An experimental and modeling study of n-octanol combustion

This study presents the first investigation on the combustion chemistry of n-octanol, a long chain alcohol. Ignition delay times were determined experimentally in a high-pressure shock tube, and stable species concentration profiles were obtained in a jet stirred reactor for a range of initial conditions. A detailed kinetic model was developed to describe the oxidation of n-octanol at both low and high temperatures, and the model shows good agreement with the present dataset. The fuel's combustion characteristics are compared to those of n-alkanes and to short chain alcohols to illustrate the effects of the hydroxyl moiety and the carbon chain length on important combustion properties. Finally, the results are discussed in detail. (C) 2014 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.