Global consumption of fossil fuels and the production of greenhouse gases continues to rise, causing deleterious effects to the environment and its inhabitants [1]. In 2017 the U.S alone produced approximately 87 quadrillion BTU through its primary energy sources, with 77.6% coming from the burning of fossil-based fuels [2]. In order to curb these increasing levels of greenhouse gases while still meeting the world's energy demands, alternative fuels are essential. Therefore in this study, biofuels of various chemical classes which show potential to be used gas turbines for power generation while simultaneously decreasing the level of harmful emissions are investigated. However, before any of the identified fuels can be consumed by the industrial and commercial sectors, well-validated chemical kinetic mechanisms must be constructed so that the complete reactivity and behavior of these fuels is understood. Validating kinetic mechanisms requires experimental data which is easily obtained in a shock tube—a device that simulates engine relevant conditions via gas compression from shock waves. Using this device, ignition delay times and species time-histories can be obtained during the fuel decomposition under relevant conditions and compared to the outputs of these kinetic mechanisms; valuable molecules for time-history comparisons include carbon monoxide, ethylene, and formaldehyde. Therefore, in this work the chemical kinetics of prenol isomers were studied in a double-diaphragm, heated shock tube at a pressure of 9.5 atm and temperatures of 1269-1472 K. A stoichiometric fuel-oxygen mixture, with a fuel concentration of 0.05% was chosen to investigate the pressure, emission, and carbon monoxide time histories during prenol oxidation. CO histories were measured behind reflected shock waves with a continuous wave distributed feedback quantum cascade laser at 2046.30cm-l, with no interference from other top intermediates. Measured values were compared to a recent chemical kinetic mechanism. Model predictions over predict the CO yield and time of this max yield; however, the general shape of the model predictions match quite well with experimental results.
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