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Shock tube study of the fuel structure effects on the chemical kinetic mechanisms responsible for soot formation

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6309113

Soot formation in toluene-, benzene-, and acetylene-oxygen-argon mixtures was investigated to study soot formation in a combustion environment. High concentrations of oxygen completely suppress soot formation. The addition of oxygen at relatively low concentrations uniformly suppresses soot formation at high pressures, while at relatively lower pressures it suppresses soot formation at higher temperatures while promoting soot production at lower temperatures. The observed behavior indicates that oxidation reactions compete with ring fragmentation. The main conclusion to be drawn from the results is that the soot formation mechanism is probably the same for the pyrolysis and oxidation of hydrocarbons. That is, the addition of oxygen does not alter the soot route but rather promotes or inhibits this route by means of competitive reactions. An approach to empirical modeling of soot formation during pyrolysis of aromatic hydrocarbons is also presented.

Research Organization:
Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge (USA)
OSTI ID:
6309113
Report Number(s):
N-84-21677; NASA-CR-174661
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English