Without downplaying the progress that has been made in supplying manufacturers and the public with important advances in burner technology, we in the gas industry know that there is still a lot to learn about natural gas combustion. This knowledge of combustion and of how to control the combustion process is vital to maintaining the momentum that will yield further advances in natural gas technology. And this is where basic research plays its important role. By learning the pathways by which pollutants are produced, and the rates at which chemicals react along these pathways, we should be able to control these reactions and burn the fuel completely and efficiently with a minimum of unwanted products. Research has shown that there are over 200 possible reactions for methane combustion alone, even more for the other fuel constituents of natural gas, such as ethane, propane, and butane.
All reactions can occur simultaneously, but each one proceeds at a different rate.
GRI contractors are using advanced, new laser diagnostic systems and a high degree of ingenuity to measure the rates of many of these individual reactions. These remarkable diagnostic techniques can be tuned to measure the concentration of a molecule that may exist for only millionths of a second. GRI contractors have been identifying the key reactions involved in both the oxidation of methane and the formation of NOx and measuring their rates. They are also exploring ways to simplify the description of these reactions in a way that is useful for engineers in designing combustion systems. One important part of their work involves the study of the formation and destruction of NOx.