What Is the Combustion Process?
The combustion process is a chemical reaction by which fuel and an oxidizer react and form heat. In other words, the combustion process is a process in which things burn. To have combustion, three things must be present: heat, an oxidizer, and fuel. The fuel is the substance that burns. The oxidizer is the substance that produces the oxygen so that the fuel can be burned, and heat is the substance that sparks the combustion process.
Fuel is an essential part of combustion. Whenever something burns, there must be fuel. The fuel used can be in the form of a liquid, gas, or solid. Some examples of fuel used in combustion are gasoline, wood, alcohol, and flammable gasses. When the fuel runs out, the combustion process will cease.
The oxidizer in a combustion process can also be present in the form of a liquid, gas, or solid. Air is the most common oxidizer because it contains oxygen; all combustion engines use air as the oxidizer. Removing the oxidizer will cause the process to halt.
Lastly, the combustion process must also have heat. Heat is what starts the process and causes it to continue. However, once the process starts, additional heat is not necessary for it to continue. This is because the very nature of combustion produces heat. Therefore, it is able to use its own heat to continue.
While the combustion process is in progress, exhaust is produced. This exhaust usually comes in the form of a mix of carbon dioxide and water. Other chemicals that can be produced in exhaust include various nitrous oxides. Exhaust is usually in the form of a gas because of the heat the combustion process produces, but it can also be a liquid or a solid.
There are four ways to stop the combustion process: take away the fuel, take away the oxygen, take away the heat, or stop the reaction. An example of taking away the fuel is when your car stops running because it is out of gasoline. Putting baking soda on a grease fire works because the baking soda deprives the fire of oxygen it needs. Putting water on a fire removes the heat and dislocates oxygen, making it unavailable for the fire. Lastly, firefighters can use chemicals that will stop the combustion reaction, causing the fire to die.
Written by M.R. Anglin
