Suppression Mechanisms of Ferrocene on Methane–Hydrogen Explosion Propagation in Pipe: An Integrated Study of Experiments and Chemical Reaction Kinetics

Abstract

This study investigates the performance and mechanism of ferrocene in suppressing the propagation of methane–hydrogen explosions through experiments and chemical kinetic simulations. The experimental results demonstrate that ferrocene can decrease the flame speed and attenuate the explosion pressure by inhibiting the mutual excitation between the flame and the premixed zone. Specifically, the addition of ferrocene at concentrations of 0.1 g·L^–1, 0.2 g·L^–1, and 0.3 g·L^–1 increased the flame propagation time by 93.02%, 323.26%, and 597.67%, respectively, and decreased the maximum explosion pressure by 68.03%, 81.56%, and 95.49%. Kinetic modeling reveals that the decomposition products of ferrocene, FeC₅H₅, Fe, and FeO can consume key radicals, such as H, O, and OH in the explosion chain reactions, leading to a significant reduction in the concentrations of the active component and the effective combination. Moreover, the catalytic cyclic reactions of Fe-containing species continuously consume H and O, which diminish the promotional effect of various radical reactions on the temperature and flame speed of the explosion system. The findings provide theoretical support for protecting and suppressing methane–hydrogen explosions at the microscopic level.