First-Order Kinetic Study of the Reformation of Jet Fuel in Supercritical Water

A global first-order kinetic study was conducted for the supercritical water reformation of jet fuel. Experiments were performed non-catalytically in a continuous mode of operation using supercritical water in a specially designed 926 mL Inconel 625 Grade-1 tubular reactor at temperatures varying from 803 to 972 K and at a pressure of 24.15 ± 0.06 MPa. The process was modeled as three reactions in series: pyrolysis of the jet fuel, reformation of the smaller pyrolysis fractions, and the subsequent water gas shift of the resulting carbon monoxide. Global first order kinetics was assumed throughout. Using a first-order Arrhenius plot, the activation energy and frequency factor was calculated for each of the three reactions. In this paper, the chemical kinetics of this novel process are elucidated based on the experimental data.