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At least 739 records · Page 41

Investigating the kinetic effect of prenol on iso -octane auto-ignition by means of an experimental and modeling study

A detailed experimental and kinetic modeling study was dedicated to understand the reported octane hyperboosting effect of prenol, by means of the measurement of the ignition delay times of its blends with iso -octane, and measurement of the mole fraction profiles of the fuels and intermediates inside the ULille rapid compression machine. Here, these results show that prenol addition leads to a reduction of the first-stage ignition phenomena and negative temperature coefficient behavior, which is only qualitatively captured by the model and is consistent with knock resistance improvement. It is suggested that this behavior is caused by two different factors. The first originates from gas-phase reactivity of prenol, and spans from the formation of unreactive unsaturated species through resonance-stabilized radicals, thereby constituting a competitive pathway for the radical pool generated by iso -octane. The second is of catalytic nature and cannot be captured by means of gas-phase kinetic modeling, but could also play an important role in the behavior of prenol in internal combustion engines.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Chemical kinetic interactions and sensitivity analyses for 2-ethylhexyl nitrate-doped PRF91 using a reduced mechanism

A numerical and experimental investigation about the chemical kinetic interactions between 2-ethylhexylnitrate (EHN) and PRF91 was performed in this study. Rapid compression machine experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of EHN on the autoignition reactivity of the fuel, and a reduced chemical kinetic mechanism was developed including an EHN sub-model. Experiments showed that the ignition delay decreases as the fuel is doped with EHN, but the effect of the doping level of EHN on the ignition is highly non-linear. Moreover, experiments showed that the EHN effectiveness is lowest during the transition between the low-temperature regime and the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) regime, and it rapidly increases as the temperature increases. Both detailed and (developed) reduced mechanisms were validated against the experimental results, allowing a more in-depth EHN-fuel chemistry study. Additionally, ignition delay sensitivity and EHN effectiveness sensitivity analyses were performed with the reduced mechanism to identify the reactions that control the interaction between EHN and the fuel. As the result, EHN thermal decomposition is only relevant for very low temperatures. The chemistry of EHN-doped fuel is more sensitive to intermediate temperature reactions than that of straight fuel, especially at lower temperatures, due to the effect of EHN on the NTC behavior of the fuel. Finally, the chemistry of EHN-doped fuel is very sensitive to NO 2 -to-NO reactions, especially at high temperatures, because these reactions transform the NO 2 generated by EHN into NO, which is a very effective fuel reactivity enhancer.

2-ethylhexyl nitrate↗

Genetic algorithm optimization of a chemical kinetic mechanism for propane at engine relevant conditions

Propane has demonstrated significant potential for reductions in greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions in medium- and heavy-duty engine applications, but further improvements require accurate, compact, and scalable chemical kinetic mechanisms to design the next generation of propane fueled engines, particularly at the boosted operating conditions necessary to meet the power density demand of medium- and heavy-duty applications. In this work, six key chemical reactions were identified in a reduced mechanism with 70 species and 352 reactions through a sensitivity analysis performed at conditions typical of thermodynamic trajectories observed in a high compression ratio, long stroke engine operated on propane from throttled to boosted operating conditions. While the original mechanism was validated against rapid compression machine (RCM) data, it was found to overpredict experimental autoignition tendencies in 2-zone, 0-D SI engine simulations performed in Chemkin Pro. Subsequently, a genetic algorithm approach was used to optimize the six reaction rate parameters within established uncertainty bounds by performing RCM simulations and comparing to two independent sets of literature ignition delay times for propane, thus generating two new kinetic mechanisms. The first optimization achieved a mean absolute percent error (MPE) reduction in 2nd stage ignition delay of 61.4% in seven generations, while the second optimization utilized a newer experimental RCM dataset, and achieved MPE reduction of 56.7% in seven generations, and further marginal improvement to 57.8% reduction in 34 generations. Finally, the two mechanisms were then evaluated again in the 2-zone 0-D SI engine model in Chemkin Pro comparing typical mean and knocking cycle trajectories, and it was found that the second optimized mechanism provided better prediction of knock onset at the representative conditions evaluated in this work, particularly for higher load operating conditions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Biomass pyrolysis devolatilization kinetics of herbaceous and woody feedstocks

Devolatilization kinetics were determined using a modified micropyrolyzer reactor for several biomass feedstocks: switchgrass, corn stover, red oak, and pine. Here, the micropyrolyzer was directly coupled to a flame ionization detector (FID) to track the release of volatiles from the biomass. Time series data from these experiments was analyzed to determine apparent devolatilization rates. Care was taken to assure the experiments were isothermal and kinetically limited calculating a Biot number less than 0.1 and pyrolysis numbers greater than 10, which simplifies the derivation of devolatilization rates. A single, first order reaction was able to model devolatilization rates at temperatures up to 500 °C. No correlation was found between the inorganic content of the biomass and its rate of devolatilization. Apparent activation energies were in the range of 54.9–88.4 kJ mol –1 . The rate coefficient at 500 °C was calculated as 1.90–5.14 s –1 for the four feedstocks.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Product specific thermal degradation kinetics of bisphenol F epoxy in inert and oxidative atmospheres using evolved gas analysis–mass spectrometry

Knowledge of the degradation kinetics for polymer materials is important for understanding thermal stability. In this study, evolved gas analysis–mass spectrometry and pyrolysis gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry were evaluated for the potential to deliver additional insight into thermal degradation kinetics of diglycidal ether of bisphenol F (DGEBF) epoxy thermoset under inert and oxidative atmospheres. Degradation products of selected precursor ions were evaluated for their uniqueness to the specific precursor using extracted ion thermographs. Unique mass peaks, solely attributed to a single reaction pathway of a specific product, were determined from extracted ion thermographs and used to determine both activation energy (E a ) and pre-exponential factors for the specific primary reaction pathways. These primary reaction pathways for DGEBF epoxy degradation were then evaluated in the context of transition state theory (TST) and related transition state enthalpies (ΔH ‡ ) and entropies (ΔS ‡ ) of activation to further elucidate the degradation process. It was determined under pyrolysis conditions, as suggested by the E a , the formation of bisphenol F monomer was the rate-limiting step toward the formation of xanthene and phenol. In contrast, under thermo-oxidative conditions, reactions involving oxygen containing species were identified as the rate-limiting step for all observed products based on the large negative ΔS ‡ calculated from TST. This work demonstrates a powerful combination of technique and theory that can provide new insight into the degradation of polymer materials.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Effects of water on the kinetics of acetone hydrogenation over Pt and Ru catalysts

We employed an approach combining reaction kinetics measurements at steady state conditions, electronic structure calculations employing density functional theory, and microkinetic modeling for acetone hydrogenation to provide insights into the effects of water on metal catalyst surfaces for the hydrogenation of oxygenates over a wide range of reaction conditions. Elucidation of the repulsive interactions due to adsorbed water molecules at various reaction conditions provides a basis to formulate rate expressions for heterogeneous catalytic processes of biomass oxygenates. Reaction kinetics experiments were carried out at partial pressures of H 2 , acetone, water and helium in the range of 0.51-0.79, 0.02-0.13, 0.08-0.23, 0-0.28 atm, respectively. We show that the addition of water enhances the hydrogenation rate at 353 K and 1 atm on oxophilic metal catalysts such as Ru/C, whereas the same promotional effect of water is not observed for Pt-based catalysts. Microkinetic model predictions for the hydrogenation of acetone on Ru in the absence and presence of water, using enthalpies and entropies obtained from DFT calculations, were in agreement with the experimentally observed reaction orders and activation barriers. The model shows that a water-assisted hydroxypropyl path is expected to be the favored path on Ru with a rate-determining step of H-OH-mediated hydrogenation of C 3 H 6 OH (i.e., the hydroxypropyl intermediate formed by H 2 O-mediated initial hydrogenation of acetone) to produce isopropyl alcohol (IPA). Furthermore, hydrogen, acetone, hydroxypropyl intermediate and hydroxyl species were predicted to be abundant on the Ru surface with a high coverage of nearly 85%. Lastly, the combined studies of computational and experimental catalysis on hydrogenation reactions help to elucidate the mechanistic role of water on metal catalyzed reactions for producing chemical building blocks from biomass-derived oxygenates.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Catalytic site ensembles: A context to reexamine the Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic description

The Langmuir-Hinshelwood formalism describes catalytic reactions of Langmuirian surface species under the assumption that all adsorbates are randomly-distributed – enabling adjacency of surface-bound intermediates to be determined solely by coverages of single-site occupants. We demonstrate herein that this approximation is inappropriate even for simple catalytic reactions (e.g. A + A → A 2 ) and manifestly neglects islanding of slowly-consumed species and partitioning of highly-reactive species inherently engendered by ≥ two-site elementary steps (e.g. A*–A* → A 2(g) + *–*). Rigorous description of kinetically-consequential islanding/partitioning phenomena requires explicit description of the coverage and chemical dynamics of all multi-site ensembles. Higher-order, ensemble-specific rate terms identify the particular microscopic events relevant to each ensemble, and, in doing so, reveal that each elementary step (e.g. A (g) adsorption) describes not one event (e.g. A (g) + * → A*) , but a sum over all ensemble-specific paths (e.g. A (g) + *–* → A*–* and A (g) + A*–* → A*–A*). De-convoluting each elementary step into its constituent multi-site paths proffers kinetic detail otherwise inaccessible – enabling (i) identification of rate- and selectivity-determining site ensembles, (ii) calculation of rates and degrees of rate control of ensemble-specific elementary steps, (iii) incorporation of adsorbate surface diffusion, (iv) incorporation of lateral adsorbate interactions, and (v) quantitative description of catalysis of multi-site-occupying intermediates (e.g. *C n H m * species in hydrocarbon (de-)hydrogenation and C-C bond coupling/cleavage reactions) which we demonstrate here is inaccessible to the Langmuir-Hinshelwood formalism even if adsorbate surface diffusion is infinitely-fast.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A review of low-rank methods for time-dependent kinetic simulations

Time-dependent kinetic models are ubiquitous in computational science and engineering. The underlying integro-differential equations in these models are high-dimensional, comprised of a six–dimensional phase space, making simulations of such phenomena extremely expensive. In this article we demonstrate that in many situations, the solution to kinetics problems lives on a low dimensional manifold that can be described by a low-rank matrix or tensor approximation. We then review the recent development of so-called low-rank methods that evolve the solution on this manifold. The two classes of methods we review are the dynamical low-rank (DLR) method, which derives differential equations for the low-rank factors, and a Step-and-Truncate (SAT) approach, which projects the solution onto the low-rank representation after each time step. Thorough discussions of time integrators, tensor decompositions, and method properties such as structure preservation and computational efficiency are included. We further show examples of low-rank methods as applied to particle transport and plasma dynamics.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Accelerating high-order continuum kinetic plasma simulations using multiple GPUs

Kinetic plasma simulations solve the Vlasov-Poisson or Vlasov-Maxwell equations to evolve scalar-variable distribution functions in position-velocity phase space and vector-variable electromagnetic fields in configuration space. The immense computational cost of evolving high-dimensional variables, and their large number of degrees of freedom, often limits the utility of continuum kinetic simulations and presents a challenge when it comes to accurately simulating real-world physical phenomena. To address this challenge, we present techniques that accelerate and minimize the computational work required for a scalable Vlasov-Poisson solver. We show theoretical hardware compute and communication bounds for solving a fourth-order finite-volume Vlasov-Poisson system. These bounds are then used to inform and evaluate the design of performance portable algorithms for a multiple graphics processing unit (GPU) accelerated version of the Vlasov-Poisson solver VCK-CPU [1]. We demonstrate that the multi-GPU Vlasov solver implementation, VCK-GPU, simultaneously minimizes required inter-process data transfer while also being bounded by the machine network performance limits. This results in an overall strong scaling speedup per timestep of up to 40x in three-dimensional phase space (one position, two velocity coordinates) and 54x in four dimensional phase space (two position, two velocity coordinates) and a 341x increase in simulation throughput of the GPU accelerated code over the existing CPU code. The GPU code is also able to weak scale up to 256 compute nodes and 1024 GPUs. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the improved compute performance enables exploring configurations which were previously computationally infeasible, including resolving fine-scale distribution function filamentation and multi-species dynamics with realistic electron-proton mass ratios.

Continuum kinetics↗

Sorption kinetics and stability of conventional adsorbents for mercury remediation

In-situ remediation of mercury at numerous contaminated sites worldwide is a challenging and costly endeavor due to the persistency of this contaminant. In this study, we evaluated eight commercially available sorbent media ranging from carbon-, clays- and silica-based materials (PBC– Biochar, eSorb – Sorbster, nsPAC – Powdered Activated Carbon, fsPAC – Powdered Activated Carbon with Mackinawite, F300 – Filtrasorb 300, Si-SH – Silica Thiol, eBind – RemBind, Q-Clay – Organoclay PM-199), for their effectiveness in sorbing mercury (Hg 2+ ) and mercury complexed with dissolved organic matter (Hg-DOM). Under the chosen experimental conditions of this study, results showed that in the absence of DOM, the kinetic rates of Hg 2+ sorption onto the evaluated sorbents were in the order of 0.31 min-1 (Si-SH) to 2.98 min -1 (nsPAC), whereas in the presence of DOM, the rates varied from 0.16 min-1 (F300) to 0.95 min -1 (nsPAC). The measured sorption capacity for Hg 2+ in the absence of DOM varied from 3.02 mg/g (Q-Clay) to 35.15 mg/g (Si-SH), whereas in the presence of DOM, calculated partition coefficient (KD) ranged from 69.7 mL/g (Q-Clay) to 41,510 mL/g (Si-SH). Furthermore, kinetic data suggest liquid film diffusion was the rate-limiting steps governing mercury sorption onto the studied media. Overall, the obtained study parameters (kinetics/isotherm) are particularly important in informing robust engineering designs for deployment of the vast majority of evaluated sorbents. Thus, sorbent-based strategies offer viable solutions for cost-effective cleanup of mercury at industrially contaminated sites.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Matlab implementation of a novel semi-structured kinetic model for methanotroph-photoautotroph cocultures

This paper presents the MatLab implementation details of a novel semi-structured kinetic model for methanotroph-photoautotroph cocultures. This includes the parameterization of the modeling equations, and the initialization of the simulation based on experimental conditions. More importantly, it provides details on how the differential equations governing mass balances in both gas and liquid phases are integrated together to simulate the system dynamics over time. The semi-structured kinetic model for methanotroph-photoautotroph coculture is validated using a wide range of experimental conditions. The model: Accurate predicts both the coculture growth in liquid phase and the gas composition changes in head space over time; Explicitly models the exchange of in situ produced O 2 and CO 2 within the coculture; Considers the self-shading effect on the growth of photoautotroph.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Kinetics of the functionalization of mesoporous silica nanoparticles: Implications on surface group distributions, adsorption and catalysis

The post-synthesis functionalization (grafting) kinetics of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) with organotrimethoxysilanes (R-TMS) is studied via solution 1 H NMR spectroscopy. The process involves a rapid adsorption/ desorption pre-equilibrium followed by reaction of R-TMS with surface silanols. Grafting rates are affected by the functional group in R-TMS. For example, the grafting rate of aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane (AP-TMS) is one order of magnitude higher than other R-TMS. High concentrations of AP-TMS result in substrate-inhibition kinetics, likely due to steric and mobility constraints for reactant alignment at high coverage. The higher rates of AP-TMS grafting indicate a catalytic effect of amine groups. This effect depends on the amine’s basicity and can be used to control the grafting rates and degree of condensation of other R-TMS. Adjusting the rate of mercaptopropyl-trimethoxysilane (MP-TMS) grafting using amines gives MP-MSN materials of varying adsorptive and catalytic activities, illustrated by Pd scavenging experiments and use of Pd@MP-MSN as catalysts for a Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Understanding and promoting the reaction kinetics of photothermally driven Diels–Alder reaction with minimized side reactions

The thermoreversible Diels–Alder (DA) reaction involving furan and maleimide precursors has been extensively exploited to develop reversible thermosets for circular economy and additive manufacturing. Recently, applications of photothermal nanoparticles, which can absorb light and generate nanoscale heat, have gained significant attention in driving the Diels–Alder (DA) reaction more efficiently. This approach can be utilized by various applications, for example, solar light-enhanced recycling, self-healing at targeted area, and photothermal 3-D printing. Here, in this work, we address an important fundamental question on the photothermal approach: how does the reaction kinetics of the photothermally driven DA reaction compared to that of the conventional heat driven one? We found that the forward DA reaction kinetics varies dramatically depending on a type of heat sources, i.e., light-induced photothermal heat or conventional heat, despite of a similar bulk temperature. We observed that the light-induced photothermal heat significantly enhances the DA reaction rate in comparison to the bulk heating in an inert environment. On the contrary, the photothermally driven forward DA reaction is significantly slower than that of the heat driven reaction in the presence of oxygen. This is attributed to the photoexcited electrons in photothermal nanoparticles that can generate singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) in the presence of visible light. This singlet oxygen may facilitate an endoperoxide side reaction on the furan group, ultimately, retard the DA reaction from the furan group. These results reveal the effectiveness of photothermal nanoparticles in accelerating DA reaction while underscoring the need to minimize oxygen exposure to prevent unfavorable side reactions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Chemical kinetic interactions of NO with a multi-component gasoline surrogate: Experiments and modeling

Here this work reports an experimental and modeling study on the chemical kinetic interactions of NO with a multi-component gasoline surrogate, namely PACE-20, using a twin-piston rapid compression machine at a stochiometric fuel loading with 20% EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) by mass, pressures of 20 and 40 bar, and temperatures from 700 to 930 K. Five NO concentrations are investigated, namely 0, 20, 50, 70 and 150 ppm, where NO addition effects are characterized through changes in PACE-20 ignition reactivity and heat release characteristics. Experiments indicate that within the low-temperature regime, NO promotes low-temperature heat release rate and main ignition reactivity at low addition levels, with saturation or even inhibiting effects observed at >50 ppm NO addition, while within the NTC/intermediate-temperature regime, adding NO only promotes reactivity. A recently updated, detailed chemical kinetic model with chemistry specific to NOx/hydrocarbons interaction incorporated is used to simulate the experiments, and reasonable agreement is obtained. In-depth sensitivity and rate of production analyses are further performed. The results indicate that NO interacts with PACE-20 via two types of interaction: (a) direct interactions between NO and PACE-20 derivatives, primarily through NO+HO 2 ↔NO 2 +OH and RO 2 +NO↔RO+NO 2 , and (b) indirect interactions between PACE-20 derivatives and NO 2 produced from the direct interactions, primarily through R+NO 2 ↔RO+NO. The observed NO inhibiting effect at low temperatures and 150 ppm NO addition is attributed to the lack of HO 2 radicals to sustain NO consumption via NO+HO 2 ↔NO 2 +OH, and the take-up of inhibiting pathways via RO 2 +NO↔RO+NO 2 . The results also indicate that even with the presence of multiple fuel components, NOx/hydrocarbons interactions are highly selective, and are mainly initiated by the interactions between NO and RO 2 radicals from cyclopentane and ethanol, as well as between NO 2 and R radicals from toluene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene and 1-hexene. Further studies on these interactive reactions are therefore highly recommended.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Application of soot carbonization kinetics to deduce meaningful soot formation rates in premixed flat flames

Soot formation rates measured in fuel-rich premixed flat flames are frequently used to calibrate or validate chemical kinetic models of soot formation. Unfortunately, these flames feature an extended region of soot precursor particle inception and carbonization that complicates interpretation of soot measurements and leads to a fundamental inconsistency in the nature of the soot material that is modeled versus what is being measured when using non-intrusive, optical techniques. In the work presented here, previously reported data on two canonical sooting ethylene-air premixed flames at 1 atm pressure are interpreted via a new analysis approach that combines soot optical dispersion coefficient measurements with soot carbonization kinetics. This analytical approach explicitly accounts for the production of poorly ordered soot precursor particle mass and its carbonization over time in the flames, providing a clear distinction between the formation rate of precursor particles and their transformation into ordered, solid soot particulate mass. In particular, the results of the analysis show that the precursor particles form much earlier in the flame than the majority of the carbonized soot and their formation rate is two to three times faster than that of ordered soot. The results also show that particle agglomeration begins when the particles are at an intermediate state of carbonization. In conclusion, these results offer a valuable new interpretation of these important datasets and should lead to substantial improvements in the development and calibration of quantitative soot models.

Soot formation↗

Electrochemical leaching of spent LIBs: Kinetics, novel reactor, and modeling

The use of electrons as main reagent for the recovery and recycling of critical metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is a process electrification strategy that can be used to close the life-cycle loop of LIBs through more sustainable methods. Electrochemical leaching, a process that uses a reductant that is constantly regenerated electrochemically for the leaching of lithium-ion battery black mass (LIBBM), has shown high extraction efficiencies and sustainable scores. However, slow kinetics, reactor design challenges and lack of deeper understanding of the underlying processes are barriers to the optimization, scale-up, and market adoption of this technology. In this paper, a kinetic study and mathematical model for dissolving LIBBM is presented to better understand the underlying mechanisms aiming to reduce the processing time and make predictions for future design and scale-up. The effect of acid and electrochemically mediated reductant concentrations, LIBBM loading, and cathode/reactor designs were explored. As a result, the leaching time was reduced from 7h to under 1h at a pulp density of 73 g/L, without external heating. A novel reactor with parallel baffle electrodes (PBE) was developed, which significantly reduced the leaching time by improving convection in a stirred slurry electrochemical reactor. Dimensionless numbers were deduced from an unsteady state model, which can be used in dimensional analysis for future process design and scale-up.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Design and application of a kinetic model of lipid metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Lipid biosynthesis plays a vital role in living cells and has been increasingly engineered to overproduce various lipid-based chemicals. However, owing to the tightly constrained and interconnected nature of lipid biosynthesis, both understanding and engineering of lipid metabolism remain challenging, even with the help of mathematical models. Here we report the development of a kinetic metabolic model of lipid metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that integrates fatty acid biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, storage lipids, lumped sterol synthesis, and the synthesis and transport of relevant target-chemicals, such as fatty acids and fatty alcohols. The model was trained on lipidomic data of a reference S. cerevisiae strain, single knockout mutants, and lipid overproduction strains reported in literature. The model was used to design mutants for fatty alcohol overproduction and the lipidomic analysis of the resultant mutant strains coupled with model-guided hypothesis led to discovery of a futile cycle in the triacylglycerol biosynthesis pathway. In addition, the model was used to explain successful and unsuccessful mutant designs in metabolic engineering literature. Thus, this kinetic model of lipid metabolism can not only enable the discovery of new phenomenon in lipid metabolism but also the engineering of mutant strains for overproduction of lipids.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗