Diethyl carbonate (DEC) is a common component of the liquid electrolyte in lithium ion batteries (LIBs). As such, understanding DEC combustion chemistry is imperative to improving chemical kinetic modeling of LIB fires. To this end, a comprehensive experimental study was conducted to collect ignition delay times, CO time histories, and laminar flame speeds during DEC combustion. Ignition delay times were collected using a heated shock tube at real fuel–air conditions for three equivalence ratios (ϕ = 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0) near atmospheric pressure and for temperatures between 1182 and 1406 K. Another shock tube was used to collect CO time histories using a laser absorption diagnostic. These experiments were conducted for the same equivalence ratios, but highly diluted in argon and helium (79.25% Ar + 20% He) at an average pressure of 1.27 atm and a temperature range of 1236–1669 K. Finally, a heated constant-volume vessel was used to collect laminar flame speeds of DEC at an initial temperature and pressure of 403 K and 1 atm, respectively, for equivalence ratios between 0.79 and 1.38. The results are compared with different mechanisms from the literature. Good agreement is seen for the ignition delay time and flame speed measurements. However, significant deviations are observed for the CO time histories. A detailed discussion of the chemical kinetics is presented to elucidate the important reactions and direct future modeling efforts.

Isopropanol has potential as a future bio-derived fuel and is a promising substitute for ethanol in gasoline blends. Even so, little has been done in terms of high-temperature chemical kinetic speciation studies of this molecule. To this end, experiments were conducted in a shock tube using simultaneous CO and H₂O laser absorption measurements. Water and CO formation during isopropanol pyrolysis was also examined at temperatures between 1127 and 2162 K at an average pressure of 1.42 atm. Species profiles were collected at temperatures between 1332 and 1728 K and at an average pressure of 1.26 atm for equivalence ratios of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 in highly diluted mixtures of 20% helium and 79.5% argon. Species profiles were also compared to four modern C3 alcohol mechanisms, including the impact of recent rate constant measurements. The Li et al. (2019) and Saggese et al. (2021) models both best predict CO and water production under pyrolysis conditions, while the AramcoMech 3.0 and Capriolo and Konnov models better predict the oxidation experimental profiles. Additionally, previous studies have collected ignition delay time (τ_ign) data for isopropanol but are limited to low pressures in highly dilute mixtures. Therefore, real fuel–air experiments were conducted in a heated shock tube with isopropanol for stoichiometric and lean conditions at 10 and 25 atm between 942 and 1428 K. Comparisons to previous experimental results highlight the need for real fuel–air experiments and proper interpretation of shock-tube data. The AramcoMech 3.0 model over predicts τ_ign values, while the Li et al. model severely under predicts τ_ign. The models by Capriolo and Konnov and Saggese et al. show good agreement with experimental τ_ign values. A sensitivity analysis using these two models highlights the underlying chemistry for isopropanol combustion at 25 atm. Additionally, modifying the Li et al. model with a recently measured reaction rate shows improvement in the model’s ability to predict CO and water profiles during dilute oxidation. Finally, a regression analysis was performed to quantify τ_ign results from this study.