IMPORTANT TERMS

▪ Combustion is a chemical process in which a substance reacts

with oxygen and generates heat in the process.
▪ Combustible substances are those substances that undergo
combustion. It means that these substances give off heat and
sometimes light (as a flame or glow) when they react with
oxygen.
▪ Inflammable substances are substances which have low
ignition temperature and catch fire easily. They burn with a
flame. For example, petrol, LPG etc.
▪ A chemical process in which a substance reacts with oxygen to
give off heat is called COMBUSTION.
▪ The substance that undergoes combustion is said to be
combustible. It is also called a FUEL.
▪ FUEL
LIQUID

GA SOLI
S D FLAME

 Light is given off during combustion as

GLO
W
FLAME GLOW
 COMBUSTILE AND NON COMBUSTILE

OBJECTS COMBUSTILE NON COMBUSTILE

WOOD

PAPER

STONE

IRON NAIL

PLASTIC STRAW

CHARCOAL

MATCHSTICKS
 CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR COMBUSTION

AIR

(OXYGEN
)

FUEL

HEAT
 HOW IS OXYGEN IMPORTANT?

▪ A candle keeps burning

in open air.
▪ However, when we cover
it with a glass or a jar, it
only burns until the
oxygen inside it is
consumed.
▪ Once the oxygen is
exhausted, the flame of
the candle flickers off.
Ignition Temperature

▪ The lowest temperature at which a combustible substance

catches fire when heated in the air is called its ignition
temperature.
▪ If the temperature of combustible substance is lower than
the ignition temperature then the substance will not burn.
▪ Example:
(i) Cooking oil catching fire when a frying pan is kept for long
on a burning stove.
(ii) Kerosene oil and wood do not catch fire on their own at
room temperature. But, if kerosene oil is heated a little, it will
catch fire. But if wood is heated a little, it would still not catch
fire.
Inflammable Substances

▪ The substances which have very low ignition

temperature and can easily catch fire with a flame are
known as inflammable substances. Examples: diesel,
LPG, acetone.
 HOW DOES A MATCHSTICK BURN?

▪ Since ages, matchsticks are in use. Long ago, Egyptians

used small pieces of pinewood dipped in sulphur as
matches. These days matchsticks are lot safer.
▪ Modern matchsticks are made up with mixture of antimony
trisulphide and potassium chlorate with some glue and
starch applied on the head of the match.
▪ The rubbing surface has powdered glass and some red
phosphorous.
▪ On striking match against rough surface, red phosphorous
gets converted into white phosphorous and it reacts with
potassium chlorate to ignite antimony trisulphide and so
the combustion takes place.
Types of Combustion

▪ There are three types of combustion which are as

follows-
▪ Spontaneous
▪ Rapid
▪ Explosive
Spontaneous combustion

▪ It is combustion that occurs at room temperature on its

own. It is shown by substances that have an ignition
temperature less than room temperature.
▪ For example: Burning of yellow phosphorous. In
summers, Yellow phosphorous catches fire itself even at
room temperature.
▪ Many disastrous fires in coal mines result due to this
kind of combustion. The heat rays coming from the sun
or a lightning strike might be responsible for this kind of
combustion
Rapid Combustion

▪ It occurs rapidly, evolving a lot of heat and light in a

short period of time. For example: LPG( Liquified
Petroleum Gas), Kerosene oil, Coal etc.

▪ Example: Bring a burning matchstick or a gas lighter

near a gas stove in the kitchen. Turn on the knob of the
gas stove. We find that the gas burns rapidly and
produces heat and light.
▪ Coal catches fire rapidly and gives a lot of heat and
light. This energy is used for different processes
EXPLOSION

▪ It is the combustion that occurs extremely fast with

release of heat and light and also loud sound. For
example: Crackers.
▪ When a fire cracker is ignited, a sudden reaction takes
place with the evolution of heat, light and sound with
the large amount of gas.
Different Zones of Candle flame

It consists of three
zones
▪ Dark inner zone
▪ Middle zone
▪ Outer zone
Outermost zone
▪ It is the hottest zone.
▪ It is the result of complete combustion.
▪ It is the non-luminous zone.
▪ It is blue in color and faintly visible.
Middle zone
▪ It is luminous zone.
▪ Zone of incomplete combustion. In this zone, partial
combustion takes place.
▪ It is yellow in color.
Dark inner zone
▪ It is black in color.
▪ It is innermost close to wick.
▪ It consist of unburnt vapours of wax.
▪ It is known as no combustion zone.
How to Control Fire?

▪ FIRE BRIGADE STATION

In case of sire, fire brigades will extinguish the fire by
sprinkling the water on affected areas.
Water cools down the temperature below its ignition
temperature.
• FIRE EXTINGUISHER
Water is most common fire extinguisher. But it works only
on things like wood, paper, etc.
But what about Electrical things?
Carbon di oxide is best extinguisher, it cuts off the air
supply and as a result fire gets extinguished.
▪ USE OF BLANKET
If a person catches the fire, then blankets can be used to
extinguish the fire.
▪ FOREST FIRES
When temperature rises too high then regions having dry
grasses will catch fire. This fire spreads rapidly from
grasses to trees and eventually entire forest is on fire.
How can it be controlled?
Foam type fire extinguisher

It consists of two cylinders:

▪ Outer cylinder: It is made of metal (contains baking soda)
▪ Inner cylinder: It is made up of glass which contains
aluminium sulphate and aluminium sulphate
▪ Both cylinders are bound by common knob. When the knob is
pressed, the glass cylinder breaks. Then both chemicals,
including baking soda and aluminium sulphates get mixed,
react and as a result, produce carbon dioxide that comes out
with great pressure, cuts off oxygen supply and fire gets
extinguished.
▪ NaHCO3 + Al2(SO4)3 (Aluminium sulphate) → Na2SO4 +
Al2(CO3) + CO2 + H2O
Soda acid types extinguisher

▪ It consists of two cylinders:

▪ Outer Cylinder: It is made up of metal, which contains
baking soda.
▪ Inner Cylinder: It is made up of glass which contains
sulphuric acid.
▪ Both cylinders are bound by a common knob. When the
knob is pressed, the glass cylinder breaks and both
chemicals including baking soda and sulphuric acid are
mixed, react and as a result, produce carbon dioxide
that comes out with great pressure, cuts off oxygen
supply and fire gets extinguished. In this process, the
carbon dioxide produced is in the form of gas.
FUEL

▪ The substance that undergoes combustion is called

fuel. For example: Petrol, Diesel, Coal, wood, charcoal
etc.
▪ Uranium is used as fuel in nuclear reactors. It is denoted
by “U”. Nuclear energy is very intense energy and
obtained from nuclear reactors. Uranium is a radioactive
element. Nuclear energy is used for destruction purpose
like in formation of bomb. This energy has very harmful
effects on health. For example: Hiroshima and Nagasaki
incident.
 FUEL
LIQUI
SOLID GAS
D
 Characteristics of Good Fuel

▪ It should be easy to store and transport.

▪ It should burn smoothly without emitting harmful gases.
▪ It should not produce smoke.
▪ It should be easy to store and transport.
▪ It should have moderate ignition temperature.
▪ It should have high calorific value.
▪ Ideal Fuel:The fuel which satisfies all the characteristics of
good fuel is termed as an ideal fuel.
Probably, there is as such no ideal fuel present. But liquid
and gaseous fuels are better.
Calorific value
▪ It is amount of heat released when 1 gram of fuel is
completely burned in sufficient supply of oxygen.
▪ It is measured in kilojoules per gram.For example:
Hydrogen gas.
QUES. Which is better fuel out of hydrogen gas, dung
cake and LPG ?
Answer: Hydrogen gas is a better fuel as it burns
smoothly and produces less smoke. Its calorific value is
high and that is 150 kj/gm.
BURNING OF FUEL

▪ Carbon fuels like coal, wood, etc. release a lot of

unburnt carbon particles. These particles may enter
respiratory tract through air and cause respiratory
infection like asthma, bronchitis.
▪ Incomplete combustion of fuels releases carbon
monoxide gas. This gas is very poisonous and harmful
and can cause suffocation and even death.
▪ Combustion of most fuels produces carbon dioxide in
air. Increased carbon dioxide can cause global warming.
More the usage of fuels, more the amount of carbon
dioxide present in the air.