Explain How Combustion Reactions Work Is Essentially Valuable In Many Walks Of Life

Understanding how combustion reactions work is essentially valuable in many walks of life. Combustion reactions are used in many industries, and the understanding of them is essential in varying professions. Particularly, the engineering of a Bunsen burner is an example of both complete and incomplete combustion at work. Commonly used in school labs to heat chemicals, the Bunsen burner uses natural gas as its fuel, which is almost pure CH4 [methane] (BBC 2011). Since methane is a hydrocarbon, the Bunsen burner is able to manipulate its air hole to achieve both complete and incomplete combustion. When the air hole of the Bunsen burner is open, air is allowed into the chimney. The air then mixes with the natural gas, which causes the complete combustion (See Appendix A, Figure 4).

The product of the reaction are as follows: methane + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water. The reason that the Bunsen burner burns with a blue flame when complete combustion occurs, is because photons are released from the process of combustion, and since complete combustion gives off more exothermic energy, the photon will also have more energy, hence its proximity to purple on the electromagnetic spectrum of visible light. In turn, Bunsen burners are also able to demonstrate incomplete combustion as well (See Appendix A, Figure 5). When the air hole is closed the natural gas can only mix with air at the mouth of the chimney. Incomplete combustion occurs as a result of this, and the products can be modeled as follows: methane + oxygen → carbon monoxide + carbon + water (BBC 2011). Since less energy is produced from the reaction, a yellow flame (often called a “safety flame”) is produced. . The yellow flame is also brighter than the blue flame because the specks of carbon glow when heated (BBC