GAS-PHASE OXIDATION OF 1,4-DIOXANE

An experimental investigation in a conventional static apparatus of the oxidation of equimolecular mixtures 1,4-dioxane-O2 has shown that 1,4-dioxane reacts with oxygen more readily than most hydrocarbons. Cool flames and ignitions were observed above 200-degrees-C in a pressure range up to 300 torr. The products of the slow reaction and cool flame were analyzed by gas chromatography and GC-MS; the slow reaction gives only CO, CO2, H2CO, H2, C2H4, and H2O. A radical chain mechanism is suggested and discussed by using an evaluation of the rate constants of the possible elementary steps by the methods of thermochemical kinetics.