Identification of oxygenated compounds in combustion systems

An attempt for the spectroscopic identification of oxygenated compounds pro duced in combustion processes under different environmental conditions is r eported in this paper. A deeper knowledge about presence and evolution of s uch species in dependence of the operating conditions of practical burner r epresents a fundamental hint to the objective of an advancement of the cont rol of combustion process and reduction of pollutant emissions. This paper mainly focuses on species characterized by the presence of carbonyl functio nality since aldehydes, ketones and diketones are among the principal inter mediate species and products of hydrocarbon oxidation. They are by themselv es to be considered atmospheric pollutants and are also indicators of actua l pathways followed during the chemical reactions occurring in the combusti on process. For these reasons they are most suitable for the exploitation o f the above indicated objectives. In this paper, a classification of spectroscopic features and markers of th ese classes of carbonyl compounds is presented on the basis of both literat ure and spectra collected from sample species. This interpretative scheme i s then used for the attribution of fluorescence signals collected from a te tradecane spray in different environmental conditions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Sc ience Ltd. All rights reserved.