Combustion

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Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the chemical reaction combustion. For the video post-production software, see Combustion (software).

Flame resulting from the combustion (burning) of a fuel Combustion or burning is a complex sequence of exothermic chemical reactions bet een a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat or both heat and light in the form of either a glo or flames! "irect combustion by atmospheric oxygen is a reaction mediated by radical intermediates! #he conditions for radical production are naturally produced by thermal runa ay, here the heat generated by combustion is necessary to maintain the high temperature necessary for radical production! $n a complete combustion reaction, a compound reacts ith an oxidi%ing element, such as oxygen or fluorine, and the products are compounds of each element in the fuel ith the oxidi%ing element! For example: &'( ) *+* , &+* ) *'*+ &'*- ) .F* , &F( ) *'F ) -F. / simpler example can be seen in the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen, hich is a commonly used reaction in rocket engines: *'* ) +* , *'*+ ) heat

#he result is simply ater vapor! $n the large ma0ority of the real orld uses of combustion, the oxygen (+*) oxidant is obtained from the ambient air and the resultant flue gas from the combustion ill contain nitrogen: &'( ) *+* ) 1!2*3* , &+* ) *'*+ ) 1!2*3* ) heat /s can be seen, hen air is the source of the oxygen, nitrogen is by far the largest part of the resultant flue gas! $n reality, combustion processes are never perfect or complete! $n flue gases from combustion of carbon (as in coal combustion) or carbon compounds (as in combustion of hydrocarbons, ood etc!) both unburned carbon (as soot) and carbon compounds (&+ and others) ill be present! /lso, hen air is the oxidant, some nitrogen ill be oxidi%ed to various nitrogen oxides (3+x)!

Contents
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6 #ypes o 6!6 7apid o 6!* -lo o 6!8 &omplete o 6!( #urbulent o 6!2 $ncomplete o 6!. -mouldering * &ombustion ith other oxidants 8 &hemical equation ( Fuels o (!6 9iquid fuels o (!* -olid fuels 2 #emperature . &ombustion analysis 1 $nstabilities : -ee also o :!6 7elated concepts o :!* ;achines and equipment o :!8 ;easurement techniques o :!( -ocial applications and issues < =xternal links

[edit] Types

[edit] Rapid
7apid combustion is a form of combustion in hich large amounts of heat and light energy are released, hich often results in a fire! #his is used in a form of machinery such as internal combustion engines and in thermobaric eapons!-ometimes,a large volume of gas is liberated in combustion besides the production of heat and light!#he sudden evolution of large quantities of gas creates excessive pressure that produces a loud noise!-uch a combustion is kno n as an explosion!

[edit] Slow
-lo combustion is a form of combustion hich takes place at lo temperatures! &ellular respiration is an example of slo combustion!

[edit] Complete
$n complete combustion, the reactant ill burn in oxygen, producing a limited number of products! When a hydrocarbon burns in oxygen, the reaction ill only yield carbon dioxide and ater! When a hydrocarbon or any fuel burns in air, the combustion products ill also include nitrogen! When elements such as carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and iron are burned, they ill yield the most common oxides! &arbon ill yield carbon dioxide! 3itrogen ill yield nitrogen dioxide! -ulfur ill yield sulfur dioxide! $ron ill yield iron($$$) oxide! $t should be noted that complete combustion is almost impossible to achieve! $n reality, as actual combustion reactions come to equilibrium, a ide variety of ma0or and minor species ill be present! For example, the combustion of methane in air ill yield, in addition to the ma0or products of carbon dioxide and ater, the minor product carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, hich are products of a side reaction (oxidation of nitrogen)!

[edit] Turbulent
#urbulent combustion is a combustion characteri%ed by turbulent flo s! $t is the most used for industrial application (e!g! gas turbines, diesel engines, etc!) because the turbulence helps the mixing process bet een the fuel and oxidi%er!

[edit] Incomplete
$ncomplete combustion occurs hen there isn>t enough oxygen to allo the fuel (usually a hydrocarbon) to react completely ith the oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and ater, also hen the combustion is quenched by a heat sink such as a solid surface or flame trap! When a hydrocarbon burns in air, the reaction ill yield carbon dioxide, ater, carbon monoxide, pure carbon (soot or ash) and various other compounds such as nitrogen oxides! #he quality of combustion can be improved by design of combustion devices, such as burners and internal combustion engines! Further improvements are achievable by

catalytic after?burning devices (such as catalytic converters) or by the simple partial return of the exhaust gases into the combustion process! -uch devices are required by environmental legislation for cars in most countries, and may be necessary in large combustion devices, such as thermal po er plants, to reach legal emission standards!

[edit] Smouldering
-mouldering combustion is a flameless form of combustion, deriving its heat from heterogeneous reactions occurring on the surface of a solid fuel hen heated in an oxidizing environment! #he fundamental difference bet een smouldering and flaming combustion is that in smouldering, the oxidation of the reactant species occurs on the surface of the solid rather than in the gas phase! #he characteristic temperature and heat released during smouldering are lo compared to those in the flaming combustion of a solid! #ypical values in smouldering are around .@@ A& for the peak temperature and 2 kJBg?+* for the heat releasedC typical values during flaming are around 62@@ A& and 68 kJBg?+* respectively! #hese characteristics cause smoulder to propagate at lo velocities, typically around @!6 mmBs, hich is about t o orders of magnitude lo er than the velocity of flame spread over a solid! $n spite of its eak combustion characteristics, smouldering is a significant fire ha%ard!

[edit] Combustion with other oxidants

+xygen can be assumed as the oxidant hen talking about combustion, but other oxidants exist! 3itrous oxide is used in rockets and in motorsportC it produces oxygen at over 68@@ &! Fluorine, another oxidi%ing element, can produce a combustion reaction, to produce fluorinated products (rather than oxides)! For example, mixtures of gaseous fluorine and methane are explosive, 0ust like mixtures of oxygen and methane! &hlorine trifluoride is a strong fluorinating agent that ignites fuels more readily than oxygen!

[edit] Chemical equation

Denerally, the chemical equation for stoichiometric burning of hydrocarbon in oxygen is as follo s:

For example, the burning of propane is:

#he simple ord equation for the combustion of a hydrocarbon in oxygen is:

$f the combustion takes place using air as the oxygen source, the nitrogen can be added to the equation, although it does not react, to sho the composition of the flue gas:

For example, the burning of propane is:

#he simple ord equation for the combustion of a hydrocarbon in air is:

3itrogen may also oxidi%e hen there is an excess of oxygen! #he reaction is thermodynamically favored only at high temperatures! "iesel engines are run ith an excess of oxygen to combust small particles that tend to form ith only a stoichiometric amount of oxygen, necessarily producing nitrogen oxide emissions! Eoth the Fnited -tates and =uropean Fnion are planning to impose limits to nitrogen oxide emissions, hich necessitate the use of a special catalytic converter or treatment of the exhaust ith urea!

[edit] Fuels
[edit] iquid !uels
&ombustion of a liquid fuel in an oxidi%ing atmosphere actually happens in the gas phase! $t is the vapour that burns, not the liquid! #herefore, a liquid ill normally catch fire only above a certain temperature, its flash point! #he flash point of a liquid fuel is the lo est temperature at hich it can form an ignitable mix ith air! $t is also the minimum temperature at hich there is enough evaporated fuel in the air to start combustion!

[edit] Solid !uels

#he act of combustion consists of three relatively distinct but overlapping phases:

"reheating phase, hen the unburned fuel is heated up to its flash point and then fire point! Flammable gases start being evolved in a process similar to dry distillation! #istillation phase or gaseous phase, hen the mix of evolved flammable gases ith oxygen is ignited! =nergy is produced in the form of heat and light! Flames are often visible! 'eat transfer from the combustion to the solid maintains the evolution of flammable vapours!

Charcoal phase or solid phase, hen the output of flammable gases from the material is too lo for persistent presence of flame and the charred fuel does not burn rapidly anymore but 0ust glo s and later only smoulders!

[edit] Temperature
/ssuming perfect combustion conditions, such as complete combustion under adiabatic conditions (i!e!, no heat loss or gain), the adiabatic combustion temperature can be determined! #he formula that yields this temperature is based on the first la of thermodynamics and takes note of the fact that the heat of combustion is used entirely for heating the fuel, the combustion air or oxygen, and the combustion product gases (commonly referred to as the flue gas)! $n the case of fossil fuels burnt in air, the combustion temperature depends on

the heating value the stoichiometric air to fuel ratio G the specific heat capacity of fuel and air the air and fuel inlet temperatures

#he adiabatic combustion temperature (also kno n as the adiabatic flame temperature) increases for higher heating values and inlet air and fuel temperatures and for stoichiometric air ratios approaching one! ;ost commonly, the adiabatic combustion temperatures for coals are around **@@ A& (for inlet air and fuel at ambient temperatures and for G H 6!@), around *62@ A& for oil and *@@@ A& for natural gas! $n industrial fired heaters, po er plant steam generators, and large gas?fired turbines, the more common ay of expressing the usage of more than the stoichiometric combustion air is percent excess combustion air! For example, excess combustion air of 62 percent means that 62 percent more than the required stoichiometric air is being used!

[edit] Combustion analysis

#his section provides a combustion analysis for a fe typical fuels (carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, coal, oil and gas) hen the fuel reacts ith air at stoichiometric conditions! For this analysis, both fuel and air are taken to be at inlet combustion conditions of *<: I and 6 atm of absolute pressure, and combustion is taken to be complete and ith no heat loss! #he analysis also requires kno ing the physical properties for the reactants and combustion products, as ell as kno ing the composition of both the fuel and oxidant compositions!

For solid and liquid type fuels, the fuel compositions is given on eight fraction basis! $n this analysis, &'( is the only gas fuel considered! $n order to keep the combustion analysis simple and straightfor ard, the &'( composition is also provided on the eight fraction basis! +xidant composition is usually given on the mole or volume basis! #able 6 provides some fuel compositions on a eight fraction basis: Table $% Fuel Composition &weight !raction basis'

Fuel

(+* C(,

&arbon

6!@@@ @!@@@ @!@@@ @!@@@ @!@@@ @!@@@ ?

'ydrogen @!@@@ 6!@@@ @!@@@ @!@@@ @!@@@ @!@@@ ?

-ulfur

@!@@@ @!@@@ 6!@@@ @!@@@ @!@@@ @!@@@ ?

&oal

@!1:@ @!@2@ @!@8@ @!@(@ @!@:@ @!@*@ ?

+il

@!:.@ @!6(@ @!@@@ @!@@@ @!@@@ @!@@@ ?

Fuel Das ?

6!@@@

#able * provides the composition of air: Table +% *xidant-.ir Composition

*xidant

) * )+ *+ /g-/g /g-/g mol-mol mol-mol

/ir

@!1.1 @!*88 @!1<@

@!*6@

/gain, in this combustion analysis, only the stoichiometric combustion is analy%ed! 7esults of such analysis are provided, including the composition of the combustion gas products on a eight and moleBvolume basis, the adiabatic flame temperature, the stoichiometric ratio and the fuel>s higher heating value (''J)! #able 8 provides the composition of the combustion gas products on a eight fraction basis: Table 0% Combustion "roducts &weight !raction basis'

Fuel

C*+ (+* S*+

)+

*+

&arbon

@!*<2 @!@@@ @!@@@ @!1@2 @!@@@

'ydrogen @!@@@ @!*22 @!@@@ @!1(2 @!@@@

-ulfur

@!@@@ @!@@@ @!81: @!.** @!@@@

&oal

@!*(< @!@(6 @!@@2 @!1@2 @!@@@

+il

@!*@8 @!@1< @!@@@ @!16: @!@@@

Fuel Das @!626 @!6*( @!@@@ @!1*2 @!@@@ #able ( provides the composition of the combustion gas products on a mole fraction basis ( hich is the same as a volume basis): Table ,% Combustion "roducts &mole !raction basis'

Fuel

C*+ (+* S*+

)+

*+

&arbon

@!*6@ @!@@@ @!@@@ @!1<@ @!@@@

'ydrogen @!@@@ @!8(1 @!@@@ @!.28 @!@@@

-ulfur

@!@@@ @!@@@ @!*6@ @!1:< @!@@@

&oal

@!61@ @!@.: @!@@* @!12< @!@@@

+il

@!688 @!6*1 @!@@@ @!1(@ @!@@@

Fuel Das @!@<2 @!6<@ @!@@@ @!162 @!@@@ When considering coal, oil and gas as the fuel, coal has the largest amount of &+* in the combustion gas products on both a eight and mole basis! #able 2 provides the combustion adiabatic flame temperature, stoichiometric ratio and the fuel>s higher heating value: Table 1% *ther Fuel Characteristics

Fuel

.diabatic Flame Temperature &2'

Stoichiometric Ratio &see note below'

((3 &/4-/g'

&arbon

*,(.@

66!(((

8*,11<!:

'ydrogen

*,2*2

8(!888

6(6,:..!:

-ulfur (solid)

6,<1*

(!*<*

<,*.6!8

&oal

*,(:(

6@!(:1

8*,<81!<

+il

*,(:(

6(!2:@

(1,.8@!@

Fuel Das

*,8*1

61!6.1

2@,626!*

3ote: -toichiometric ratio is the eight of air required for complete combustion of a unit eight of fuel! #hus, 6 kg of carbon fuel requires 66!((( kg of air for complete, ideal combustion!

[edit] Instabilities
&ombustion instabilities are typically violent pressure oscillations in a combustion chamber! #hese pressure oscillations can be as high as 6:@dE, and long term exposure to these cyclic pressure and thermal loads reduces the life of engine components! $n rockets, such as the F6 used in the -aturn J program, instabilities led to massive damage of the combustion chamber and surrounding components! #his problem as solved by re? designing the fuel in0ector! $n liquid 0et engines the droplet si%e and distribution can be used to attenuate the instabilities! &ombustion instabilities are a ma0or concern in ground? based gas turbine engines because of 3+x emissions! #he tendency is to run lean, an equivalence ratio less than 6, to reduce the combustion temperature and thus reduce the 3+x emissionsC ho ever, running the combustor lean makes it very susceptible to combustion instabilities! #he 7ayleigh &riterion is the basis for analysis of thermoacoustic combustion instabilities and is evaluated using the 7ayleigh $ndex over one cycle of instability! 4citation
needed5

When the heat release oscillations are in phase ith the pressure oscillations the 7ayleigh $ndex is positive and the magnitude of the thermoacoustic instability increases! &onsecutively if the 7ayleigh $ndex is negative then thermoacoustic damping occurs! #he 7ayleigh &riterion implies that a thermoacoustic instability can be optimally controlled by having heat release oscillations 6:@ degrees out of phase ith pressure oscillations at the same frequency! #his minimi%es the 7ayleigh $ndex!4citation needed5