Ignition and combustion characteristics of n-butanol/air, 2-butanol.air and isobutanol/air mixtures at stoichiometric (ϕ = 1) and lean (ϕ = 0.5) conditions were investigated in a micro flow reactor with a controlled temperature profile from 323 K to 1313 K, under atmospheric pressure. Sole distinctive weak flame was observed for each mixture, with inlet fuel/air mixture velocity set low at 2 cm/s. One-dimensional computation with comprehensive chemistry and transport was conducted. At low mixture velocities, one-stage oxidation was confirmed from heat release rate profiles, which was broadly in agreement with the experimental results. The weak flame positions were congruent with literature describing reactivity of the butanol isomers. These weak flame responses were also found to mirror the trend in Anti-Knock Indexes of the butanol isomers. Flux and sensitivity analyses were performed to investigate the fuel oxidation pathways at low and high temperatures. Further computational investigations on oxidation of butanol isomers at higher pressure of 5 atm indicated two-stage oxidation through the heat release rate profiles. Low temperature chemistry is accentuated in the region near the first weak cool flame for oxidation under higher pressure, and its impact on key species – such as hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide and carbon monoxide – were considered. Both experimental and computational findings demonstrate the advantage of employing the micro flow reactor in investigating oxidation processes in the temperature region of interest along the reactor channel. By varying physical conditions such as pressure, the micro flow reactor system is proven to be highly beneficial in elucidating oxidation behavior of butanol isomers in conditions in engines such as those that mirror HCCI operations.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:41:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:59:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:23:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:56:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 00868.pdf: 8105372 bytes, checksum: 760345cfee59eb2c2b451f97a789a035 (MD5) / Tese (Doutoramento) / IEA/T / Instituto de Fisica, Universidade de Sao Paulo - IF/USP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:41:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:59:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dois exemplos de combustíveis renováveis em uso atualmente são bioetanol e biodiesel. Novas alternativas de combustíveis incluem etanol celulósico e biobutanol. Estes apresentam vantagens pois contribuem para uma melhor produtividade e otimização do uso de biomassa. Possuem ainda boas propriedades que garantem o bom desempenho como combustíveis. A pesquisa e interesse industrial têm crescido sobre o biobutanol, com melhorias no processo tradicional de fermentação ABE (Acetona-Butanol-Etanol), desenvolvimento de novos microorganismos para aumentar o rendimento e técnicas de separação para isolar o solvente do meio fermentativo. Algumas companhias anunciaram planos para a introdução de biobutanol em misturas com gasolina no mercado norte-americano. O interesse por biobutanol no Brasil como combustível ainda é limitado, pois a infraestrutura de comercialização já é adaptada ao uso de bioetanol, e a maior parte da frota de carros circulante utiliza motores adaptados ao uso do bioetanol. A cana-de-açúcar pode ser utilizada como matéria prima no processo produtivo do biobutanol, capacitando o Brasil a tornar-se um importante exportador para suprir o biobutanol para outros países. Em curto prazo, o biobutanol poderá ser produzido no Brasil para substituir o petro-butanol como solvente em aplicações industriais ou para o mercado de exportação como combustível. O presente trabalho propõe o uso da técnica technology roadmapping para o planejamento estratégico do desenvolvimento do biobutanol, alinhando os objetivos de longo prazo com os recursos, linhas de financiamento e prioridades para atender as necessidades do processo de desenvolvimento. / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Photoelectron Photoion Coincidence (PEPICO) spectroscopy is a robust tool for elucidating complex unimolecular dissociation mechanisms and for determining thermochemical and kinetic data of gas-phase ion dissociations with high accuracy. In this work, the dissociative photoionization of two sets of isomeric systems were analyzed with PEPICO: 1) C7H7+ ions of toluene (Tol) and 1,3,5-cycloheptatriene (CHT), and 2) two butyl alcohol isomers, 1-butanol and isobutanol. Threshold dissociative photoionization data on these four molecules of interest were collected on the imaging PEPICO apparatus at the VUV beamline of the Swiss Light Source. Data analysis was aided by ab initio calculations and Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) statistical rate theory was employed to model the complex dissociation pathways of each system. Finally, thermochemical, reaction mechanism, and dissociation kinetics data were extracted from the modeled data and are reported here. In the first project, the dissociation of energy-selected 1,3,5-cycloheptatriene (CHT) and toluene (Tol) cations was investigated by imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence spectroscopy. In the measured energy ranges of 10.30−11.75 eV for CHT and 11.45−12.55 eV for Tol, only the hydrogen atom loss channels open up, leading to C7H7+ from both molecular ions, which are both metastable at the H-loss threshold. Our quantum chemical calculations showed that these ions can interconvert below their dissociation thresholds. Therefore, we constructed a single statistical model to describe both systems simultaneously. We determined 0 K appearance energies (E0) for the tropylium and benzyl fragment ions from CHT to be 9.520 ± 0.060 eV and 9.738 ± 0.082 eV, and from Tol to be 10.978 ± 0.063 eV and 11.196 ± 0.080 eV, respectively. Using the experimentally determined benzyl ion appearance energy, its 0 K heat of formation was calculated to be 937.9 ± 7.7 kJ mol–1. On the basis of this value and the recently determined benzyl ionization energy, we point out discrepancies concerning the benzyl radical thermochemistry. For the second project, the fragmentation processes of two internal energy-selected C4H10O+• cations, 1-butanol and isobutanol, were investigated. For both isomers, the first dissociation channel leads to the formation of C4H8+• ions (m/z = 56) by a water loss. Using statistical energy distribution and rate models, which include isomerization of the molecular ions, the 0 K appearance energies (E0) were determined to be 10.347 ± 0.015 eV and 10.566 ± 0.050 eV, for 1-butanol and isobutanol, respectively. The second dissociation channel, the formation of CH3OH2+, quickly overtakes the water-loss channel in isobutanol, with an E0 of 10.612 ± 0.020 eV, but appears only as a minor channel in 1-butanol with an E0 of 10.738 ± 0.080 eV. The methanol-loss channel, forming propylene ion, opens up at E0 = 10.942 ± 0.040 eV and 10.723 ± 0.020 eV in 1-butanol and isobutanol, respectively. The next two fragmentation pathways correspond to a complementary pair of C3H7+ through the loss of CH2OH, and CH2OH+ through the loss of C3H7. From both isomers, C3H7+ is the isopropyl ion, which is readily formed in isobutanol via a simple bond cleavage at E0 = 10.970 ± 0.050 eV and its pair, CH2OH+, at E0 = 11.11 ± 0.20 eV. However, there is an internal hydrogen shift necessary in 1-butanol and, therefore, the complementary ions appear at the same E0 of 11.104 ± 0.030 eV, which most likely corresponds to their common transition state. Finally, C3H5+, a product of sequential dissociation from m/z = 56, appears above 11.6 eV as a minor channel for both isomers.