Essay on Combustion: Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide

Submitted By manjot96
Words: 399
Pages: 2

Incomplete Combustion
 There isn’t enough oxygen to react completely with the fuel (usually a hydrocarbon)
 Reactants: Oxygen and usually a hydrocarbon as a fuel
 Products of incomplete combustion are Carbon, Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide and Water
 When hydrocarbon burns in air, produces large amounts of the by-products o Carbon dioxide, water, carbon monoxide, pure carbon, nitrogen oxides, etc.
 The by-products are quite unhealthy and damaging to the environment
 The flame produces is yellowish in colour
 2 CH4(g) + 3 O2(g) →2 CO(g)+ 4 H20(l)
 CH4(g) + O2(g) → C(s) + 2 H2O(l)
 4 CH4(s) + 5 O2(g) → 2 CO(g) + 8 H2O(g) + 2 C(s)

Complete Combustion
 Complex sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant
 Reactants: Oxygen and usually a hydrocarbon as a fuel
 Products: only carbon dioxide and water
 There is production of heat and light in the form of either a glow or flames
 When hydrocarbon burns in air it yields many by-products (small though) o Carbon dioxide, water, carbon monoxide, pure carbon, nitrogen oxides, etc.
 Carbon dioxide is used in the process of photosynthesis, so it proves to be beneficial to us and the plants
 When elements such as carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, and iron are burned = will yield the most common oxides
 CH4(g) + 2 O2(g) → CO2(g) + 2 H2O(l)
 2 C8H18(g) + 25 O2(g) → 16 CO2(g) + 18 H2O(l)
 2 C2H6(g) + 7 O2(g) → 4 CO2(g) + 6 H2O(l) Within the past five years, creatine has