Detailed modeling of CO2 addition effects on the evolution of soot particle size distribution functions in premixed laminar ethylene flames

This study investigates computationally the influence of CO2 addition on the sooting behavior in premixed laminar ethylene/ oxygen/ argon burner stabilized stagnation (BSS) flames at the atmospheric pressure. The discrete sectional aerosol dynamics method combined with a reversible nucleation model and a novel model of reversible polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) condensation were employed to predict the size evolution of the particle size distribution (PSD) function. The predicted temperature profiles and PSD functions are in reasonably good agreement with the experimental data for nascent soot measured in the BSS configuration. The evolution of the PSD functions shows that CO2 addition reduces the soot nucleation and mass growth rates, consequently lowering the soot yield. The addition of CO2 reduces the concentrations of H, C2H2, C6H6, and large PAHs (e.g., pyrene) which all suppress the soot formation process through a chemical effect; the thermal effect of CO2 is not as strong as the chemical effect.