The role of dimethyl ether as substituent to ethylene on particulate formation in premixed and counter-flow diffusion flames

The role of dimethyl ether (DME) as substituent to ethylene on particulate formation has been evaluated in premixed and counter-flow diffusion flames. In the premixed flame, the equivalence ratio has been changed from 1.95 to 2.61 and dimethyl ether has been added from 2% to 30% of the total carbon fed. In the counter-flow diffusion flame, the addition of DME has been from 0% to 60% of total carbon fed. Laser induced fluorescence and incandescence have been used to follow the soot formation process: UV and visible fluorescence signals have been attributed to aromatic macromolecules and incipient nanoparticles, respectively, whereas incandescence has been attributed to soot particles and aggregates. mixed flames results evidence that the formation of soot precursors is not so sensitive to DME addition. In very rich combustion environments, DME addition cannot completely avoid the formation of small precursors, although it can slow down the formation process. This behavior has been observed for all the equivalence ratios investigated. pyrolysis region of counter-flow diffusion flames, the formation of aromatic small precursors and soot particles is increased for small DME percentages, up to 20%. Then, the precursors are suppressed for larger amounts, going below the detection limit when 60% of DME is used. This suggests that DME can enhance the production of radicals and small reactive molecules in the pyrolytic side when it is added in small concentrations. For larger amounts of DME, oxidative pathways prevail and the conversion of carbon to precursors and then to soot is inhibited. In the oxidative region DME starts to effectively decrease the particle reduction also for amounts as small as 10–15%.