TITLE:
Numerical Analysis of the Natural Gas Combustion Products
AUTHORS:
Fernando Rueda Martínez, Miguel Toledo Velázquez, Georgiy Polupan, Juan Abugaber Francis, Guillermo Jarquín López, Celerino Reséndiz Rosas, José Ángel Ortega Herrera
KEYWORDS:
Combustion Products; Adiabatic Flame; Stoichiometric Mixture
JOURNAL NAME:
Energy and Power Engineering,
Vol.4 No.5,
September
26,
2012
ABSTRACT: The combustion products of fuels containing the elements C, H, O, N and S are calculated. The methodology is based on the equations obtained in the stoichiometric balance of atoms. The adiabatic flame temperature is determined considering that the pressure of the boiler furnace remains constant. The scope of this work is limited to the analysis of natural gas (methane) with molecular formula CH4. The methodology can, however, be employed for the calculation of combustion products of a great variety of hydrocarbons under the established restrictions.In the development of the methodology two cases are contemplated: Φ ≤ 1 (lean and stoichiometric mixture) and Φ > 1 (rich mixture). In the first case it is considered that when the combustion is complete, the combustion products are O2, H2O, CO2, N2, SO2, and the solution follows directly. When the combustion is incomplete, however, the products H, O, N, H2, OH, CO, NO, O2, H2O, CO2, N2 and SO2 can be generated, according to Stephen R. Turns, (2000). When bal-ances of atoms are performed, four conservation equations are obtained, one for each of the C, O, H and N elements. An additional restriction requires that the sum of the molar fractions of the products equals one mol. Finally, seven equilibrium constants, corresponding to the seven chemical reactions of combustion, are introduced. All this provides a system of four nonlinear equations which is solved with the Newton-Raphson method.