Autoignition of diethyl ether and a diethyl ether/ethanol blend

摘要

Binary blends of fast-reacting diethyl ether (DEE) and slow-reacting ethanol (EtOH) are quite promising as renewable replacements for conventional fuels in modern compression ignition engines. In this work, pure diethyl ether and a 50/50 M binary blend of diethyl ether and ethanol (DEE/EtOH) were investigated in a shock tube and a rapid compression machine. Ignition delay times were measured over the temperature range of 550-1000 K, pressures of 20-40 bar, and equivalence ratios of 0.5-1. Literature reaction mechanisms of diethyl ether and ethanol were combined to simulate the reactivity trends of the blends. Species rate-of-production and sensitivity analyses were performed to analyze the interplay between radicals originating from the two fuels. Multistage ignition behavior was observed in both experiments and simulations, with peculiar 3-stage ignition visible at fuel-lean conditions. Kinetic analyses were used to identify the reactions controlling various stages of ignition. Reactivity comparison of DEE/EtOH and dimethyl ether/ethanol (DME/EtOH) blends showed that the oxidation of DEE blends is controlled by acetaldehyde whereas formaldehyde controls the oxidation of DME blends.