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Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature
exothermic In thermodynamics, an exothermic process () is a thermodynamic process or reaction that releases energy from the system to its surroundings, usually in the form of heat, but also in a form of light (e.g. a spark, flame, or flash), electricity (e ...
redox Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is t ...
chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemistry, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. When chemical reactions occur, the atoms are rearranged and the reaction is accompanied by an Gibbs free energy, ...
between a
fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...
(the reductant) and an
oxidant An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or "Electron acceptor, accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ''electr ...
, usually atmospheric
oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as
smoke Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...
. Combustion does not always result in
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
, because a
flame A flame () is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction made in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density, they are then considered plasm ...
is only visible when substances undergoing combustion vaporize, but when it does, a flame is a characteristic indicator of the reaction. While
activation energy In the Arrhenius model of reaction rates, activation energy is the minimum amount of energy that must be available to reactants for a chemical reaction to occur. The activation energy (''E''a) of a reaction is measured in kilojoules per mole (k ...
must be supplied to initiate combustion (e.g., using a lit
match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
to light a fire), the heat from a flame may provide enough energy to make the reaction self-sustaining. The study of combustion is known as combustion science. Combustion is often a complicated sequence of
elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, an ...
radical reactions.
Solid fuel Solid fuel refers to various forms of solid material that can be burnt to release energy, providing heat and light through the process of combustion. Solid fuels can be contrasted with liquid fuels and gaseous fuels. Common examples of solid fu ...
s, such as
wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
and
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
, first undergo
endothermic An endothermic process is a chemical or physical process that absorbs heat from its surroundings. In terms of thermodynamics, it is a thermodynamic process with an increase in the enthalpy (or internal energy ) of the system.Oxtoby, D. W; Gillis, ...
pyrolysis Pyrolysis is a process involving the Bond cleavage, separation of covalent bonds in organic matter by thermal decomposition within an Chemically inert, inert environment without oxygen. Etymology The word ''pyrolysis'' is coined from the Gree ...
to produce gaseous fuels whose combustion then supplies the heat required to produce more of them. Combustion is often hot enough that
incandescent Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation emitted by the thermal motion of particles in matter. All matter with a temperature greater than absolute zero emits thermal radiation. The emission of energy arises from a combination of electro ...
light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...
in the form of either glowing or a
flame A flame () is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction made in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density, they are then considered plasm ...
is produced. A simple example can be seen in the combustion of
hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
and
oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
into
water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
vapor In physics, a vapor (American English) or vapour (Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a substance in the gas phase at a temperature lower than its critical temperature,R ...
, a reaction which is commonly used to fuel
rocket engine A rocket engine is a reaction engine, producing thrust in accordance with Newton's third law by ejecting reaction mass rearward, usually a high-speed Jet (fluid), jet of high-temperature gas produced by the combustion of rocket propellants stor ...
s. This reaction releases 242
kJ/mol The joule per mole (symbol: J·mol−1 or J/mol) is the unit of energy per amount of substance in the International System of Units (SI), such that energy is measured in joules, and the amount of substance is measured in moles. It is also an SI ...
of heat and reduces the
enthalpy Enthalpy () is the sum of a thermodynamic system's internal energy and the product of its pressure and volume. It is a state function in thermodynamics used in many measurements in chemical, biological, and physical systems at a constant extern ...
accordingly (at constant temperature and pressure): : 2H_2(g)O_2(g)\rightarrow 2H_2O\uparrow Uncatalyzed combustion in air requires relatively high temperatures. Complete combustion is
stoichiometric Stoichiometry () is the relationships between the masses of reactants and products before, during, and following chemical reactions. Stoichiometry is based on the law of conservation of mass; the total mass of reactants must equal the total m ...
concerning the fuel, where there is no remaining fuel, and ideally, no residual oxidant. Thermodynamically, the
chemical equilibrium In a chemical reaction, chemical equilibrium is the state in which both the Reagent, reactants and Product (chemistry), products are present in concentrations which have no further tendency to change with time, so that there is no observable chan ...
of combustion in air is overwhelmingly on the side of the products. However, complete combustion is almost impossible to achieve, since the chemical equilibrium is not necessarily reached, or may contain unburnt products such as
carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...
,
hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
and even
carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...
(
soot Soot ( ) is a mass of impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons. Soot is considered a hazardous substance with carcinogenic properties. Most broadly, the term includes all the particulate matter produced b ...
or ash). Thus, the produced
smoke Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...
is usually toxic and contains unburned or partially oxidized products. Any combustion at high temperatures in
atmospheric An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...
air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
, which is 78 percent
nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...
, will also create small amounts of several
nitrogen oxides In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tr ...
, commonly referred to as
NOx In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tro ...
, since the combustion of nitrogen is thermodynamically favored at high, but not low temperatures. Since burning is rarely clean, fuel gas cleaning or
catalytic converter A catalytic converter part is an vehicle emissions control, exhaust emission control device which converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysis, catalyzing a redox ...
s may be required by law.
Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
s occur naturally, ignited by
lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...
strikes or by
volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...
products. Combustion (
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
) was the first controlled chemical reaction discovered by humans, in the form of
campfire A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires ...
s and
bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve. Etymology The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling i ...
s, and continues to be the main method to produce energy for humanity. Usually, the fuel is
carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...
,
hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...
s, or more complicated mixtures such as
wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
that contain partially oxidized hydrocarbons. The thermal energy produced from the combustion of either
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...
s such as
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
or
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
, or from
renewable fuel Renewable fuels are fuels produced from renewable resources. Examples include: biofuels (e.g. Vegetable oil used as fuel, ethanol, methanol from clean energy and carbon dioxide or biomass, and biodiesel), Hydrogen fuel (when produced with rene ...
s such as
firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not heavily processed, and is in some sort of firelog, recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellet fuel, pellets. ...
, is harvested for diverse uses such as
cooking Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or Food safety, safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from ...
, production of
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
or industrial or domestic heating. Combustion is also currently the only reaction used to power
rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
s. Combustion is also used to destroy (
incinerate Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...
) waste, both nonhazardous and hazardous. Oxidants for combustion have high oxidation potential and include atmospheric or pure
oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
,
chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...
,
fluorine Fluorine is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen and exists at Standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions as pale yellow Diatomic molecule, diatomic gas. Fluorine is extre ...
,
chlorine trifluoride Chlorine trifluoride is an interhalogen compound with the formula . It is a colorless, poisonous, corrosive, and extremely reactive gas that condenses to a pale-greenish yellow liquid, the form in which it is most often sold (pressurized at room ...
,
nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or factitious air, among others, is a chemical compound, an Nitrogen oxide, oxide of nitrogen with the Chemical formula, formula . At room te ...
and
nitric acid Nitric acid is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but samples tend to acquire a yellow cast over time due to decomposition into nitrogen oxide, oxides of nitrogen. Most com ...
. For instance,
hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
burns in
chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...
to form
hydrogen chloride The Chemical compound, compound hydrogen chloride has the chemical formula and as such is a hydrogen halide. At room temperature, it is a colorless gas, which forms white fumes of hydrochloric acid upon contact with atmospheric water vapor. Hyd ...
with the liberation of heat and light characteristic of combustion. Although usually not catalyzed, combustion can be catalyzed by
platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
or
vanadium Vanadium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an ...
, as in the contact process.


Types


Complete and incomplete


Complete

In complete combustion, the reactant burns in oxygen and produces a limited number of products. When a
hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...
burns in oxygen, the reaction will primarily yield carbon dioxide and water. When elements are burned, the products are primarily the most common oxides. Carbon will yield carbon dioxide, sulfur will yield sulfur dioxide, and iron will yield iron(III) oxide. Nitrogen is not considered to be a combustible substance when oxygen is the Oxidizing agent, oxidant. Still, small amounts of various nitrogen oxides (commonly designated NOx, species) form when the air is the oxidative. Combustion is not necessarily favorable to the maximum degree of oxidation, and it can be temperature-dependent. For example, sulfur trioxide is not produced quantitatively by the combustion of sulfur. species appear in significant amounts above about , and more is produced at higher temperatures. The amount of is also a function of oxygen excess.The formation of NOx
Alentecinc.com. Retrieved on 2010-09-28.
In most industrial applications and in
fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
s,
air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
is the source of oxygen (). In the air, each mole of oxygen is mixed with approximately of nitrogen. Nitrogen does not take part in combustion, but at high temperatures, some nitrogen will be converted to NOx#Thermal, (mostly Nitric oxide, , with much smaller amounts of Nitrogen dioxide, ). On the other hand, when there is insufficient oxygen to combust the fuel completely, some fuel carbon is converted to
carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...
, and some of the hydrogens remain unreacted. A complete set of equations for the combustion of a hydrocarbon in the air, therefore, requires an additional calculation for the distribution of oxygen between the carbon and hydrogen in the fuel. The amount of air required for complete combustion is known as the "theoretical air" or "stoichiometric air". The amount of air above this value actually needed for optimal combustion is known as the "excess air", and can vary from 5% for a natural gas boiler, to 40% for anthracite coal, to 300% for a gas turbine.


Incomplete

Incomplete combustion will occur when there is not enough oxygen to allow the fuel to react completely to produce carbon dioxide and water. It also happens when the combustion is quenched by a heat sink, such as a solid surface or flame trap. As is the case with complete combustion, water is produced by incomplete combustion; however,
carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...
and
carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...
are produced instead of carbon dioxide. For most fuels, such as diesel oil, coal, or wood,
pyrolysis Pyrolysis is a process involving the Bond cleavage, separation of covalent bonds in organic matter by thermal decomposition within an Chemically inert, inert environment without oxygen. Etymology The word ''pyrolysis'' is coined from the Gree ...
occurs before combustion. In incomplete combustion, products of pyrolysis remain unburnt and contaminate the smoke with noxious particulate matter and gases. Partially oxidized compounds are also a concern; partial oxidation of ethanol can produce harmful acetaldehyde, and carbon can produce toxic carbon monoxide. The designs of combustion devices can improve the quality of combustion, such as Oil burner, burners and internal combustion engines. Further improvements are achievable by catalytic after-burning devices (such as
catalytic converter A catalytic converter part is an vehicle emissions control, exhaust emission control device which converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysis, catalyzing a redox ...
s) or by the simple partial return of the exhaust gases into the combustion process. Such devices are required by environmental legislation for cars in most countries. They may be necessary to enable large combustion devices, such as thermal power stations, to reach legal emission standards. The degree of combustion can be measured and analyzed with test equipment. HVAC contractors, firefighters and engineers use combustion analyzers to test the Fuel efficiency, efficiency of a burner during the combustion process. Also, the efficiency of an internal combustion engine can be measured in this way, and some U.S. states and local municipalities use combustion analysis to define and rate the efficiency of vehicles on the road today. Carbon monoxide is one of the products from incomplete combustion. The formation of carbon monoxide produces less heat than formation of carbon dioxide so complete combustion is greatly preferred especially as carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas. When breathed, carbon monoxide takes the place of oxygen and combines with some of the hemoglobin in the blood, rendering it unable to transport oxygen.


Problems associated with incomplete combustion


=Environmental problems

= These oxides combine with
water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
and
oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
in the atmosphere, creating
nitric acid Nitric acid is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but samples tend to acquire a yellow cast over time due to decomposition into nitrogen oxide, oxides of nitrogen. Most com ...
and sulfuric acids, which return to Earth's surface as acid deposition, or "acid rain." Acid deposition harms aquatic organisms and kills trees. Due to its formation of certain nutrients that are less available to plants such as calcium and phosphorus, it reduces the productivity of the ecosystem and farms. An additional problem associated with
nitrogen oxides In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tr ...
is that they, along with
hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...
pollutants, contribute to the formation of ground level ozone, a major component of smog.


=Human health problems

= Breathing
carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...
causes headache, dizziness, vomiting, and nausea. If carbon monoxide levels are high enough, humans become unconscious or die. Exposure to moderate and high levels of carbon monoxide over long periods is positively correlated with the risk of heart disease. People who survive severe carbon monoxide poisoning may suffer long-term health problems. Carbon monoxide from the air is absorbed in the lungs which then binds with hemoglobin in human's red blood cells. This reduces the capacity of red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body.


Smoldering

Smoldering is the slow, low-temperature, flameless form of combustion, sustained by the heat evolved when oxygen directly attacks the surface of a condensed-phase fuel. It is a typically incomplete combustion reaction. Solid materials that can sustain a smoldering reaction include coal, cellulose,
wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
, cotton, tobacco, peat, Plant litter, duff, humus, synthetic foams, charring polymers (including polyurethane foam) and dust. Common examples of smoldering phenomena are the initiation of residential fires on upholstered furniture by weak heat sources (e.g., a cigarette, a short-circuited wire) and the persistent combustion of biomass behind the flaming fronts of wildfires.


Spontaneous

Spontaneous combustion is a type of combustion that occurs by self-heating (increase in temperature due to
exothermic In thermodynamics, an exothermic process () is a thermodynamic process or reaction that releases energy from the system to its surroundings, usually in the form of heat, but also in a form of light (e.g. a spark, flame, or flash), electricity (e ...
internal reactions), followed by thermal runaway (self-heating which rapidly accelerates to high temperatures) and finally, ignition. For example, phosphorus self-ignites at room temperature without the application of heat. Organic materials undergoing bacterial composting can generate enough heat to reach the point of combustion.


Turbulent

Combustion resulting in a turbulent flame is the most used for industrial applications (e.g. gas turbines, gasoline engines, etc.) because the turbulence helps the mixing process between the fuel and oxidizer.


Micro-gravity

The term 'micro' gravity refers to a gravitational state that is 'low' (i.e., 'micro' in the sense of 'small' and not necessarily a millionth of Earth's normal gravity) such that the influence of buoyancy on physical processes may be considered small relative to other flow processes that would be present at normal gravity. In such an environment, the thermal and flow transport dynamics can behave quite differently than in normal gravity conditions (e.g., a candle's flame takes the shape of a sphere.). Microgravity combustion research contributes to the understanding of a wide variety of aspects that are relevant to both the environment of a spacecraft (e.g., fire dynamics relevant to crew safety on the International Space Station) and terrestrial (Earth-based) conditions (e.g., droplet combustion dynamics to assist developing new fuel blends for improved combustion, materials fabrication processes, Thermal management (electronics), thermal management of electronic systems, multiphase flow boiling dynamics, and many others).


Micro-combustion

Combustion processes that happen in very small volumes are considered micro-combustion. The high surface-to-volume ratio increases specific heat loss. Quenching distance plays a vital role in stabilizing the flame in such combustion chambers.


Chemical equations


Stoichiometric combustion of a hydrocarbon in oxygen

Generally, the chemical equation for Stoichiometry, stoichiometric combustion of a
hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...
in oxygen is: :\ce_x \ce_y + \left(x+\right)\ce x\ce + \ce For example, the stoichiometric combustion of methane in oxygen is: :\underset + 2O2 -> CO2 + 2H2O


Stoichiometric combustion of a hydrocarbon in air

If the stoichiometric combustion takes place using air as the oxygen source, the
nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...
present in the air (Atmosphere of Earth) can be added to the equation (although it does not react) to show the stoichiometric composition of the fuel in air and the composition of the resultant flue gas. Treating all non-oxygen components in air as nitrogen gives a 'nitrogen' to oxygen ratio of 3.77, i.e. (100% − %) / % where % is 20.95% vol: :\ce_x \ce_y + z\ce + 3.77z\ce x\ce + \ce + 3.77z\ce where z = x + . For example, the stoichiometric combustion of methane in air is: :\ce + 7.54\ce + 7.54\ce The stoichiometric composition of methane in air is 1 / (1 + 2 + 7.54) = 9.49% vol. The stoichiometric combustion reaction for CHO in air: :\ce + \left ( \alpha + \frac -\frac \right ) \left ( \ce + 3.77 \ce \right ) \longrightarrow \alpha \ce + \frac \ce + 3.77 \left ( \alpha + \frac -\frac \right ) \ce The stoichiometric combustion reaction for CHOS: :\ce + \left ( \alpha + \frac -\frac + \delta \right ) \left ( \ce + 3.77 \ce \right ) \longrightarrow \alpha \ce + \frac \ce + \delta \ce + 3.77 \left ( \alpha + \frac -\frac + \delta \right ) \ce The stoichiometric combustion reaction for CHONS: :\ce + \left ( \alpha + \frac -\frac + \epsilon \right ) \left ( \ce + 3.77 \ce \right ) \longrightarrow \alpha \ce + \frac \ce + \epsilon \ce + \left ( 3.77 \left ( \alpha + \frac -\frac + \epsilon \right ) + \frac \right ) \ce The stoichiometric combustion reaction for CHOF: :\ce + \left ( \alpha + \frac -\frac \right ) \left ( \ce + 3.77 \ce \right ) \longrightarrow \alpha \ce + \frac \ce + \delta \ce + 3.77 \left ( \alpha + \frac -\frac \right ) \ce


Trace combustion products

Various other substances begin to appear in significant amounts in combustion products when the Adiabatic flame temperature, flame temperature is above about . When excess air is used, nitrogen may oxidize to and, to a much lesser extent, to . forms by disproportionation of , and and form by disproportionation of . For example, when of propane is burned with of air (120% of the stoichiometric amount), the combustion products contain 3.3% . At , the Chemical equilibrium, equilibrium combustion products contain 0.03% and 0.002% . At , the combustion products contain 0.17% , 0.05% , 0.01% , and 0.004% . Diesel engines are run with an excess of oxygen to combust small Particle, particles that tend to form with only a stoichiometric amount of oxygen, necessarily producing NOx, nitrogen oxide emissions. Both the United States and European Union Emission standard, enforce limits to vehicle nitrogen oxide emissions, which necessitate the use of special
catalytic converter A catalytic converter part is an vehicle emissions control, exhaust emission control device which converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysis, catalyzing a redox ...
s or treatment of the exhaust with urea (see Diesel exhaust fluid).


Incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon in oxygen

The incomplete (partial) combustion of a
hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...
with oxygen produces a gas mixture containing mainly , , , and . Such gas mixtures are commonly prepared for use as protective atmospheres for the Heat treating, heat-treatment of metals and for Carburizing, gas carburizing. The general reaction equation for incomplete combustion of one Mole (unit), mole of a hydrocarbon in oxygen is: : \underset + \underset -> \underset + \underset + \underset + \underset When ''z'' falls below roughly 50% of the stoichiometric value, Methane, can become an important combustion product; when ''z'' falls below roughly 35% of the stoichiometric value, elemental
carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...
may become stable. The products of incomplete combustion can be calculated with the aid of a material balance, together with the assumption that the combustion products reach Chemical equilibrium, equilibrium.
ExoCalc
For example, in the combustion of one Mole (unit), mole of propane () with four moles of , seven moles of combustion gas are formed, and ''z'' is 80% of the stoichiometric value. The three elemental balance equations are: * Carbon: a + b = 3 * Hydrogen: 2c + 2d = 8 * Oxygen: 2a + b + c = 8 These three equations are insufficient in themselves to calculate the combustion gas composition. However, at the equilibrium position, the water-gas shift reaction gives another equation: : CO + H2O -> CO2 + H2; K_ = \frac For example, at the value of ''K'' is 0.728. Solving, the combustion gas consists of 42.4% , 29.0% , 14.7% , and 13.9% . Carbon becomes a stable phase at and pressure when z is less than 30% of the stoichiometric value, at which point the combustion products contain more than 98% and and about 0.5% . Substances or materials which undergo combustion are called
fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...
s. The most common examples are natural gas, propane, kerosene, Diesel fuel, diesel, petrol, charcoal, coal, wood, etc.


Liquid fuels

Combustion of a liquid fuel in an oxidizing atmosphere actually happens in the gas phase. It is the vapor that burns, not the liquid. Therefore, a liquid will normally catch fire only above a certain temperature: its flash point. The flash point of liquid fuel is the lowest temperature at which it can form an ignitable mix with air. It is the minimum temperature at which there is enough evaporated fuel in the air to start combustion.


Gaseous fuels

Combustion of gaseous fuels may occur through one of four distinctive types of burning: diffusion flame, premixed flame, autoignitive reaction front, or as a detonation. The type of burning that actually occurs depends on the degree to which the
fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...
and oxidizer are mixed prior to heating: for example, a diffusion flame is formed if the fuel and oxidizer are separated initially, whereas a premixed flame is formed otherwise. Similarly, the type of burning also depends on the pressure: a detonation, for example, is an autoignitive reaction front coupled to a strong shock wave giving it its characteristic high-pressure peak and high detonation velocity.


Solid fuels

The act of combustion consists of three relatively distinct but overlapping phases: * Preheating phase, when the unburned
fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...
is heated up to its flash point and then fire point. Flammable gases start being evolved in a process similar to dry distillation. * Distillation phase or gaseous phase, when the mix of evolved flammable gases with oxygen is ignited. Energy is produced in the form of heat and light. Flames are often visible. Heat transfer from the combustion to the solid maintains the evolution of flammable vapours. * Charcoal phase or solid phase, when the output of flammable gases from the material is too low for the persistent presence of flame and the charring, charred fuel does not burn rapidly and just glows and later only Smouldering, smoulders.


Combustion management

Efficient Industrial furnace, process heating requires recovery of the largest possible part of a fuel's heat of combustion into the material being processed.
HeatCalc
There are many avenues of loss in the operation of a heating process. Typically, the dominant loss is sensible heat leaving with the Exhaust gas, offgas (i.e., the flue gas). The temperature and quantity of offgas indicates its heat content (
enthalpy Enthalpy () is the sum of a thermodynamic system's internal energy and the product of its pressure and volume. It is a state function in thermodynamics used in many measurements in chemical, biological, and physical systems at a constant extern ...
), so keeping its quantity low minimizes heat loss. In a perfect furnace, the combustion air flow would be matched to the fuel flow to give each fuel molecule the exact amount of oxygen needed to cause complete combustion. However, in the real world, combustion does not proceed in a perfect manner. Unburned fuel (usually and ) discharged from the system represents a heating value loss (as well as a safety hazard). Since combustibles are undesirable in the offgas, while the presence of unreacted oxygen there presents minimal safety and environmental concerns, the first principle of combustion management is to provide more oxygen than is theoretically needed to ensure that all the fuel burns. For methane () combustion, for example, slightly more than two molecules of oxygen are required. The second principle of combustion management, however, is to not use too much oxygen. The correct amount of oxygen requires three types of measurement: first, active control of air and fuel flow; second, offgas oxygen measurement; and third, measurement of offgas combustibles. For each heating process, there exists an optimum condition of minimal offgas heat loss with acceptable levels of combustibles concentration. Minimizing excess oxygen pays an additional benefit: for a given offgas temperature, the
NOx In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tro ...
level is lowest when excess oxygen is kept lowest. Adherence to these two principles is furthered by making material and heat balances on the combustion process.
MatBalCalc

HeatBalCalc
The material balance directly relates the air/fuel ratio to the percentage of in the combustion gas. The heat balance relates the heat available for the charge to the overall net heat produced by fuel combustion.
AvailHeatCalc
Additional material and heat balances can be made to quantify the thermal advantage from preheating the combustion air,
SysBalCalc2
or enriching it in oxygen.
SysBalCalc


Reaction mechanism

Combustion in oxygen is a chain reaction in which many distinct Radical (chemistry), radical intermediates participate. The high energy required for initiation is explained by the unusual structure of the dioxygen molecule. The lowest-energy configuration of the dioxygen molecule is a stable, relatively unreactive diradical in a triplet oxygen, triplet spin state. Bonding can be described with three bonding electron pairs and two antibonding electrons, with Spin (physics), spins aligned, such that the molecule has nonzero total angular momentum. Most fuels, on the other hand, are in a singlet state, with paired spins and zero total angular momentum. Interaction between the two is quantum mechanically a "forbidden transition", i.e. possible with a very low probability. To initiate combustion, energy is required to force dioxygen into a spin-paired state, or singlet oxygen. This intermediate is extremely reactive. The energy is supplied as heat, and the reaction then produces additional heat, which allows it to continue. Combustion of hydrocarbons is thought to be initiated by hydrogen atom abstraction (not proton abstraction) from the fuel to oxygen, to give a hydroperoxide radical (HOO). This reacts further to give hydroperoxides, which break up to give hydroxyl radicals. There are a great variety of these processes that produce fuel radicals and oxidizing radicals. Oxidizing species include singlet oxygen, hydroxyl, monatomic oxygen, and hydroperoxyl. Such intermediates are short-lived and cannot be isolated. However, non-radical intermediates are stable and are produced in incomplete combustion. An example is acetaldehyde produced in the combustion of ethanol. An intermediate in the combustion of carbon and hydrocarbons,
carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...
, is of special importance because it is a Poison, poisonous gas, but also economically useful for the production of syngas. Solid and heavy liquid fuels also undergo a great number of
pyrolysis Pyrolysis is a process involving the Bond cleavage, separation of covalent bonds in organic matter by thermal decomposition within an Chemically inert, inert environment without oxygen. Etymology The word ''pyrolysis'' is coined from the Gree ...
reactions that give more easily oxidized, gaseous fuels. These reactions are endothermic and require constant energy input from the ongoing combustion reactions. A lack of oxygen or other improperly designed conditions result in these noxious and carcinogenic pyrolysis products being emitted as thick, black smoke. The rate of combustion is the amount of a material that undergoes combustion over a period of time. It can be expressed in grams per second (g/s) or kilograms per second (kg/s). Detailed descriptions of combustion processes, from the chemical kinetics perspective, require the formulation of large and intricate webs of elementary reactions. For instance, combustion of hydrocarbon fuels typically involve hundreds of chemical species reacting according to thousands of reactions. The inclusion of such mechanisms within computational flow solvers still represents a pretty challenging task mainly in two aspects. First, the number of degrees of freedom (proportional to the number of chemical species) can be dramatically large; second, the source term due to reactions introduces a disparate number of time scales which makes the whole dynamical system stiff. As a result, the direct numerical simulation of turbulent reactive flows with heavy fuels soon becomes intractable even for modern supercomputers. Therefore, a plethora of methodologies have been devised for reducing the complexity of combustion mechanisms without resorting to high detail levels. Examples are provided by: * The Relaxation Redistribution Method (RRM) * The Intrinsic Low-Dimensional Manifold (ILDM) approach and further developments * The invariant-constrained equilibrium edge preimage curve method. * A few variational approaches * The Computational Singular perturbation (CSP) method and further developments. * The Rate Controlled Constrained Equilibrium (RCCE) and Quasi Equilibrium Manifold (QEM) approach. * The G-Scheme. * The Method of Invariant Grids (MIG).


Kinetic modelling

The kinetic modelling may be explored for insight into the reaction mechanisms of thermal decomposition in the combustion of different materials by using for instance Thermogravimetric analysis.


Temperature

Assuming perfect combustion conditions, such as complete combustion under adiabatic conditions (i.e., no heat loss or gain), the adiabatic combustion temperature can be determined. The formula that yields this temperature is based on the first law 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''). In the case of fossil fuels burnt in air, the combustion temperature depends on all of the following: * the Heat of combustion, heating value; * the air-fuel ratio, stoichiometric air to fuel ratio ; * the specific heat capacity of fuel and air; * the air and fuel inlet temperatures. The adiabatic combustion temperature (also known as the ''adiabatic flame temperature'') increases for higher heating values and inlet air and fuel temperatures and for stoichiometric air ratios approaching one. Most commonly, the adiabatic combustion temperatures for coals are around (for inlet air and fuel at ambient temperatures and for \lambda = 1.0), around for oil and for natural gas.
AFTCalc
In industrial Industrial furnace, fired heaters, power station steam generators, and large gas turbine, gas-fired turbines, the more common way of expressing the usage of more than the stoichiometric combustion air is ''percent excess combustion air''. For example, excess combustion air of 15 percent means that 15 percent more than the required stoichiometric air is being used.


Instabilities

Combustion instabilities are typically violent pressure oscillations in a combustion chamber. These pressure oscillations can be as high as 180dB, and long-term exposure to these cyclic pressure and thermal loads reduces the life of engine components. In rockets, such as the F1 used in the Saturn V program, instabilities led to massive damage to the combustion chamber and surrounding components. This problem was solved by re-designing the fuel injector. In liquid jet engines, the droplet size and distribution can be used to attenuate the instabilities. Combustion instabilities are a major concern in ground-based gas turbine engines because of emissions. The tendency is to run lean, an equivalence ratio less than 1, to reduce the combustion temperature and thus reduce the emissions; however, running the combustion lean makes it very susceptible to combustion instability. The Thermoacoustic hot air engine, Rayleigh Criterion is the basis for analysis of thermoacoustic combustion instability and is evaluated using the Rayleigh Index over one cycle of instability
G(x)=\frac\int_q'(x,t)p'(x,t)dt
where q' is the heat release rate perturbation and p' is the pressure fluctuation. When the heat release oscillations are in phase with the pressure oscillations, the Rayleigh Index is positive and the magnitude of the thermoacoustic instability is maximised. On the other hand, if the Rayleigh Index is negative, then thermoacoustic damping occurs. The Rayleigh Criterion implies that thermoacoustic instability can be optimally controlled by having heat release oscillations 180 degrees out of phase with pressure oscillations at the same frequency. This minimizes the Rayleigh Index.


See also

Related concepts * Air–fuel ratio * Autoignition temperature * Chemical looping combustion * Deflagration * Detonation * Dust explosion * Explosion *
Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
* Flame * Global warming * Heterogeneous combustion * Markstein number * Phlogiston theory (historical) * Spontaneous combustion Machines and equipment * Boiler * Bunsen burner * External combustion engine * Furnace (house heating), Furnace * Gas turbine * Internal combustion engine * Rocket engine Scientific and engineering societies * International Flame Research Foundation * The Combustion Institute Other * Combustible dust * Combustion of biomass, Biomass burning * List of light sources * Open burning of waste * Stubble burning


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * {{Authority control Combustion, Chemical reactions