The peroxides formed during the slow combustion of five hydrocarbons in a flow system have been identified and the approximate yields estimated. With propane at 327°C and 2, 2, 3-trimethylbutane at 365 to 385°C the products contained only traces of hydrogen peroxide, its addition compounds with aldehyde and (with C
3
H
8
) peracetic acid. With
n
-butane between 310 and 345°C and cylohexane between 290 and 316°C appreciable yields of peroxide were obtained (~ 10 to 20% of the hydrocarbon oxidized). These consisted of the monohydroperoxides, hydrogen peroxide and their addition compounds with aldehydes. With
n
-C
4
H
10
the relative amount of H
2
O
2
free and combined ( ~ 50% of the total peroxide yield) was much higher than with C
6
H
12
and some perpropionic acid was also detected. With
n
-heptane between 240 and 310°C the yield of peroxide in the products was also con siderable ( ~ 20% of the hydrocarbon reacted), and consisted mainly of dihydroperoxyheptane and its addition compounds with aldehydes (mainly formaldehyde), with much smaller amounts of monohydroperoxide and hydrogen peroxide (free and combined with aldehyde), diheptylperoxide and possible trihydroperoxyheptane. Packing the vessel increased the relative amount of aldehyde-addition compounds but did not affect the yield of free aldehyde, which apparently depended only on the temperature, being zero at 240°C. All aldehydes up to C
5
H
11
CHO were formed at higher temperatures, but those from C
3
to C
6
only in small yield. A little
β
-dicarbonyl compound and carboxylic acids were also detected in the products. The modes of formation and decomposition of the peroxides is discussed. It is suggested the dihydroperoxyheptane resulted from the abstraction of a hydrogen atom internally in the C
7
H
15
O
2
radical from the CH
2
group
β
or
γ
to the point of original attack, that aldehydes were produced partly by heterogeneous hydroperoxide decomposition and partly by decomposition of
RO
2
radicals, and that with
n
-heptane the aldehyde-hydroperoxide compounds were formed mainly on the walls of the reaction vessel. Chain branching in the oxidation of propane and 2, 2, 3-trimethylbutane was presumably due exclusively to the oxidation of aldehydes formed, whereas with the other three hydrocarbons branching due to homogeneous peroxide decomposition was probably important up to about 350°C.
A motored, unfired CFR engine was red with a rich heptane/air mixture. The jacket temperature was maintained at lOOcC with a few experiments at Oee. The ·exhaust vapours were totally condensed by a novel exhaust recovery system. After completely removing cylinder deposits. no reaction products were round at compression ratios up to 14: I. At a compression ratio or 16: I the charge autoignited/detonated. Subsequently, reaction products were round at a compression ratio or 6: I and thereafter in increasing quantities up to 14.6: I, the reproducible threshold of autoignition. This entire sequence or experiments was reproduced four times. Samples of the condensate were concentrated by vacuum distillation and subjected to qualitative and quantitative analyses. A very limited range of peroxides and carbonyls were formed in very low concentrations in all experiments where autoignition did not occur. These were identified and their rates of formation calculated. Some thermodynamic inferences were drawn as to their heats of formation. The maximum compression temperatures were calculated. At compression ratios below 16: I, it was concluded that the preflame reaction was initiated on the surface or the combustion chamber, after it had been subjected to autoignitions/detonations,
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