Effect of the mixing ratio of methylcyclohexane and n-dodecane on the product composition and coke formation in the catalytic decomposition reaction of blended fuels

Analyzing the products obtained from the catalytic reaction of jet fuels is challenging because the fuels consist of several components. It is crucial to select suitable model compounds as representatives of the fuel to study its catalytic reaction, and methylcyclohexane (MCH) and n-dodecane were selected consequently. Further, the change in the products obtained from the reaction (catalyzed by commercial HZSM-5 in a flow reactor under a supercritical condition (550 °C and 5 MPa)) was investigated by varying the ratios of MCH and n-dodecane in the blended fuels. Although the fuel conversion and gas yield were proportional to the n-dodecane fraction in the fuel, the yield of aromatic compounds at each time, which was relative to the yield at the initial time, did not indicate any relation with it. The relative yields of the aromatic hydrocarbons obtained from the blended fuel reduced much slower than those obtained from the pure fuels. Particularly, the fuel containing an n-dodecane mass fraction of 0.2 exhibited the lowest reduction rate regarding the relative yields of aromatic hydrocarbons. The change in the relative yields of the products regarding the fuels was not crucial to coke formation.