COMBUSTION

Combustion or burning is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel

(the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often
gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combustion in a fire produces a flame, and the
heat produced can make combustion self-sustaining. Combustion is often a complicated
sequence of elementary radical reactions. Solid fuels, such as wood and coal, first undergo
endothermic pyrolysis to produce gaseous fuels whose combustion then supplies the heat
required to produce more of them. Combustion is often hot enough that light in the form of either
glowing or a flame is produced. A simple example can be seen in the combustion of hydrogen
and oxygen into water vapor, a reaction commonly used to fuel rocket engines. This reaction
releases 242 kJ/mol of heat and reduces the enthalpy accordingly (at constant temperature and
pressure):

:2H
2(g) + O
2(g) → 2H
2O(g)

Combustion of an organic fuel in air is always exothermic because the double bond in O2 is
much weaker than other double bonds or pairs of single bonds, and therefore the formation of the
stronger bonds in the combustion products CO2 and H2O results in the release of energy.[2] The
bond energies in the fuel play only a minor role, since they are similar to those in the combustion
products; e.g., the sum of the bond energies of CH4 is nearly the same as that of CO2. The heat of
combustion is approximately -418 kJ per mole of O2 used up in the combustion reaction, and can
be estimated from the elemental composition of the fuel.[2]

Uncatalyzed combustion in air requires fairly high temperatures. Complete combustion is

stoichiometric with respect to the fuel, where there is no remaining fuel, and ideally, no
remaining oxidant. Thermodynamically, the chemical equilibrium of combustion in air is
overwhelmingly on the side of the products. However, complete combustion is almost
impossible to achieve, since the chemical equilibrium is not necessarily reached, or may contain
unburnt products such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen and even carbon (soot or ash). Thus, the
produced smoke is usually toxic and contains unburned or partially oxidized products. Any
combustion at high temperatures in atmospheric air, which is 78 percent nitrogen, will also create
small amounts of several nitrogen oxides, commonly referred to as NO
x, since the combustion of nitrogen is thermodynamically favored at high, but not low
temperatures. Since combustion is rarely clean, flue gas cleaning or catalytic converters may be
required by law.

Fires occur naturally, ignited by lightning strikes or by volcanic products. Combustion (fire) was
the first controlled chemical reaction discovered by humans, in the form of campfires and
bonfires, and continues to be the main method to produce energy for humanity. Usually, the fuel
is carbon, hydrocarbons or more complicated mixtures such as wood that contains partially
oxidized hydrocarbons. The thermal energy produced from combustion of either fossil fuels such
as coal or oil, or from renewable fuels such as firewood, is harvested for diverse uses such as
cooking, production of electricity or industrial or domestic heating. Combustion is also currently
the only reaction used to power rockets. Combustion is also used to destroy (incinerate) waste,
both nonhazardous and hazardous.

Oxidants for combustion have high oxidation potential and include atmospheric or pure oxygen,
chlorine, fluorine, chlorine trifluoride, nitrous oxide and nitric acid. For instance, hydrogen burns
in chlorine to form hydrogen chloride with the liberation of heat and light characteristic of
combustion. Although usually not catalyzed, combustion can be catalyzed by platinum or
vanadium, as in the contact process.

Classification of Fuels
Not all fuels are the same, and if you use the wrong type of fire extinguisher on the
wrong type of fuel, you can, in fact, make matters worse. It is therefore very important to
understand the four different classifications of fuel.

Class A - Wood, paper, cloth, trash, plastics

Solid combustible materials that are not metals.

Class B - Flammable liquids: gasoline, oil, grease, acetone

Any non-metal in a liquid state, on fire.

Class C - Electrical: energized electrical equipment

As long as it's "plugged in," it would be considered a class C fire.

D Class D - Metals: potassium, sodium, aluminum, magnesium

Unless you work in a laboratory or in an industry that uses these materials, it is unlikely
you'll have to deal with a Class D fire. It takes special extinguishing agents (Metal-X,
foam) to fight such a fire.

Most fire extinguishers will have a pictograph label telling you which fuels the
extinguisher is designed to fight. For example, a simple water extinguisher might have a
label like the one below, indicating that it should only be used on Class A fuels.

Next, we'll look at the different types of fire extinguishers and the class of fire each is
designed to extinguish.
CLASSIFICATION OF COALS
Introduction
A calorimeter is an instrument used in calorimetry for measuring the amount of heat released or
absorbed in chemical or physical reactions. It can determine heat content, latent heat, specific
heat, and other thermal properties of substances. Generally, calorimeter readings are in calories
or British thermal units (Btu).

Types of Calorimeters
Calorimeters are of many types. The following are some of the common types:

 Bomb calorimeters – These are a type of constant-volume calorimeter. The instruments

measure the internal energy change between reactants and products. Bomb calorimeters
have the ability to withstand large pressures while the reaction is being measured.
 Differential scanning calorimeters – These are based on a thermoanalytical method,
where the difference in the amount of heat required for increasing the temperature of a
sample and reference is measured as a function of temperature. There are two sub-types -
heat flux differential scanning calorimeters and modulated temperature differential
scanning calorimeters.
 Isothermal titration calorimeters – These are used primarily to determine
thermodynamic parameters of ractions in solution. They are used to study the binding of
small molecules with larger macromolecules.
 Calvet-type calorimeters - For these calorimeters, the detection is based on a three-
dimensional fluxmeter sensor. The calibration can be performed at a constant
temperature, in heating and cooling modes. They can be applied to any experimental
vessel volume, and provide very accurate calibration.

Structure and Operation of a Basic Calorimeter

The basic calorimeter consists of two vessels - the outer vessel and the inner vessel. The air
between both vessels act as a heat insulator, ensuring that heat is not exchanged between the
contents of the inner and outer vessels. The calorimeter is also equipped with a thermometer and
a stirrer. The thermometer measures the temperature of the liquid in the inner vessel. The stirrer
is used to distribute heat in the vessel. A ring made of insulating fiber material holds the inner
vessel in the center of the outer vessel. The calorimeter has an insulating cover with holes for the
stirring rod and thermometer.

To measure the specific heat of iron, the inner vessel is filled with 125 ml water. The calorimeter
is sealed inside the cover for 30 minutes. During this time, the bulb of the thermometer should be
placed in the water. After 30 minutes, the temperature is read and recorded.

A test tube is half filled with iron nails. The weight of the nails is recorded. The filled test tube is
placed in boiling water for 10 minutes. The nails absorb the heat and reach a temperature of
100°C without getting wet. The calorimeter is opened and the nails are transferred into the inner
vessel. The calorimeter is closed immediately.
The highest temperature recorded is the final temperature of the water and nails. The temperature
increase of the water and temperature loss of the iron nails is calculated.

The temperature increase of water is multiplied by the 125 ml volume of water to calculate the
total heat transfer in calories. The total heat transfer is divided by the temperature loss of the
iron. Finally, the results are divided by the weight of iron to calculate the specific heat of iron.

Applications
The following are some of the key application areas of calorimeters:

 In biochemistry/chemistry labs
 In thermodynamics study
 In the study of different materials, such as nanomaterials, zeolites and ceramics
 For assessing the thermal hazard potential of Li batteries
 For examining polymeric materials to determine their thermal transitions
 In solid and liquid fuel testing
 Waste and refuse disposal
 In the study of liquid crystals
 In the pharmaceutical and polymer industries
 To observe fusion and crystallization events and glass transition temperatures
 Food and metabolic studies
 For propellant and explosive testing
 In educational training
 COMPOSITION OF AIR

By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and
small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around
1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere.