Studies of the diluent, temperature and pressure effect on the lower and upper flammability limits of ammonia in air

Ammonia safety and environmental protection research forms the basis for its role as a clean energy carrier. In this work, an experimental study was conducted in this work to analyze the effect of different inhibitors (nitrogen, argon and water vapor) on the flammability limits (FLs) of ammonia at elevated temperatures and pressures. In addition, the influence of diluents on the compositions and flame temperature changes was evaluated, and the temperature sensitivity coefficients of the elementary reactions and the ROP of free radicals and partial products at the FL concentrations were analyzed. The findings indicated that water vapor provided the strongest flame retardant effect on ammonia in three inhibitors. Within a certain temperature and pressure range, the FLs of ammonia in ammonia/diluent/air can be predicted using the extended Le Chatelier equation. The flame temperature decreased at the lower flammability limit (LFL) concentrations and increased at the upper flammability limit (UFL) concentrations of ammonia with increasing initial pressure. As the initial temperature increases, the flame temperature decreases during ammonia combustion. The influence of ammonia concentration on flame temperature is greater than that of diluents dilution. The elementary reactions H+O2<=>O+OH(R1) and NH2+NO<=>NNH+OH(R82) were the primary reactions that increased the flame temperature at the FL ammonia concentrations in ammonia/diluent/air. Conversely, NH2+NO<=>N2+H2O(R80) and H+O2(+M)<=>HO2(+M)(R15) were the main reactions that decreased the flame temperature. H, OH and NH2 radicals played a crucial role in the combustion reaction process at ammonia FL concentrations. At the LFL concentrations of ammonia, the molar fraction of the OH radical showed the greatest variation, while at the UFL concentrations of ammonia it was NH2 radical. The elementary reaction NH3+OH<=>NH2+H2O(R158) was the primary reaction that consumed OH radical and promoted the formation of NH2 radical. Free radical concentrations decreased with increasing pressure and temperature, while the change rate of free radical ROP accelerated with increasing pressure. In addition to nitrogen and water, the partial products were mainly nitric oxide at the LFL concentrations, while at the UFL concentrations were mainly hydrogen.