IIT Kanpur

Adiabatic Flame Temperature Constant

Pressure (complete combustion ideal products)

closed system
constant
pressure
reactor
adiabatic

initial (reactant)
temperature

No shaft work
 /

First law: Q = dH

Tref Tinitial

fuel

Tad
T

 =  
final (product)
adiabatic
temperature

0, adiabatic

Q1-2 = Hproducts (Tad) Hreactants (Tinitial)

Hproducts (Tad) = Hreactants (Tinitial) (enthalpy is constant)
adiabatic flame temperature
at constant pressure
(+ve) for heat
transferred to the
system

for non-adiabatic condition

need to consider the heat exchange

Q1-2 = Hproducts (Tfinal) Hreactants (Tinitial)

Example Adiabatic Flame Temperature

Constant Pressure (methane)
IIT Kanpur

Methane combustion with air (

= 1)
take: 1 kmol
CH4 + 2(O2 + 3.76N2)
CO2 + 2H2O + 7.52N2
Given: Tinitial = Treactants = Tref = 298K
vapor

closed system
constant
pressure
reactor

First law: Hreactants (Tinitial) = Hproducts (Tad)

0

adiabatic

Hreactants (Tinitial) = ,  + 2,  + 7.52,



sensible enthalpy terms are 0 as Tinitial = Tref

unknown
(
Hproducts (Tad) = ,  + !+ )* "$, %&2  , +

2 ,,.  +
7.52 ,
0



()*
!+ "$, /2&, 01$


()*
  + !+ "$, 22


 ,

 , +

need to consider
sensible enthalpy
for reactants if:
Tinitial Tfinal

Example Adiabatic Flame Temperature

Methane (constant pressure)
IIT Kanpur
From Appendix: Table A 13:

(+)
56

= a1 + a2T + a3T2 + a4T3 + a5T4

Hreactants (Tinitial) = , 

()*


Hproducts (Tad) = ,  + !+ "$, %&2  , +


(
2,,.  + 2 !+ )* "$, /2&, 01$


 , + 7.52 !+ )* "$, 22  ,


Calculation of sensible enthalpy for CO2

(

!+ )* "$, %&2 , = : !+ )*(a1,CO2 + a2,CO2T + a3,CO2T2 + a4,CO2T3 + a5,CO2T4),



= : a1,CO2 T+



a2,CO2


+

a3,CO2
;

;+

a4,CO2


+

a5,CO2
<

<

()*
+

Example Adiabatic Flame Temperature

Methane (constant pressure)
IIT Kanpur
= : a1,CO2()*+

a2,CO2

a3,CO2

(=)* +

: a1,CO2+

a2,CO2

a3,CO2



+

a4,CO2

(>)* +

;

+

(?)* +

a4,CO2


a5,CO2



+

Alternately: from Table A 13 enthalpy as a

function of temperature can be obtained

<

(@)*

a5,CO2
<

polynomial
with
unknown Tad

<


constant term
(Tref = 298K)

a6 includes: enthalpy

formation and the

Hproducts (Tad) = %&2  + 2/2& ( ) + 7.5222( ) of
constant term given
above
CDEF +GH
B
56 ()*

= a1,CO2+

a2,CO2


()*+

a3,CO2
;

= a4,CO2 > a5,CO2 ? a6,CO2

()* +
()* +
()* +
(

<

Similar expressions for H2O & N2: rearrange, collect terms:

fifth order algebraic equation with unknown Tad

find roots
choose the realistic value

)*

Example Adiabatic Flame Temperature

Methane (constant pressure)
IIT Kanpur
Solution with temperature dependent IJ: Tad = 2328K

For rough estimation: average temperature could be guessed and

corresponding "$ be used
o Guess: adiabatic flame temperature = 2102K
o Average temperature = (2102+298)/2 = 1200K
PQ

"$, %&2 1200W = 56.205 PRSXY

PQ

"$, /2& 1200W = 43.874 PRSXY

PQ

"$, 22 1200W = 33.707 PRSXY

PQ
,  = 393,546 PRS
PQ
,  = 74,831 PRS

PQ
,,.  = 241,845 PRS

, 
= ,  + "$, %&2 ()*  + 2,,.  + 2"$, /2& ()* 
+ 7.52"$, 22 ()* 

o With constant "$: Tad = 2318 K (quite close!!!)

Note: inert gas (N2) affects Tad as it absorbs energy at higher temperature

IIT Kanpur

Adiabatic Flame Temperature Constant

Volume (complete combustion ideal products)
closed system

First law: Q = dU

No shaft work

0, adiabatic

Q1-2 = Uproducts (Tad) Ureactants (Tinitial)

constant
volume
reactor
adiabatic

Uproducts (Tad) = Ureactants (Tinitial) (internal energy is constant)

H = U + PV
U = H PV
U = H NRuT (ideal gas law)
kJ

Hproducts NproductsRuTad = Hreactants NreactantsRuTinitial

take: 1 kmol

CH4 + 2(O2 + 3.76N2)
CO2 + 2H2O + 7.52N2

(
= 1)

Nreactants = 1 + 2 + 7.52 = 10.52 kmol Nproducts = 1 + 2 + 7.52 = 10.52 kmol

note: Nreactants & Nproducts need not be equal (e.g. H2 + 0.5O2
H2O)

IIT Kanpur

Adiabatic Flame Temperature Constant

Volume (methane)

Temperature dependent IJ: fifth order equation
solve for Tad

Once Tad is obtained, final pressure can be calculated by:
Z[\]G^

Z\]\_\G^

`abH6c_d +GH

aGc_G]_d +\]\_\G^

(ideal gas law, V = constant)

Assume constant IJ: take the same values (@ T = 1200 K) used

for constant pressure system
,  2 : fffS
= ,  + "$, %&2 ()*  + 2,,.  + 2"$, /2& ()* 
+ 7.52"$, 22 ()*  2  : ()*

For CH4, Tad = 2889K, Pfinal = 9.89 atm at constant volume

~600K higher than at constant pressure (Tinitial = 298K, Pinitial = 1atm)

Combustion Products
IIT Kanpur
 /
fuel
Tref Tinitial
adiabatic

T
Tad-real

Tad-ideal

CH4 + 2(O2 + 3.76N2)
CO2 + 2H2O + 7.52N2

ideal products

and many more

CH4 + 2(O2 + 3.76N2)
aCO2 + bCO + cH2O + dO2 + eN2 + fNO + gOH
real products at equilibrium

Both real (at equilibrium) and ideal products will comply with first law
Second law will govern the equilibrium composition

Second Law Analysis

control mass
IIT Kanpur

kl
+

Second Law: for a closed system: ,i

 kl

i im !m

Entropy is defined as: ,i =

closed
system

internally
reversible process
kl\]_naop
+

W
no irreversibilities
within system boundary

S is extensive property of the system, units kJ/K

q(kJ/kg-K), q (kJ/kmol-K) are mass & molar specific intensive
properties respectively
control mass
,i(rq1s,) 0

Adiabatic, gh = 0

isolated
system

For an isolated system at equilibrium: dS = 0 or S
maximum