Oscillatory ignitions and cool flames accompanying the non-isothermal oxidation of acetaldehyde in a well stirred, flow reactor

Abstract

At the various boundaries between the five regions, sharp jumps occur from one kind of behaviour to another. At three segments of the boundary, there is hysteresis, the jumps occurring at different temperatures during heating (I $\rightarrow$ II, III or IV) and cooling (II, III or IV $\rightarrow$ I) traverses. There are thus regions of bistability, where identical external conditions - vessel temperatures, reactant pressures and flow rates - can give rise to alternative states inside the reactor. The two non-oscillatory, stationary states have different characters: I is a stable node and V is a stable focus. In region I, the reaction rate increases with temperature; but in region V, both reaction rate and extent of self-heating show a near-zero or negative temperature-coefficient.