Breakdown and Combustion of JP-10 Fuel Catalyzed by Nanoparticulate CeO_2 and Fe_2O_3

摘要

Thermal breakdown and oxidation of JP-10 (exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene, C_(10)H_(16)), in the presence of nanoparticulate CeO_2 and Fe_2O_3, was studied in a small alumina flow-tube reactor on time scales around 1 ms. Decomposition products were analyzed by an in situ mass spectrometer. In the absence of any oxidizer, JP-10 pyrolyzes at temperatures above ～900 K to a variety of hydrocarbon products. In the absence of O_2, both CeO_2 and Fe_2O_3 oxidize JP-10 efficiently, with decomposition onset temperatures up to 300 K lower than in a clean alumina flow tube under identical flow conditions and substantial conversion to products such as water, CO_2, CO, and formaldehyde. Under such noncatalytic conditions, the CeO_2 or Fe_2O_3 is reduced and deactivated by the reaction with JP-10. Decomposition of JP-10 in the presence of stoichiometric O_2 was also studied, with and without CeO_2 present. In absence of CeO_2, some oxidation products are observed; however, the rate-limiting step appears to be pyrolysis of JP-10, and pyrolysis products dominate for temperatures up to 1200 K. When both O_2 and CeO_2 are present, oxidation is clearly catalytic; i.e., oxidation is initiated by the reaction of JP-10 with CeO_2, which is then reoxidized by O_2.