Perturbation of Moist CO Oxidation by Trace Quantities of CH₃CI

The final destruction of toxic waste in incinerators occurs in the post flame region. The controlling chemistry in this region may be described as that of fuel-lean oxidation of CO in the presence of H₂O and HCl perturbed by trace quantities of chlorinated hydrocarbons. In the present study, a reaction bath with initially about 1% of CO, O₂, and H₂O in nitrogen was perturbed by CH₃C1 in a turbulent flow reactor operating at atmospheric pressure, with temperatures between 1000 and 1150K. The equivalence ratio ranged from 0.25 to 1.0 and the initial CH₃Cl ranged from 0 to 250 ppm. As little as 100 ppm of the CH₃C1 were found to completely inhibit the oxidation of CO. The destruction of CO and CH₃Cl was found to be most effectively enhanced first, by increasing temperature, second, by O₂ addition, and last by water addition. Species concentration and temperature profiles were obtained as a function of reactor residence time, and were compared to predictions from a detailed kinetic model. The observed intermediate and product species (CO, CO₂, O₂, CH₃C1, HCl, C₂H₄, CH₄, C₂H₃C1, and CH₂O) were all quantified experimentally. While the main qualitative features of the experiments are accurately predicted by the model, the intermediate species profiles display discrepancies. Sensitivity and reaction flux analyses indicate that, owing to the large levels of O₂ and CO, the sequence of reactions.