Experimental Study of Tetralin Oxidation and Kinetic Modeling of Its Pyrolysis and Oxidation

Tetralin
is the simplest polycyclic naphtheno-aromatic hydrocarbon
found in liquid fuels (e.g., jet fuels, diesel). It is also produced
by the pyrolysis and oxidation of decalin. To get a better understanding
of tetralin combustion characteristics, new oxidation experiments
were performed in a jet-stirred reactor, and the results are reported
here. For the first time, stable species concentration profiles were
measured at 1 and 10 atm over a range of equivalence ratios (φ
= 0.5–1.5) and temperatures (790–1400 K). The oxidation
of tetralin under these conditions was simulated using a semidetailed
kinetic reaction scheme (∼10 000 reactions and ∼400
species) deriving from a chemical kinetic model proposed earlier for
the oxidation of decalin over a wide range of conditions (jet-stirred
reactor, plug-flow reactor, and shock-tube). The proposed kinetic
model shows reasonable agreement with the present measurements. It
can also be used to represent tetralin pyrolysis based on a variety
of results available in the literature. Sensitivity analyses and reaction
pathway computations were used for rationalizing the results.