Role of Particles in the Inhibition of Premixed Flames by Iron Pentacarbonyl

Published

October 1, 2000

Author(s)

M D. Rumminger, Gregory T. Linteris

Abstract

Laser light scattering has been used to investigate particle formation in Fe(CO)5-inhibited premixed flames in order to understand the influence of metal and metal oxide condensation on flame inhibition. In premixed CH4-air flames, particles form early in the flame zone, nucleate and grow to a peak scattering cross section, then disappear as the temperature increases its peak value. Downstream in the post-combustion gases, the peak scattering signal is several orders of magnitude larger than the peak value near the main reaction zone of the flame. Thermophoretic particle sampling and numerical estimates indicate nanoparticles with diameters between 10 and 30 nm. The iron pentacarbonyl mole fraction above which additional Fe(CO)5 no longer reduces the burning velocity corresponds to the mole fraction at which the in-flame particle nucleation begins to sharply increase. A model of an ideal heterogeneous inhibitor shows that radical recombination on particle surfaces alone cannot account for the magnitude of the observed inhibition. Measurements in three CO-H2 flames with similar adiabatic flame temperatures but different burning velocities demonstrate the importance of residence time for particle formation in premixed flames.

Citation

Combustion and Flame

Volume

123

Issue

No. 1/2

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

premixed flames, flame inhibition, flame chemistry, iron pentacarbonyl, metal oxides, condensation, halon alternatives, nucleation, nanoparticles

Citation

Rumminger, M. and Linteris, G. (2000), Role of Particles in the Inhibition of Premixed Flames by Iron Pentacarbonyl, Combustion and Flame, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=914402 (Accessed October 14, 2025)