The ignition and oxidation of tetrahydrofuran. Experiments and kinetic modeling

The ignition of tetrahydrofuran (THF) has been studied in a single-pulse shock tube under reflected shock wave conditions while the oxidation of THF was studied in a high-pressure jet-stirred reactor (JSR). The present experiments cover a wide range of conditions: 2- 10 atm, 0.5 less than or equal to phi less than or equal to 2.0, 800 - 1800 K. The ignition delays of THF, measured in a shock tube, have been used to propose an overall representation for the dependence of ignition delay time on the concentration of each component in the ignitable gas mixture: tau(all) = 10(-14.4)exp (19590/T-5) [C4H8O](0.272)[O-2](-0.984)[AR](-0.189) (units: s, mole/dm(3), K). Concentration profiles of the reactants, stable intermediates and products of the oxidation of THF were measured in a JSR. A numerical model, consisting of a detailed kinetic reaction mechanism with 484 reactions (most of them reversible) of 71 species, describes the ignition of THF in reflected shock waves and its oxidation in a jet-stirred reactor. We observed a fairly good agreement between the experimental results and the computations. Detailed kinetic modeling enabled identification of the major reaction paths and sensitive kinetic parameters.