15.

2 Engineering Chemistry

15.2 Factors influencing the rate of

combustion

The following factors influence the rate of combustion of a

fuel:
i) It depends on the temperature
ii) nature of the combustible substance
iii) It increases with the increase in concentration of the
fuel and the pressure of the air used for combustion.
iv) The rate of combustion increases with the increase in
pressure or surface area of the fuel.
v) The rate of combustion increases with preheating of fuel
and air.

15.3 Calorific values

Calorific value is defined as the total amount of heat

liberated when a unit mass of fuel is completely burnt.

The following units are used to measure the calorific value:

i) Calorie ii) Kilo calorie iii) British Thermal unit
iv)Centigrade heat unit (C.H.U)

i)Calorie is defined as the amount of heat required to raise

the temperature of 1 gram of water through 10C (15 to
160C) .

ii) Kilocalorie is defined as the amount of heat required to

raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water through 10C .
1 Kilocalorie = 1000 calorie

iii) British Thermal Unit (B.T.U) is the quantity of heat

required to rise the temperature of one pound of water
through 10 Fahrenheit (60 -610F ) , ( 1BTU = 252 cal).