BENZENE DESTRUCTION IN FUEL-RICH JET-STIRRED REACTOR COMBUSTION

Benzene destruction was studied using a jet-stirred reactor burning premixed C2H2, C6H6, H-2, O2, N2 mixtures at 1 atm, 1630 K, a fuel equivalence ratio of 2.2, a C/H ratio of 0.5, and residence times of 5-6 ms. Stable species concentrations were measured by water-cooled probe sampling and gas chromatography. A set of equations relating the concentrations of radical species to those of measured stable species were solved to determine radical concentrations under the range of experimental conditions. C6H6 formation and destruction occur simultaneously in combustion, but in this study, the destruction was enhanced relative to formation by adding C6H6 to the fuel, thereby reducing the sensitivity of the net destruction rate to the formation kinetics. The net C6H6 destruction rates predicted by the model are within 90% of the experimental values. According to the model, the largest contribution to C6H6 destruction under these conditions is H abstraction, largely by H atom, OH and CH3, and the C6H5 formed is destroyed by both addition and unimolecular destruction reactions.