Development of a Reduced Chemical Kinetic Mechanism for the Combustion of Polyoxymethylene Dimethyl Ethers (PODEn, n = 0–3)

ABSTRACT

Polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers () have emerged as a promising candidate for reducing fossil fuel derived carbon emissions in diesel engines due to their high cetane numbers, oxygen‐rich molecular structures, and minimal soot formation. An accurate kinetic description of their oxidation chemistry is essential for evaluating their performance as clean fuels and as intermediates in the combustion of higher . In this study, a reduced kinetic mechanism for dimethyl ether (DME) and PODE _1–3 is developed based on a newly constructed detailed mechanism. The reduced mechanism comprises 37 species and 280 reactions, achieving a balance between compactness and predictive accuracy. Comprehensive validation is performed against experimental data from the literature, including laminar burning velocities, species profiles, and ignition delay times, complemented by sensitivity analyses. The model shows good agreement with experimental observations over a wide range of conditions, demonstrating its suitability as a computationally efficient predictive framework for DME/PODE _1–3 combustion applications. In addition, pathway and sensitivity analyses confirm that the reduced mechanism retains the dominant oxidation pathways and key controlling reactions of the detailed base mechanism, thereby providing mechanistic insights into the oxidation chemistry of DME and PODE _1–3 .