-low NOx, the extremely low cetane number poses challenges. This experimental study demonstrates LTC of neat methanol at full load by combining direct and port injection of this fuel with controlled intake air temperature (IAT). The effects of important variables including IAT and port (premixed) and direct-injected methanol shares on combustion, performance, regulated and unregulated emissions were investigated. The timing of the direct-injected methanol had to be retarded with an increase in the premixed methanol share and IAT in order to limit the pressure rise rate without affecting the ITE. At high IATs, the premixed methanol burned first, followed by the directly injected methanol, at low IATs, these phases merged, resulting in a high rate of heat release. Employing the lowest possible IAT and the highest possible premixed methanol share led to high ITE. Increase in the MDIP to 450 bar was advantageous due to better fuel evaporation and enhanced combustion. Negligible smoke, very low NOx of 2.7 g/kWh, high ITE of 45% and unburned HC and methanol emissions lesser than 3 g/kWh could be achieved.

The exergy analysis of low carbon or carbon free fuels: Methane, methanol, and hydrogen under engine like conditions

The carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels is considered the main contributor to the warming of the climate system. Low carbon or carbon free fuels like methane, methanol, and hydrogen have gained a lot of attention on their ability of CO2 reduction in Internal Combustion (IC) engines. In this context, improving thermal efficiency at reduced levels of emissions by adopting low carbon fuels is meaningful in the current situation. However, the exergy loss of unconstrained combustion degrades the exergy work transform in IC engines. The present study focuses on the exergy loss and the thermomechanical exergy of these low carbon or carbon free dual fuels blended with high reactive n-heptane as the diesel surrogate under engine like conditions. Results reveal that these fuels lower the exergy loss by reducing the rate of n-heptane dehydrogenation and isomerization reaction. In addition, hydrogen in blends shows more influence on exergy loss reduction than methanol and methane. Using low carbon or carbon free fuels in blends improves the thermomechanical exergy distribution at 1000–2000 K combustion range. This is due to the fact that the reactions concerning radicals are more active than a traditional isooctane/n-heptane mixture, especially under low initial temperature and rich mixture conditions. Methanol in blend promotes the thermomechanical exergy at 1500–2000 K temperature range due to its highly intense H2O2-OH, CH2O-CO oxidation reaction, especially for the rich mixture. Furthermore, with regard to these low carbon fuels, one unit increment of thermomechanical exergy leads to approximately 0.65–1.2% improvement of second law efficiency. In conclusion, the optimization of low carbon fuels on exergy is mainly reflected in the low temperature and rich mixture combustion conditions, thus, the use of low carbon fuels does improve exergy use in combustion processes where the mixture is not uniformly distributed.

Porous Mn-doped Fe3O4 as lithium-ion battery anode via low-temperature combustion synthesis

The preparation of Mn-doped Fe3O4 was carried out using the low-temperature combustion synthesis (LCS) method through the addition of Mn2+ to the ferric nitrate-glycine system. Here, we investigate the mechanism of the redox reaction involving Fe3+ and Mn2+ ions, and the results reveal that for the synthesis of porous Mn-doped Fe3O4, the presence of Mn2+ in the raw material is necessary. The carbon source, such as ethylene glycol, glucose, and polyethylene glycol-4000, serves as both reducing and complexing agent, leading to the formation of more pores during the combustion reaction. Increased specific surface area of combustion products. By conducting a LCS reaction in a solution with added ethylene glycol, Mn-doped Fe3O4 was obtained for lithium ions batteries as anode material, at current density of 5 A g−1, it demonstrates an impressive capacity retention rate of 90% with a high capacity of 452.5 mA h g−1 after 650 cycles. Similarly, Mn-doped Fe3O4 obtained with the addition of polyethylene glycol shows a capacity retention rate of 89.7% after 1500 cycles. Our findings provide a new and innovative method for the preparation of manganese ferrites with a porous structure and a new research approach for developing metal oxide anode materials.

Analyzing Microstructural Features, Surface Topography, and Scratch Resistance of Innovative Nano-Composites Coated with High Velocity Air-Fuel Technology

New developments in thermal spraying processes may offer higher-quality alternatives to hard chrome plating and possibilities for hard chrome plating in a range of coating applications. These include spraying with high-velocity air fuel (HVAF) and new spray consumables. The low operating temperatures and accelerated particle velocity of the HVAF process enable investigation and development of a wide range of novel coating materials and applications. The High-velocity Air Fuel Process' quality and efficiency are primarily due to the broad combustion chamber and axial injection of the feedstock through it, as well as the relatively low combustion temperature of an air-fuel mixture and the low gas velocity that provides enough time for the mild heating of the powder particles. The current work discusses the inventive thermal spray procedure used for SAE 1008 carbon steel, a cost-effective substrate material. All of the compositions that were treated have undergone microstructure investigations. A scratch test is conducted in accordance with ASTM guidelines. Assessment of surface morphology clearly demonstrates the relationship between the evaluated parameters. According to the occurrence, scratch methods such as delamination, cracking, plastic deformation, and elastic deformation are highlighted. However, the findings of the scratch test showed that the samples' scratch resistance increased as the coating thickness rose. In comparison to samples with thinner coating, those with thicker coating demonstrated a stronger resistance to scratching. This is explained by the fact that coatings with a higher thickness and density can support the subsurface more effectively and stop cracks from scattering. This can retain the coating's integrity and stop more damage from occurring, improving scratch resistance. Better scratch resistance was displayed by the samples with denser microstructures and smoother surface morphologies. The outcome is greater scratch resistance because a higher density covering can withstand deformation and fracture better than a lower density layer. This is due to the mechanism of deformation and fracture in the coating material. This improvement in scratch resistance can be due to the composites' increased HVAF coating's hardness and adherence. The findings imply that using an HVAF coating to increase the scratch resistance of new nanocomposites may constitute a successful strategy.

Dynamic Changes of Composition of Particulate Matter Emissions during Residential Biomass Combustion.

Residential biomass combustion in developing countries produces significant primary particulate matter (PM) emissions. Highly time-resolved aerosol mass spectrometry and aethalometer measurements were used to investigate the dynamic changes of emitted PM chemical composition from a typical improved stove burning with wood and crop straw in China. Combustion temperature and organic aerosol (OA) concentration increased quickly during the ignition stage. The flaming stage was characterized by high combustion temperature and high pollutant [including OA, black carbon (BC), inorganic salts, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)] emissions, while the burnout stage is characterized by low combustion temperature and lower pollutant emissions. OA was the primary emitted species; emission factors of OA in the flaming stage were generally higher (24.5-792%) than those in the burnout stage. Mass spectral signatures of OA were obtained. The ratio of Cl-/OA for wood combustion (0.05 ± 0.01) is much lower than that from burning crop straw (0.32 ± 0.19). Hydrocarbon OA emissions dominated during the ignition and flaming stages. A high percentage of oxidized OA was emitted during the burnout stage. The relationship between PAHs and BC/OA emissions under different burning conditions was investigated, and PAHs may act as intermediate products in the conversion of OA to BC.

Experimental study of triple fuel physiognomies on LDRCCI diesel engine combustion

Environmental deterioration and the current energy crisis are the driving factors for better combustion technologies and renewable, clean energy sources. To improve engine combustion efficiency and reduce emissions, numerous low-temperature combustion techniques have been investigated. Among all low-temperature combustion engines, the reactivity-control compression ignition (RCCI) engine is the most recent and preferred one to reduce PM and NOx emissions to govern the ignition and combustion processes. However, it has not yet revealed the optimal solutions. The port injection is used for the secondary fuel system to manage emissions, in-cylinder charge reactivity, and combustion phasing during RCCI operation. A triple-fuel RCCI engine that burns a port-injected blend and direct-injected diesel fuel has been experimentally investigated in this work. The G5E15-RCCI engine was observed to run at a maximum cylinder pressure and HRR of 90.76 bar, and 63.02J/deg respectively at 3000 rpm while for the baseline fuel they are much lower at 58.69 bar and 11.8J/deg respectively with the speed being 2500 rpm. The NOx and CO2 emissions were at their lowest levels with the engine running on G5E15, whereas they were at their highest for the engine running on baseline mode. Under G5E15-RCCI engine operation, CO and UHC increase as usual while G10E10-RCCI emits a minimum that can be taken as a novel finding in which CO and HC emission reduction was demonstrated with RCCI in this study. The brake power in all experiment cases was observed as approximately the same with slight increases for G10E10 at speeds greater than 2400 rpm. The maximum engine brake torque occurred in the speed range of 2000-2600 rpm for G10E10 and in the narrower range of 2200- 2400 rpm for the G5E15 port-injected blend. Better brake thermal efficiency was noted for the engine running on baseline fuel in the speed range of 2200-2600 rpm while being higher for the engine running on G5E15 RCCI mode at 2800 and 3000 rpm as such.

Effect of ambient temperature and density on the transition of hot temperature combustion to low temperature combustion of commercial diesel and waste plastic diesel in an optical access machine

Alternative diesel production from mixed waste plastic pyrolysis is an effective method for the management of waste plastic and its related costs. The low temperature combustion (LTC) of diesel enables the reduction of nitrogen oxides and soot simultaneously. However, because of the high quantity of unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions, LTC has a low combustion efficiency. This paper investigated the combined effect of low ambient temperature and high density (LATHD) on the transition from hot temperature combustion (HTC) to LTC by using commercial diesel (CD) and waste plastic diesel (WPD) without exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and low cetane fuels. The results showed that NOx and soot concentrations were decreased and integral heat release was increased. For a given unit heat release, the NOx emissions of CD and WPD decreased 60% and 38%, respectively, by decreasing the ambient temperature from 1050 K to 750 K. Furthermore, integral heat release is a more influential parameter on NOx than heat release rate. After that, soot concentrations of CD and WPD were significantly decreased by 85% and 81% with a reduction in ambient temperature from 1050 K to 750 K. At the same ambient temperature, the NOx and soot concentrations of WPD were higher than that of CD for all cases. With the same ignition delay, however, the NOx and soot concentrations of WPD/high cetane fuel decreased dramatically compared to CD. This information will be useful for determining compression ratio and combustion phasing when considering engine designs.

Multi-objective optimization of a compression ignition engine using on-board methanol reforming

The dual-fuel combustion technology utilizing hydrogen and diesel fuel shows potential in enhancing the performance of compression ignition engines and reducing carbon emissions. However, this approach is accompanied by several significant challenges, such as hydrogen transportation and storage, as well as low combustion efficiency at low loads. To address these challenges, this study integrates low-temperature combustion technology with online hydrogen production through methanol steam reforming to achieve efficient and clean combustion. The results of methanol steam reforming, mainly consisting of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and unreacted methanol, is premixed via port injection as a low-reactivity fuel. Simultaneously, diesel fuel is directly injected into the cylinder as a high-reactivity fuel to achieve reactivity-controlled compression ignition mode. The primary fuels employed in compression ignition engines comprise reformate gas (mainly hydrogen), unreacted methanol, and diesel. This combination is collectively termed as tri-fuel combustion. This study utilizes a combination of genetic algorithms and 3D engine simulation to determine the optimal strategy for the methanol/reformed gas/diesel tri-fuel engine under different loads. The results of the optimization reveal that the tri-fuel combustion mode has the highest indicated thermal efficiency, surpassing the methanol/diesel dual-fuel mode and the reformed gas/diesel dual-fuel mode. Meanwhile, the optimized engine demonstrates significantly lower NOx and soot emissions than those required by the Euro VI emission regulations. Additionally, the study summarizes engine operating parameters impact on performance. Moreover, the tri-fuel combustion mode has a distinct advantage in increasing the methanol energy substitution rate at all three different loads. The dual-fuel mode leads to increased unburned hydrogen and methanol concentration near cylinder liner due to lower combustion temperature. In contrast, tri-fuel mode substantially reduces unburned hydrogen and methanol due to high combustion temperature and methanol reactivity.

Theoretical and Modeling Study about the Low-Temperature Reaction Mechanism Between Oxymethylene Ether-2 (OME2) Radicals and O2.

Oxymethylene ether-2 (CH3-O-CH2-O-CH2-O-CH3, OME2), a carbon-neutral fuel, was hydrogenated from CO2 captured in air or exhaust gases and reused for synthesis with renewable electricity. In the current work, two different potential energy surfaces (PESs) for the reaction of OME2 radicals with O2 were constructed at the CCSD(T)/CBS//M062X/6-311++G(d,p) level. Based on the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) theory and transition state theory, the temperature- and pressure-dependent rate constants for the relevant reactions on the PES were calculated by solving the master equation. The Arrhenius equation has been used to fit the temperature- and pressure-dependent reaction rate constants. The main reaction channels on the PES are discussed, showing that initial adduct generation and intramolecular H-transfer reactions are the key reaction channels for low-temperature combustion. Among them, the HO2 concerted elimination reaction channel needs to overcome higher energy barriers leading to uncompetitive HO2 concerted elimination reactions. The calculated rate constants were updated to the OME2 combustion model, and the updated model is in considerable agreement with experimentally measured data on the ignition delay time in the shock tube. The present work provides support for further studies on the oxidation reaction of long-chain OME..

Study on the Limit of Moisture Content of the Sub-Surface Fires Converted to the Surface Fires in the Boreal Forests of China

A sub-surface forest fire is a type of smoldering combustion with a slower spread rate, longer combustion time, and lower combustion temperature compared with flame combustion. Sub-surface fires are usually accompanied by surface fires, and the surface fires’ conversion from sub-surface fires has great uncertainty. Therefore, there are considerable difficulties in monitoring and fighting sub-surface fires. However, there are few studies on the conversion from sub-surface fires to surface fires, and the mechanism and influencing factors of the conversion remain unclear. This study focuses on Larix gmelinii forests, which are representative of the boreal forest of China and hot spots of sub-surface fires, studies the moisture content limit of sub-surface fires’ conversion to surface fires by simulating a smoldering experiment, and establishes a monitoring model of sub-surface fires and an occurrence probability prediction model of sub-surface fires’ conversion to surface fires. The results showed that the moisture content limit of the conversion was 25% in the grass–Larix gmelinii forest and Ledum palustre–Larix gmelinii forest and 20% in Rhododendron dauricum–Larix gmelinii forest. There was a significant positive correlation between the time and temperature caused by the smoldering. The monitoring model of the sub-surface fires based on the surface temperature and moisture content had a good fitting effect (p < 0.01). The occurrence probability prediction model of the sub-surface fires’ conversion to surface fires, based on a logistic regression model, had high prediction accuracy (AUC = 0.987). The lower the moisture content of the humus, the closer the smoldering came to the surface and the higher the probability of conversion. This research could contribute to the study of the mechanism of sub-surface fires’ conversion into surface fires.

Boosting Methane Combustion over Pd/Y2O3-ZrO2 Catalyst by Inert Silicate Patches Tuning Both Palladium Chemistry and Support Hydrophobicity.

Supported palladium (Pd) catalysts are widely utilized to reduce the emission of exhaust CH4 from lean-burn engines by catalytic combustion. A large amount of water vapor in the exhaust makes hydroxyls accumulate on the catalyst surface at temperatures below 450 °C, leading to severe catalyst deactivation. Tuning palladium chemistry and inhibiting water adsorption are critical to developing active catalysts. Modifying the support surface with inert silicates would both change the palladium-support interaction and decrease water adsorption sites. This study reports an improved Pd/Y2O3-ZrO2 catalyst by constructing silicate patches on yttria-stabilized zirconia (Y2O3-ZrO2) support. The silicates hindered electron transfer from Y2O3-ZrO2 oxygen vacancies to palladium, which optimized palladium chemistry, especially the reducibility of active PdO species, and thereby boosted CH4 conversion under dry conditions. The temperature of 90% methane conversion (T90) over the catalyst decreased from 386 to 309 °C. Moreover, the inert silicates decreased surface oxygen vacancies of Y2O3-ZrO2 to improve support hydrophobicity, thereby inhibiting hydroxyl accumulation. The poisoning effect of water on the active sites located on the palladium-silicate interface was alleviated. When reaction gases contained 10 vol % water, the silicate-modified catalyst still showed higher activity with T90 of 404 °C, which is lower than T90 of 452 °C for unmodified catalyst. This work represents a step forward in preparing high-performance palladium catalysts for low-temperature wet methane combustion.

Visualization and simulation study of ammonia blending with hydrogen as combustion application in lean-burn condition

Ammonia (NH3), as one of the two zero-carbon fuels, has attracted lots of attention. However, its poor properties, including slow laminar burning velocity (LBV), high ignition energy, and low flammability, make it unfavorable for use in engines. On the other hand, hydrogen (H2), another zero-carbon fuel, has a much higher LBV and flammability. Adding a certain amount of hydrogen to ammonia mixture has the potential to improve the combustion process and extend the lean-burn limit of ammonia. This paper investigates the combustion and emission improvements of ammonia blended with a small amount of hydrogen under lean-burn conditions, both experimentally and numerically. A new NH3/H2 chemical reaction mechanism was developed to accurately predict ignition delay time (IDT), LBV and NO generation under a wide range of initial conditions. The flame propagation schlieren and NO chemiluminescence measurements with a homogenous NH3/H2 mixture ignited by a spark plug in constant volume combustion chamber (CVCC) were conducted. The 3D numerical simulations in CVCC, coupled with the new mechanism, were validated with the experimental results. The hydrogen energy fraction up to 30 % (X30) and ER down to 0.4 (ER0.4) were studied in experiments and simulations. The results showed that, in comparison to pure ammonia (X0) at ER1.0, lean-burn conditions can be extended to ER0.6 and ER0.4 for X10 and X30, respectively, while still achieving a shorter combustion duration. NO is initially increased and then decreased with decreasing ER, regardless of hydrogen addition. Comparatively, X30ER0.4 can achieve relatively low NOx emissions, and maintaining an equivalent combustion rate with a low combustion temperature.