Investigation on the interaction and redox kinetics of the ethyl butyrate-copper oxide system based on ReaxFF research

JF Li and M Ma and XH Zhang and AM Zhang and S Qing and H Wang, CHEMICAL PHYSICS, 598, 112839 (2025).

DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2025.112839

Biodiesel's pyrometallurgy exhibits good development prospects in e-waste recycling, with ethyl butyrate (C6H12O2) potentially serving as a biodiesel. However, its chemical mechanism in the smelting process is still unclear. In our research, the reactive force field molecular dynamics (ReaxFF MD) method is utilized to study the high-temperature conversion mechanism of C6H12O2 in the CuO environment. The results reveal that C6H12O2 undergoes multi-step conversion at high temperatures. The mechanism was elucidated by analyzing the product distribution and mapping the chemical reaction network. Specifically, C6H12O2 undergoes the conversion of C6H12O2 -> C2H4/C3H7COOH -> CO/H2O. The reductive products interact with CuO to form a Cu-OH structure, reducing CuO to Cu. The study also quantitatively examines the impact of the oxygen coefficient on the redox reaction. As it increases, the decomposition rate of ethyl butyrate increases as well. After a certain point, there is no significant difference in the proportion of product generation paths.

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