• Energy Research

To address current challenges related to climate change, novel concepts, such as engine-based polygeneration under fuel-rich conditions, have recently been developed. In this context, understanding and validation of the associated chemical kinetics are a key factor for prediction and optimizations. In this work, the combined effect of ozone and DME as additives on the partial oxidation of natural gas mixtures is investigated in a plug-flow reactor at a pressure of 4 bar and at temperatures ranging from 373 to 973 K. Double-imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence (i2PEPICO) spectroscopy measurements are presented to study the conversion of the reactants and the formation of main products, and to identify important intermediates responsible for the low temperature chemistry phenomena and ignition characteristics of the natural gas/dimethyl ether/ozone mixture. Among the activation effect of ozone, the temperature-variant ozone dissociation at elevated pressures up to 20 bar is studied for the first time, revealing the start of ozone decomposition at 423 K in the investigated pressure range. In addition, the ozone decomposition is shown to be slightly pressure-dependent in the pressure range between 1 and 20 bar with lower ozone conversions at higher pressures. The experimental results are compared with model predictions using literature reaction mechanisms for validation and further analysis. The ozone decomposition initiates fuel conversion and the formation of oxygenates and hydroperoxides at very low temperatures, i.e., 423 K, resulting in an overall three-stage oxidation process at ∼450 K (1. stage), ∼550 K (2. stage), and ∼750 K (3. stage). Also, the overall fuel conversion is enhanced in the intermediate temperature range (between 550 K and 750 K) by up to 40%-points. The hydroperoxides, among other species, are clearly identified by mass-selected threshold photoelectron spectra from the literature. Excellent agreement between experiments and simulations is found, while deviations are observed for some oxygenates at very low temperatures showing the need for further model improvements.

AbstractThe formation of typical low‐temperature oxidation products is observed in laminar premixed low‐pressure flames investigated by photoionization molecular‐beam mass spectrometry at the Swiss Light Source. The C1–C4 alkyl hydroperoxides can be identified in n‐butane‐ and 2‐butene‐doped hydrogen flames by their photoionization efficiency spectra at m/z 48, 62, 76, and 90. C1–C3 alkyl hydroperoxides are also observed in a propane‐doped hydrogen flame and in a neat propane flame. In addition, threshold photoelectron spectra reveal the presence of the alkyl hydroperoxides. In the 2‐butene/H2 flame, the photoionization spectrum at m/z 88 also enables the identification of butenyl hydroperoxides by comparison with calculated ionization energies of the alkenyl hydroperoxides and a literature spectrum. The low‐temperature species are formed close to the burner surface with maximum mole fractions at 0.25–0.75 mm above the burner. At 0.5 mm, even the methylperoxy radical (CH3OO) is measured for the first time in a laminar premixed flame. The rate of production analyses show that consumption of the hydroperoxyalkyl radicals results in the formation of cyclic ethers. In the n‐butane/H2 flame, ethylene oxide, oxetane, and methyloxirane are identified. Besides expected small oxygenated species, for example, formaldehyde or acetaldehyde, the larger C4 oxygenates butanone (C2H5COCH3) and 2,3‐butanedione (C4H6O2) are formed in the two C4 hydrocarbon‐doped hydrogen flames. Quantification of alkyl hydroperoxides with estimated photoionization cross sections based on the corresponding alcohols, which have similar photoelectron structures to the alkyl hydroperoxides, shows that mole fractions are on the order of 10−5–10−6 in the n‐butane/H2 flame. Measurements are corroborated by simulations, which also predict the presence of some peroxides in detectable concentrations, that is, mole fractions larger than 10−7, under the investigated conditions. The observation of peroxide species and cyclic ethers in the investigated laminar premixed flames give new insights into the contribution of low‐temperature combustion chemistry in a flame.

Abstract The potential of dimethyl ether (DME) and dimethoxymethane (DMM), representatives of the attractive oxymethylene ether (OME) alternative fuel family, are explored here as reactivity enhancers for methane-fueled polygeneration processes. Typically, such processes that can flexibly generate power, heat, or chemicals, operate under fuel-rich conditions in gas turbines or internal combustion engines. To provide a consistent basis for the underlying reaction mechanisms, it is recognized that speciation data for the DME/CH4 fuel combination are available for such conditions while such information for the DMM/CH4 system is largely lacking. In addition, it should be noted that a detailed speciation study in flames, i.e., combustion systems involving chemistry and transport processes over a large temperature range, is still missing in spite of the potential of such systems to provide extended species information. In a systematic approach using speciation with electron ionization molecular-beam mass spectrometry (EI-MBMS), we thus report, as a first step, investigation of six fuel-rich premixed flames of DME and DMM and their blends with methane with special attention on interesting chemicals. Secondly, a comprehensive but compact DME/DMM/CH4 model (PolyMech2.1) is developed based on these data. This model is then examined against available experimental data under conditions from various facilities, focusing preferentially on elevated pressure and fuel-rich conditions. Comparison with existing literature models is also included in this evaluation. Thirdly, an analysis is given on this basis, via the extensively tested PolyMech2.1 model, for assumed polygeneration conditions in a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine environment. The main interest of this model-assisted exploration is to evaluate whether addition of DME or DMM in a polygeneration process can lead to potentially useful conditions for the production of syngas or other chemicals, along with work and heat. The flame results show that high syngas yields, i.e., up to ∼78% for CO and ∼35% for H2, can be obtained in their burnt gases. From the large number of intermediates detected, predominantly acetylene, ethylene, ethane, and formaldehyde show yields of 2.1−4.4% (C2 hydrocarbons) and 3.4−8.7% (CH2O), respectively. Also, methanol and methyl formate show comparably high yields of up to 0.6−6.7% in the flames with DMM, which is 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than in those with DME as the additive. In the modeling-assisted exploration of the engine process, the PolyMech2.1 model is seen to perform at significantly reduced computational costs compared to a recently validated model without sacrificing the prediction performance. Promising conditions for the assumed polygeneration process using fuel combinations in the DME/DMM/CH4 system are identified with attractive syngas yields of up to 77% together with work and heat output at exergetic efficiencies of up to 89% with DME.

Abstract Two laminar, premixed, fuel-rich flames fueled by anisole-oxygen-argon mixtures with the same cold gas velocity and pressure were investigated by molecular-beam mass spectrometry at two synchrotron sources where tunable vacuum-ultraviolet radiation enables isomer-resolved photoionization. Decomposition of the very weak O–CH3 bond in anisole (C6H5OCH3) by unimolecular decomposition yields the resonantly-stabilized phenoxy radical (C6H5O). This key intermediate species opens reaction routes to five-membered ring species, such as cyclopentadiene (C5H6) and cyclopentadienyl radicals (C5H5). Anisole is often discussed as model compound for lignin to study the phenolic-carbon structure in this natural polymer. Measured temperature profiles and mole fractions of many combustion intermediates give detailed information on the flame structure. A very comprehensive reaction mechanism from the literature which includes a sub-scheme for anisole combustion is used for species modeling. Species with the highest measured mole fractions (on the order of 10−3–10−2) are CH3, CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, CH2O, C5H5 (cyclopentadienyl radical), C5H6 (cyclopentadiene), C6H6 (benzene), C6H5OH (phenol), and C6H5CHO (benzaldehyde). Some are formed in the first destruction steps of anisole, e.g., phenol and benzaldehyde, and their formation will be discussed and with regard to the modeling results. There are three major routes for the fuel destruction: (1) formation of benzaldehyde (C6H5CHO), (2) formation of phenol (C6H5OH), and (3) unimolecular decomposition of anisole to phenoxy (C6H5O) and CH3 radicals. In the experiment, the phenoxy radical could be measured directly. The phenoxy radical decomposes via a bicyclic structure into the soot precursor C5H5 and CO. Formation of larger oxygenated species was observed in both flames. One of them is guaiacol (2-methoxyphenol), which decomposes into fulvenone. The presented speciation data, which contain more than 60 species mole fraction profiles of each flame, give insights into the combustion kinetics of anisole.