The oxidation of HCN and reactions with nitric oxide: Experimental and detailed kinetic modeling

The oxidation of HCN has been conducted in a fused silica jet-stirred reactor (JSR) at atmospheric pressure and from 1000 to 1400 K. The reduction of nitric oxide (NO) by HCN has also been studied in a JSR in the same operating conditions. A detailed chemical kinetic model for NO-reburning (751 reactions and 102 species) was used to simulate the present experiments. An overall good agreement between the experimental results and the modeling was obtained. According to the proposed kinetic mechanism, in the conditions of this study, the oxidation of HCN proceeds mostly through the following sequence: HCN + O --> NCO --> NO --> N2O --> N-2. The present modeling also shows that the reduction of NO by HCN proceeds according to the following sequence of reactions HCN + O --> NCO; NCO + NO --> N2O + CO and CO2 + NO; N2O + H --> N-2 + OH.