COMBUSTION TECHNOLOGY

Combustion Technologyis the application of scientific knowledge on a chemical process

in which a substance reacts rapidly with oxygen and gives off heat, or in simpler terms, means
Combustion Engineering.
Combustion takes place when fuel, most commonly a fossil fuel, reacts with the oxygen
in air to produce heat. The heat created by the burning of a fossil fuel is used in the operation of
equipment such as boilers, furnaces, kilns, and engines. Along with heat, CO2 (carbon dioxide)
and H2O (water) are created as byproducts of the exothermic reaction.

Objective of Combustion
The objective of combustion is to retrieve energy from the burning of fuels in the
most efficient way possible. To maximize combustion efficiency, it is necessary to
burn all fuel material with the least amount of losses. The more efficiently fuels
are burned and energy is gathered, the cheaper the combustion process becomes.

Scope of Combustion Technology

Transportation (Engines)
Jet engines, rocket propulsion, internal combustion engines etc.
Power generation (Power plants)
Boilers
Home use
LPG stove, oven, etc.
Combustion in Aircrafts
Aircrafts uses Jet Engines to gain thrust and propel itself on air
It follows the Newtons third law of motion: For every action, there is an equal
and opposite reaction. The thrust of the aircraft is gained from pushing the air
away by the use of internal combustion.

Jet Engine

Combustion in Automotive
Combustion in Automotive is called Internal Combustionwhich occurs inside the
engine.

It is termed as Internal Combustion because it occurs in a confined

or sealed space called a combustion chamber.

There are various engines that utilizes internal combustion which are called
Internal Combustion Engines. These are the most common and widely used:

Diesel Engine
Commonly found on cars, buses, trucks etc.
Uses diesel fuel
Uses fuel injector instead of spark plugs
Gasoline Engine
Commonly found on cars
Uses gasoline fuel
Uses spark plugs to help the engine ignite the air-fuel
mixture
Wankel Engine
Commonly found on motorcycles, cars, racing cars, jet skis
etc.
Uses gasoline fuel

Internal Combustion Engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion, or rapid
oxidation, of gas and air occurs in a confined space called a combustion chamber. This
exothermic reaction of a fuel with an oxidizer creates gases of high temperature and
pressure, which are permitted to expand. The defining feature of an internal combustion
engine is that useful work is performed by the expanding hot gases acting directly to
cause pressure, further causing movement of the piston inside the cylinder. For example
by acting on pistons, rotors, or even by pressing on and moving the entire engine itself.

Diesel Engine (Four-stroke)

Gasoline Engine (Four-stroke)

Gasoline Engine (Four-stroke)

Wankel Engine (Rotary engine)

Fuel used by diesel and gasoline Internal Combustion Engine

Gasoline engine uses gasoline fuel

Gasoline fuel has a lower flashpoint than that of diesel fuel

Gasoline fuel needs a helper to ignite inside the combustion chamber
Even though gasoline has a lower flashpoint, it needs to be ignited by using
spark plugs

Diesel engine uses diesel fuel

Diesel fuels has a higher flashpoint than gasoline fuels

Diesel fuels ignites inside the combustion chamber without the help of
spark plugs, instead, it is brought through by the fuel injector
Diesel fuels are ignited by the high temperature and high pressure
compressed air inside the combustion chamber

Note: The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at which vapors of a
fluid will ignite. Measuring a flash point requires an ignition source. At the flash point,
the vapor may cease to burn when the ignition source is removed.

How fuels are produced

Fuel such as gasoline and diesel are produced using fractional distillation
Gasoline and diesel together with LPG came from crude oil gathered from the
earths crust

Note: Fractionaldistillationistheseparationofamixtureintoitscomponentparts,or
fractions,suchasinseparatingchemicalcompoundsbytheirboilingpointbyheating
themtoatemperatureatwhichoneormorefractionsofthecompoundwillvaporize.Itis
aspecialtypeofdistillation.Generallythecomponentpartsboilatlessthan25Cfrom
eachotherunderapressureofoneatmosphere.