Methanol oxidation and its interaction with nitric oxide

An experimental and theoretical study of the oxidation of methanol in the a bsence and in the presence of NO has been performed. The experiments were c onducted in an isothermal quartz flow reactor at atmospheric pressure in th e temperature range 700-1500 K. The influence of the temperature, oxygen co ncentration, and presence of NO on the concentrations of methanol, CO, CO2, and NO has been analyzed. A reaction mechanism based on the model of Glarb org et al.(1) for hydrocarbons/NO interactions, updated in relation to the methanol reaction subset has been used for calculations. The results show t hat the oxidation regime of methanol for different air excess conditions is very similar in the absence of NO, but significant differences are observe d when NO is present. The presence of NO implies a different behavior depen ding on the stoichiometry, in the way that such presence results in a inhib ition of methanol conversion for richest conditions, while it promotes; met hanol oxidation for very lean conditions. The experimental results are anal yzed in terms of detailed chemistry and the main issues are discussed.