Experimental and Modeling Study of Premixed Laminar Flames of Ethanol and Methane

To better understand the chemistry of the combustion
of ethanol, the structure of five low pressure laminar premixed flames
has been investigated: a pure methane flame (φ = 1), three pure
ethanol flames (φ = 0.7, 1.0, and 1.3), and an ethanol/methane
mixture flame (φ = 1). The flames have been stabilized on a
burner at a pressure of 6.7 kPa using argon as a dilutant, with a
gas velocity at the burner of 64.3 cm/s at 333 K. The results consist
of mole fraction profiles of 20 species measured as a function of
the height above the burner by probe sampling followed by online gas
chromatography analyses. A mechanism for the oxidation of ethanol
was proposed. The reactions of ethanol and acetaldehyde were updated
and include recent theoretical calculations while that of ethenol,
dimethyl ether, acetone, and propanal were added in the mechanism.
This mechanism was also tested against experimental results available
in the literature for laminar burning velocities and laminar premixed
flame where ethenol was detected. The main reaction pathways of consumption
of ethanol are analyzed. The effect of the branching ratios of reaction
C2H5OH + OH → Products + H2O is also discussed.