Benzene addition to a fuel-stoichiometric methane/O2/N2 flat flame and to n-heptane/air mixtures under rapid compression machine
Authors: A. El Bakali, M. Ribaucour, A. Saylam, G. Vanhove, E. Therssen, and J.-F. Pauwels
Document type: Published journal article
Journal: Fuel
Publication details: Volume 85, Issues 7–8, pages 881–895, May 2006
Access and rights note: This page provides bibliographic information and an independently written technical summary. No Elsevier Version of Record or other full-text copy is hosted on this website.
Independent technical summary
The study combines complementary experiments and detailed chemical- kinetic modelling to examine the influence of benzene on hydrocarbon oxidation in two distinct regimes.
High-temperature chemistry was investigated in a low-pressure, fuel-stoichiometric methane/O2/N2 flat flame with added benzene. Low- and intermediate-temperature behaviour was investigated for n-heptane/air mixtures containing benzene in a rapid compression machine.
The experimental observations include flame-species profiles, oxidation products, cool-flame behaviour and autoignition-delay information. A detailed mechanism integrating natural-gas, n-heptane and benzene chemistry was evaluated against these data.
The reported comparisons show generally good agreement between the mechanism and the measured behaviour. Reaction-path and sensitivity analyses indicate that, under the investigated low-temperature conditions, benzene acts predominantly as a diluent rather than as a strong chemical inhibitor of n-heptane oxidation.
Technical contribution
The work links aromatic chemistry to both flame oxidation and compression-driven autoignition. It demonstrates the value of evaluating a kinetic mechanism across contrasting experimental systems rather than relying on a single reactor or temperature regime.
It also distinguishes a physical dilution effect from a direct kinetic inhibition effect in the analysed rapid-compression cases, an important distinction when interpreting aromatic additions in multicomponent fuel mixtures.
Scope and application boundary
The conclusions are specific to the investigated mixtures, temperatures, pressures, equivalence ratios, dilution levels and experimental configurations. Benzene should not be assumed to behave only as a diluent under all combustion conditions.
Application of the mechanism or conclusions to engines, turbines, alternative aromatic compounds, modern surrogate fuels or pollutant prediction requires validation against the intended operating domain and target observables.
Model performance should be evaluated separately for ignition delay, cool-flame behaviour, major products, aromatic intermediates and soot precursors, because agreement for one observable does not guarantee equal accuracy for the others.
Publisher access
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Citation
El Bakali, A., Ribaucour, M., Saylam, A., Vanhove, G., Therssen, E., & Pauwels, J.-F. (2006). Benzene addition to a fuel-stoichiometric methane/O2/N2 flat flame and to n-heptane/air mixtures under rapid compression machine. Fuel, 85(7–8), 881–895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2005.10.009