Combustion kinetics of alternative jet fuels, Part-I: Experimental flow reactor study

A comprehensive collection of technical aviation fuels enabled an experimental and numerical study on detailed combustion chemistry and pollutant formation presented in a series of 3 interlinking parts. Part-I: Experimental Flow Reactor Study focuses on the characterization of 42 technical jet fuels and provides experimental speciation data for model development presented in Part-II: Model and Surrogate Strategy. Model validation based on the presented technical fuels here is presented in Part-III: Model Application on Technical Jet Fuels. The fuels investigated in this study cover a broad range of approved SAFs (Sustainable Aviation Fuels), candidates for approval, and technical products outside the present ASTM-D7566 specification and is completed by reference fuels (ASTM-D1655). This includes SAF components such as HEFA (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids), ATJ (Alcohol-To-Jet), SIP (Synthesized Iso-Paraffins), and Fischer-Tropsch-products as well as their blends. A systematic investigation of the soot precursor chemistry by analyzing the influence of the complex chemical fuel composition on the intermediate species pool is presented. The experimental set-up consists of an atmospheric flow reactor with coupled molecular-beam mass spectrometer (MBMS). Quantitative evolution of combustion reaction intermediates is recorded for fuel-rich (phi = 1.2) and fuel-lean (phi = 0.8) conditions at intermediate temperatures up to 1200 K including small intermediate species (e.g. ethylene, butene) and soot precursor species (e.g. benzene, naphthalene, phenanthrene). A general systematic dependency of the soot precursor concentration on the degree of unsaturation (Index of Hydrogen Deficiency) or the hydrogen content, respectively, is demonstrated. Furthermore, larger soot precursor concentrations depend on the naphthalene content of the fuel.

Automated summary

A series of three interrelated parts present an experimental and numerical study on detailed combustion chemistry and pollutant formation using a comprehensive collection of technical aviation fuels. The study focuses on the impact of complex chemical fuel composition on intermediate species pool and the relationship between soot precursor concentration and degree of unsaturation, hydrogen content, and naphthalene content.