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LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Furans : the potential atmospheric impact of a next-generation bio fuel

Ausmeel, Stina LU (2012) FYSK01 20121
Department of Physics
Combustion Physics
Abstract
There has been a worldwide debate about “the climate change” over the past years, accompanied with the efforts in finding a more environmental friendly way to live. One area of research is to find replacements for the fossil fuels, which is the major energy source today. The aim of this project is to investigate the atmospheric properties of a new potential group of biofuels, i.e. the group of compounds called furans, and especially the two molecules 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran and
2,2-Dimethyltetrahydrofuran. The reason for this is that the environmental impact of a large scale use must be well known before any production can be considered. Therefore the reaction between these molecules and the atmospheric chlorine atoms will be... (More)
There has been a worldwide debate about “the climate change” over the past years, accompanied with the efforts in finding a more environmental friendly way to live. One area of research is to find replacements for the fossil fuels, which is the major energy source today. The aim of this project is to investigate the atmospheric properties of a new potential group of biofuels, i.e. the group of compounds called furans, and especially the two molecules 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran and
2,2-Dimethyltetrahydrofuran. The reason for this is that the environmental impact of a large scale use must be well known before any production can be considered. Therefore the reaction between these molecules and the atmospheric chlorine atoms will be investigated with respect to reaction speed and what products that will be formed.
The project is based on experimental work performed at the Copenhagen Centre for Atmospheric Research. A smog chamber which can be filled with a desired mixture of atmospheric gases, can be exposed to UV-light for a specific time and a detector can register the infrared light from a laser that goes through the gas mixture. This was used to test how the reactions proceeded between chlorine atoms and 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran and 2,2-Dimethyltetrahydrofuran respectively. The speed of the reaction, which is represented by a rate constant, was determined by analysing data and using the relative rate method. The products were studied by comparing infrared spectra from different molecules.
The results from the experiments were that the rate constants for the two compounds have the values k2-MTHF+Cl = 1.3∙10-10 cm3molecule-1s-1 and k2,2-DMTHF+Cl = 1∙10-10 cm3molecule-1s-1. The products that are known to be formed are hydrogen chloride, HCl, carbon dioxide, CO2, carbon monoxide, CO, water, H2O and formic acid, HCOOH.
This project resulted in the conclusion that the reaction with chlorine is fast and can be very important in some urban areas. This work has been one of the first of its kind, and even if it does not absolutely describe the atmospheric implications of these two potential fuels, it has laid a foundation for future research in the area. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
På grund av den världsomfattande diskussionen rörande ”klimatförändringen” som pågått under de senaste åren, så har försök gjorts för att få människor att ändra sina vanor och för att hitta alternativa energikällor. I dag är det fossila bränslen som dominerar som energikällor men eftersom de ger upphov till höga koldioxidhalter pågår det forskning för att ta fram alternativa bränslen. En grupp av ämnen som har föreslagits är de som kallas furaner, som kan framställas av socker och som brinner väldigt lätt. De två ämnen som undersöks är 2-Metyltetrahydrofuran och 2,2-Dimetyltetrahydrofuran. Det är viktigt att ta reda på hur dessa ämnen kommer reagera med andra ämnen som finns i atmosfären för att kunna undersöka hur de kommer påverka... (More)
På grund av den världsomfattande diskussionen rörande ”klimatförändringen” som pågått under de senaste åren, så har försök gjorts för att få människor att ändra sina vanor och för att hitta alternativa energikällor. I dag är det fossila bränslen som dominerar som energikällor men eftersom de ger upphov till höga koldioxidhalter pågår det forskning för att ta fram alternativa bränslen. En grupp av ämnen som har föreslagits är de som kallas furaner, som kan framställas av socker och som brinner väldigt lätt. De två ämnen som undersöks är 2-Metyltetrahydrofuran och 2,2-Dimetyltetrahydrofuran. Det är viktigt att ta reda på hur dessa ämnen kommer reagera med andra ämnen som finns i atmosfären för att kunna undersöka hur de kommer påverka miljön. Målet med detta arbete är därför att undersöka hur dessa ämnen skulle reagera med kloratomer i atmosfären om de eventuellt skulle börja användas i större skala.
Experiment utfördes i ett laboratorium på Copenhagen Centre for Atmospheric Research. I en så kallad smog kammare kan en valfri blandning av gaser som liknar en sammasättning i atmosfären undersökas. Reaktionerna undersöks med avseende på hur mycket blandningen bestrålats av UV-ljus. Det som undersöktes var hur snabbt reaktionerna mellan 2-Metyltetrahydrofuran respektive 2,2-Dimetyltetrahydrofuran och klor sker, dvs. reaktionernas hastighetskonstant, samt vilka produkter som bildas.
Resultaten analyserades med hjälp av dataprogram och de produkter som bland annat bildas är väteklorid, HCl, koldioxid, CO2, kolmonoxid, CO, vatten, H2O och myrsyra, HCOOH. De värden på hastighetskonstanterna som erhölls var: k2-MTHF+Cl = 1.3∙10-10 cm3molekyl-1s-1 och k2,2-DMTHF+Cl = 1∙10-10 cm3molekyl-1s-1. Slutsatserna som kan dras av detta är att klor reagerar mycket snabbt med dessa ämnen och att det kan ha betydelse i områden där klorhalterna i luften är förhöjda, till exempel på grund av luftföroreningar.
Detta är första gången som dessa reaktioner mellan 2-Metyltetrahydrofuran respektive 2,2-Dimetyltetrahydrofuran och klor undersöks. Även om dessa potentiella biobränslens påverkan på atmosfären och miljön inte är fullt kartlagda än, så har idéerna och undersökningsmetoden förbättrats och kan förhoppningsvis vara till hjälp för framtida forskning inom området. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Ausmeel, Stina LU
supervisor
organization
course
FYSK01 20121
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
furan, fuel, environment, chemistry, climate, atmosphere
language
English
id
2862334
date added to LUP
2012-08-14 14:34:39
date last changed
2012-11-12 22:27:48
@misc{2862334,
  abstract     = {{There has been a worldwide debate about “the climate change” over the past years, accompanied with the efforts in finding a more environmental friendly way to live. One area of research is to find replacements for the fossil fuels, which is the major energy source today. The aim of this project is to investigate the atmospheric properties of a new potential group of biofuels, i.e. the group of compounds called furans, and especially the two molecules 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran and 
2,2-Dimethyltetrahydrofuran. The reason for this is that the environmental impact of a large scale use must be well known before any production can be considered. Therefore the reaction between these molecules and the atmospheric chlorine atoms will be investigated with respect to reaction speed and what products that will be formed. 
	The project is based on experimental work performed at the Copenhagen Centre for Atmospheric Research. A smog chamber which can be filled with a desired mixture of atmospheric gases, can be exposed to UV-light for a specific time and a detector can register the infrared light from a laser that goes through the gas mixture. This was used to test how the reactions proceeded between chlorine atoms and 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran and 2,2-Dimethyltetrahydrofuran respectively. The speed of the reaction, which is represented by a rate constant, was determined by analysing data and using the relative rate method. The products were studied by comparing infrared spectra from different molecules. 
	The results from the experiments were that the rate constants for the two compounds have the values k2-MTHF+Cl = 1.3∙10-10 cm3molecule-1s-1 and k2,2-DMTHF+Cl = 1∙10-10 cm3molecule-1s-1. The products that are known to be formed are hydrogen chloride, HCl, carbon dioxide, CO2, carbon monoxide, CO, water, H2O and formic acid, HCOOH.
	This project resulted in the conclusion that the reaction with chlorine is fast and can be very important in some urban areas. This work has been one of the first of its kind, and even if it does not absolutely describe the atmospheric implications of these two potential fuels, it has laid a foundation for future research in the area.}},
  author       = {{Ausmeel, Stina}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Furans : the potential atmospheric impact of a next-generation bio fuel}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}