An Experimental and a Kinetic Modelling Study of Ethanol/Acetone/Ethyl Acetate Mixtures

With the world's energy resources decreasing, ethanol/acetone/ethyl acetate mixed fuel has the potential as a fossil fuel alternative or oxygenated fuel additive. In this work, the burning characteristics of ethanol/acetone/ethyl acetate mixed fuels including 3 pure fuels, 9 binary fuels, and 7 ternary fuels were studied at a temperature of 358 K, the pressure of 1 bar, and the equivalence ratios of 0.7 to 1.4 in the constant volume combustion chamber (CVCC). The burning velocities of the ternary fuels were compared at phi = 0.8, 1.0, and 1.4. The results show that the laminar burning velocities of the mixed fuels are affected by the contents of ethanol, acetone, and ethyl acetate. The Markstein length, Markstein number, and burning flux were also analyzed in this paper. Furthermore, a detailed chemical mechanism comprising 506 species and 2809 reactions was reduced to a skeletal mechanism including 98 species and 642 reactions, using the directed relation graph with error propagation (DRGEP). The experimental and the simulated laminar burning velocities were compared. The results of laminar burning velocities show that the relative deviation of ETEAAC 112 is approximately 17.5%. The sensitivity coefficients, flame structure, and reaction paths of ethyl acetate were investigated with the skeletal and the detailed mechanisms. It is found that the key reaction path is retained in the skeletal mechanism.

Automated summary

This study investigated the burning characteristics of ethanol/acetone/ethyl acetate mixed fuels and reduced a detailed chemical mechanism to a skeletal mechanism. The results showed that the burning velocities of the mixed fuels were affected by the contents of different components, and the key reaction path of ethyl acetate was retained in the skeletal mechanism.