Module-5- Combustion

Stoichiometry and Kinetics

By
Dr. Dharmendra Kumar Bal
Assistant Professor
School of Chemical Engineering
Combustible substances
Substances which burn in air to produce heat &
light are called combustible substances.
Eg :- wood, coal, charcoal, kerosene, petrol, diesel,
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural
gas (CNG) etc.
Wood Coal LPG Kerosene
 Combustion

 The chemical process in which a substance reacts with

oxygen to produce heat is called combustion.
 The substance which undergoes combustion is called
a combustible substance. It is also called a fuel.
 Sometimes light is also produced during combustion
either as a flame or as a glow.
 Air is necessary for combustion.
Combustion of solid fuels
 Burned in beds in lumps (or pellet form) or in
pulverized form suspended in the air stream.
Combustion of liquid fuel
 Burned by vaporizing and mixing with air before
ignited.
 Or in fine droplets which gets evaporated while
mixing with the air stream.
Combustion of gaseous fuel
 They are burned in burners where fuel and air are premixed.
Fuel contains basic elements
 Carbon
 Hydrogen
 Sulphur
 Or its compounds
 Various combustion reactions
 C + O2 = CO2 – 97650 kcal/kmol  Exothermic reaction

 C + ½ O2 = CO – 29430 kcal/kmol  Exothermic reaction

 CO + ½ O2 = CO2 – 68220 kcal/kmol  Exothermic reaction

 C + CO2 = 2CO + 38790 kcal/kmol  Endothermic reaction

 H2 + ½ O2 = H2O – 57810 kcal/kmol  Exothermic reaction

 S + O2 = SO2 – 69800 kcal/kmol  Exothermic reaction

 C + H2O = CO + H2 + 23380 kcal/kmol  Endothermic reaction

  CH4 + 2O2 = CO2 + 2H2 – 192400 kcal/kmol  Exothermic reaction
 C2H2 + O2 = 2CO2 + H2O – 312400 kcal/kmol  Exothermic
reaction
 CmHn + O2 = m CO2 + n H2O – exothermic reaction
 CnH2n+2 + O2 = nCO2 + (n+1)H2O – exothermic reaction
 H2S + O2 = H2O + SO2 – 124850 kcal/kmol  Exothermic reaction
Requirements for combustion
 Fuel (oil, gas, coal etc)
 Oxygen (air)
 The 3 “T’s”
 Time (for complete combustion)
 Temperature (to reach ignition temperature)
 Turbulence (for proper fuel – air mixture)
 Fuel combustion efficiency or
Fuel efficiency
 

 Where, = Fuel efficiency, %

 Q = Fuel consumption in furnace, kcal/hr
 x = Required heat value in the furnace, kcal/hr
 Theoretical air
  Air required for the complete burning of the combustibles
in the fuel is called theoretical air.

Excess air
 Amount of air supplied in excess of the theoretical amount
is termed as excess air
Composition of air
 Oxygen – 23%
 Nitrogen – 77% By weight

 Oxygen – 21%
 Nitrogen – 79% By mole or volume
Chemistry of Combustion
The knowledge of these tests enables an engineer to determine the correct amount
of air to be supplied and the amount of the heat carried away by the products of
combustion.

To accomplish perfect combustion, there should be

• an ample supply of air,

• a thorough mixing of the air, and

• a sufficiently high temperature to maintain combustion.

Chemistry of Combustion

When dealing with mixture of gases and gas reactions, it is more convenient to use
the molecular weight of the gases as unit of mass and not the kilogram.
Combustion Process
From the point of view of combustion it is usual to assume that
air is a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen, their proportions being :
On mass basis, oxygen 23 per cent, nitrogen 77 per cent

By volume, oxygen 21 per cent, nitrogen 79 per cent.

This means that one kg of oxygen is associated with 77/23 =

3.35 kg of nitrogen in (1 + 3.35) = 4.35 kg of air.

Also, one cubic metre of oxygen is associated with 79/21 =

3.76 m3 of nitrogen in (1 + 3.76) = 4.76 m3 of air.

Combustion Process
The nitrogen is an inert gas and takes no part in the chemical reaction occurring.

Its presence in the air lowers the temperature of combustion, retards the intimate
mixing of the fuel with oxygen, and also carries away heat up the chimney of the
boiler.

The knowledge of the chemical composition of the fuel to be burnt and the
application of chemistry to combustion problems enables the determination of the
theoretical or minimum amount of the air required to burn completely a solid fuel or
a liquid fuel or a gaseous fuel.

Once the mass of theoretical air required is determined, the actual air supplied can
be adjusted to avoid undue heat losses.

In practice, the quantity of air in excess of the theoretical air must be supplied to
ensure complete combustion as some of the air may pass off without any chemical
reaction.
Combustion Process
This extra amount of air supplied, is known as excess air and varies with
the type and quantity of the fuel used, and the method of firing.
In practice, excess air to the extent of 30% to 50% of the theoretical or
minimum air is supplied to burn the fuel completely.
It should be noted that too great excess air results in :
lowering furnace temperature,
increased heat loss in the chimney gases,
increased smoke, and
more power required to handle air and flue gases to produce artificial
draught.
Combustion Process
Too small an excess air results in :
increasing furnace temperature, which may have bad effects on the
structures and components of furnace
Incomplete combustion.
Combustion Problems
In the problems of combustion of fuels, the values of the following items are
usually required to be determined by calculations :
Mass and volume of minimum or theoretical air required for the complete
combustion of 1 kg of fuel,
Conversion of volumetric composition of a gas to composition on mass
basis.
Conversion of composition of a gas on mass basis to composition by
volume,
Mass of carbon in one kg of flue gases,
Combustion Process
 Mass of flue gases produced per kg of fuel burned,
 Mass of total or actual air, and excess air supplied per kg of fuel,

 Flue gas analysis by volume and on mass basis,

 Heat carried away by flue gases per kg of fuel, and

 Volume of minimum air required for complete combustion of one m3 of

gaseous fuel.

The products of combustion that pass away through the combustion

chamber to the chimney are called flue gases.
Combustion Process
Theoretical oxygen:

It is the amount of oxygen needed for complete combustion of all the fuel
fed to the combustion chamber, assuming that all carbon in the fuel reacts
with oxygen form CO2, all hydrogen reacts to form H2O, and all sulphur
reacts to form SO2.
Theoretical air:

It is the minimum air required to burn the fuel completely so, all carbon gets
converted in to CO2, all hydrogen in to H2O, and all sulphur in to SO2.

Theoretical air in moles = theoretical oxygen in moles/0.21

Combustion Process
Excess air:
It is the amount of oxygen supplied to combustion chamber exceeds the
theoretical air.
% excess air = [(moles of air supply- moles of air theoretical)/moles
of air theoretical] x 100
Actual air supply:
It is obtained knowing % excess and theoretical demand by the relation,
Actual air supply = theoretical air [1+ (%excess air / 100)]
Actual O2 supply = theoretical O2 [1+ (%excess O2 / 100)]
Combustion Process: Math Problem
1
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 Combustion Process: Math Problem
Problem 2:
Percentage composition of fuel on mass basis is C= 87.1%; H 2= 4.4%; O2=1.2% ; and
ash=7.3%. Find the minimum or theoretical mass and volume of air required to burn 1 kg of
the fuel.
Answer:
Let us consider 1 kg of a fuel, the ultimate analysis of which shows that carbon is C kg, hydrogen H kg,
oxygen O kg and sulphur S kg.
1 kg of carbon requires 8/3 kg of oxygen for its complete combustion; therefore C kg of carbon will require
C x 8/3 kg of oxygen which is equivalent to 2.66C kg of oxygen (considering upto two places of decimal).
1 kg of hydrogen requires 8 kg of oxygen; therefore H kg of hydrogen requires 8H kg of oxygen.
1 kg of sulphur requires 1 kg of oxygen; therefore S kg of sulphur requires S kg of oxygen.
Therefore the quantity of oxygen required for combustion of 1 kg of the fuel is: (2.66C + 8H + S) kg.
100 kg basis: Element in Kg O2 Required
C = 87.1% 0.871×(8/3) = 2.322 kg
H2 = 4.4% 0.044×(8) = 0.352 kg
Total = 2.674 kg
Weight of O2 to be supplied = Wt. of O2 needed – Wt. of O2 already present in fuel = 2.674
– 0.012 = 2.662 kg
Weight of air needed = 2.662 ×(100/23) = 11.5739 kg, Volume of air = 11.5739/1.225 = 9.45
m3
Combustion Process: Math
Problem
3
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Combustion Process: Math Problem
Combustion Process: Math Problem
4
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Combustion Process: Math
Problem
 Excess air
Problem 3
 The analysis of coal in boiler trail was C = 81%, H2 = 4.5%, O2 =
8%, remainder – incombustible
 The Orsat analysis of the dry flue gas was CO2 = 8.3%, CO = 1.4%,
O2 = 10%, N2 = 80.3%
 Determine
 (a) the weight of air supplied per kg of coal
 (b) The percentage of excess air
Problem 4
 Flue gas from an industrial furnace has the following
composition by volume:
CO2 – 11.73%, CO – 0.2%, O2 – 6.81% and N2 – 81.17%
Calculate the percentage excess air employed in the
combustion if the loss of carbon in clinker and ash is 1% of the
fuel used and the fuel has the following composition by weight:
C – 74%, H2 – 5%, O2 – 5%, N2 – 1%, S – 1%, H2O – 9% and
Ash – 5%.
Problem 5
 Octane is burnt with 10% excess air. Calculate:
(a) air/fuel ratio by weight
(b) air fuel ratio by volume
(c) weight of dry exhaust gas formed per unit of fuel
(d) Mol of oxygen in the exhaust gas per unit weight of fuel
(e) Mol of water vapor in exhaust per unit weight of fuel
(f) Volume of exhaust gas a 1 atmosphere and 260 °C per unit
weight of fuel
Specific gravity of octane may be taken as 0.7
Problem 6
 Determine the flue gas analysis and air fuel ratio by weight
when a medium fuel oil with 84.9% carbon, 11.4% hydrogen,
3.2% Sulphur, 0.4% oxygen and 0.1% ash by weight is burnt
with 20% excess air. Assume complete combustion.
Flame temperatures
 Average temp. attained by the combustion products of a
mixture of fuel and oxidant is known as flame temperature of
the inflammable mixture.
 Theoretical flame temperature
 Adiabatic flame temperature
 Actual flame temp
 Maximum adiabatic flame temp
Theoretical flame temp
 When combustion of the fuel goes to completion the entire
heat of combustion goes to heat the products of combustion.
The resultant temp is theoretical flame temp.
Adiabatic flame temp
 In reality, combustion is never complete at high temp owing
to dissociation reaction.
 When the endothermic effect of dissociation reaction is taken
into account, the adiabatic flame temp is obtained.
 It is lower than theoretical flame temp
Actual flame temp
 In practical combustion process, adiabatic conditions do not
exists.
 There is always heat loss to surroundings.
 The resultant avg. temp. of the products is termed as actual
flame temp.
Maximum adiabatic flame temp
 It is obtained when fuel is slightly in excess of the
stoichiometric composition.
Flame temp calculations
 These are calculated by striking a heat balance between fuel
and air on one hand and the products of combustion on the
other.
Types of combustion
 Rapid combustion
 Spontaneous combustion
 Explosion
Types of combustion process
 Combustion with stationary flames. E.g. combustions in
ovens and furnaces
 Surface combustion or flameless combustion. E.g. A tunnel
burner
 Combustion with explosion flame. E.g. mine explosion,
combustion in a gasoline engine.
 Combustion of solid fuels on grate. E.g. combustion of coal.
Mechanism of combustion process
 Low boiling fuels are burnt in the vapour stage.
 High boiling liquid undergoes cracking on heating and their
combustion is a combination of two processes
 Combustion of cracked vapor
 Combustion of solid carbonaceous material
 Solid fuels involve two stages
 Combustion of inflammable gases and vapors emitted by its
heating and oxidation
 The combustion of residual coke or char.
Adiabatic flame temperature
 The temperature of the products in an adiabatic combustion of
fuel without applying any shaft work, is defined as the
“Adiabatic Flame Temperature”.
 In a combustion process the heat produced during the
exothermic chemical reaction is released to their product and
the temperature of the products is raised.
 There is no possibility for dissipation of the heat to the
surrounding and the process will be adiabatic as there is no
heat loss to the surrounding.
 As a result, the temperature of the products suddenly increases
and it produces a flame. This will heat up the product gases in
flame region and the temperature rise will be maximum. This
highest temperature is known as the adiabatic flame
temperature.
 For equilibrium reaction,