TOWARD A COMPREHENSIVE MECHANISM FOR METHANOL PYROLYSIS

A single kinetic mechanism for methanol pyrolysis is tested against multiple sets of experimental data for the first time. Data are considered from static, flow, and shock tube reactors, covering temperatures of 973 to 2000 K and pressures of 0.3 to 1 atmosphere. The model results are highly sensitive to the rates of unimolecular fuel decomposition and of various chain termination reactions that remove CH2OH and H radicals, as well as to experimental temperature uncertainties. The secondary fuel decomposition reaction CH3OH = CH2OH + H, which has previously been included only in mechanisms for high temperature conditions, is found to have a significant effect at low temperatures as well, through radical recombination. The reaction CH3O + C = CH3 + CO2, rather than CH3OH + H = CH3 + H2O, is found to be the dominant source of CH3 at low temperatures. The reverse of CH3 + OH = CH2OH + H is important to CH3 production at high temperatures. Copyright © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.