A computational study of the effects of multiphase dynamics in catalytic upgrading of biomass pyrolysis vapor

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145281/1/aic16184.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145281/2/aic16184_am.pd

Influence of fuel properties on fundamental spray characteristics and soot emissions using different tailor-made fuels from biomass

This work evaluates the potential of some new biomass-derived fuels as candidates for compression ignition operation. Thus, fundamental spray characteristics related to fuel vaporization and fuel/air mixing process for 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran, Di-n-butyl ether and 1-octanol has been studied and compared with conventional EN590 Diesel fuel. For this purpose, OH⁄ chemiluminescence and shadowgraphy measurements in a high pressure chamber as well as 1D simulations with a spray model have been carried out at different operating conditions representative of the NEDC driving cycle. Finally, measured soot emissions in the single-cylinder engine were presented and discussed. Results from the high pressure chamber presented very good agreement in terms of liquid length and vapor penetration with simulation results. Thus, some analytical expressions related to macroscopic spray characteristics have been proposed and validated experimentally for all four fuels. Finally, the single-cylinder engine results confirmed the relevant role of soot formation on final emissions for 1-octanol and 2-MTHF. In addition, DNBE showed greater soot oxidation potential than diesel and other TMFB candidates.This work was performed as part of the Cluster of Excellence "Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass", which is funded by the Excellence Initiative by the German federal and state governments. Simulation works have been partially funded by Spanish government under the grant "Jose Castillejo" (CAS12/000097).García Martínez, A.; Monsalve Serrano, J.; Heuser, B.; Jakob, M.; Kremer, F.; Pischinger, S. (2016). Influence of fuel properties on fundamental spray characteristics and soot emissions using different tailor-made fuels from biomass. Energy Conversion and Management. 108:243-254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2015.11.010S24325410

Asymptotology of Chemical Reaction Networks

The concept of the limiting step is extended to the asymptotology of multiscale reaction networks. Complete theory for linear networks with well separated reaction rate constants is developed. We present algorithms for explicit approximations of eigenvalues and eigenvectors of kinetic matrix. Accuracy of estimates is proven. Performance of the algorithms is demonstrated on simple examples. Application of algorithms to nonlinear systems is discussed.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, 84 refs, Corrected Journal Versio

An experimental and kinetic modelling study of the oxidation of the four isomers of butanol

Butanol, an alcohol which can be produced from biomass sources, has received recent interest as an alternative to gasoline for use in spark ignition engines and as a possible blending compound with fossil diesel or biodiesel. Therefore, the autoignition of the four isomers of butanol (1-butanol, 2-butanol, iso-butanol, and tert-butanol) has been experimentally studied at high temperatures in a shock tube and a kinetic mechanism for description of their high-temperature oxidation has been developed. Ignition delay times for butanol/oxygen/argon mixtures have been measured behind reflected shock waves at temperatures and pressures ranging from approximately 1200 to 1800 K and 1 to 4 bar. Electronically excited OH emission and pressure measurements were used to determine ignition delay times. A detailed kinetic mechanism has been developed to describe the oxidation of the butanol isomers and validated by comparison to the shock tube measurements. Reaction flux and sensitivity analysis indicate that the consumption of 1 butanol and iso-butanol, the most reactive isomers, takes place primarily by H-atom abstraction resulting in the formation of radicals, the decomposition of which yields highly reactive branching agents, H-atoms and OH radicals. Conversely, the consumption of tert butanol and 2-butanol, the least reactive isomers, takes place primarily via dehydration, resulting in the formation of alkenes, which lead to resonance stabilized radicals with very low reactivity. To our knowledge, the ignition delay measurements and oxidation mechanism presented here for 2-butanol, iso-butanol, and tert butanol are the first of their kind.

Chemical mechanism for high temperature combustion of engine relevant fuels with emphasis on soot precursors

This article presents a chemical mechanism for the high temperature combustion of a wide range of hydrocarbon fuels ranging from methane to iso-octane. The emphasis is placed on developing an accurate model for the formation of soot precursors for realistic fuel surrogates for premixed and diffusion flames. Species like acetylene (C_2H_2), propyne (C_3H_4), propene (C_3H_6), and butadiene (C_4H_6) play a major role in the formation of soot as their decomposition leads to the production of radicals involved in the formation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and the further growth of soot particles. A chemical kinetic mechanism is developed to represent the combustion of these molecules and is validated against a series of experimental data sets including laminar burning velocities and ignition delay times. To correctly predict the formation of soot precursors from the combustion of engine relevant fuels, additional species should be considered. One normal alkane (n-heptane), one ramified alkane (iso-octane), and two aromatics (benzene and toluene) were chosen as chemical species representative of the components typically found in these fuels. A sub-mechanism for the combustion of these four species has been added, and the full mechanism has been further validated. Finally, the mechanism is supplemented with a sub-mechanism for the formation of larger PAH molecules up to cyclo[cd]pyrene. Laminar premixed and counterflow diffusion flames are simulated to assess the ability of the mechanism to predict the formation of soot precursors in flames. The final mechanism contains 149 species and 1651 reactions (forward and backward reactions counted separately). The mechanism is available with thermodynamic and transport properties as supplemental material