Nitromethane Anaerobic Combustion?

[imported_Tick]

Just curious. Also, if it works, what are the combustion products?

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Do you mean no atmospheric oxygen? If nitromethane is your fuel, what is your oxidizer?

How about nitromethane and nitrous oxide? :Q

 

[Vee]

4CH3NO2 -> 4CO + 4H2O + 2H2 + 2N2

 

[alpha88]

Vee - while that works our stoichiometrically, it isn't thermodynamically preferable. (Nor can I think of any uncatalyzed methods that even if you put in the required energy, that such a reaction would occur)

 

[CycloWizard]

Anaerobic combustion is sort of an oxymoron. Anaerobes tend to die if there is oxygen present, yet oxygen is one of the reactants in a combustion reaction. It is possible to have an oxidation compound, but even this approach would lead to free oxygen in the reactor unless the release of oxygen from this initiator was much slower than the combustion step. Something like what Vee suggests might be the closest you could get, though the products might be something like CO2 + H2O + NH3 instead of CO, H2, and N2.

 

[imported_Tick]

Originally posted by: CycloWizard
Anaerobic combustion is sort of an oxymoron. Anaerobes tend to die if there is oxygen present, yet oxygen is one of the reactants in a combustion reaction. It is possible to have an oxidation compound, but even this approach would lead to free oxygen in the reactor unless the release of oxygen from this initiator was much slower than the combustion step. Something like what Vee suggests might be the closest you could get, though the products might be something like CO2 + H2O + NH3 instead of CO, H2, and N2.

But NH3 is very energy comsumptive to form.

 

[CycloWizard]

Originally posted by: Tick
But NH3 is very energy comsumptive to form.

Well, I don't have my thermo book handy, but I'm guessing so are H2 and N2. In my time working in wastewater, I ran into many more sources of ammonia than hydrogen. If this weren't true, we could pretty easily harvest hydrogen from waste treatment processes in sufficient quantities to make a difference in the grand scheme of national energy. In the end, I'm just waving my hands here based on anecdotal evidence. I know people (including people in my department) that are working on wastewater-powered hydrogen fuel cells, so I guess there always is some H2 released, but I would guess that it's very small compared to the amount of NH3. I can check on the thermodynamics later to verify or refute my claims if I remember.