Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2017 The orF mation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from the Pyrolysis of Model 1-Alkene Fuels Eva Christine Caspary Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Chemical Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Caspary, Eva Christine, "The orF mation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from the Pyrolysis of Model 1-Alkene Fuels" (2017). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 4443. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/4443 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. THE FORMATION OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS FROM THE PYROLYSIS OF MODEL 1-ALKENE FUELS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Cain Department of Chemical Engineering by Eva Christine Caspary B.S. University of Applied Sciences Mannheim, Germany, 2010 May 2017 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my Ph.D. advisor, Prof. Mary J. Wornat. This work and experience would not have been possible without her guidance and wisdom. Apart from teaching me the importance of good scientific work, she has taught me how to be a successful human being on this earth. I would like to thank Prof. Wornat, for her unwavering support, for always believing in me, and for giving me the chance to personally and professionally grow during this experience. I will be forever grateful for the time Prof. Wornat has given me and for the many lessons I have learned from her. Furthermore, I would like to thank the members of my doctoral committee: Prof. Francisco Hung, Prof. Michael Benton, Prof. John Flake, and Prof. Revati Kumar. Their time and input were helpful to my research. I would like to gratefully acknowledge BASF SE for funding part of my research. I would also like to thank Prof. Werner Schmidt for providing reference standards and UV spectra and for the many pleasant and insightful personal exchanges. I am very grateful to the amazing administrative staff here in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Darla, Danny, Rachel, and Frank, for helping on so many occasions and for putting a smile on my face. Furthermore, I would like to thank the workshop staff, Paul and Joe, for their invaluable input and help in countless situations. I also want to gratefully acknowledge the Graduate School for financial help through the Coates award for travel to national and international conferences. I gratefully acknowledge the Combustion Institute for partially funding the travel to present posters at the International Symposia in Warsaw, Poland and San Francisco. The first colleague I would like to thank is Dr. Nimesh Poddar, who has not only helped me get started in the beginning of my doctoral studies, but who has been a constant stream of ii support and knowledge during my time as a graduate student. I would not be in the position to write this dissertation if it were not for Nimesh’s steady help and input. Above being a colleague, I consider Nimesh to be my brother, and am beyond grateful for all the time he has spent helping me become the person I am today. Furthermore, I want to thank the rest of my academic family, Dr. Venkateswaran Subramanian Kalpathy, Ms. Elizabeth Hurst, Ms. Catherine Poddar, Dr. Sean Bagley, and Mr. Karthik Vutukuru, for the invaluable scientific discussions and the many laughs and heartfelt conversations that made the lab feel like home. I also would like to mention, that I am grateful to Dr. Aubrey Heath for her friendship during our time here at LSU. I would like to thank Ms. Melissa Walsh for her love for LSU, which led me to apply for this graduate program in the first place, and for her constant support throughout this process. I would like to thank my family for all the love and support they have given me from far away. To my mother, Mrs. Ursula Kern, who has shown me what it means to be a strong woman and to fight for what is right; I am eternally grateful for all of her sacrifices that enable me to have this life. To my papa, Mr. Siggi Schoehl-Kern, for steadily standing by my side and teaching me the importance of thoroughness. To my sister, Ms. Alena Caspary, whom I love dearly, for her unwavering support and understanding. To my parents-in-law, Mr. Michael Schwartz and Mrs. Elaine Schwartz, for their many prayers and their love. And finally, I would like to thank the love of my life, Mr. Matthew Schwartz, for supporting me in countless ways, for encouraging me to be the best version of myself, and for loving me even in the hardest times. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii Abstract .................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter I. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background and Motivation ................................................................................................ 1 1.2. Structure of Dissertation ...................................................................................................... 4 Chapter II. Experimental Methods and Procedures ........................................................................ 6 2.1. Homogeneous Pyrolysis Reactor ......................................................................................... 6 2.1.1. Gas Delivery System ..................................................................................................... 6 2.1.2. Reactor .......................................................................................................................... 7 2.1.3. Product Collection ........................................................................................................ 8 2.2. Sample Preparation .............................................................................................................. 9 2.2.1. Gas-Phase Products (C 1 – C6 Hydrocarbons and H 2) ................................................... 9 2.2.2. Condensed-Phase Products (Light Aromatics and PAH) ............................................. 9 2.3. Product Analysis ................................................................................................................ 10 2.3.1. Analysis of Gas-Phase Products ................................................................................. 11 2.3.2. Analysis of Condensed-Phase Products ...................................................................... 12 Chapter III. Aliphatic and One-Ring Aromatic Products from Propylene Pyrolysis, 1-Butene Pyrolysis, and 1-Pentene Pyrolysis............................................................................ 16 3.1. Fuel Conversion ................................................................................................................. 16 3.2. C 1 – C6 Aliphatic Hydrocarbon Products .......................................................................... 18 3.2.1. Aliphatic Hydrocarbon Products of Propylene Pyrolysis ........................................... 20 3.2.2. Aliphatic Hydrocarbon Products of 1-Butene Pyrolysis ............................................. 25 3.2.3. Aliphatic Hydrocarbon Products of 1-Pentene Pyrolysis ........................................... 30 3.3. One-Ring Aromatic Products ............................................................................................. 34 3.4. Aliphatic and One-Ring Aromatic Products ...................................................................... 39 Chapter IV. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Propylene Pyrolysis, 1-Butene Pyrolysis, and 1-Pentene Pyrolysis ............................................................................................ 43 4.1. PAH Products from the Three Pyrolysis Sets .................................................................... 43 4.2. Two-Ring Aromatic Products ............................................................................................ 47 4.3. Higher-Ring Number PAH ................................................................................................ 52 Chapter V. Conclusions and Recommendations for Future Work ............................................... 66 5.1. Summary and Conclusions ................................................................................................ 66 5.2. Recommendations for Future Work .................................................................................. 70 References ................................................................................................................................... 73 iv Appendix: