Combustion significance

In this chapter we discuss the detailed chemistry of selected high-temperature processes where gas-phase reactions are important. Most research on gas-phase reactions has been motivated by environmental issues in atmospheric chemistry or in combustion. Significant advances in the detailed understanding of fuel-oxidation chemistry, as well as nitrogen, sulphur, and chlorine chemistry, have allowed development of modeling tools that can be used for design purposes for a number of combustion and industrial processes. 

We note that the very fact of combustion significantly changes the distribution of concentrations compared to the distribution of concentrations in mixing of the same gases without combustion. 

Whilst NO is the dominant NOx species formed during engine combustion, significant amounts of NO2 can also be produced under certain conditions. The N02 which is emitted directly from vehicle exhaust is commonly referred to as primary N02 . As will be seen later, the amount of N02 emitted from the tailpipe is dependent upon the type of exhaust after-treatment used. 

In the earlier days of coal utilization, fly ash was not a major problem. What has changed that has resulted in much greater production of fly ash What modem mode of coal combustion significantly reduces the production of fly ash and acid gases from combustion ... 

Fisher s least significant difference a modified form of the f-test for comparing several sets of data. (p. 696) flame ionization detector a nearly universal GC detector in which the solutes are combusted in an H2/air flame, producing a measurable current, (p. 570)... 

Organic compounds are a major constituent of the FPM at all sites. The major sources of OC are combustion and atmospheric reactions involving gaseous VOCs. As is the case with VOCs, there are hundreds of different OC compounds in the atmosphere. A minor but ubiquitous aerosol constituent is elemental carbon. EC is the nonorganic, black constituent of soot. Combustion and pyrolysis are the only processes that produce EC, and diesel engines and wood burning are the most significant sources. 

Most of the remarks above refer to unconfined or free flows. Many industrial appHcations involve the use of confined jets. It is customary to consider a jet confined when the ratio of the confinement radius to the source radius Hes in the range 4—100. Below a ratio of 2, the jet does not develop its similarity profile before striking the wall, whereas above a ratio of 100 the jet itself may usually be considered free. Under certain conditions, flow in confined jets is accompanied by the existence of a recirculation 2one which significantly affects the jet behavior by returning material upstream (9). This recirculation can be particularly important in combustion processes. 

Typically, 40—50% of the carbon atoms ia lignite are ia aromatic stmctures while 60—70% of the carbon atoms ia Illinois bituminous coal are ia aromatic stmctures (7,8). By all of these measures, waste fuels are significantly more reactive than coal, peat, and other combustible soHds. 

It is useful to examine the combustion process appHed to soHd wastes as fuels and sources of energy. AH soHd wastes are quite variable in composition, moisture content, and heating value. Consequendy, they typically are burned in systems such as grate-fired furnaces or duidized-bed boilers where significant fuel variabiUty can be tolerated. 

A significant issue in combustors in the mid-1990s is the performance of the process in an environmentally acceptable manner through the use of either low sulfur coal or post-combustion clean-up of the flue gases. Thus there is a marked trend to more efficient methods of coal combustion and, in fact, a combustion system that is able to accept coal without the necessity of a post-combustion treatment or without emitting objectionable amounts of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulates is very desirable (51,52). 

Emissions from methanol vehicles are expected to produce lower HC and CO emissions than equivalent gasoline engines. However, methanol combustion produces significant amounts of formaldehyde (qv), a partial oxidation product of methanol. Eormaldehyde is classified as an air toxic and its emissions should be minimized. Eormaldehyde is also very reactive in the atmosphere and contributes to the formation of ozone. Emissions of NO may also pose a problem, especiaHy if the engine mns lean, a regime in which the standard three-way catalyst is not effective for NO reduction. 

Fire-Resistant Hydraulic Fluids. The four classifications of fire-resistant hydrauHc fluids are Hsted below (7). Three of the four groups are fire resistant because they contain a significant amount of water which provides cooling and blanketing of the combustible materials. 

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