Gas-phase rate coefficients for the OH + n-, i-, s-, and t-butanol reactions measured between 220 and 380 K: non-Arrhenius behavior and site-specific reactivity

Butanol (C4H9OH) is a potential biofuel alternative in fossil fuel gasoline and diesel formulations. The usage of butanol would necessarily lead to direct emissions into the atmosphere; thus, an understanding of its atmospheric processing and environmental impact is desired. Reaction with the OH radical is expected to be the predominant atmospheric removal process for the four aliphatic isomers of butanol. In this work, rate coefficients, k, for the gas-phase reaction of the n-, i-, s-, and t-butanol isomers with the OH radical were measured under pseudo-first-order conditions in OH using pulsed laser photolysis to produce OH radicals and laser induced fluorescence to monitor its temporal profile. Rate coefficients were measured over the temperature range 221-381 K at total pressures between 50 and 200 Torr (He). The reactions exhibited non-Arrhenius behavior over this temperature range and no dependence on total pressure with k(296 K) values of (9.68 ± 0.75), (9.72 ± 0.72), (8.88 ± 0.69), and (1.04 ± 0.08) (in units of 10(-12) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1)) for n-, i-, s-, and t-butanol, respectively. The quoted uncertainties are at the 2σ level and include estimated systematic errors. The observed non-Arrhenius behavior is interpreted here to result from a competition between the available H-atom abstraction reactive sites, which have different activation energies and pre-exponential factors. The present results are compared with results from previous kinetic studies, structure-activity relationships (SARs), and theoretical calculations and the discrepancies are discussed. Results from this work were combined with available high temperature (1200-1800 K) rate coefficient data and room temperature reaction end-product yields, where available, to derive a self-consistent site-specific set of reaction rate coefficients of the form AT(n) exp(-E/RT) for use in atmospheric and combustion chemistry modeling.

Experimental determination of the high-temperature rate constant for the reaction of OH with sec-butanol

The overall rate constant for the reaction of OH with sec-butanol [CH(3)CH(OH)CH(2)CH(3)] was determined from measurements of the near-first-order OH decay in shock-heated mixtures of tert-butylhydroperoxide (as a fast source of OH) with sec-butanol in excess. Three kinetic mechanisms from the literature describing sec-butanol combustion were used to examine the sensitivity of the rate constant determination to secondary kinetics. The overall rate constant determined can be described by the Arrhenius expression 6.97 × 10(-11) exp(-1550/T[K]) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), valid over the temperature range of 888-1178 K. Uncertainty bounds of ±30% were found to adequately account for the uncertainty in secondary kinetics. To our knowledge, the current data represent the first efforts toward an experimentally determined rate constant for the overall reaction of OH with sec-butanol at combustion-relevant temperatures. A rate constant predicted using a structure-activity relationship from the literature was compared to the current data and previous rate constant measurements for the title reaction at atmospheric-relevant temperatures. The structure-activity relationship was found to be unable to correctly predict the measured rate constant at all temperatures where experimental data exist. We found that the three-parameter fit of 4.95 × 10(-20)T(2.66) exp(+1123/T[K]) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) better describes the overall rate constant for the reaction of OH with sec-butanol from 263 to 1178 K.

High-temperature rate constant determination for the reaction of OH with iso-butanol

This work presents the first direct experimental study of the rate constant for the reaction of OH with iso-butanol (2-methyl-1-propanol) at temperatures from 907 to 1147 K at near-atmospheric pressures. OH time-histories were measured behind reflected shock waves using a narrow-linewidth laser absorption method during reactions of dilute mixtures of tert-butylhydroperoxide (as a fast source of OH) with iso-butanol in excess. The title reaction's overall rate constant (OH + iso-butanol →(k(overall)) all products) minus the rate constant for the β-radical-producing channel (OH + iso-butanol →(k(β)) 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-prop-2-yl radical + H(2)O) was determined from the pseudo-first-order rate of OH decay. A two-parameter Arrhenius fit of the experimentally determined rate constant in the current temperature range yields the expression (k(overall) - k(β)) = 1.84 × 10(-10) exp(-2350/T[K]) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1). A recommendation for the overall rate constant, including k(β), is made, and comparisons of the results to rate constant recommendations from the literature are discussed.

Relative and absolute kinetic studies of 2-butanol and related alcohols with tropospheric Cl atoms

A newly constructed chamber/Fourier transform infrared system was used to determine the relative rate coefficient, k(i), for the gas-phase reaction of Cl atoms with 2-butanol (k(1)), 2-methyl-2-butanol (k(2)), 3-methyl-2-butanol (k(3)), 2,3-dimethyl-2-butanol (k(4)) and 2-pentanol (k(5)). Experiments were performed at (298 +/- 2) K, in 740 Torr total pressure of synthetic air, and the measured rate coefficients were, in cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) units (+/-2sigma): k(1)=(1.32 +/- 0.14) x 10(-10), k(2)=(7.0 +/- 2.2) x 10(-11), k(3)=(1.17 +/- 0.14) x 10(-10), k(4)=(1.03 +/- 0.17) x 10(-10) and k(5)=(2.18 +/- 0.36) x 10(-10), respectively. Also, all the above rate coefficients (except for 2-pentanol) were investigated as a function of temperature (267-384 K) by pulsed laser photolysis-resonance fluorescence (PLP-RF). The obtained kinetic data were used to derive the Arrhenius expressions: k(1)(T)=(6.16 +/- 0.58) x 10(-11)exp[(174 +/- 58)/T], k(2)(T)=(2.48 +/- 0.17) x 10(-11)exp[(328 +/- 42)/T], k(3)(T)=(6.29 +/- 0.57) x 10(-11)exp[(192 +/- 56)/T], and k(4)(T)=(4.80 +/- 0.43) x 10(-11)exp[(221 +/- 56)/T](in units of cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) and +/-sigma). Results and mechanism are discussed and compared with the reported reactivity with OH radicals. Some atmospheric implications derived from this study are also reported.

Atmospheric Degradation of 2-Butanol, 2-Methyl-2-butanol, and 2,3-Dimethyl-2-butanol: OH Kinetics and UV Absorption Cross Sections

The absolute rate coefficients for the reactions of hydroxyl radical (OH) with 2-butanol (k(1)), 2-methyl-2-butanol (k(2)), and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butanol (k(3)) were measured as a function of temperature (263-354 K) and pressure (41-193 Torr of He, Ar, and N(2)) by the pulsed laser photolysis/laser-induced fluorescence technique. This work represents the first absolute determination of k(1)(-)k(3) and their temperature dependence. No pressure dependence of the rate coefficients was observed in the range studied. Thus, k(i)(298 K) values (x10(-12) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) with an uncertainty of +/-2sigma) were averaged over the pressure range studied yielding 8.77 +/- 1.46, 3.64 +/- 0.60, and 9.01 +/- 1.00 for 2-butanol (k(1)), 2-methyl-2-butanol (k(2)), and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butanol (k(3)), respectively. k(1) and k(3) exhibit a slightly negative temperature dependence over the temperature range studied. In contrast, the rate coefficient for the reaction of OH with 2-methyl-2-butanol (k(2)) did not show any temperature dependence. Some deviation of the conventional Arrhenius behavior was clearly observed for k(3). In this case, the best fit to our data was found to be described by the three-parameter expression k(T) = A + B exp(-C/T). The UV absorption cross sections of 2-butanol, 2-methyl-2-butanol, and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butanol have also been measured at room temperature between 208 and 230 nm. The values reported constitute the first determination of the UV cross sections of those alcohols. Our results are compared with previous studies, when possible, and are discussed in terms of the H-abstraction by OH radicals. The atmospheric implications of these reactions and the photochemistry of these alcohols are also discussed.