Breakdown and combustion of JP-10 fuel catalyzed by nanoparticulate CeO2 and Fe2O3

Thermal breakdown and oxidation of JP-10 (exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene, C10H16), in the presence of nanoparticulate CeO2 and Fe2O3, was studied in a small alumina flow-tube reactor on time scales around 1 ms. Decomposition products were analyzed by an in situ mass spectrometer. In the absence of any oxidizer, JP-10 pyrolyzes at temperatures above similar to 900 K to a variety of hydrocarbon products. In the absence of O-2, both CeO2 and Fe2O3 oxidize JP-10 efficiently, with decomposition onset temperatures up to 300 K lower than in a clean alumina flow tube under identical flow conditions and substantial conversion to products such as water, CO2, CO, and formaldehyde. Under such noncatalytic conditions, the CeO2 or Fe2O3 is reduced and deactivated by the reaction with JP-10. Decomposition of JP-10 in the presence of stoichiometric O-2 was also studied, with and without CeO2 present. In absence of CeO2, some oxidation products are observed; however, the rate-limiting step appears to be pyrolysis of JP-10, and pyrolysis products dominate for temperatures up to 1200 K. When both O-2 and CeO2 are present, oxidation is clearly catalytic; i.e., oxidation is initiated by the reaction of JP-10 with CeO2, which is then reoxidized by O-2.