An experimental and kinetic modeling study of a premixed nitromethane flame at low pressure

A premixed nitromethane/oxygen/argon flame at low pressure (4.67 kPa) has been investigated using tunable vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization and molecular-beam mass spectrometry. About 30 flame species including hydrocarbons, oxygenated and nitrogenous intermediates have been identified by measurements of photoionization efficiency spectra. Mole fraction profiles of the flame species have been determined by scanning burner position at some selected photon energies. The results indicate that N-2 and NO are the major nitrogenous products in the nitromethane flame. Compared with previous studies oil nitromethane combustion, a number of unreported intermediates, including C3H4, C4H6, C4H8, C2H2O, C2H4O, CH3CN, H2C=NH=O, C3H3N and C3H7N, are observed in this work. Based on our experimental results and previous modeling studies, a detailed oxidation mechanism including 69 species and 314 reactions has been developed to simulate the flame structure. Despite some small discrepancies, the predictions by the modeling study are in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. (C) 2009 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.