FUEL INSTABILITY STUDIES: LIQUID PHASE OXIDATION OF TETRAHYDROTHIOPHENE BY TERT-BUTYL HYDROPEROXIDE

The reactions that lead to fuel instability are the subject of conflicting reports in the literature. Confusion results from the difficulty in relating differences in fuel composition, temperature, surface effects and dissolved oxygen content that comprise the multitude of reported studies. Model studies offer a means by which the mechanism of an individual reaction can be related to a simple system and then extended to the more complex fuel media. This paper reports a model oxidation study of a cyclic sulfide, tetrahydrothiophene, with an active oxygen species, t-butyl hydroperoxide under mild reaction conditions, 120°C, in a tetradecane model fuel. The major oxidation product was tetrahydrothiophene sulfoxide from the sulfide and t-butanol from the hydroperoxide. The complete suite of products is reported.