Experimental and Modeling Investigation on the Pyrolysis of n-C₁₀H₂₂ Initiated by C₂H₅NO₂

To investigate the mechanism of the nitro-alkanes initiation effect on the pyrolysis of hydrocarbons, pyrolysis experiments were conducted on n-C₁₀H₂₂, C₂H₅NO₂, and a binary mixture of both compounds using synchronous vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometry. These experiments were performed within a heated flow tube under varying pressure conditions of 30 and 760 Torr. Identifying and measuring pyrolysis species, comprising stable species and radicals, provides insights into the mechanism underlying the pyrolysis and the interaction of n-C₁₀H₂₂ and C₂H₅NO₂. The findings demonstrate that C₂H₅NO₂ can reduce the initial decomposition temperature of n-C₁₀H₂₂, and the acceleration effect on pyrolysis becomes more pronounced with an increase in experimental pressure. The addition of C₂H₅NO₂ also affects the distribution of alkanes, alkenes, dienes, and alkynes. A detailed elementary reaction-dynamics model comprising 223 species and 1730 reactions was established and used to simulate the distribution of C₂H₅NO₂, n-C₁₀H₂₂, major species, and significant intermediates observed in the experiments. The results prove that the developed model exhibits good accuracy in predicting experimental results and enables a detailed analysis of the initiation mechanism of C₂H₅NO₂ on n-C₁₀H₂₂. The impact of C₂H₅NO₂ on the conversion rate and selectivity of pyrolysis products of n-C₁₀H₂₂ is highlighted and elucidated.