Flame structure studies of rich ethylene-oxygen-argon mixtures doped with CO2, or with NH3, or with H2O

Structures of several premixed ethylene-oxygen-argon rich flat flames burning at 50 mbar have been established by using molecular beam mass spectrometry in order to investigate the effect of CO₂, or NH₃, or H₂O addition on species concentration profiles. The aim of this study is to examine the eventual changes of profiles of detected hydrocarbon intermediates which could be considered as soot precursors (C₂H₂, C₄H₂, C₅H₄, C₅H₆, C₆H₂, C₆H₄, C₆H₆, C₇H₈, C₆H₆O, C₈H₆, C₈H₈, C₉H₈ and C₁₀H₈). The comparative study has been achieved on four flames with an equivalence ratio (f) of 2.50: one without any additive (F2.50), one with 15% of CO₂ replacing the same quantity of argon (F2.50C), one with 3.3% of NH₃ in partial replacement of argon (F2.50N) and one with 13% of H₂O in replacement of the same quantity of argon (F2.50H). The four flat flames have similar final flame temperatures (1800 K).CO₂, or NH₃, or H₂O addition to the fresh gas inlet causes a shift downstream of the flame front and thus flame inhibition. Endothermic processes CO₂ + H = CO + OH and H₂O + H = H₂ + OH are responsible of the reduction of the hydrocarbon intermediates in the CO₂ and H₂O added flames through the supplementary formation of hydroxyl radicals. It has been demonstrated that such processes begin to play at the end of the flame front and becomes more efficient in the burnt gases region.The replacement of some Ar by NH₃ is responsible only for a slight decrease of the maximum mole fraction of C₂H₂, but NH₃ becomes much more efficient for C₄H₂ and C₅ to C₁₀ species. Moreover, the efficiency of NH₃ as a reducing agent of C₅ to C₁₀ intermediates is larger than that of CO₂ and H₂O for equal quantities added.