Concerns over the harmful impacts of all combustion engines emissions have spearheaded clean alternatives to petroleum-based fuels. Ethers are interesting biomass-derived fuels produced through the coupling of bio-derived alcohols or ketones [1, 2]. They have favorable characteristics for potential use as alternative diesel fuels. When blended into fuels properly, ethers have been found to lower overall fuel emissions [3]. This has been attributed to the high oxygen content since the oxygen functionality directly relates to reducing soot precursor formation.<br/>In this study, we investigate the combustion chemistry of saturated linear, branched, and cyclic ethers to rationalize how the chemical structure affects their sooting tendency and autoignition characteristics. Five fuels representing various structural features of ethers were selected, and the products from their oxidation at low- (400 – 700 K) to high- (750 – 1100 K) temperature chemistry regimes were identified using a flow reactor experiment. A relationship between the fuel chemical structure and the speciation was determined based on mechanistic studies using quantum mechanics (QM) calculations and the multivariate model developed using the insights gained from the mechanistic investigation. The results of this study help to identify how the chemical structure of fuel influences both the sooting tendency and autoignition characteristics and serves as a foundational example for designing new biofuel candidates.

Elucidating the effect of chemical structure of linear, branched, and cyclic ethers of low emission and high reactivity

ACS Spring 2022

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