Methane (CH4)/air lean combustion can be enhanced by increasing the concentration of the oxidizer, like oxygen (O2) enrichment, or adding a strong oxidant to the reactant. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a strong oxidizer that yields O2, steam, and appreciable heat after decomposition. This study numerically investigated and compared the effects of H2O2 and O2-enriched conditions on the adiabatic flame temperature, laminar burning velocity, flame thickness, and heat release rates of CH4/air combustion using the San Diego mechanism. The result showed that in fuel-lean conditions, the adiabatic flame temperature changed from H2O2 addition > O2-enriched scenario to O2-enriched scenario > H2O2 addition with increasing α. This transition temperature was not affected by the equivalence ratio. Adding H2O2 enhanced the laminar burning velocity of the CH4/air lean combustion more than the O2-enriched scenario. The thermal and chemical effects are quantified in various H2O2 additions, and it is found that the chemical effect has a noticeable contribution to the laminar burning velocity compared with the thermal effect, especially in higher H2O2 addition. Further, the laminar burning velocity had a quasi-linear correlation with (OH)max in the flame. The maximum heat release rate was observed at lower temperatures for H2O2 addition and higher temperatures for the O2-enriched scenario. The flame thickness was significantly reduced upon adding H2O2. Finally, the dominant reaction to the heat release rate changed from the reaction of CH3 + O ↔ CH2O + H in the CH4/air or O2-enriched scenario to the reaction of H2O2 + OH ↔ H2O + HO2 in the H2O2 addition scenario.
© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.