Module 5
Topics
• General principles of combustion
• Types of combustion processes
• combustion of solid fuels
• combustion calculations
• air fuel ratio
• Excess air calculations
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
• Solid fuels typically undergo heating, drying, pyrolysis
(releasing volatile gases), and finally, heterogeneous
char combustion.
• Burned in beds in lumps (or pellet form) or in
pulverized form suspended in the air stream.
Combustion technology
• Pulverized Coal Combustion: Fuel is ground into
fine powder for rapid combustion, common in
power plants.
• Fixed Bed/Grate Combustion: Used for biomass
and coal in smaller applications or industrial
boilers.
• Fluidized Bed Combustion: Fuel is burned in a
suspended state within a bed of hot, inert
material, allowing for better efficiency and
emission control.
Challenges in solid fuel combustion
• The process faces challenges in handling
diverse fuel qualities (e.g., biomass vs. coal),
managing ash deposition, and maintaining
stable combustion
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.
Stages of Liquid Fuel Combustion
• Atomization: Liquid is broken into a fine spray
(droplets) using a nozzle to enhance surface area.
• Evaporation/Vaporization: Droplets convert to
gas, with smaller, lighter fuels (e.g., petrol)
vaporizing faster than heavy fuels (e.g., fuel oil).
• Mixing: Fuel vapor mixes with air to create a
combustible mixture.
• Ignition: The mixture is ignited, becoming self-
sustaining with enough heat and proper air-fuel
ratios
Liquid fuel Combustion Processes
• Spray Combustion: The most common form,
where droplets evaporate in a hot zone.
• Diffusion-Controlled: Liquid fuel burns in the
gas phase because the vapor and oxygen
originate from different locations.
• Factors Affecting Combustion: Success
depends on correct stoichiometry, turbulence,
atomization quality, and temperature
Key Considerations
• Incomplete Combustion: Caused by poor
atomization, resulting in smoke and carbon
monoxide (CO).
• Disruptive Evaporation: Lighter components
in mixtures can flash-evaporate, shattering the
droplet.
• Safety: Liquid fuel fires (Class B) are
dangerous due to their ability to flow and
spread quickly.
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
5
• C2H2 + O = 2CO2 + H2O – 312400 kcal/kmol Exothermic
2 2
reaction
𝑛
• CmHn + 𝑚 + O2 = m CO2 + n/2 H2O – exothermic reaction
4
3𝑛+1
• CnH2n+2 + O2 = nCO2 + (n+1)H2O – exothermic reaction
2
3
• H2S + O2 = H2O + SO2 – 124850 kcal/kmol Exothermic reaction
2
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
𝒙
𝜼 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎,
𝑸
• Where, 𝜂 = 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
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑖𝑟
𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 − 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑
= 100 ×
𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑
Composition of air
• Oxygen – 23%
By weight
• Nitrogen – 77%
• Oxygen – 21%
By mole or volume
• Nitrogen – 79%
Gravimetric analysis
Problem 1
The volumetric composition of a gaseous fuel is the
following
H2 = 50%, CH4 = 20%, C2H2 = 2%, CO2 = 5%, CO = 16%, N2
= 7%.
a. Determine the molecular weight, and the density of
the mixture at S.T.P. if the total pressure of the
mixture is 1.03 kgf/cm2.
b. Determine the gravimetric composition or
composition by weight.
Minimum air requirement
Problem 2
• A sample of coal has the following percentage
composition by weight C = 77.7%, H2 = 6.8%, N2 =
1.2%, S = 2.2%, O2 = 8.8% and, incombustibles 3.3%.
Determine the minimum quantity of air required for
complete combustion of 1 kg of coal, and the
constituent products of combustion in kg per kg of
coal.
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.