COMBUSTION AND FLAME

COMBUSTION

Combustion is a chemical process in which a substance reacts with oxygen and produces a large
amount of heat and light. It is called burning.

Examples – C + O2 CO2 + heat and light.

TYPES OF COMBUSTION.

1. Rapid combustion- combustion reaction in which a substance burns and produces a large
amount of heat and light in a short period of time.
Examples
• Burning of LPG
• Burning of petrol or diesel.
2. Spontaneous combustion- the type of combustion in which a chemical substance bursts into
flame without any apparent cause.
Combustion occurs due to heat generated by internal exothermic reactions.
No external source of heat is involved.
Examples
• Forest fires
• White phosphorus bursts into flames as soon as it comes in contact with air. (it is
therefore kept immersed in water).
• Sodium and potassium catch fire when they are exposed to air or water at room
temperature.(that is why they are kept immersed in kerosene)
3. Explosion- a violent combustion reaction which produces enormous heat,light, smoke and a
loud sound
Examples
• Bursting of crackers
• Bomb going off.

CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR COMBUSTION

Necessary factors required for a combustion reaction to take place are:

1. A combustible or flammable substance. For example wood, petroleum, etc.

2. Initial heating to raise the temperature of the substance to its ignition temperature.
• The lowest temperature at which a substance catches fires and starts burning is
called IGNITION TEMPERATURE.
• For Ex: The ignition temperature of paper is 233 °C. This means that a paper has to be
heated at least to a temperature of 233 °C so that it may catch fire and start burning.
3. A gas that is a supporter of combustion (oxygen). An abundant supply of such a gas is required.
FIRE TRIANGLE

The three conditions necessary for fire comprises of fire triangle.

ACTIVITY TO SHOW THAT OXYGEN IS ESSENTIAL FOR BURNING

• Take a candle and fix it on a table.

• Light the candle
• The candle will continue to burn due to continuously available fresh air providing the required
oxygen for combustion.
• Now cover the burning candle with an inverted gas jar.
• After a short time, the candle stops burning and gets extinguished.
• When the burning candle is covered with gas jar, it consumes oxygen from the air enclosed in the gas
jar.
• After some time, when all the oxygen of air inside the gas jar is used up, then the burning candle
gets extinguished.
• This proves that air is necessary for combustion of substances.

( DRAW THIS DIAGRAM)

Refer to the link given below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d6tseOh21Y

ACTIVITY TO SHOW THAT REACHING IGNITION TEMPERATURE IS NECESSARY FOR

• Take two cones made of paper

• Fill one of the cones with water.
• Heat the two cone on the flame separately
• Empty paper cone will start burning immediately as it reaches its ignition temperature.
• but the cone filled with water will not catch fire easily.
• It is because the heat supplied to the cone is conducted to water. Water gets heated up
• Presence of water increases the temperature of the paper cone; therefore it does not catch fire.
 Refer to the link given. COMBUSTIONhttps://youtu.be/2W2bpDmyiVg

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RAPID AND SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION

To understand better please visit the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw926jR8xkQ

COMPLETE AND INCOMPLETE COMBUSTION

COMPLETE COMBUSTION INCOMPLETE COMBUSTION

1. Fuel burns completely. Fuel does not burn completely

2. Complete combustion occurs when there Incomplete combustion occurs when there is an
is a sufficient and adequate supply of the insufficient and inadequate supply of the oxugen
oxygen
 3. in complete combustion a blue flame is In incomplete combustion a yellow or orange flame
produced due to completely burnt carbon is usually produced. It is because the partially burnt
particles. carbon particles glow and impart yellow colour to
the flame

4. As the fuel burns completely, no smoke Incomplete combustion produces smoke or soot.
or soot is produced. Soot is unburnt carbon particles.
.

5. In complete combustion all the fuel is In incomplete combustion all the fuel is not
consumed, therefore a large amount of consumed, therefore heat energy produced is less
heat energy is produced, but light but because of yellow glow, light is more.
produced is less.

6. Complete combustion of carbon Incomplete combustion of carbon compounds

compounds produce carbon dioxide and produce carbon monoxide and water.
water.

Figure 1 blue flame because of complete combustion

Figure 2 complete combustion incomplete combustion

COMBUSTIBLE AND NON COMBUSTIBLE SUBSTANCES

The substances which burn in presence of air are called combustible substances or flammable
substances.

Examples-: wood, coal, petrol, diesel, kerosene

The substances which have very low ignition temperature and easily catch fire are called inflammable
substances

Examples- petrol, diesel LPG etc.

The substances which do not burn in presence of air , even on strong heating are called
noncombustible substances

They are also called non flammable substances

Examples -: stone, glass, iron, sand

CONTROLLING FIRE

Fire can be controlled by removing any one of the three conditions required for burning.

It is difficult to remove the combustible substance from the place of fire.

So most of the fire extinguishers work on the principal of

1. Cutting off the supply of air(oxygen)

2. Bringing down the temperature of fuel below its ignition temperature.

WATER AS A FIRE EXTINGUISHER_ - It works in two ways.

1. Water brings down the temperature of the burning material below its ignition temperature.
2. When water falls on fire, some of it changes into steam. Steam is heavier than air. It
surrounds the burning substance and cuts off the supply of air.
So the fire gets extinguished.
• Fire produced by the burning of oil or petrol cannot be controlled by throwing water
on it because water being heavier than oil, settles down and oil continues to bum.
• In the case of fires caused by burning liquid fuels, such as kerosene oil can be
controlled by throwing sand or soil over it.
• Water cannot be used to extinguish fires caused by electricity. Water is a good
conductor of electricity. It can cause electrocution (electric shock) of the person
involved.
CARBON DIOXIDE AS A FIRE EXTINGUISHER
1. Carbon dioxide is stored in cylinders under pressure. When it is released it expands
and becomes cooler and as it falls on burning substance, the temperature of the
burning substance drops below its ignition temperature and it stops burning.
Carbon dioxide is heavier than air. It surrounds the burning material and cuts off the supply of air to it.
 SODA-ACID FIRE EXTINGUISHER

(TO BE DRAWN)
• It consists of a metal cylinder containing sodium bicarbonate.(NaHCO3)
• A glass bottle containing H2SO4 is suspended inside the cylinder.
• When knob is turned, it plunges into the glass bottle which breaks and sulphuric
acid combines with sodium bicarbonate.
• Carbon dioxide is released as a result of this reaction which is used to extinguish fire
NaHCO3 + H2SO4 Na2SO4 +

8.5.2020

FLAME

• Flame is the zone of burning gases released due to the combustion of fuel.
• What we see as the flame is the light energy released due to the combustion of fuel.
ZONES OF CANDLE FLAME

(TO BE DRAWN)
STRUCTURE OF FLAME- ZONES OF FLAME
1. Outermost zone
• Zone of complete combustion of wax.(carbon particles)
• It is blue in colour.
• Hottest among all zones.
• It is the non-luminous part of the flame
 2. Middle zone.
• Zone of partial combustion.
• It is bright yellow in colour due to glowing carbon particles
• It is moderately hot
• It is the luminous part of the flame
3. The innermost zone
• Zone of no combustion
• Black in colour due to unburnt carbon particles
• It is the least hot
• Dark zone..

Smoke

• Smoke is solid (unburnt carbon particles) dispersed in a gas (air).

• The black colour of smoke is due to the presence of unburnt carbon particles in the smoke.

WORKING OF A MATCHSTICK

• The tip of a matchstick is made of a mixture of glass and red phosphorus

• When the matchstick is struck against the match box, glass increases the friction and heat is
produced.
• Red phosphorus turns into white phosphorus on heating.
• White phosphorus spontaneously ignites, thereby increasing the temperature of the wooden
stem to the ignition point and the matchstick starts burning.

(NOT TO BE DRAWN)
(
DATE
FUEL

• Any substance which upon combustion produces a usable amount of energy is known as fuel.
For example, fossil fuels, biogas, nuclear energy etc.
• Fuels can be solid( e.g. coal, coke. Wood etc.), liquid (e.g. petrol, diesel, kerosene etc.) or gas
(e.g. L.P.G, C.N.G., methane etc.)

CALORIFIC VALUE

• The amount of heat energy produced on complete combustion of 1 kg of a fuel is called its
calorific value.
• The calorific value of a fuel is expressed in a unit called kilojoule per kg (kJ/kg).

EFFICIENCY OF A FUEL

• Efficiency is that proportion of energy released due to combustion which is converted into
useful work.
• Calorific value is directly proportional to its efficiency. If the calorific value is high, it’s efficiency
will also be high. If the value is low, its efficiency would also be low.

IDEAL FUEL

• The fuel which satisfies all the characteristics of good fuel is termed as an ideal fuel.
• Probably, there is as such no ideal fuel present.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD FUEL:

• It should have high calorific value

• It should have moderate ignition temperature

• Rate of combustion should be moderate.

• It should not produce harmful gases or residues that pollute the environment.

• It should be easily available and easy to store.

• It should be affordable.

POLLUTION

Harmful Products from Burning of Fuel

1. Unburnt Carbon Particles

• Carbon fuels like wood, coal, candle, petroleum release unburnt carbon particles.
• These fine particles are dangerous pollutants causing respiratory diseases, such as asthma.
 2. CO Emission

• Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas which is produced by incomplete combustion of fuels.

• Carbon monoxide if inhaled combines with hemoglobin in our blood. As a result blood cannot
carry oxygen to cells which is fatal.

3. CO2 emission
• CO2 is a green house gas and causes global warming
Global Warming

• The rise in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere due to the release of carbon
dioxide on combustion of fuels is termed as global warming.
• Melting of polar ice-caps or change in the rainfall pattern are the consequences of global
warming.

Acid Rain

• Acid rains are caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with the
water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acid.
• It has a very harmful effect on plants, land and aquatic animals and infrastructure.

CNG – The Clean Fuel

The use of diesel and petrol as fuels in automobiles is being replaced by CNG (Compressed Natural
Gas) because it is less polluting and a cleaner fuel.