Investigation of Gas-phase Aluminium-H2O Oxidation Mechanism using Quantitative Optical Measurements and Kinetic Modelling

In this project we will investigate the oxidation mechanism of the gas-phase Al+H2O reaction, serving the goal of developing Al into an alternative fuel. Al has a high energy density and can react violently with steam in generating heat and H2.

The alumina products can be effectively collected and electrolytically reduced back to Al using renewable electricity, so to form a closed material loop.

The homogeneous Al+H2O reaction is crucial in effectively controlling Al to energy conversion, but the knowledge of the reaction mechanism is still poor due to the lack of accurate experimental data.

A new PhD student will be employed to tackle this problem during the 4-years project period by combining experimental measurements and kinetic analysis.

Using the burner devices and Al seeding systems well-developed in our group, one-dimensional laminar flames with widely tunable thermochemical parameters will be set up equipped with well-controlled Al seeding.

Full optical access for these Al-seeded well-characterized hot flows will be prepared for quantitative optical measurements.

Multipass enhance optical absorption spectroscopy will be employed to obtain calibration-free concentrations of Al-contained radicals, i.e., Al, Al2, AlO, AlH, Al2O, etc.

Planar laser-induced fluorescence measurements will provide the distribution of these radicals across the reaction zone. The complete data sets will be used to evaluate elemental reactions and develop an accurate Al+H2O reaction mechanism.