A Comparative Experimental and Computational Study of Methanol, Ethanol, and n-Butanol Flames

Journal Article · · Combust. Flame

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.combustflame.2010.04.001· OSTI ID:1065135

Veloo, Peter S.; Wang, Y. L.; Egolfopoulos, Fokion N.; Westbrook, Charles K.

Laminar flame speeds and extinction strain rates of premixed methanol, ethanol, and n-butanol flames were determined experimentally in the counterflow configuration at atmospheric pressure and elevated unburned mixture temperatures. Additional measurements were conducted also to determine the laminar flame speeds of their n-alkane/air counterparts, namely methane, ethane, and n-butane in order to compare the effect of alkane and alcohol molecular structures on high-temperature flame kinetics. For both propagation and extinction experiments the flow velocities were determined using the digital particle image velocimetry method. Laminar flame speeds were derived through a non-linear extrapolation approach based on direct numerical simulations of the experiments. Two recently developed detailed kinetics models of n-butanol oxidation were used to simulate the experiments. The experimental results revealed that laminar flame speeds of ethanol/air and n-butanol/air flames are similar to those of their n-alkane/air counterparts, and that methane/air flames have consistently lower laminar flame speeds than methanol/air flames. The laminar flame speeds of methanol/air flames are considerably higher compared to both ethanol/air and n-butanol/air flames under fuel-rich conditions. Numerical simulations of n-butanol/air freely propagating flames, revealed discrepancies between the two kinetic models regarding the consumption pathways of n-butanol and its intermediates.

• Research Organization: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC); Combustion Energy Frontier Research Center (CEFRC)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE SC Office of Basic Energy Sciences (SC-22)
• DOE Contract Number: SC0001198
• OSTI ID: 1065135
• Journal Information: Combust. Flame, Journal Name: Combust. Flame Vol. 157
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
biofuels (including algae and biomass)
hydrogen and fuel cells
combustion
carbon capture