Experimental and Numerical Studies of Paraguayan Chaco Natural Gas in a Counterflow Diffusion Flame

Combustion is a chemical phenomenon in which a multitude of elementary chemical reactions take place, resulting in the overall process of fuel oxidation. Natural gas fuel has been explored for a few decades and extracted for a few years in the region of Paraguayan Chaco, near Bolivia border. Currently, natural gas is not very important in Paraguay’s energy matrix, however it could be in the near future if higher volumes are extracted and transported to the most populated cities, specially to the capital. In order to improve Paraguayan natural gas combustion performance, an understanding of its fundamental properties and the combustion pathways is required. This study presents new data for Paraguayan Chaco natural gas combustion in a laminar counterflow diffusion flame configuration at atmospheric pressure. Visible chemiluminescence of excited radicals CCCC∗ and CC2 is employed experimentally. 1D numerical simulation was carried out using Paraguayan Chaco natural gas chemical composition and a standard kinetic mechanism, to which we added CCCC∗ and CC2 reactions. Typical flame structures resulting from simulation are presented and a validation of the model is realized comparing experimental and numerical CCCC∗ and CC2 radicals profiles.