Study of the evolution of soot from various fuels

JP-8, a surrogate fuel, and several model compounds were used to produce soot aerosols in a drop-tube furnace with optical access. The soluble organic fractions (SOF) of soot aerosols were studied with GC, GC-MS, and C-13 NMR. The residue of each aerosol sample was studied with Raman spectroscopy, ESR, and a recently developed technique used to determine the conductivity: and extent of turbostratic structure formation in soot. The SOF values from different fuel sources exhibit variations in yield, and carbon aromaticity values, and the latter parameter correlates with the extent of turbostratic structure formation in the aerosol residues. Raman data of the soot residues indicate the presence of highly disordered graphitic structures, but the graphite factor measurements reveal differences among these disordered structures that are not apparent in the Raman data.