Mise en évidence et caractérisation des espèces chimiques à l'origine de la nucléation des particules de suie dans les flammes

The formation of soot particles in combustion is a major research issue due to their negative impact on our health and our environment. The link between the inhalation of these particles and certain pathologies affecting mainly the respiratory tract is indeed well established and it is also proven that these particles have an impact on climate change. For these reasons, their emission rate from devices involving combustion processes (aircraft engines, thermal or hybrid engines of land or sea vehicles, wood boilers...) is increasingly regulated. However, the state of the art concerning the formation mechanisms of soot particles reveals many deficiencies, notably regarding the nature of the chemical species and reaction pathways involved. The nucleation step, which is the crucial step of these mechanisms since it corresponds to the transformation of gaseous precursors into soot particles, raises many questions and interrogations. Currently, several hypotheses are considered in the literature involving in particular the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and potentially that of intermediate species (PAH dimers, resonantly stabilized radicals of PAHs) between PAHs and soot particles. However, there is very little direct experimental evidence in the literature on the formation of these compounds in flames.The work carried out in this thesis focused on the characterization of the key species involved in the soot nucleation process in a methane diffusion flame. In that context, we have implemented a set of in situ and ex situ experimental methodologies (ToF-SIMS, Raman, LII, LIF and EPR) which have allowed us to obtain a large panel of experimental data able to provide relevant and innovative information on the main molecular species and reaction pathways involved in the nucleation process. The coupling of these different methods and the analysis of the obtained data, in particular by means of multivariate data analysis, reveals important correlations between the nucleation process and the successive formation of different species (PAHs, resonance stabilized radical of PAHs, incipient soot particles, mature particles). This work brings crucial information on the size, mass, structure and nature of the species involved and their evolution in the nucleation process, which will allow the development of kinetic models and significantly improve our knowledge of this complex physicochemical process.La formation des particules de suie dans les processus de combustion est une problématique de recherche majeure du fait de l'impact négatif de ces composés sur notre santé et notre environnement. Le lien entre l'ingestion de ces particules et certaines pathologies touchant principalement les voies respiratoires est en effet bien établi et il est également avéré que ces particules ont un impact sur le changement climatique. C'est pourquoi leur taux d'émission au sortir de dispositifs mettant en jeu des processus de combustion (réacteurs d'avions, moteurs thermiques ou hybrides des véhicules terrestres ou maritimes, chaudières à bois…) est de plus en plus règlementé. Or, l'état de l'art concernant ces mécanismes chimiques fait apparaître de nombreuses carences notamment dans la nature des espèces chimiques impliqués et des voies réactionnels mises en jeu. Plus particulièrement, l'étape de nucléation, qui est l'étape cruciale de ces mécanismes puisqu'elle correspond à la transformation des précurseurs gazeux en particules de suie, soulèvent de nombreuses questions et interrogations. Actuellement, plusieurs hypothèses sont envisagées dans la littérature mettant notamment en jeu la formation d'hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques (HAPs) et potentiellement celle d'espèces intermédiaires (dimères de HAPs, HAPs radicalaires stabilisés par résonance) entre les HAPs et les particules. Cependant, il n'existe que très peu de mesures directes ou de preuves expérimentales de la formation de ces composés dans les flammes.Le travail de cette thèse a porté sur la mise en évidence et la caractérisation des espèces clefs impliquées dans le processus de nucléation des particules de suie dans une flamme de diffusion de méthane. Dans le cadre cette étude, nous avons mis en œuvre un ensemble de dispositifs expérimentaux in situ et ex situ (ToF-SIMS, Raman, LII, LIF et RPE) qui ont permis l'obtention d'un large panel de données expérimentales à même d'apporter des informations pertinentes et novatrices sur les principales espèces moléculaires et voies réactionnelles impliquées dans le processus de nucléation. Le couplage de ces différentes méthodes et l'analyse des données obtenues, notamment au moyen de la méthode PCA, fait apparaître un séquençage du processus de nucléation corrélé à la formation successive de différentes espèces (HAPs, HAPs radicalaires stabilisés par résonance, particules de suie naissantes, particules matures). Ce travail apporte des informations cruciales sur la taille, la masse, la structure et la nature des espèces impliquées et leur évolution dans le processus dans le processus de nucléation, de nature à permettre le développement de modèles cinétiques et améliorer sensiblement nos connaissances de ce processus physicochimique complexe

Identification and characterization of the chemical species at the origin of the nucleation of soot particles in flames

La formation des particules de suie dans les processus de combustion est une problématique de recherche majeure du fait de l'impact négatif de ces composés sur notre santé et notre environnement. Le lien entre l'ingestion de ces particules et certaines pathologies touchant principalement les voies respiratoires est en effet bien établi et il est également avéré que ces particules ont un impact sur le changement climatique. C'est pourquoi leur taux d'émission au sortir de dispositifs mettant en jeu des processus de combustion (réacteurs d'avions, moteurs thermiques ou hybrides des véhicules terrestres ou maritimes, chaudières à bois…) est de plus en plus règlementé. Or, l'état de l'art concernant ces mécanismes chimiques fait apparaître de nombreuses carences notamment dans la nature des espèces chimiques impliqués et des voies réactionnels mises en jeu. Plus particulièrement, l'étape de nucléation, qui est l'étape cruciale de ces mécanismes puisqu'elle correspond à la transformation des précurseurs gazeux en particules de suie, soulèvent de nombreuses questions et interrogations. Actuellement, plusieurs hypothèses sont envisagées dans la littérature mettant notamment en jeu la formation d'hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques (HAPs) et potentiellement celle d'espèces intermédiaires (dimères de HAPs, HAPs radicalaires stabilisés par résonance) entre les HAPs et les particules. Cependant, il n'existe que très peu de mesures directes ou de preuves expérimentales de la formation de ces composés dans les flammes.Le travail de cette thèse a porté sur la mise en évidence et la caractérisation des espèces clefs impliquées dans le processus de nucléation des particules de suie dans une flamme de diffusion de méthane. Dans le cadre cette étude, nous avons mis en œuvre un ensemble de dispositifs expérimentaux in situ et ex situ (ToF-SIMS, Raman, LII, LIF et RPE) qui ont permis l'obtention d'un large panel de données expérimentales à même d'apporter des informations pertinentes et novatrices sur les principales espèces moléculaires et voies réactionnelles impliquées dans le processus de nucléation. Le couplage de ces différentes méthodes et l'analyse des données obtenues, notamment au moyen de la méthode PCA, fait apparaître un séquençage du processus de nucléation corrélé à la formation successive de différentes espèces (HAPs, HAPs radicalaires stabilisés par résonance, particules de suie naissantes, particules matures). Ce travail apporte des informations cruciales sur la taille, la masse, la structure et la nature des espèces impliquées et leur évolution dans le processus dans le processus de nucléation, de nature à permettre le développement de modèles cinétiques et améliorer sensiblement nos connaissances de ce processus physicochimique complexe.The formation of soot particles in combustion is a major research issue due to their negative impact on our health and our environment. The link between the inhalation of these particles and certain pathologies affecting mainly the respiratory tract is indeed well established and it is also proven that these particles have an impact on climate change. For these reasons, their emission rate from devices involving combustion processes (aircraft engines, thermal or hybrid engines of land or sea vehicles, wood boilers...) is increasingly regulated. However, the state of the art concerning the formation mechanisms of soot particles reveals many deficiencies, notably regarding the nature of the chemical species and reaction pathways involved. The nucleation step, which is the crucial step of these mechanisms since it corresponds to the transformation of gaseous precursors into soot particles, raises many questions and interrogations. Currently, several hypotheses are considered in the literature involving in particular the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and potentially that of intermediate species (PAH dimers, resonantly stabilized radicals of PAHs) between PAHs and soot particles. However, there is very little direct experimental evidence in the literature on the formation of these compounds in flames.The work carried out in this thesis focused on the characterization of the key species involved in the soot nucleation process in a methane diffusion flame. In that context, we have implemented a set of in situ and ex situ experimental methodologies (ToF-SIMS, Raman, LII, LIF and EPR) which have allowed us to obtain a large panel of experimental data able to provide relevant and innovative information on the main molecular species and reaction pathways involved in the nucleation process. The coupling of these different methods and the analysis of the obtained data, in particular by means of multivariate data analysis, reveals important correlations between the nucleation process and the successive formation of different species (PAHs, resonance stabilized radical of PAHs, incipient soot particles, mature particles). This work brings crucial information on the size, mass, structure and nature of the species involved and their evolution in the nucleation process, which will allow the development of kinetic models and significantly improve our knowledge of this complex physicochemical process

Investigation of resonance-stabilized radicals associated with soot particle inception using advanced electron paramagnetic resonance techniques

Abstract In order to tackle the climate emergency, it is imperative to advance cleaner technologies to reduce pollutant emission as soot particles. However, there is still a lack of complete understanding of the mechanisms responsible for their formation. In this work, we performed an investigation devoted to the study of persistent radicals potentially involved in the formation of soot particles, by continuous wave and pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance. This work provides experimental evidence of the presence in nascent soot of highly branched, resonance-stabilized aromatic radicals bearing aliphatic groups, linked together by short carbon chains, and reinforced by non-covalent π-π interactions. These radicals appear to be highly specific of nascent soot and quickly disappear with the increasing soot maturity. Their presence in nascent soot could represent an underestimated health risk factor in addition to the already well documented effect of the high specific surface and the presence of harmful adsorbates

Experimental characterization of the chemical composition and structure of molecular soot precursors and soot particles in a laminar diffusion flame by coupling ToF-SIMS and Raman spectroscopy

International audienceThe transformation process in sooting flames leading to the formation of nanoparticles in the condensed phase from molecular precursors in the gas phase (soot nucleation) is not yet fully understood [1]. Information on the physical chemical properties of the nascent particles is difficult to accessexperimentally but also essential for the validation of the hypotheses on soot nucleation currently being examined by the scientific community. In this work, we characterize the molecular precursors and the soot particles formed in a laminar diffusion methane flame by combining several in situ and ex situ diagnostics (fluorescence, incandescence, secondary ion mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy) with the goal of inferring the chemical composition and the structure of the nascent particles. The presented work highlights that several of the investigated physical chemical properties suddenly change within a narrow flame region that acquires the character of a discontinuity point correlated to the soot nucleation process. Notably, the obtained data shows evidences of the transition from flat to curved molecular structures, and the progressive apparition of finite size, sandwiched graphene like layers. Furthermore, the fraction of atomic hydrogen features a local maximum immediately upstream the detection of nascent soot particles consistent with the increasing in flame rate of C-C covalent bonds formation postulated by the major hypotheses explaining the nucleation of soot particles.References[1] J.W. Martin, M. Salamanca, M. Kraft, Soot inception: Carbonaceous nanoparticle formation in flames, Progress in Energy and Combustion Science. 88 (2022) 100956.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecs.2021.100956

Coupling of ToF-SIMS and AFM for the identification of the chemical species involved in the nucleation process of soot particles in flame combustion

International audienceSoot formation in combustion is a major research problem because of the negative impact of the carbonaceous particles in the exhausts on human health and the environment. However, state of the art knowledge on the chemical species and reaction pathways leading to the formation of soot particles is not yet complete. In particular, many questions are still open on the transformation of gaseous molecular precursors into condensed phase soot particles (soot nucleation). One of the hypotheses proposed in the literature, the nucleation driven by the dimerization of small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), has been recently used in models to successfully reproduce the soot volume fraction profiles measured in laboratory flames. However, experimental evidences on the existence of dimers in the flame environment are still lacking. In this work, Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and high-resolution Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) are coupled with the aim of characterizing the chemistry of the building blocks involved in the formation of nascent soot particles

Phytochemical composition, biological activities and antioxidant potential of pomegranate fruit, juice and molasses: A review

International audiencePomegranate fruit and its derived products (seeds, juice and mollassess) have been traditionally used in the prevention and treatment of chronic conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's and arthritis. It has also been widely used in folk medicine as a remedy for conditions of the digestive tract, including parasitic worm infections, ulcers, diarrhea and aphthae. The pomegranate health benefits have been attributed to its bioactive compounds such as phenolic acids, flavonoids and tannins. These bioactive compounds were shown to have antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities as well as anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, anti-microbial, anti-diarrheal and neuro-protective properties. These pomegranate products are nowadays considered superfood and commonly used in many recipes in international cuisines. They are highly nutritious products rich in secondary metabolites with potent biological activities, which makes their study of great interest to researchers. The current review aimed to provide an up-to-date summary of findings of studies done to investigate the phytochemical composition biological activities, particularly antioxidant property of pomegranate and its products most importantly pomegranate molasses. In conclusion, this review shed the light on the rich phytochemical composition and many potent biological activities especially the antioxidant potential of pomegranate and its products