Kinetic Study on High Temperature Oxidation of CO/H2/Cl2 Mixture

The kinetic mechanism of CO/H₂/Cl₂ mixture oxidation is an important subsystem of chlorinated waste combustion chemistry. A new kinetic model is constructed and validated by the data from experiments, in which this system was studied in an atmospheric pressure flow reactor to investigate the influence of chlorine content and reaction temperature on CO conversion. The inhibition mechanism is discussed with sensitivity analysis and rate of productivity analysis. The results indicate that CO oxidation is inhibited by chlorine. CO conversion varies inversely with the chlorine to hydrogen mole ratio of the inlet mixture and increases with temperature. The HCl formation process and the reaction HCl+OH=Cl+H₂O decrease the OH concentration in the reaction zone and lead to low CO conversion. The new model predicts HCl concentration relatively well. The reaction H+O₂=HO₂ shows inhibition effect on both CO conversion and HCl formation. Increasing reaction temperature leads to higher OH concentration in the reactor and larger rate of the reaction CO+OH=CO₂+H, which abates the inhibition effect of chlorine on CO oxidation.