Pulsed Flame for Syngas Production via Partial Methane Oxidation

The behavior of pulsed flame (PF) and its potential application as a source for syngas production was investigated. Methane/oxygen mixtures of different compositions with and without nitrogen dilution in the temperature range of 278-673 K were studied. This allowed to study the influence of operating temperature, equivalence ratio and dilution on the PF behavior and syngas production efficiency. The PF exhibits two different modes of flame propagation: one relatively slow (several m/s) observed for CH₄/O₂ mixtures diluted by nitrogen and another, very fast, with flame speed of ∼1300 m/s, observed for the mixtures containing only CH₄ and O₂ without nitrogen dilution. The exhaust gases emerging from the PF were analyzed by Gas Chromatography (GC) and Fiber Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (FLICAS) for CO:CO₂ ratio. The CO:CO₂ ratio observed in the PF exhaust was found to be higher than that observed in continuous flame, suggesting additional advantages for employing PF for syngas production.