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Incomplete Combustion

Combustion is the production of heat and sometimes light when there is a chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant. This is always an exothermic reaction that occurs fast enough to produce heat. Complete combustion uses up all the fuel in a reaction and produces a limited number of products in the reaction. Incomplete combustion occurs when there is not enough of an oxidant to burn up all the fuel in an efficient manner.

In incomplete combustion, the reaction is inefficient and produces both the products that would be created in complete combustion and other products as well. For instance, a hydrocarbon burning with perfect efficiency in air produces carbon dioxide and water as by-products. If, however, it burns with imperfect efficiency, it will also produce carbon monoxide and things like nitrogen oxides.

It is much more likely for combustion to be incomplete than for it to be complete, particularly with solid fuels, because of the inherent difficulty of getting oxygen to a combusting fuel quickly. Incomplete combustion produces the by-products that are considered pollutants.

Web Resources On Incomplete Combustion

The Chemistry Of Combustion In Plain English
Incomplete combustion

Book Resources On Incomplete Combustion

Incomplete combustion in one-end-open crevices by K. T Rhee
Gasoline losses due to incomplete combustion in motor vehicles by Arno Carl Fieldner

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