Combustion is a chemical process that occurs when oxygen atoms excited by heat energy bond rapidly with certain

fuel elements. The most common fuel sources are hydrocarbons and related organic molecules. These are molecules that are made up primarily from hydrogen and carbon atoms. Methane (natural gas), gasoline, kerosene, propane, butane, methyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol are all examples of hydrocarbons and related compounds. The hydrogen and carbon atoms in these molecules are the actual fuel in the combustion process. Oxygen atoms ha e a ery strong tendency to bond with both hydrogen and carbon atoms. !n fact oxygen"s potential to bond with both hydrogen and carbon is so strong that it literally rips apart the hydrocarbon molecules and forms new compounds. #hen two oxygen atoms bond with a carbon atom, the result is CO$, carbon dioxide. #hen one oxygen molecule bonds with two hydrogen molecules, the result is %$O, water. #ater and carbon dioxide are byproducts of the combustion of any hydrocarbon fuel. &ecause the process of forming these molecules produces heat (an exothermic reaction), these gasses incandesce, which means they glow or gi e off light. These glowing gasses are what make up the flame. 'ou might see from this discussion that for any specific fuel molecule there is some amount of oxygen that is (exactly right( in order to enable complete combustion. This is called the )toichiometric ratio. This ratio aries depending on the number of hydrogen and carbon atoms in the fuel molecule. *or example propane, C+%,, has three carbon atoms and eight hydrogen atoms. -s each carbon atom needs two oxygen atoms, and e ery two hydrogen atoms need one oxygen atom, one molecule of propane needs fi e oxygen molecules (oxygen occurs in nature as a diatomic molecule O$, so fi e molecules pro ide ten atoms). This is usually written as a reaction formula. C+%, / (0)O$ 112 (+)CO$ / (3)%$O !f there is not enough oxygen a ailable for complete combustion, some unburned fuel will escape and its energy will be lost. 4sually this takes the form of carbon monoxide being formed in place of carbon dioxide. !t might seem that the best solution to the problem of incomplete combustion would be to insure there is extra oxygen, more than is needed for the )toichiometric ratio of the fuel. -ll this extra oxygen would pretty much insure that there was always some a ailable when it was needed. 4nfortunately, this causes another problem which is called (excess air(. )ince air is mostly nitrogen, which doesn"t contribute to the combustion reaction, adding e en a little bit too much oxygen adds a lot of extra nitrogen. This extra air takes heat away from the flame, causing it to be cooler and less stable. 'ou can see this for yourself with an oil lamp. 5ight an oil lamp, but lea e the chimney off. #atch the flame. 6otice that the flame color is a dull yellow and that the flame is narrow and long, and may change si7e and shape as it burns. 6ow put the chimney on. The character of the flame immediately changes. The color goes from a dull

yellow to a bright, incandescent yellow1white. The shape of the flame changes from being long and narrow to rounded and compact. !t is also a steady flame with less tendency to flicker. &ut the big difference is the amount of light. #ithout the chimney, much of the energy in the burning oil was lost in heating up the surrounding air. #ith the chimney, this energy is a ailable to produce light. The fuel and air are mixed together when they are cold to achie e the proper )toichiometric ratio. This fuel8air mixture then mo es to the burner, where the temperature is hot enough to ignite it. This type of flame is called a (premixed flame(.