The effects of sulfur on fuel nitrogen conversion in combustion

University Of North Texas, Denton TX

Investigators

Abstract

CBET-0756144 Marshall Combustion is the major source of energy, but sulfur and nitrogen in fuels can become pollutants related to smog. The proposed research program will define how sulfur, normally a trace component in liquid and solid fuels, influences the formation of nitrogen oxides when the fuel is burned. These nitrogen oxides are of concern as significant pollutants, but the details of the chemistry leading to their formation are incompletely understood. This limitation is especially true of catalytic cycles involving sulfur-containing compounds, whose reactivity has been demonstrated in the laboratory. Photochemical reactors will be employed to characterize reactions of short-lived species. Measurements will be made from room-temperature to high-temperature conditions by means of visible light and ultraviolet spectroscopy, yielding concentration profiles of reactants and/or products as a function of time on a microsecond time scale. The reactivity data will be interpreted at the molecular level in terms of energy changes as chemical bonds are transformed. This theoretical interpretation will aid reliable extrapolation to new conditions. Results from this program will be used to construct a quantitative numerical model for interactions between sulfur and nitrogen compounds in flames. Such information can then be used to assist the design of conditions and technologies which lead to lower emissions of nitrogen oxides from combustors. The ultimate goal is to improve air quality through reduction of low-level atmospheric ozone, photochemical smog and acid rain. Broader impacts of the proposed work arise through publications and presentations in the technical and scientific community and by the training and education of new scientists.