Kinetics modelling of ethyl acetate oxidation in flame conditions

To optimize the good working of the common thermal oxidizers, a better understanding of the high temperature oxidation kinetic of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in flame conditions is needed. So the experimental study of Ethyl Acetate (EA) oxidation in CH4/EA/O2/N2 low pressure flames has been investigated. Molecular species concentration profiles of CH4, O2, CO, CO2, H2O, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, C3H6, C3H8, EA, CH3OH, C2H5OH, CH3CHO, C2H5CHO, CH3COCH3, CH3OCH3, CH3COOCHCH2 and CH3COOH have been obtained by coupling microprobe sampling with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. A detailed kinetic mechanism has been developed to model the EA oxidation in these conditions. The kinetic scheme includes 23 oxygenated species involved in 142 reversible reactions. It takes into account the first steps of the EA oxidation and the oxidation processes of all the measured oxygenated intermediate compounds. The proposed mechanism globally well predicts the experimental results obtained in the methane/air flames even if some discrepancies are pointed out. Sensitivity analysis allows the determination of the main reactional pathways involved in the thermal degradation of EA.