Shock Tube and Laser Absorption Study of CH2O Oxidation via Simultaneous Measurements of OH and CO.

The oxidation of Ar-diluted stoichiometric CH2O-O2 mixtures was studied behind reflected shock waves over temperatures of 1332-1685 K, at pressures of about 1.5 atm and initial CH2O mole fractions of 500, 1500, and 5000 ppm. Quantitative and time-resolved concentration histories of OH and CO (at both v″ = 0 and v″ = 1) were measured by narrow-linewidth laser absorption at 306.7 and 4854 nm, respectively. A time delay was observed between the formation of v″ = 0 and v″ = 1 states of CO, suggesting that CO was kinetically generated primarily in the ground state and then collisionally relaxed toward vibrational equilibrium. The measured CO and OH time-histories were used to evaluate the performance of four detailed reaction mechanisms regarding the oxidation chemistry of CH2O. Further analyses of these time-history data have also led to improved determination for the rate constants of two key reactions, namely H + O2 = O + OH (R1) and OH + CO = CO2 + H (R2), as follows: k1 = 8.04 × 1013 exp(-7370 K/T) cm3 mol-1 s-1, k2 = 1.90 × 1012 exp(-2760 K/T) cm3 mol-1 s-1; both expressions are valid over 1428-1685 K and have 1σ uncertainties of approximately ±10%.