Characteristics of Explosion Hazards in Methane–Air Mixtures Diluted by Hydrogen

The combustion efficiency of methane can be effectively enhanced with the occurrence of hydrogen. However, the combustion characteristic of premixed methane/hydrogen/air is not fully understood. In this study, the effect of the amount of hydrogen addition on the explosion risk of premixed CH<sub&...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jiajia Liu, Danyang Yu, Ping Li, Xuxu Sun, Xianfeng Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-09-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/18/6416
Description
Summary:The combustion efficiency of methane can be effectively enhanced with the occurrence of hydrogen. However, the combustion characteristic of premixed methane/hydrogen/air is not fully understood. In this study, the effect of the amount of hydrogen addition on the explosion risk of premixed CH<sub>4</sub>/air combustion was fully investigated through experiments and simulations. The explosion overpressure of premixed CH<sub>4</sub>/air combustion with various hydrogen additions was measured in a standard 20 L spherical closed vessel. Meanwhile, the microscopic flame structures for the same cases were simulated using 2022 Chemkin-Pro software. The results showed that hydrogen could increase the explosion risks of premixed CH<sub>4</sub>/air combustion. The rate of key elementary reactions R38: H + O<sub>2</sub> <=> O + OH and R84: OH + H<sub>2</sub> <=> H + H<sub>2</sub>O in the system could be accelerated by hydrogen. The peak explosion overpressure in the closed chamber is boosted and the arrival time of peak overpressure rise rate is shortened, which raises the danger. Especially under lean and rich combustion conditions, hydrogen could potentially lead to more dangerous situations. With the increase in hydrogen concentration, the reaction rate of key elementary reactions accelerates faster, the peak explosion overpressure increases more, and the peak overpressure rise rate arrives earlier.
ISSN:1996-1073