C4 alkenes pyrolysis and oxidation

Kinetic modeling of C4 alkenes pyrolysis and oxidation

Context and Objectives

Unsaturated C4 compounds like butene and butadiene are important precursors of benzene and therefore of aromatics and soot in fuel-rich flames. The gas phase kinetic modeling of C4 compounds Is therefore essential to quantitatively predict PAHs and soot from flames and hence to evaluate both pollutants emissions and carbon deposition to develop new carbon nanomaterials. However, literature kinetic modeling of C4 unsaturated hydrocarbons and especially of the radical species involved in benzene formation Is scarce and inconsistent. This thesis aims at the revision of CRECK kinetic mechanism for these compounds based on literature and new theoretical evaluations of rate constant, and the investigation of the impact on aromatics and soot formation.

Methods and Tools

OpenSMOKE++ for kinetic simulations; quantum chemistry tools for theoretical evaluations.

*Preferred: ‘R&D for industrial applications’ M.Sc. track students, or students who have attended an elective course of molecular modelling.