Combustion of organic compounds

Both classes of hydrocarbon occur naturally, notably in oil and coal deposits. Aromatic compounds are also products of incomplete combustion of organic compounds, and are released into the environment both by human activities, and by certain natural events, for example, forest tires and volcanic activity. 

The largest releases of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are due to the incomplete combustion of organic compounds during the course of industrial processes and other human activities. Important sources include the combustion of coal, crude oil, and natural gas for both industrial and domestic purposes, the use of such materials in industrial processes (e.g., the smelting of iron ore), the operation of the internal combustion engine, and the combustion of refuse (see Environmental Health Criteria 202, 1998). The release of crude oil into the sea by the offshore oil industry and the wreckage of oil tankers are important sources of PAH in certain areas. Forest hres, which may or may not be the consequence of human activity, are a signihcant... 

T. Suzuki, Empirical Relationship Between Lower Flammability Limits and Standard Enthalpies of Combustion of Organic Compounds, Fire and Materials (1994), 18 333-336. 

Suzuki [Suzuki, Empirical Relationship between Lower Flammability Limits and Standard Enthalpies of Combustion of Organic Compounds, Fire and Materials, 18 333-336 (1994) Suzuki and Koide, Correlation between Upper Flammability Limits and Thermochemical Properties of Organic Compounds, Fire and Materials, 18 pp. 393-397 (1994)] provides more detailed correlations for the UFL and LFL in terms of the heat of combustion. 

A. Rojas, A. Valdes. An Isoperibol Micro-bomb Calorimeter for Measurement of the Enthalpy of Combustion of Organic Compounds. Application to the Study of Succinic Acid and Acetanilide. J. Chem. Thermodynamics 2003, 35, 1309-1319. 

The general expression for the heat of combustion of organic compounds may be given as follows ... 

Part IV. "Calculation of Heat of Combustion of Organic Compounds from Structural Features and Calculation of Power of High Explosives (May 1952)... 

We have seen that while many spontaneous processes, e.g., combustion of organic compounds, are accompanied by liberation of heat (negative AH), others are accompanied by absorption of heat from the surroundings (positive AH). An example of the latter is the melting of ice at a temperature just above 0°C, during which there is a large increase in the entropy of the water. As we have seen, at 0°C at equilibrium T AS is just equal to -AH (Eq. 6-7). 

Thornton, W., The relation of oxygen to the heat of combustion of organic compounds. The London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science 1917, 33, 196-203. 

April 1947) Correlation of Composition of Mixtures with Performance (May 1950) Part IV. Calculation of Heat of Combustion of Organic Compounds from Structural Features and Calculation of Power of High Explosives (May 1952) (Contract Nos W-19-020-CRD-6436, DA-19-020-ORD-12, and DA-19-020-ORD-47) 2)W.C.Lothrop G.R.Handrik, ChemRevs 44,... 

HEATS OF COMBUSTION OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS CONTAINING CARBON, HYDROGEN, AND OXYGEN... 

There are relatively few modern determinations of the heats of combustion of organic compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only which have not been carried out to high precision standards. The advent of fairly accurate commercially available combustion calorimeters for determining the calorific value of fuels such as the Griffin-Sutton bomb calorimeter 89 has meant that very many laboratories are now equipped to do combustions of... 

Gas phase combustion of organic compounds other than hydrocarbons and aldehydes... 

Acrolein is found in low levels in many foods. In addition, it is produced as a by-product of combustion of organic compounds, being present in smoke of all kinds, including cigarette smoke and combustion products from petrochemical fuels. Significant exposures to acrolein are most likely to occur by inhalation with potential for skin and eye contact. Ingestion is also possible. 

G. R. Handrick, Report of the Study of Pure Explosive Compounds. Part IV. Calculation of heat of combustion of organic compounds from structural features and calculation of power of high explosives, Report C-58247 for the Office of the Chief of Ordnance, contract DA-19-020-ORD-47 by the Arthur D. Little, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 1956. 

Derivation (1) Made almost pure by placing a mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide in contact with incandescent graphite, coke, or anthracite. (2) Action of steam on hot coke or coal (water gas) or on natural gas (synthesis gas). In the latter case, carbon dioxide is removed by absorption in amine solution, and the hydrogen and carbon monoxide separated in a low-temperature unit. (3) By-product in chemical reactions. (4) Combustion of organic compound with limited amount of oxygen, as in automobile cylinders. (5) Dehydration of formic acid. 

The exothermal peak relative to the combustion of organic compounds even occurs in the case of sample 2 (for which no CO formation was observed in TPRD tests in N2 flow). This means that indeed a chemical interaction between the gtycol and the precursor has occurred, but that this interaction is so strong that it is not possible to remove them in N2 flow (at least up to 300°C), and that an air flow is necessary to bum them. 

Figure 2.2 A flame of candle produced by combustion of organic compounds...

Kharasch, Heats of Combustion of Organic Compounds, Bnr. Standards J. Research 2 Feb. (1929). 

Combustion processes also frequently occur to completion in a simple manner. When an organic compound is burned in excess of oxygen the carbon is practically all converted into CO2 and the hydrogen into H2O, while the nitrogen is present as N2 in the final products. Usually such combustions of organic compounds occur cleanly, and much thermochemical information has been obtained by burning organic compounds in calorimeters. 

---