An experimental investigation of the ignition properties of hydrogen and carbon monoxide mixtures for syngas turbine applications

Abstract Ignition studies of simulated syngas mixtures of hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO), oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2), and carbon dioxide (CO2) were performed using a rapid compression facility. Experiments were conducted using pressure time-histories and high-speed imaging to measure ignition delay times (τign), over a broad range of conditions relevant to current and proposed gas-turbine technologies, and which included fuel compositions consistent with typical gasification facilities. Specifically, the τign data spanned pressures from P = 7.1 to 26.4 atm, temperatures from T = 855 to 1051 K, equivalence ratios from ϕ = 0.1 to 1.0, oxygen mole fractions from χ O 2 = 15 % to 20% and H2:CO ratios from H2:CO = 0.25 to 4.0 (mole basis). Regression analysis yielded the following best-fit to the composite data set: τ ign = 3.7 × 10 - 6 P - 0.5 ϕ - 0.4 χ O 2 - 5.4 exp ( 12 , 500 / R [ cal/mol/K ] T ) In this expression, τign is the ignition delay time [ms], P is pressure [atm], T is temperature [K], ϕ is the equivalence ratio (based on the H2 and CO to O2 molar ratio), and χ O 2 is the oxygen mole fraction. The uncertainty in the measured values for τign is estimated as less than 30%. The experimental data are in good agreement with model predictions based on a recently proposed detailed reaction mechanism for H2 and CO.