Soot formation in the pyrolysis of benzene, methylbenzene, and ethylbenzene in shock waves

Soot formation in the pyrolysis of benzene, methylbenzene, and ethylbenzene and in the oxidative pyrolysis of benzene in shock waves has been investigated using an absorption-emission technique. Even in the presence of small amounts of oxygen, soot formation in the pyrolysis of these hydrocarbons is accompanied by a decrease in the temperature of the reacting mixture. The soot yield has been measured as a function of temperature over wide initial reactant concentration ranges. A new, larger value was obtained for the coefficient of light absorption by soot particles at a wavelength of 632.8 nm. A revised, substantially modified kinetic model is suggested for soot formation. This model has been verified against experimental data available from the literature on the time profiles of the concentrations of some key components at the early stages of pyrolysis and oxidation of various hydrocarbons in a wide range of process conditions. The model reproduces fairly well the time dependences of the soot yield and soot particle temperature measured in this study for benzene, methylbenzene, and ethylbenzene pyrolysis.