Experimental and simulation study of the high pressure oxidation of dimethyl carbonate

Abstract An experimental and modeling study of the oxidation at high pressure of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) has been performed in a quartz tubular flow reactor. Experimental and simulated concentrations of DMC, CO, CO2 and H2 have been obtained for different temperatures (500–1073 K), pressures (20, 40, and 60 atm) and stoichiometries (λ = 0.7, 1, and 35). Both pressure and concentration of oxygen are important parameters for conversion of DMC. The simulations have been carried out using a detailed kinetic mechanism previously developed by the research group. In general, the model is able to reproduce the experimental trends of the different concentration profiles, although some discrepancies are observed between experimental and simulation results. The performance of the model was also evaluated through the simulation of literature data of the oxidation of DMC at atmospheric pressure in a flow reactor and of the DMC ignition delay times under low and high pressures. In this sense, this work contributes to the knowledge of the combustion process of DMC, by providing new experimental data on the conversion of DMC at high pressures and using a kinetic model for the interpretation of the results.