EXPERIMENTAL AND MODELING STUDY OF THE OXIDATION OF ISOBUTENE

This article describes an experimental and modeling study of the oxida tion of isobutene. The low-temperature oxidation was studied in a cont inuous-flow stirred-tank reactor operated at constant temperature (fro m 833 to 913 K) and pressure (1 atm), with fuel equivalence ratios fro m 3 to 6 and space times ranging from 1 to 10 s corresponding to isobu tene conversion yields from 1 to 50%. The main carbon containing produ cts were analyzed by gas chromatography. The ignition delays of isobut ene-oxygen-argon mixtures with fuel equivalence ratios from 1 to 3 wer e measured behind shock waves. Reflected shock waves permitted to obta in temperatures from 1230 to 1930 K and pressures from 9.5 to 10.5 atm . A mechanism has been proposed to reproduce the profiles obtained for the reactants consumption and the products formation during the slow oxidation and to compute the ignition delays in the shock tube. Simula tions were performed using CHEMKIN II. A correct agreement between the simulated values and the experimental data has been obtained in both apparatuses. The main reaction paths have been determined for both ser ies of measurements by a sensitivity and rate of production analysis. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.