Oxidation of dimethoxymethane in a jet-stirred reactor

The oxidation of dimethoxymethane has been investigated in a jet-stirred reactor at pressures of 5.07 bar, temperatures of 800 to 1200 K, and equivalence ratios of 0.444, 0.889. and 1.778. Concentration profiles of carbon monoxide. carbon dioxide, hydrogen, methane, formaldehyde, methanol, acetaldehyde, methyl formate, ethane, ethene. ethyne. propane, and propene were obtained by probe sampling and gas chromatography analysis. A detailed chemical kinetic model accounts quite well for the bulk of the measurements; at the lower end of the temperature scale it is necessary to postulate very low activation energy decompositions of dimethoxymethane. most probably surface-catalyzed reactions, one leading to formaldehyde + dimethyl ether, the other to methanol + acetaldehyde: H3COCH2OCH3 --> H2CO + H3COCH3 H3COCH2OCH3 --> CH3OH + CH3HCO (C) 2001 by The Combustion Institute.