Experimental and modelling investigation of the thermal decomposition of n-dodecane

An important challenge in developing the Scramjet engine is cooling of the walls. One possibility is circulating the fuel itself through the walls of the engine, with cooling achieved through the strongly endothermic decomposition of the fuel. This paper presents an experimental and modelling study of the pyrolysis of n-dodecane, a component of some jet fuels. The experiments have been performed in a stainless steel isothermal plug flow reactor at temperatures of 950, 1000 and 1050 K and atmospheric pressure, with GC analysis of the end products, mainly methane, ethane and alkenes from C-2 to C-10. A detailed kinetic model containing 1175 reactions has been produced using EXGAS software. This model is able to represent with reasonable accuracy the experimental results presented here, both for the conversion of n-dodecane and for the formation of products, as well as literature data obtained from 623 to 823 K. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.