Investigation of soot oxidation kinetics, nanostructure, and surface elemental analysis

Update Item Information
Publication Type dissertation
School or College College of Engineering
Department Chemical Engineering
Author Levinthal, Joseph Douglas
Title Investigation of soot oxidation kinetics, nanostructure, and surface elemental analysis
Date 2013-12
Description The goal of this research was to provide a better understanding of how soot oxidation kinetics are affected by nanostructure, surface functional groups (SFGs) , C-C sp2,C-C sp3, phenol, carbonyl and carboxylic, pressure, and type of fuel. The oxidation kinetics of soot were studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to determine kinetic parameters such as the kinetic rate of oxidation, activation energy and pre-exponential factor using Arrhenius kinetics. High-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) was used to obtain images of the soot and an image analysis algorithm identified the fringe length and tortuosity of the soot samples, which are indications of soot nanostructure. A high-pressure TGA was used to partially oxidize samples at a range of pressures, which were then studied using image analysis to identify changes in the nanostructure. The surface functional groups were studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and CasaXPS, peak-fitting software was used for identification of the SFGs present. The more structured soot had higher activation energies and slower kinetic rates while soot with less structure demonstrated lower activation energies and faster kinetic rates. There was no significant correlation found between SFGs and oxidation behavior.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Combustion; High resolution transmission electron spectroscopy (HRTEM); Kinetics; Nanostructure; Soot; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name Master of Science
Language eng
Rights Management Copyright © Joseph Douglas Levinthal 2013
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 1,840,777 bytes
Identifier etd3/id/2690
ARK ark:/87278/s66x2k82
Setname ir_etd
ID 196265
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s66x2k82