Abhijeet Raj

PAH growth initiated by propargyl addition: mechanism development and computational kinetics.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) growth is known to be the principal pathway to soot formation during fuel combustion, as such, a physical understanding of the PAH growth mechanism is needed to effectively assess, predict, and control soot formation in flames. Although the hydrogen abstraction C2H2 addition (HACA) mechanism is believed to be the main contributor to PAH growth, it has been shown to under-predict some of the experimental data on PAHs and soot concentrations in flames. This article presents a submechanism of PAH growth that is initiated by propargyl (C3H3) addition onto naphthalene (A2) and the naphthyl radical. C3H3 has been chosen since it is known to be a precursor of benzene in combustion and has appreciable concentrations in flames. This mechanism has been developed up to the formation of pyrene (A4), and the temperature-dependent kinetics of each elementary reaction has been determined using density functional theory (DFT) computations at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory and transition state theory (TST). H-abstraction, H-addition, H-migration, β-scission, and intramolecular addition reactions have been taken into account. The energy barriers of the two main pathways (H-abstraction and H-addition) were found to be relatively small if not negative, whereas the energy barriers of the other pathways were in the range of (6-89 kcal·mol(-1)). The rates reported in this study may be extrapolated to larger PAH molecules that have a zigzag site similar to that in naphthalene, and the mechanism presented herein may be used as a complement to the HACA mechanism to improve prediction of PAH and soot formation.

Reaction Mechanism for m-Xylene Oxidation in the Claus Process by Sulfur Dioxide

In the Claus process, the presence of aromatic contaminants such benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX), in the H2S feed stream has a detrimental effect on catalytic reactors, where BTX form soot particles and clog and deactivate the catalysts. Among BTX, xylenes are proven to be most damaging contaminant for catalysts. BTX oxidation in the Claus furnace, before they enter catalyst beds, provides a solution to this problem. A reaction kinetics study on m-xylene oxidation by SO2, an oxidant present in Claus furnace, is presented. The density functional theory is used to study the formation of m-xylene radicals (3-methylbenzyl, 2,6-dimethylphenyl, 2,4-dimethylphenyl, and 3,5-dimethylphenyl) through H-abstraction and their oxidation by SO2. The mechanism begins with SO2 addition on the radicals through an O-atom rather than the S-atom with the release of 180.0-183.1 kJ/mol of reaction energies. This exothermic reaction involves energy barriers in the range 3.9-5.2 kJ/mol for several m-xylene radicals. Thereafter, O-S bond scission takes place to release SO, and the O-atom remaining on aromatics leads to CO formation. Among four m-xylene radicals, the resonantly stabilized 3-methylbenzyl exhibited the lowest SO2 addition and SO elimination rates. The reaction rate constants are provided to facilitate Claus process simulations to find conditions suitable for BTX oxidation.

Reaction Mechanism for the Formation of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) During Coke Oxidation in Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Units

Fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) units in refineries process heavy feedstock obtained from crude oil distillation. While cracking feed, catalysts get deactivated due to coke deposition. During catalyst regeneration by burning coke in air, nitrogen oxides (NOx) are formed. The increase in nitrogen content in feed over time has resulted in increased NOx emissions. To predict NOx concentration in flue gas, a reliable model for FCC regenerators is needed that requires comprehensive understanding and accurate kinetics for NOx formation. Based on the nitrogen-containing functional groups on coke, model molecules are selected to study reactions between coke-bound nitrogen and O2 to form NO and NO2 using density functional theory. The reaction kinetics for the proposed pathways are evaluated using transition state theory. It is observed that the addition of O2 on coke is favored only when the free radical is present on the carbon atom instead of nitrogen atom. Thus, NOx formation during coke oxidation does not result from the direct attack by O2 on N atoms of coke, but from the transfer of an O atom to N from a neighboring site. The low activation energies required for NO formation indicate that it is more likely to form than NO2 during coke oxidation. The favorable pathways for NOx formation that can be used in FCC models are identified.