The combustion of model chlorinated hydrocarbon compounds is being studied in a flat flame burner and flow reactor in an effort to develop detailed chemical kinetic mechanisms. Stable intermediate species profiles within chloro-benzene and chloro-toluene/methane flames are measured using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry; laser photolysis is utilized to generate chloromethyl and chlorovinyl radicals in the flow reactor, with an on-line mass spectromer used to measure the products of decomposition/reaction in the presence of oxygen. The research will lead to the establishment of a better understanding of the combustion of chlorinated hydrocarbons, expressed in the form of a detailed chemical kinetic mechanism. The mechanism can be used as a rational starting point for understanding the role chlorine plays in the formation of pollutants such as chlorinated aromatics, di- benzo furans, and di-benzo dioxins in incinerators.
