Influence of organophosphorus inhibitors on the structure of atmospheric lean and rich methane-oxygen flames

The inhibition of atmospheric laminar methane-oxygen flames of various compositions by trimethyl phosphate was studied experimentally and by numerical modeling using mechanisms based on detailed kinetics. The H and OH concentration profiles in flames with and without the addition of trimethyl phosphate were measured and calculated. It was shown that the addition of the inhibitor reduced the maximum (in the reaction zone) concentrations of H and OH in lean and rich flames. The concentration reduction was higher in rich flames than in lean flames. The concentration profiles of the phosphorus-containing products PO, PO₂, HOPO, HOPO₂, and (HO)₃PO in lean and rich flames stabilized on a flat burner were measured and calculated. Tests of the previously developed model of flame inhibition by phosphorus compounds showed that the model provides adequate predictions of many experimental results. __________ Translated from Fizika Goreniya i Vzryva, Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 23–31, March–April, 2007.