Regenerative cooling capacity of hydrogenated carene under supercritical environment

Abstract

Summary The thermal cracking characteristic of an in‐house prepared plant‐derived hydrogenated carene (H‐Carene) fuel is examined above its critical temperature and pressure. The experiments were performed for a wide range of temperatures between 450°C and 650°C at 40 bar pressure in a tubular flow reactor. At 650°C and 40 bar pressure, the conversion of the H‐Carene fuel is about 40%, and the estimated value of chemical heat sink capacity is 488 kJ/kg of fuel. The aptness of triethylamine (TEA) as an initiator to improve the heat sink capacity of the H‐Carene fuel is also examined. The investigation showed that the initiator improved the fuel conversion and endothermicity. The endothermic heat sink capacity of the H‐Carene increased by about 28% at 650°C with 5% (by weight) of TEA. It is noted that the sensitivity of temperature on the coke formation rate is higher than the initiator sensitivity for a similar range of the conversion change. The thermal cracking of H‐Carene follows a first‐order kinetic model, and the estimated value of the apparent activation energy of the H‐Carene cracking reaction is about 95 kJ/mol. The work shows that the heat sink capability of the plant‐derived H‐Carene fuel is comparable with JP‐7, a petroleum‐derived fuel. Novelty Statement The manuscript presented the cracking characteristics of hydrogenated carene under supercritical conditions emphasizing various features like detailed characterization, feed conversion, product distribution, cooling capacities, coke deposition rate, cracking kinetics, and so on. It also highlighted the suitability of an amine‐based initiator to enhance the endothermicity of the fuel. The study is unique and not found in any article which addressed the above aspects altogether.