Experimental and modeling study of the oxidation of benzene

This paper describes an experimental and modeling study of the oxidation of benzene. The low‐temperature oxidation was studied in a continuous flow stirred tank reactor with carbon‐containing products analyzed by gas chromatography. The following experimental conditions were used: 923 K, 1 atm, fuel equivalence ratios from 1.9 to 3.6, concentrations of benzene from 4 to 4.5%, and residence times ranging from 1 to 10 s corresponding to benzene conversion yields from 6 to 45%. The ignition delays of benzene–oxygen–argon mixtures with fuel equivalence ratios from 1 to 3 were measured behind shock waves. Reflected shock waves permitted to obtain temperatures from 1230 to 1970 K and pressures from 6.5 to 9.5 atm. A detailed mechanism has been proposed and allows us to reproduce satisfactorily our experimental results, as well as some data of the literature obtained in other conditions, such as in a plug flow reactor or in a laminar premixed flame. The main reaction paths have been determined for the four series of measurements by sensitivity and flux analyses. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 35: 503–524, 2003