Recently, Prof. Fei Qi and Prof. Yuyang Li from the Institute of Aerospace Propulsion, School of Mechanical Engineering were invited to publish a comprehensive review paper entitled "Combustion chemistry of aromatic hydrocarbons" on Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, a renowned international journal in the research field of energy and combustion (IF = 35.339). The co-first authors are Dr. Hanfeng Jin and Dr. Wenhao Yuan.

Research topics in combustion chemistry of aromatic hydrocarbons

Aromatic hydrocarbons are one of the three major component families of gasoline, aviation kerosene and diesel. Their core structural unit, the benzene ring, is also a core structural unit of solid fuels such as coal, biomass and solid waste. Therefore, the research on the combustion chemistry of aromatic hydrocarbons is of great significance to the research fields of engine combustion, clean coal conversion, biomass and solid waste resource utilization. The group of Prof. Fei Qi and Prof. Yuyang Li has carried out long-term research in the field of combustion chemistry of aromatic hydrocarbons since 2005, and becomes one of the top research groups in this field worldwide with more than 50 papers published on this challenging field. This review paper combines the research achievements of the group in the past two decades and the research progress of other groups, and carries out a comprehensive review and analysis of the combustion chemistry of aromatic hydrocarbons from the aspects of reaction mechanism of basic aromatic hydrocarbons, combustion characteristics of substituted aromatic hydrocarbons, formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and soot, etc. The future development of experimental measurement, theoretical calculation, model construction and so on is proposed, including the research opportunities and challenges on elementary reactions in aromatic hydrocarbons combustion, interaction between benzene ring and sidechain, low-temperature combustion kinetics of aromatic hydrocarbons, PAH formation mechanism, etc. This work will play a guiding role in the development of clean and efficient engine combustion technologies and novel solid fuel conversion and utilization technologies.

Paper Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecs.2023.101076