TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

Manila

COMBUSTION

2011
 TOPICS

Basic Concepts
Combustion
Reaction
Mass Balance

Mass and Energy

Balance
COMBUSTION
Combustion or burning
is a complex sequence
of exothermic chemical
reactions between a fuel
and an oxidant (rapid
oxidation) accompanied
by the production of
heat or both heat and
light in the form of either
a glow or a flame.
COMBUSTION
ENGINEERING

Combustion Engineering is the

application of the science of
combustion to industrial fuel
burning. Combustion engineering
is closely connected with the
chemistry of burning fuels, the
engineering laws of fluid flow and
heat transfer, and the principles of
mechanical design.
 RELATED BASIC CONCEPTS
Fuel: a material that is burnt to release
heat energy, for example coal, natural
gas or oil
Oxidant: a chemical compound that
readily transfers oxygen atoms; a
substance that gains electrons in a
reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction
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 a liquid fuel is
the lowest temperature at which it can form
an ignitable mix with air. It is also the
minimum temperature at which there is
enough evaporated fuel in the air to start
combustion.
Solid fuels
The act of combustion consists of three relatively distinct
but overlapping phases:

Preheating phase, when 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.
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 vapors.
Charcoal phase or solid phase, when the output of
flammable gases from the material is too low for
persistent presence of flame and the charred fuel does
not burn rapidly anymore but just glows and later only
smolders.
A GENERAL SCHEME OF POLYMER
COMBUSTION
 RELATED BASIC CONCEPTS

Primary Fuel: a fuel that is found naturally

on earth without undergoing chemical
processing; naturally occurring resources
without undergoing any human-made
conversion or transformation
Secondary Fuel: a fuel derived from the
chemical processing of a primary fuel;
produced from a naturally occurring
material by a chemical treatment
Fossil fuel: formed from the organic remains
of prehistoric plants and animals, and
acted upon by anaerobic bacteria,
temperature and pressure
RELATED BASIC CONCEPTS

Renewable fuel: the fuel may be

naturally generated within a lifetime
Conventional Fuel: the fuel for
which a particular combustor was
initially designed
Alternative Fuel: a fuel which can be
advantageously used to replace a
conventional fuel in its application
RELATED BASIC CONCEPTS

Air-Fuel Ratio: the ratio of air to fuel by

mass, weight or volume which is
significant for proper combustion of fuel
Stoichiometric Reaction: a chemical
reaction where the reactants are
completely converted to products
Equivalence Ratio: the ratio of the
actual mass of fuel to the stoichiometric
value for a certain amount of oxidant
RELATED BASIC CONCEPTS

Ultimate Analysis: determination of the

elements in a substance
Proximate Analysis: determination of
categories of compounds in a mixture
Temperature : property of an object
that determine the direction of heat flow
when the object is placed in thermal
contact with another object, C or K
Pressure : force exerted per unit area, Pa
RELATED BASIC CONCEPTS

Heating Value/Calorific Value: quantity

of heat liberated from the complete
combustion of a unit mass or unit
volume of fuel
Heat Capacity: the amount of heat
required to raise the temperature of an
object or substance one degree
RELATED BASIC CONCEPTS

Specific Heat: the ratio of the heat

required to raise the temperature of a
unit amount of substance by one degree
to that required to raise the temperature
of an equal amount of a reference
substance one degree temperature
Adiabatic Flame Temperature: the
highest possible temperature of
combustion obtained under the
conditions that the burning occurs in an
adiabatic vessel, that is complete, and
that dissociation does not occur