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Oxidation behavior of dodecane and two mixtures of dodecane and m-xylene (90/10 wt.% and 80/20 wt.%) over an Rh catalyst in a meso-scale heat recirculating combustor was examined to isolate the effect of aromatic content on performance. The fuel conversion, product selectivities, and reaction kinetics were calculated, and the global combustion behavior observed. The results showed that increasing the amount of m-xylene in the fuel increased the fuel conversion from 85% (pure dodecane) to 92% (90/10) and further to 98% (80/20). The presence of xylene also significantly increased CO 2 /H 2 O selectivity and decreased CO/H 2 selectivity. Global activation energy increased linearly with increase in xylene content, supporting that addition of aromatic species to fuel lowers the overall reactivity. The non-catalytic reaction was also simulated using Chemkin software to determine the effect of the Rh catalyst on the combustor performance and to analyze the difference in chemical mechanisms. The results revealed that the catalyst promotes total oxidation over partial oxidation, and lowers the global activation energy by up to 70%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Performance of alternative fuels examined in meso-scale heat recirculating combustor. [•] Performance of the alternative fuels compared with conventional petroleum-based fuel. [•] Global combustion behavior as well as thermal efficiency was analyzed. [•] Instabilities observed for combustion of petroleum fuel but not in alternative fuels. [•] Fuel component impact flame stability and thermal performance in meso-scale combustor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]