The influence of alcohols on the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels in diffusion flames

✍ Scribed by A. Hamins; K. Seshadri

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1986
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 609 KB
• Volume: 64
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0010-2180
• DOI: 10.1016/0010-2180(86)90097-0

✦ Synopsis

A theoretical and experimental investigation of the influence of alcohols on the critical conditions of extinction of diffusion flames burning hydrocarbon fuels is outlined here. Experiments were performed on diffusion flames stabilized between the vaporizing surface of a liquid fuel and an oxidizing gas mixture. Liquid fuels tested were heptane, toluene, methanol, ethanol, and butanol, and a number of homogeneous solutions of these fuels in different proportions. Experimental results were interpreted by use of an asymptotic theory in the limit for a large value for the activation energy characterizing the gas-phase chemical reaction between each component of the fuel in the fuel solution and the oxidizer when compared with the thermal energy in the flame. The theory was used to compare the relative reactivities of pure fuels and fuel mixtures. The influence of alcohols (methanol, ethanol, and butanol) on the reactivities of hydrocarbon fuel solutions was evaluated by this method. Results show that methanol is more reactive than ethanol or butanol. Results on pure fuels show that toluene is less reactive than heptane, ethanol, butanol, and methanol. It was observed that the reactivity of a fuel solution containing heptane and toluene increased with increasing proportion of methanol.