High temperature infrared absorption cross sections of methane near 3.4 µm in Ar and CO2 mixtures

The absorption cross-sections of CH4 at two wavelengths in the mid-IR region: λpeak = 3403.4 nm and λvalley = 3403.7 nm were measured. Data were taken using three different compositions of non-reactive gas mixtures comprising CH4/Ar/CO2 between 700 < T < 2000 K and 0.1 < P < 1.5 atm in a shock tube utilizing a continuous-wave distributed-feedback quantum cascade laser. Also, broadband room temperature methane cross section measurements were performed using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and the cascade laser to gain a better insight into the changes of the line shapes in various bath gasses (Ar, CO2, and N2). An application of the high-temperature cross-section data was demonstrated to determine the concentration of methane during oxy-methane combustion in a mixture of CO2, O2, and Ar. Current measurements will be valuable addition to the spectroscopy database for methane- an important fuel used for power generation and heating around the world.