Combustion may be defined as the rapid chemical combination of oxygen with carbon, hydrogen and sulphur, accompanied by the diffusion of heat and light. That portion of the substance thus combined with the oxygen is called combustible. As used in steam engineering practice, however, the term combustible is applied to that portion of the fuel which is dry and free from ash, thus including both oxygen and nitrogen which may be constituents of the fuel, though not in the true sense of the term combustible.

Combustion is perfect when the combustible unites with the greatest possible amount of oxygen, as when one atom of carbon unites with two atoms of oxygen to form carbon dioxide, CO₂. The combustion is imperfect when complete oxidation of the combustible does not occur, or where the combustible does not unite with the maximum amount of oxygen, as when one atom of carbon unites with one atom of oxygen to form carbon monoxide, CO, which may be further burned to carbon dioxide.

Kindling Point—Before a combustible can unite with oxygen and combustion takes place, its temperature must first be raised to the ignition or kindling point, and a sufficient time must be allowed for the completion of the combustion before the temperature of the gases is lowered below that point. Table 30, by Stromeyer, gives the approximate kindling temperatures of different fuels.

Combustibles—The principal combustibles in coal and other fuels are carbon, hydrogen and sulphur, occurring in varying proportions and combinations.

Carbon is by far the most abundant as is indicated in the chapters on fuels.

Hydrogen in a free state occurs in small quantities in some fuels, but is usually found in combination with carbon, in the form of hydrocarbons. The density of hydrogen is 0.0696 (Air = 1) and its weight per cubic foot, at 32 degrees Fahrenheit and under atmospheric pressure, is 0.005621 pounds.

Sulphur is found in most coals and some oils. It is usually present in combined form, either as sulphide of iron or sulphate of lime; in the latter form it has no heat value. Its presence in fuel is objectionable because of its tendency to aid in the formation of clinkers, and the gases from its combustion, when in the presence of moisture, may cause corrosion.

Nitrogen is drawn into the furnace with the air. Its density is 0.9673 (Air = 1); its weight, at 32 degrees Fahrenheit and under atmospheric pressure, is 0.07829 pounds per cubic foot; each pound of air at atmospheric pressure contains 0.7685 pounds of nitrogen, and one pound of nitrogen is contained in 1.301 pounds of air.

Nitrogen performs no useful office in combustion and passes through the furnace without change. It dilutes the air, absorbs heat, reduces the temperature of the products of combustion, and is the chief source of heat losses in furnaces.

[Pg 151]

Calorific Value—Each combustible element of gas will combine with oxygen in certain definite proportions and will generate a definite amount of heat, measured in B. t. u. This definite amount of heat per pound liberated by perfect combustion is termed the calorific value of that substance. Table 31, gives certain data on the reactions and results of combustion for elementary combustibles and several compounds.

It will be seen from this table that a pound of carbon will unite with 2²/₃ pounds of oxygen to form carbon dioxide, and will evolve 14,600 B. t. u. As an intermediate step, a pound of carbon may unite with 1¹/₃ pounds of oxygen to form carbon monoxide and evolve 4450 B. t. u., but in its further conversion to CO₂ it would unite with an additional 1¹/₃ times its weight of oxygen and evolve the remaining 10,150 B. t. u. [Pg 152] When a pound of CO burns to CO₂, however, only 4350 B. t. u. are evolved since the pound of CO contains but ³/₇ pound carbon.

Air Required for Combustion—It has already been shown that each combustible element in fuel will unite with a definite amount of oxygen. With the ultimate analysis of the fuel known, in connection with Table 31, the theoretical amount of air required for combustion may be readily calculated.

Let the ultimate analysis be as follows:

When complete combustion takes place, as already pointed out, the carbon in the fuel unites with a definite amount of oxygen to form CO₂. The hydrogen, either in a free or combined state, will unite with oxygen to form water vapor, H₂O. Not all of the hydrogen shown in a fuel analysis, however, is available for the production of heat, as a portion of it is already united with the oxygen shown by the analysis in the form of water, H₂O. Since the atomic weights of H and O are respectively 1 and 16, the weight of the combined hydrogen will be ¹/₈ of the weight of the oxygen, and the hydrogen available for combustion will be H - ¹/₈ O. In complete combustion of the sulphur, sulphur dioxide SO₂ is formed, which in solution in water forms sulphuric acid.

Expressed numerically, the theoretical amount of air for the above analysis is as follows:

One pound of oxygen is contained in 4.32 pounds of air.

The total air needed per pound of coal, therefore, will be 2.353 × 4.32 = 10.165.

The weight of combustible per pound of fuel is .7479 + .0418[27] + .0324 + .012 = .83 pounds, and the air theoretically required per pound of combustible is 10.165 ÷ .83 = 12.2 pounds.

The above is equivalent to computing the theoretical amount of air required per pound of fuel by the formula:

where C, H, O and S are proportional parts by weight of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur by ultimate analysis.

[Pg 153]

In practice it is impossible to obtain perfect combustion with the theoretical amount of air, and an excess may be required, amounting to sometimes double the theoretical supply, depending upon the nature of the fuel to be burned and the method of burning it. The reason for this is that it is impossible to bring each particle of oxygen in the air into intimate contact with the particles in the fuel that are to be oxidized, due not only to the dilution of the oxygen in the air by nitrogen, but because of such factors as the irregular thickness of the fire, the varying resistance to the passage of the air through the fire in separate parts on account of ash, clinker, etc. Where the difficulties of drawing air uniformly through a fuel bed are eliminated, as in the case of burning oil fuel or gas, the air supply may be materially less than would be required for coal. Experiment has shown that coal will usually require 50 per cent more than the theoretical net calculated amount of air, or about 18 pounds per pound of fuel either under natural or forced draft, though this amount may vary widely with the type of furnace, the nature of the coal, and the method of firing. If less than this amount of air is supplied, the carbon burns to monoxide instead of dioxide and its full heat value is not developed.

An excess of air is also a source of waste, as the products of combustion will be diluted and carry off an excessive amount of heat in the chimney gases, or the air will so lower the temperature of the furnace gases as to delay the combustion to an extent that will cause carbon monoxide to pass off unburned from the furnace. A sufficient amount of carbon monoxide in the gases may cause the action known as secondary combustion, by igniting or mingling with air after leaving the furnace or in the flues or stack. Such secondary combustion which takes place either within the setting after leaving the furnace or in the flues or stack always leads to a loss of efficiency and, in some instances, leads to overheating of the flues and stack.

Table 32 gives the theoretical amount of air required for various fuels calculated from formula (10) assuming the analyses of the fuels given in the table.

The process of combustion of different fuels and the effect of variation in the air supply for their combustion is treated in detail in the chapters dealing with the various fuels.
[Pg 154][Pl 154]

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