Combustion and Pollutants

COURSE CONTENT

Introduction, background, objectives, applications. Chemical thermodynamics, stoichiometry, adiabatic flame temperature, fuels. Chemical kinetics, Arrhenius law, reaction types and rates, elementary, multi-step and reduced chemical mechanisms, the stiffness issue, computer simulations and some common software packages. Conservation equations for multicomponent reacting flow systems, the Shvab-Zel’dovich formulation. Combustion waves, deflagrations, detonations, the Hugoniot curve, the Chapman-Jouguet detonation-wave velocity. Premixed laminar flames, theories, the laminar flame speed SL, flammability limits, principles of combustion wave front stabilization, flame quenching. Gaseous laminar jet diffusion flames, Burke-Schumann’s theory, calculations, applications. Droplet combustion in quiescent atmosphere, two-phase flow reacting systems, coal combustion, complexities. Turbulent flames, fundamentals, turbulent flame speed, turbulence models, burner configurations and applications. Aspects of flame stabilization in practical combustion chambers, ignition, extinction, flame stability. Alternative fuels, bio-fuels, fuel cells, chemistry of major pollutants, practical methods for reduction of emissions, computational and modeling approaches.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The learning outcomes expected by the end of the course for the students are:

• a general knowledge of major combustion processes for energy production and of several definitions and laws.
• understanding the basic combustion chemistry and be able to calculate flame temperatures, calculate the energy development at combustion of a specie.s
• knowledge of which models are used to describe combustion of gases, liquids or respective solids and the ability to assess and control flammability, fire and explosions.
• understanding of the principles of combustion process design for high thermal efficiency and low pollutant emissions.
• skills in designing combustion devices and the fundamental knowledge of fuel and combustion
• processes used in process engineering, transport and the power generation industry.