scholarly journals Investigating Hydrogen Isotope Variation during Heating of n-Alkanes under Limited Oxygen Conditions: Implications for Palaeoclimate Reconstruction in Archaeological Settings

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 1830
Author(s):  
Rory Connolly ◽  
Margarita Jambrina-Enríquez ◽  
Antonio V. Herrera-Herrera ◽  
Carolina Mallol

This paper reports on a series of heating experiments that focus on n-alkanes extracted from leaf, bark, and xylem tissues of the Celtis australis plant. These lipid biomarkers were analysed for their compound-specific hydrogen isotopic composition (δ2Hwax) under limited oxygen conditions at 150, 250, 350, and 450 °C. Our results reveal isotopic variations in wax lipids of different plant organs during short-term low-temperature combustion. We conclude that, in the absence of a detailed characterisation of the depositional environment in advance of sampling, δ2Hwax values in archaeological or otherwise highly anthropogenic environments should be interpreted cautiously. In addition, we observed that variation in δ2Hwax of leaves is minimal at temperatures ≤ 350 °C, highlighting the potential for δ2Hwax in thermally altered combustion substrates to yield palaeoclimate information, which could allow researchers to investigate links between archaeological and climatic records at a high spatial and temporal resolution.

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sreeharsh Nair ◽  
Mayank Mittal

AbstractThe advent of stricter emission standards has increased the importance of aftertreatment devices and the role of numerical simulations in the evolution of better catalytic converters in order to satisfy these emission regulations. In this paper, a 2-D numerical simulation of a single channel of the monolith catalytic converter is presented by using detailed surface reaction kinetics aiming to investigate the chemical behaviour inside the converter. The model has been developed to study the conversion of carbon monoxide (CO) in the presence of propene (C3H6) for low-temperature combustion (LTC) engine application. The inhibition effect of C3H6 over a wide range of CO inlet concentrations is investigated. Considering both low and high levels of CO concentration at the inlet, the 2-D model predicted better results than their corresponding 1-D counterparts when compared with the experimental data from literature. It was also observed that C3H6 inhibition at high temperatures was significant, particularly for high concentrations of CO compared to low concentrations of CO at the inlet.


Author(s):  
Stephen M. Walton ◽  
Carlos Perez ◽  
Margaret S. Wooldridge

Ignition studies of two small esters were performed using a rapid compression facility (RCF). The esters (methyl butanoate and butyl methanoate) were chosen to have matching molecular weights, and C:H:O ratios, while varying the lengths of the constituent alkyl chains. The effect of functional group size on ignition delay time was investigated using pressure time-histories and high speed digital imaging. The mixtures studied covered a range of conditions relevant to oxygenated fuels and fuel additives, including bio-derived fuels. Low temperature and moderate pressure conditions were selected for study due to their relevance to advanced low temperature combustion strategies, and internal combustion engine conditions. The results are discussed in terms of the reaction pathways affecting the ignition properties.


Author(s):  
Yilu Lin ◽  
Han Wu ◽  
Karthik Nithyanandan ◽  
Timothy H. Lee ◽  
Chia-fon F. Lee ◽  
...  

Bio-butanol, a promising alternative transportation fuel, has its industrial-scale production hindered significantly by high cost component purification process from acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) broth. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of using ABE-Diesel blends with high ABE percentages as an alternative transportation fuel. An optical-accessible constant volume chamber capable of controlling ambient temperature, pressure and oxygen concentration was used to mimic the environmental conditions inside a real diesel engine cylinder. ABE fuel with typical volumetric ratios of 30% acetone, 60% butanol and 10% ethanol were blended with ultra-low sulfur diesel at 80% vol. and were tested in this study. The ambient temperature was set to be at 1100K and 900K, which represents normal combustion conditions and low temperature combustion conditions respectively. The ambient oxygen concentrations were set to be at 21%, 16% and 11%, representing different EGR ratios. The in-cylinder pressure was recorded by using a pressure transducer and the time-resolved Mie-scattering image and natural flame luminosity was captured using a high-speed camera coupled with a copper vapor laser. The results show that the liquid penetration is reduced by the high percentage of ABE in the blends. At the same time, the soot formation is reduced significantly by increasing oxygen content in the ABE fuel. Even more interesting, a soot-free combustion was achieved by combining the low temperature combustion with the higher percentage ABE case. In terms of soot emission, high ABE ratio blends are a very promising alternative fuel to be directly used in diesel engines especially under low-temperature combustion conditions.


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