L1 /
8
CH1012
COMBUSTION
Combustion chemistry
• When alkanes
react with O2 in oil furnaces & internal combustion engines a complex series of reactions take place.
• The detailed
mechanism is still incomplete but the
main reactions are known to occur by radical chain mechanisms with
chain-initiating & chain-propagating steps.
chain-initiating & chain-propagating steps.
R-H + O2 ® R. + .OOH Initiating
R. + O2 ® R-OO. Propagating
R-OO. + RH ® R-OOH + R. alkyl hydroperoxide
R-OO. + RH ® R-OOH + R. alkyl hydroperoxide
RO-OH ® RO. + .OH New
initiators
