Chemical kinetic study of the effect of a biofuel additive on Jet-A1 combustion

The kinetics of oxidation of kerosene Jet A-1 and a kerosene/rapeseed oil methyl ester (RME) mixture (80/20, mol/mol) (biokerosene) was studied experimentally in a jet-stirred reactor at 10 atm and constant residence time, over the temperature range 740-1200 K, and for variable equivalence ratios (0.5-1.5). Concentration profiles of the reactants, stable intermediates, and final products were obtained by probe sampling followed by on-line and off-line gas chromatography analyses. The oxidation of these fuels in these conditions was modeled using a detailed kinetic reaction mechanism consisting of 2027 reversible reactions and 263 species. The surrogate biokerosene model fuel used here consisted of a mixture of n-hexadecane, n-propylcyclohexane, n-propylbenzene, and n-decane, where the long-chain methyl ester fraction was simply represented by n-hexadecane. The proposed kinetic reaction mechanism used in the modeling yielded a good representation of the kinetics of oxidation of kerosene and biokerosene under jet-stirred reactor conditions and of kerosene in a premixed flame. The data and the model showed the biokerosene (Jet A-1/RME mixture) has a slightly higher reactivity than Jet A-1, whereas no major modification of the product distribution was observed besides the formation of small unsaturated methyl esters produced from RME's oxidation. The model predicts no difference in the ignition delays of kerosene and biokerosene. Using the proposed kinetic scheme, the formation of potential soot precursors was studied with particular attention.