On the mechanism of soot particle formation

The results of experiments on the isothermic pyrolysis of acetylene, benzene, and diacetylene in a flow reactor near a low-temperature threshold of soot formation are presented. Diacetylene showed a much higher ability to form soot, coke, and tar than the other hydrocarbons. The threshold temperature of soot formation from diacetylene (800 K) was found to be lower than the threshold temperatures for benzene (1230 K) and acetylene (1200 K) for the same pyrolysis time (0.17 s) and equal hydrocarbon concentrations (on the basis of C atoms). The induction periods of soot formation for acetylene and benzene at 1100–1200 K, which were estimated from experiments, correlated well with literature data extrapolated from the high-temperature region. Invisible soot particles (0.3-0.5 Μm) and particles at different steps of carbonization were found among the products of low-temperature pyrolysis. Experimental data were analyzed and compared within the framework of two soot formation theories presented in the literature (the “acetylene” and “aromatic” theories). The contribution of the process of polyyne polymerization in a gas phase to the formation of a soot aerosol is discussed.     

生物质燃烧碳烟的物化特性及生成机理研究

以棉花秸秆和木屑为研究对象,设定不同的燃烧工况,在管式炉中进行燃烧并采集碳烟物质,采用TEM、EDS、GC-MS等检测方法对生物质燃烧过程中生成碳烟的物化特性进行研究,并根据检测结果对碳烟生成机理进行分析和推测。检测及分析结果表明,碳烟颗粒典型形貌有胶囊状、球状、链状、网状等。燃烧工况影响燃烧过程使碳烟颗粒表现出不同的微观形貌。碳烟生长过程中伴随着颗粒的碰撞和凝并,形成形貌复杂的链状或网状颗粒聚团。生物质燃烧中碳烟主要由纤维素热裂解生成,成分包括糠醛类、酚类、醛类、呋喃、烷烃、烯烃等含碳化合物。推测碳烟生成机理为,在生物质燃烧过程中,纤维素发生化学键的断裂与重排,生成CO、CO₂和残炭分子碎片等,而残余碳基再通过重整、脱水、碳化、断键等反应生成各种醛类、酮类等产物,醛类、酮类化合物之间通过缩聚、环化反应生成苯环结构,再进一步转化为苯酚、甲苯等化合物。     

Coupling RSM with soot model for the study of soot formation in a momentum-dominated strained jet flames

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - This paper presents a comparison between the numerically determined soot volume fraction (SVF) in a momentum-dominated turbulent diffusion strained jet...     

Kinetics of soot formation in tetrachloromethane pyrolysis

Kinetics of soot formation is studied in tetrachloromethane pyrolysis behind shock waves. The time dependences of macrokinetic characteristics of soot particle growth (the induction period, the soot yield, and the apparent rate constant of soot particle growth) are determined. Based on the experimental data, the quantitative model of soot formation is developed for tetrachloromethane pyrolysis behind shock waves. Special attention is paid to the thermal effects in CC1⁴ pyrolysis.     

The influence of gravity levels on soot formation for the combustion of ethylene-air mixture

The reduced mechanism coupled with 2D flame code using CHEMKIN II to investigate the effect of gravity on flame structure and soot formation in diffusion flames. The results show that the gravity has a rather significant effect on flame structure and soot formation. The visible flame height and peak soot volume fraction in general increases with the gravity from 1g decreased to 0g. The peak flame temperature decreases with decreasing gravity level. Comparing the calculated results from 1g to 0g, the flame shape becomes wider, the high temperature zone becomes shorter, the mixture velocity has a sharp decrease, the soot volume fraction has a sharp increase and CO and unprovided species distribution becomes wider along radial direction. At normal and half gravity, the flame is buoyancy controlled and the axial velocity is largely independent of the coflow air velocity. At microgravity (0g), the flame is momentum controlled.     

Investigation of the mechanism of formation of chlorine atoms in chlorine-hydrogen plasmas

To explain the trend of an experimental dependence for concentration of chlorine atoms in a discharge, the principal processes of the formation and decay in the plasma of a chlorine mixture with hydrogen were considered. The rate coefficients and rates of processes involving electrons were calculated by mathematical modeling in order to reveal the contribution of each process to the observed concentration of chlorine atoms. The greatest contribution is made by direct electron-impact dissociation. The experimental concentration of chlorine atoms at a high percentage of hydrogen is explained by an increase in electron concentration and, hence, in the rate of the direct dissociation process. It is suggested that chain reactions can make a substantial contribution to the formation of atoms at low hydrogen concentrations.     

xK/MgAlO型催化剂催化碳烟燃烧的机理研究

通过等体积浸渍法制备了不同K掺杂量的镁铝水滑石复合氧化物(xK/MgAlO),利用X射线衍射光谱及暂态响应、扫描电子显微镜、傅里叶变换红外光谱、X射线光电子能谱及程序升温等技术比较了焙烧和未焙烧的MgAlO形貌结构和晶型的异同,在含硫气氛中研究了K对镁铝水滑石复合氧化物形貌结构和催化碳烟燃烧性能的影响,阐明了反应过程中K掺杂的xK/MgAlO型催化剂降低碳烟起燃温度的关键机制。结果表明,焙烧后的镁铝水滑石3R层状结构消失,出现了尖晶石相,层状结构坍塌变为球形颗粒状;掺杂钾后的催化剂(K/MgAlO)表面活性氧与晶格氧的比例增大,使得氧空位的数量增多,有效提高了催化剂的催化反应活性。在模拟烟气实验中发现掺杂量x=7的(7K/MgAlO)催化剂在含SO_2的混合气中使碳烟的起燃温度降低了127℃,且对NO_x的转化率显著增强。     

Initial stages of soot formation in thermal pyrolysis of acetylene. II. A model for the incipience and growth of soot particles

A model is developed which describes simultaneously occurring processes of the initial hydrocarbon pyrolysis, nucleation, surface growth, and coagulation of soot particles. The model permits one to find the size distribution of the primary soot particles up to size 30–40 nm using a relatively small set of equations. The computed time dependence of soot particle concentration agrees satisfactorily with available experimental data. The existence of two limiting stages of the soot formation is revealed.     

Influence of oxygen on soot formation during acetylene pyrolysis

Kinetic modeling of pyrolysis of acetylene diluted with argon showed a strong influence of small additives of oxygen on the routes of formation of soot nuclei. The influence of oxygen on various channels of formation and consumption of propargyl radicals C₃H₃, which are important precursors of soot formation, as well as the fundamental possibility of controlling the process of soot formation and its properties are considered.     

Development of soot formation sub-model for Scania DC-9 diesel engine in the steady-state condition

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The purpose of the present study is to provide a sub-model for the formation and oxidation of soot based on chemical kinetics for the DC-9 Scania...     

Investigation of the mechanism of beta-amyloid fibril formation by kinetic and thermodynamic analyses

Extracellular beta-amyloid (A beta) deposit is considered as one of the primary factors that induce Alzheimer's disease (AD). The effects of various environmental factors, including temperature, ionic strength, and pH, on A beta (1-40) aggregation mechanisms were investigated in this study by spectrometry, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and hydrophobic fluorescence assay. In the aggregation process, the secondary structure of A beta (1-40) transforms to the beta-sheet conformation, which could be described as a two-state model. As the temperature and ionic strength increase, the conformation of A beta converts to the beta-sheet structure with an increased rate. Results of circular dichroism monitoring demonstrate that the rate constant of nucleation is smaller than that of elongation, and the nucleation is the rate-determining step during the overall A beta aggregation. The beta-sheet structure was stabilized by hydrophobic forces, as revealed by the ITC measurements. The different structural aggregates and forming pathways could be identified and discriminated at high and low ionic strengths, resulting in distinctive fibril conformations. Furthermore, the thermodynamic analysis shows that hydrophobic interaction is the major driving force in the nucleation step. Our study provides an insight into the discriminative mechanisms of beta-amyloid aggregation via kinetics and thermodynamics, especially the first reported thermodynamics information obtained by ITC.     

On the simple Michaelis-Menten mechanism for chemical reactions

Several mathematical properties associated with the simple Michaelis-Menten mechanism for enzymatic reactions are proven. In particular it is shown that the usual interpretation of the slope of the experimental Michaelis-Menten rate law in terms of the reaction constants of the mechanism can be obtained, in the approximation in which the total concentration of the enzyme is small compared with the Michaelis-Menten constant, independently of the ratio between the total initial concentrations of the enzyme and substrate. Furthermore, the ratio of the total concentration of the enzyme to the Michaelis-Menten constant allows for the elimination of a fast variable in a singular perturbation method, yielding the Michaelis-Menten rate law as a first order approximation.     

Investigation of the mechanism of formation of a thiolate-ligated Fe(III)-OOH

Kinetic studies aimed at determining the most probable mechanism for the proton-dependent [Fe(II)(S(Me2)N(4)(tren))](+) (1) promoted reduction of superoxide via a thiolate-ligated hydroperoxo intermediate [Fe(III)(S(Me2)N(4)(tren))(OOH)](+) (2) are described. Rate laws are derived for three proposed mechanisms, and it is shown that they should conceivably be distinguishable by kinetics. For weak proton donors with pK(a(HA)) > pK(a(HO(2))) rates are shown to correlate with proton donor pK(a), and display first-order dependence on iron, and half-order dependence on superoxide and proton donor HA. Proton donors acidic enough to convert O(2)(-) to HO(2) (in tetrahydrofuran, THF), that is, those with pK(a(HA)) < pK(a(HO(2))), are shown to display first-order dependence on both superoxide and iron, and rates which are independent of proton donor concentration. Relative pK(a) values were determined in THF by measuring equilibrium ion pair acidity constants using established methods. Rates of hydroperoxo 2 formation displays no apparent deuterium isotope effect, and bases, such as methoxide, are shown to inhibit the formation of 2. Rate constants for p-substituted phenols are shown to correlate linearly with the Hammett substituent constants σ(-). Activation parameters ((ΔH(++) = 2.8 kcal/mol, ΔS(++) = -31 eu) are shown to be consistent with a low-barrier associative mechanism that does not involve extensive bond cleavage. Together, these data are shown to be most consistent with a mechanism involving the addition of HO(2) to 1 with concomitant oxidation of the metal ion, and reduction of superoxide (an "oxidative addition" of sorts), in the rate-determining step. Activation parameters for MeOH- (ΔH(++) = 13.2 kcal/mol and ΔS(++) = -24.3 eu), and acetic acid- (ΔH(++) = 8.3 kcal/mol and ΔS(++) = -34 eu) promoted release of H(2)O(2) to afford solvent-bound [Fe(III)(S(Me2)N(4)(tren))(OMe)](+) (3) and [Fe(III)(S(Me2)N(4)(tren))(O(H)Me)](+) (4), respectively, are shown to be more consistent with a reaction involving rate-limiting protonation of an Fe(III)-OOH, than with one involving rate-limiting O-O bond cleavage. The observed deuterium isotope effect (k(H)/k(D) = 3.1) is also consistent with this mechanism.     

Gas-phase kinetics and mechanism of the reactions of protonated hydrazine with carbonyl compounds. Gas-phase hydrazone formation: kinetics and mechanism

The gas-phase reactions of protonated hydrazine (hydrazinium) with organic compounds were studied in a selected ion flow tube-chemical ionization mass spectrometer (SIFT-CIMS) at 0.5 Torr pressure and approximately 300 K and with hybrid density functional calculations. Carbonyl and other polar organic compounds react to form adducts, e.g., N(2)H(5)(+)(CH(3)CH(2)CHO). In the presence of neutral hydrazine, aldehyde adducts react further to form protonated hydrazones, e.g., CH(3)CH(2)CH[double bond]HNNH(2)(+) from propanal. Using deuterated hydrazine (N(2)D(4)) and butanal, we demonstrate that the gas-phase ion chemistry of hydrazinium and carbonyls operates by the same mechanisms postulated for the reactions in solution. Calculations provide insight into specific steps and transition states in the reaction mechanism and aid in understanding the likely reaction process upon chemical or translational activation. For most carbonyls, rate coefficients for adduct formation approach the predicted maximum collisional rate coefficients, k approximately 10(-9) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1). Formaldehyde is an exception (k approximately 2 x 10(-11) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1)) due to the shorter lifetime of its collision complex. Following adduct formation, the process of hydrazone formation may be rate limiting at thermal energies. The combination of fast reaction rates and unique chemistry shows that protonated hydrazine can serve as a useful chemical-ionization reagent for quantifying atmospheric carbonyl compounds via CIMS. Mechanistic studies provide information that will aid in optimizing reaction conditions for this application.     

A novel reaction mechanism for the formation of deoxyanthocyanidins

The synthesis of deoxyanthocyanidins from the reaction between cinnamic aldehydes (coniferaldehyde and sinapaldehyde) and phloroglucinol is reported herein. The resulting structures were characterized by visible, MS, and NMR spectroscopy.     

Cross-coupling reactions of alkenylsilanolates. Investigation of the mechanism and identification of key intermediates through kinetic analysis

The mechanism of the fluoride-free, palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of potassium (E)-heptenyldimethylsilanolate, K(+)(E)-1(-), with 2-iodothiophene has been investigated through kinetic analysis. The order of each component was determined by plotting the initial rates of the reaction against concentration. These data provided a mechanistic picture which involves a fast and irreversible oxidative insertion of palladium into the aryl iodide and a subsequent intramolecular transmetalation step from a complex containing a silicon-oxygen-palladium linkage. First-order behavior at low concentrations of silanolate with excess palladium(0) complex supports the formation of this complex as the turnover-limiting step. The change to zeroth-order dependence on silanolate at high concentrations is consistent with the intramolecular transmetalation becoming the turnover-limiting step.     

Investigation of electro-oxidation of methanol and benzyl alcohol at boron-doped diamond electrode: evidence for the mechanism for fouling film formation

Boron-doped diamond (BDD) and glassy carbon (GC) electrodes are compared for electrochemical oxidation of methanol and benzyl alcohol. Cyclic voltammograms reveal that BDD electrode produces good oxidation signals for both methanol and benzyl alcohol, while GC produces no significant oxidation signal for either methanol or benzyl alcohol. Amperometric measurement of oxidation of methanol and benzyl alcohol on BDD shows development of a fouling film for benzyl alcohol but not for methanol. Prolonged (24 h) polarization of the BDD electrode at +2.0 V in benzyl alcohol generated enough fouling film for investigation by AFM, SEM, Raman, and FTIR techniques. AFM and SEM microscopy images confirm a fouling film confined to the low-lying regions of the polycrystallite BDD surface, indicating that the active sites of benzyl alcohol oxidation are located within these low-lying regions. The fouling material generated in the process of benzyl alcohol oxidation was identified from Raman and FTIR spectroscopy as polyester. Experiments confirm the fouling film can be removed and the electrode surface reactivated by brief polarization at +3.0 V. Amperometric results of concentration dependence confirm the BDD electrode is well suited for quantitative analysis applications of methanol and benzyl alcohol, with recognizable oxidation currents at micromolar concentration levels.