What is the combustion reaction?

Combustion reactions always involve molecular oxygen O2. Anytime anything burns (in the
usual sense), it is a combustion reaction. Combustion reactions are almost always
exothermic (i.e., they give off heat).
What is combustion and what does it produce?

For example when wood burns, it must do so in the presence of O2 and a lot of heat is
produced: Wood as well as many common items that combust are organic (i.e., they are
made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen). When organic molecules combust the reaction
products are carbon dioxide and water (as well as heat).

: What happens in a combustion?

They are typically classified by what happens during the reaction to the reactants as well as
the type of product that is formed as a result of the reaction. A combustionreaction is a
reaction that occurs when a substance reacts with oxygen, releasing energy in the form of
heat and light.
What are the products of a complete combustion reaction?

During complete combustion carbon and hydrogen combine with oxygen (O2) to
produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). During incomplete combustion part of the
carbon is not completely oxidized producing soot or carbon monoxide (CO).

Combustion Reactions
Combustion reactions always involve molecular oxygen O2. Anytime anything
burns (in the usual sense), it is a combustion reaction. Combustion reactions are
almost always exothermic (i.e., they give off heat). For example when wood burns,
it must do so in the presence of O2 and a lot of heat is produced:

Wood as well as many common items that combust are organic (i.e., they are made
up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen). When organic molecules combust the
reaction products are carbon dioxide and water (as well as heat).

For example consider the combustion of methanol (rubbing alcohol):

Of course, not all combustion reactions release CO2 and water, e.g., the
combustion of magnesium metal:

Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant (a
chemical compound that readily transfers oxygen atoms) accompanied by the production of heat and conversion
of chemical components. The term exothermic ("outside heating") describes a process or reaction that releases
energy from the system, usually in the form of heat and light. The release of heat can result in the production of
light in the form of either glow or a flame. Fuels of interest often include organic compounds (especially
hydrocarbons) in the gas, liquid or solid phase. Hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of
hydrogen and carbon atoms. Fuel combustion, also known as burning fuel, is the process by which a fuel is
consumed in an exothermic chemical reaction that releases a great deal of heat and light. Usually, the fuel that is
combusted is a hydrocarbon that reacts with the oxygen in the air, to release energy. A significant amount of heat
energy is required to trigger such a reaction.
Content
What is a Combustion Reaction?
What are Fossil fuels?
What are the types of Fuels used in fuel combustion?
What are the uses of Fuel Combustion?
What are the disadvantages of Fuel combustion?
What are the Alternative energy sources?

What is a Combustion Reaction?

In a combustion reaction, a compound reacts with an oxidizing agent or oxidant, such as oxygen to release heat
and energy. The chemical reaction is as given below.
CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + 2H2O + energy.
A simple example can be seen in the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen, which is a commonly used reaction
inrocket engines:
2 H2 + O2 2 H2O (g) + heat
The by product is water vapor

What are Fossil fuels?

The primary use of fuel combustion is energy. The most common fuels used for the production of energy
are fossilfuels, which are made up of ancient, decomposed organic matter. Oil, coal, and natural gas are three of
the most common fossil fuels used in fuel combustion reactions. The energy produced when these fuels are
combusted can be used to power vehicles anything from cars to normal household appliances.

What are the types of Fuels used in fuel combustion?

There are solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels that can be used in fuel combustion, most of which are hydrocarbons.

Solid fuels: Solid fuels burn in three phases.

o Preheating stage: In the preheating stage, their temperature increases until they reach their
o

flash point and begin to release flammable gases.

Distillation phase: In this distillation phase, the gases released from the solid are

burning, flames are often visible, and an extreme amount of heat is released.
Charcoal Phase: The final stage is the charcoal phase, in which the solid does not contain

enough flammable gas to burn consistently, instead it simply glows and smolders.
Liquid fuels: Liquid fuels are likely to burn only in the gaseous phase. They are heated until they begin

to evaporate, and the vapor catches fire.

Gas fuels: Gases tend to burn quickly and easily as they are already in an energized state and their
particles are far apart, allowing them to mix with oxygen and react easily.

What are the uses of Fuel Combustion?

Most of the electricity produced worldwide results from the combustion of oil, coal and natural
gas. Natural gas (methane, CH4) is a relatively clean fuel and coal is the dirtiest.
The primary use of fuel combustion is energy which is used for various purposes.

Rocket engines, internal combustion, or piston engines, and jet engines all depend on the burning of
fuel to produce power.

What are the disadvantages of Fuel combustion?

The burning of fossil fuels has a number of very unpleasant side effects, ranging from health problems caused by
air pollution to climate change caused by excess carbon dioxide in the global atmosphere. Some effects
of fuelcombustion are as listed below.

Air pollution: Hazardous substances such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and
volatileorganic compounds are released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. Fuel
combustion is the largest man-made source of air pollution.

Acid rain: Sulfur dioxide and other pollutants contribute to acid rain. Acid rain can damage forest and

aquatic ecosystems by increasing the pH level to above what native plants and animals can tolerate. pH
is the measure of acidity or alkalinity.
Smog: Various air pollutants combine to form smog, which can damage crops and cause respiratory

problems in humans.
Change in Global warming: Fuel combustion produces carbon dioxide which forces heat to remain
near the surface of Earth. The long-term effects of this excess carbon dioxide range from stronger
storms to rising ocean levels, and many fear that the environmental damage may be irreversible.

What are the Alternative energy sources?

Due to threatening side-effects of fuel combustion on the global warming, many are attempting to do what they
can to encourage energy conservation and to live in a way that is far cleaner and less demanding of energy and
fuel. Alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal energy are growing in reputation as more
and more people become aware of the ecological hazards associated with fossil fuels.

How is excess air calculated?

Excess Air = 100 x (20.9%) / (20.9% -O2m%) - 100%
Where O2 m% = The measured value of oxygen in the exhaust.
Examples:
When O2m% = 0% Then excess air = 0
When O2m% = 5% Then: excess air = 100 x (20.9%) / (20.9%-5%) - 100%
excess air = 100 x (20.9%) / (15.9%) - 100%
excess air = 100 x (1.31) - 100%
excess air = 31%

Stoichiometry /stkimtri/ is the calculation of relative quantities

of reactants and products in chemical reactions.
Stoichiometry is founded on the law of conservation of mass where the total mass of the
reactants equals the total mass of the products leading to the insight that the relations among
quantities of reactants and products typically form a ratio of positive integers. This means that if
the amounts of the separate reactants are known, then the amount of the product can be
calculated. Conversely, if one reactant has a known quantity and the quantity of product can be
empirically determined, then the amount of the other reactants can also be calculated.
This is illustrated in the image here, where the balanced equation is:
CH
4

+2O

CO

+2H

2O.

Here, one molecule of methane reacts with two molecules of oxygen gas to yield one
molecule of carbon dioxide and two molecules of water. Stoichiometry measures these
quantitative relationships, and is used to determine the amount of products/reactants that are
produced/needed in a given reaction. Describing the quantitative relationships among
substances as they participate in chemical reactions is known as reaction stoichiometry. In
the example above, reaction stoichiometry measures the relationship between the methane
and oxygen as they react to form carbon dioxide and water.
Because of the well known relationship of moles to atomic weights, the ratios that are arrived
at by stoichiometry can be used to determine quantities by weight in a reaction described by
a balanced equation. This is called composition stoichiometry.

Gas stoichiometry deals with reactions involving gases, where the gases are at a known
temperature, pressure, and volume and can be assumed to be ideal gases. For gases, the
volume ratio is ideally the same by the ideal gas law, but the mass ratio of a single reaction
has to be calculated from the molecular masses of the reactants and products. In practice,
due to the existence of isotopes, molar masses are used instead when calculating the mass
ratio

The most important requirement to burn coal is the correct quantity of air. This article explains how to calculate
the correct quantity of air.

Coal is the most widely used fuel source used to produce electricity. Air is necessary to provide
oxygen for burning coal. It is the chemical reaction between carbon in coal and the oxygen in the air that
produces heat energy.

Elements in Coal
There are three elements in coal that combine with oxygen in the air duing the combustion process. The most
important element is carbon. This makes up about 30% to 60% of the substance. Hydrogen makes up about 1%
to 3% and Sulphur, 0.3% to 3%.
The other elements found in coal are nitrogen, which can make up about 1% to 2% of the substance, and
oxygen, 5 % to 12%. Oxygen is also used up in the combustion process. The exact amounts of each element
depends on the type and rank of coal, how the coal was formed millions of years ago and the location or mines
from which the coal is sourced.

Stoichiometric or Theoretical Air Quantity

Theoretical Air Quality is calculated based on the chemical reaction between the elements and oxygen.

Carbon combines with oxygen to form carbon-dioxide and heat.

C+ O2 > CO2
1 C +32/12 O > 44/12 CO2
1 kg Carbon +2.67 kg Oxygen > 3.67 kg Carbon Dioxide

Hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water and heat

2 H2+ O2> 2H2O

1 H +32/4 O >36/4 H2O
1 kg Hydrogen +8 kg Oxygen >9 kg Water

Sulphur combines with oxygen to form sulphur dioxide

S + O2 > SO2
1 S +32 /32 O >64 /32 SO2
1 kg Sulphur +1 kg Oxygen >2 kg Sulphur Dioxide.
For this example, we are considering coal having a makeup of 57.2 % Carbon, 2.2 % Hydrogen , 0.5 % Sulphur
and 6.9 % Oxygen.

The theoretical oxygen required to burn this coal is then