With the success of ethanol as octane enhancer, companies such as Gevo, Inc and Butamax have turned their attention to alcohols as a promising new biofuel. However, the efficient use of these novel biofuels in internal combustion engines, particularly those relying on compression ignition, critically depends on understanding the fundamental peroxy chemistry, which control the autoignition at low temperatures. For alkanes, autoignition is controlled by well-studied low temperature pathways resulting in branching hydroxyl radicals (Zádor et al). However, recent studies (Welz et al) suggest that the major oxidation pathways for alcohols are not branching in hydroxyl radicals, leaving the mechanism of their autoignition in doubt.
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