Laminar flame speeds of pentanol isomers: An experimental and modeling study

Long chain alcohols such as 1- and iso-pentanol are foreseen as a suitable replacement for ethanol, due to more favorable physical properties (higher energy density, higher boiling point and lower hygroscopicity). The present study presents high accuracy laminar flame speed measurements for iso-pentanol/air and 1-pentanol/air mixtures, at initial temperatures of 353 K, 433 K and 473 K, 1 bar pressure and equivalence ratios ranging from 0.7 to 1.5. Comparisons with previous measurements from the literature are also presented and the observed deviations are discussed in detail. The updated kinetic mechanism for alcohols combustion from the CRECK group at Politecnico di Milano is discussed and used for modeling purposes. For a more complete validation of the oxidation mechanism at high temperature conditions, modeling results are also compared with shock tube ignition delay times from the literature. This study extends the presently sparse and uncertain experimental database for high molecular weight alcohols oxidation in laminar flames, providing high accuracy and reliable experimental data of use for alcohols oxidation mechanism development and improvement.