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1
COMBUSTION THEORY
Lesson 6:
Review and Example
ISAT 413 - Module IV: Combustion and Power Generation
(Downloaded and Presented by Ly Ngoc Minh, Lecturer of HUI)
2
Contens:
Introduction
Conversion of Mechanical Energy
Conversion of Electrical Energy
Conversion of Electromagnetic
Energy
Conversion of Chemical Energy
Combustion Mechanics
Combustion Methods
3
Introduction
Thermal energy is a basic form of energy in that all
other energy forms can be completely converted into
thermal energy.
Unless the energy stored as some other form, it will
eventually be degraded into thermal energy (the term
degraded is used because the conversion of thermal
energy into other energy forms is limited to something
less than 100%.)
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The conversion of mechanical energy into thermal
energy occurs in any irreversible process and can be
summarized in essentially one word friction.
In many processes, friction is considered to be an
undesirable phenomenon and every effort is made to
reduce or eliminate it. This is particularly true in most
thermodynamic or lubrication processes.
Friction is not always bad, however. If it were not for
the friction between the soles of your shoes and the
floor, it would be impossible to walk. If it were not for
the friction between the brake shoes and the drum of
the automobile wheel, it would not be possible to
convert the kinetic energy of the automobile into
thermal energy and stop the car.
Conversion of Mechanical Energy
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Electrical energy can be converted into thermal energy
in several processes but the principal energy-
conversion process is the joule-heating process. This is
the iv or i
2
R loss encountered when an electrical current
of i amperes is passed through a resistance of R ohms
as the result of a potential difference of v volts. The
resulting power loss or thermal energy production rate
is in watts.
In most electrical circuits, the joule-heating loss is an
undesirable power loss. However, in some systems,
such as electric ranges and furnaces, this process is
useful in the production of thermal energy.
Conversion of Electrical Energy
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Another electrical power loss associated with
alternating-current systems is the power-factor loss.
When electrical energy is passed through a capacitor or
an induction coil, part of this energy is stored in the
electrostatic and magnetic field associated with each
impedance. When the capacitive and inductive
impedances are matched (in-phase), there is no power
loss. Otherwise, the excess electrical energy generated
from the collapse of electrostatic and magnetic fields
(when the current reverses) will be converted into
thermal energy, which means that the electrical utility
must supply more energy to the customers than is
actually metered in order to overcome the power-factor,
cos(), loss.
( ) cos V I P
rms rms avg

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The conversion of electromagnetic energy into thermal
energy is accomplished in some sort of absorption
process. For high-energy electromagnetic radiation
such as gamma radiation and x-rays, the absorption
process is a volumetric phenomenon. For low-energy
radiation, the absorption process is usually a surface
phenomenon. Many materials are transparent to some
wavelengths of radiation and opaque to other
wavelengths. Glass is transparent to the ultraviolet and
visible portions of the thermal radiation spectrum but is
opaque to the infrared radiation emitted by most
surfaces. This leads to the so-called greenhouse effect
and is useful in trapping solar energy.
Conversion of Electromagnetic Energy
8
The primary source of fuel energy is the production of
thermal energy from chemical energy. The most
important exothermic chemical reaction in the
production of this energy is the combustion of fossil
fuels. This reaction is an oxidation reaction in which the
three combustible elements found in most of the fossil
fuels, i.e., carbon, hydrogen, and sulfur, are respectively
converted into carbon dioxide (CO
2
), water (H
2
O), and
sulfur dioxide (SO
2
).
The following section on the conversion of chemical
energy deals primarily with the mechanics of the
combustion reaction as well as some of the principal
systems and components needed to accomplish the
process.
Conversion of Chemical Energy
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If there is sufficient oxygen, it will be assumed that all the
hydrogen burns (582
o
C ignition temperature) completely
to water before any of the carbon or sulfur burns.
Combustion Reactions
2 2 2 2
2 2 [ 286,470kJ/kmol ]
H H
H O H O Q Q H + +
The mass of oxygen requires to completely burn a unit
mass of hydrogen is
2
2
2
2
2
2
94 7
016 2 2
32
2
1
H
O
.
H .
O
H
O
kg
kg
g
g
mol
mol

The higher heating value of hydrogen (equivalent to Q

H
)
is 142,097 kJ /kg and the lower heating value is 120,067
kJ /kg.
10
The product of the oxidation of sulfur (243
o
C ignition
temperature) is sulfur dioxide (SO
2
), is considered to be
a major atmospheric pollutant:
2 2
[ 296,774kJ/kmol ]
S S
S O SO Q Q S + +
The mass of oxygen requires to completely burn a unit
mass of sulfur is
S
O
.
S .
O
S
O
kg
kg
g
g
mol
mol
2 2 2
998 0
06 32
32
1
1

The higher and lower heating values of sulfur are the
same and equal to 9257 kJ /kg. Because the low ignition
temperature, it will be assumed for combustion with
incomplete air that all the sulfur burns after the
hydrogen burns and before any carbon burns.
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Carbon is one of the most important combustible
elements and is an essential part of any hydrocarbon
compound. Despite its high ignition temperature
(407
o
C), the oxidation of carbon is slower and more
difficult than that of either hydrogen or sulfur.
2 2
[ 393,560kJ/kmol ]
C C
C O CO Q Q C + +
The mass of oxygen requires to completely burn a unit
mass of sulfur is
C
O
.
C .
O
C
O
kg
kg
g
g
mol
mol
2 2 2
66 2
01 12
32
1
1

The higher and lower heating values of carbon are the
same and equal to 32,778 kJ /kg.
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Almost all combustion processes rely on air as the
source of oxygen. Air is composed of approximately 21%
oxygen and 79% nitrogen by volume or mole. These
values translate to 23.2% oxygen and 76.8% nitrogen on
a gravimetric or mass basis. The molecular weight of air
is 28.97 kg/kmol (or 28.97 lbm/lbmol).
The theoretical or stoichiometric air-fuel ratio gives the
minimum air requirements for complete combustion of a
fuel.
Theoretical Air-Fuel Ratio
232 0
2
.
O
F
A
D . G . T
fuel kg per air the from needed kg

,
_

The factor of 0.232 in the denominator is the mass

fraction of oxygen in the air.
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Since most coal analyses are listed as dry, ash-free
values, it is often easier and faster to use the following
equation for coals:
( )( )
232 0
1 998 0 94 7 66 2
2 2
.
A M O S . H . C .
F
A
D . G . T
+ +
=

Where the moisture (M) and ash (A) are as-burned values
and all other values are dry, ash-free values.
The theoretical, molar, dry air-fuel ratio can be obtained
as
Where Z
i
is the number of moles of the i th element per
mole of fuel, and
21 0
2 4
.
Z
Z
Z
Z
F
A
O
S
H
C
D . M . T
+ +

,
_

fuel of weight molecular

D . M . T
D . G . T
F
A
.
F
A

,
_

,
_

97 28
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( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
gas air/lbm lbm
gas air/mol of mol
gas of H/mol mol
gas of C/mol mol
60% and 40% Given
50 15
51 52
10 28 97 28
10 28
21 0
2 0 0 4 2 9 6 3
0 0
2 9 10 6 0 8 4 0
6 3 4 6 0 3 4 0
10 4 8 3
.
.
. .
F
A
.
.
/ / . .
F
A
; . Z Z
. . . Z
. . . Z
H C H C
: Solution
D , G , T
D . M . T
S O
H
C

,
_

+ + +

,
_

+
+
Example 3.2:
Calculate the theoretical, gravimetric, dry air-fuel ratio
when burning a LPG composed of 40% propane and 60%
butane, in lbmair/lbm.
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The five requisites for good combustion are MATT
stands for proper mixing (M) of the reactants; sufficient
air (A); a temperature (T) above the ignition temperature;
sufficient time (T) for the reaction to occur; and a
reactant density () sufficient to propagate the flame.
Since perfect mixing is never attained in the actual
combustion process, good combustion can only assured
by supplying excess air for the process. Care must be
exercised to keep the amount of excess air to a minimum
because too much excess air increases the losses in the
combustion process and increases NOx emissions.
The exhaust or flue gas includes the products of
complete (CO
2
, H
2
O, and SO
2
) and incomplete
combustion (CO, hydroxyls, aldehydes, ash particles, )
Actual Combustion Process
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There are two ways of expressing the amount of air
supplied for a given combustion process the dilution
coefficient and the percent excess air.
The dilution coefficient is defined as the ratio of the
actual to the theoretical air-fuel ratios, or
The percent excess air is defined by the following
equations:
Percent Excess Air
( )
( )
theo
act
A/F
A/F
DC t coefficien Dilution
( ) ( )
( )
( ) 1 100
100

DC
A/F
F / A A/F
theo
theo act

air excess Percent
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A typical orsat gas analyzer
is shown in the Figure at
right is used to determine
the volumetric or molar
fractions of carbon dioxide,
oxygen, and carbon
monoxide in the dry exhaust
gas.
A 100-cm
3
sample of
exhaust gas is taken at
room temperature in the
burette by using the leveling
water bottle to collect and
transfer the gas sample.
The Orsat Flue-Gas Analyzer
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Since the gas is collected at room temperature over
water, it is usually assumed that any water vapor in the
exhaust gas will have condensed and that any sulfur
dioxide in the exhaust gas will have reacted with the
water in the exhaust gas and in the collecting bottle.
Consequently, it is assumed that the resulting dry
gas sample is composed of carbon dioxide, oxygen,
carbon monoxide, and nitrogen. The process can be
divided into 4 stages (with 3 chemical reactions):
1. An aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH) CO
2
2. A solution of pyrogalic acid in KOH O
3. A solution of cuprous chloride in ammonia CO
4. The remaining Nitrogen
An orsat analysis is required and usually is sufficient to
determine the actual air-fuel ratio when burning a
gaseous fuel or liquid fuel.
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The refuse analysis is used to evaluate the actual air-fuel
ratio when burning a solid fuel such as coal, it is simply
an experimental determination of higher heating value,
HHV, of the refuse.
The Refuse Analysis
( )
( ) 32,778
se kJ/kg.refu HHV,
HHV
HHV
e combustibl Percent
carbon
refuse
100 100
The refuse mass fraction, R, can be obtained from
( )
r
A/R
A
R
coal, the in ash of fraction mass
coal of mass
refuse of mass

The mass of unburned carbon in the refuse per mass of
fuel consumed, C
r
, can be found from either of the
following equations:
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A R C
R
C
R R C
r
r
r
or
100
e combustibl percent
Thus, the mass of carbon actually burned per unit mass
of fuel, C
b
can be obtained from the following equation:
r ult b
C C C
Where C
ult
is the carbon mass fraction from the as-
burned ultimate fuel analysis.
Once the refuse analysis, the orsat analysis of the flue
gas, and the ultimate analysis of the coal are known, the
actual air-fuel ratio can be evaluated.
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Actual Gravimetric Dry Air-Fuel Ratio
( )( )
( )( ) 768 0
1
01 12
016 28
768 0
2
2
.
N
. CO % CO %
C . N %
.
N
F
A
F
b A
D , G , A

'

1
]
1

+

,
_

ratio fuel - air dry c, gravimetri Actual,

Where the number of moles of carbon monoxide and
carbon dioxide in the exhaust gas per unit mass of coal
is C
b
/12.01, N
F
is the gas-burned nitrogen mass fraction
of the fuel (from the ultimate analysis), and N
A
is the
mass of nitrogen from the air per unit mass of coal. And
( )( )
( ) 79 0
1
2
2
2
.
Z
CO % CO %
Z N %
F
A
N C
D , M , A
1
]
1

+

,
_

ratio fuel - air dry molar, Actual,

Where Z
C
an Z
N
are the moles of carbon and nitrogen per
mole of fuel, respectively.
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Wet Air-Fuel Ratios
In all of the equations for the air-fuel ratios, the ratio is
given for dry air only. In reality, atmospheric air contains
water vapor, the wet air-fuel ratios can be obtained by
multiplying the dry gravimetric ratios by 1 + , or
multiplying the dry molar values by (1 + /0.622) where
is the humidity ratio or mass of water vapor per unit
mass of dry air, and 0.622 = R
a
/ R
w
. Thus, the ratios
become:
( )
( )
D , M , A W , M , A D , G , A W , G , A
D , M , T W , M , T D , G , T W , G , T
F
A
. F
A
F
A
F
A
F
A
. F
A
F
A
F
A

,
_

,
_

+
,
_

,
_

+
,
_

,
_

,
_

+
,
_

,
_

+
,
_

622 0
1 1
622 0
1 1

;
;
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Excess Air
Theoretically, oxygen and carbon monoxide cannot
appear simultaneously in the exhaust gas but they
commonly appear in the exhaust gas because of poor
mixing. A common rule of thumb states that the
approximate percent excess air is 5 times the oxygen
percentage in the orsat analysis, if the %CO is small and
the %O
2
is less than 5. For O
2
concentration greater than
5%, the rule of thumb significantly underestimates the
percent excess air.
Burning a fuel with insufficient air gives the maximum
power from a limited volume as in the internal
combustion engine and also produces higher specific
power from rockets. Reducing the combustion air
reduces NOx, although it does increase the pollution
associated with the emission of CO and unburned fuel.
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% . . . .
CO % O % CO %
. . .
A M
S N
O H C
: Solution
35 81 15 0 93 3 57 14 100
100
78 0 10 0 12 0 1
1
2 2
2
2 2

gas exhaust in N %
analysis burned - as a for Multiplier
kJ/kg. 33,422 HHV and , 5.6% , 1.3%
, 8.4% , 5.5% , 79.2% : E Appendix from analysis coal Ultimate
2
Example 3.3:
A certain power plant burns Clay County, Missouri, coal
with M= 12% and A = 10%, and an analysis of the refuse
pit shows that the higher heating value of the refuse is
4581 kJ/kg. An orsat analysis of the flue gas gives
14.57% CO
2
, 3.93% O
2
, and 0.15% CO. Find the dilution
coefficient and the percent excess air.
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( )
( )
( ) ( ) ( )
coal air/kg kg
: ratio fuel - air l theoretica The
coal C/kg burned kg
coal C/kg unburned kg
coal refuse/kg kg
refuse ash/kg kg
refuse the in e combustibl
refuse refuse/kg in C kg
analysis, refuse the From
457 8
232 0
084 0 056 0 998 0 055 0 94 7 792 0 66 2
78 0
6015 0 0163 0 792 0 78 0
0163 0 10 0 1163 0
1163 0 8602 0 10 0
8602 0 1398 0 0 1 0 1
98 13
1398 0
778 32
4581
.
.
. . . . . . .
.
F
A
. . . . C C C
. . . A R C
. . / .
R / A
A
R
. . .
R
C
.
R
A
% .
.
, R
C
D , G , T
r b
r
r
r
r
r

+ +

,
_

,
_

26
( )( )( ) ( ) [ ]
( )( ) ( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
( ) 19.7%
: air excess percent for thumb of rule the Using
air excess Percent
DC t coefficien Dilution
coal air/kg kg
: ratio fuel - air Actual

+

,
_

% .
% . DC
.
.
.
F / A
F / A
.
.
. . . . / . . .
.
N CO % CO % / C N % .
F
A
D , G , T
D , G , A
F b
D , G , A
93 3 5
2 19 1 100
192 1
457 8
081 10
081 10
768 0
013 0 78 0 15 0 57 14 6015 0 35 81 332 2
768 0
332 2
2 2
27
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) 09 0 2 045 0
06 0 1 05 0 2 005 0
6 3 4 03 0 4 87 0
985 0 2 03 0 1 87 0 1 05 0 1 005 0
. . Z
. . . Z
. . . Z
. . . . . Z
: Solution
N
O
H
C

+
+
+ + +
analysis, gas the From
Example 3.5:
A natural gas with the following molar analysis is burned
in a furnace: CO
2
= 0.5%, CO = 5.0%, CH
4
= 87.0%, C
2
H
4
=
3.0%, and N
2
= 4.5%. An orsat analysis gives the
following results: 9.39% CO
2
, 3.88% O
2
, and 8.3% CO.
Calculate the percent excess air and the actual air-fuel
ratio in kilogram of air per kilogram of fuel gas.
28
( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
% .
. . .
CO % O % CO % N %
.
. . . .
. . . . . .
. .
.
/ . / . .
.
/ Z Z / Z Z
F
A
O S H C
D , M , T
9 85
83 0 88 3 39 9 100
100
678 17
016 28 045 0 05 28 03 0
04 16 87 0 01 28 05 0 01 44 005 0
833 8 833 8
21 0
2 06 0 0 4 6 3 985 0
21 0
2 4
2 2 2

+ +
+ +

+ +
+ +

+ +

+ +

,
_

: analysis orsat From

gas of kg/kg.mol
gas of (MW) weight Molecular
gas air/ft ft gas air/mol mol
3 3
29
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
( )
.
.
. .
MW
F / A .
F
A
% . . DC
.
.
.
F / A
F / A
.
.
/ . . . / . .
.
/ Z CO % CO % / N % Z
F
A
D , M , A
A,G,D
D , M , T
D , M , A
N C
D , M , A
gas air/kg kg
ratio fuel - air dry c, gravimetri Actual,
air excess Percent
DC t coefficien Dilution
gas air/mole moles
08 17
678 17
423 10 97 28
97 28
0 18 1 180 1 100 1 100
180 1
833 8
423 10
423 10
79 0
2 09 0 83 0 39 9 9 85 985 0
79 0
2
2 2


,
_

+

,
_

30
The actual combustion process for fossil fuels proceeds in
one of two ways:
Blue-Flame Combustion If gaseous hydrocarbon fuel are
mixed with some air and heated before the actual
combustion takes place, the oxygen reacts with
hydrocarbon and formed hydroxylated compounds
(aldehydes). The flame resulting from the combustion of
these compounds is a blue or nonluminous flame.
Yellow-Flame Combustion Introduction of fuel and air at
the burner with no premixing and heating of the reactants.
The flame resulting from this mode of combustion is a
yellow or luminous flame. This is desired in a large
power boiler because it increases the radiative heat-
transfer rate from the flame to the boiler tubes, reducing
the combustion temperature.
Combustion Mechanics
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Threebasic physical methods are utilized for the
combustion of fossil fuels:
The burning-bed system it is commonly employed in the
combustion of solid fuels, the solid fuel is burned in either
a stationary bed or a fluidized-bed.
The traveling-Flame-front combustion system it is
applicable where the reactant (fuel and oxidant) are
completely mixed before combustion occurs. When
ignition takes place, the flame front progressively moves
through the mixture (for internal combustion engine, etc.)
The gaseous-torch combustion system it is commonly
used in large power installations and, in essence, the fuel
and air are mixed and burned at the burner. Heavy fuel oil
must be atomized, coal must be pulverized to a texture
finer than face powder.
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