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How Much Air is Required to Burn Coal?

written by: johnzactruba • edited by: Lamar Stonecypher • updated: 12/12/2014

The most important requirement to burn coal is the correct quantity of air. This article explains
how to calculate the correct quantity of air.
 Coal is the most widely used fuel source used to produce electricity. Air is necessary to provide
oxygen for burning coal. It is the chemical reaction between carbon in coal and the oxygen in the
air that produces heat energy.
 Elements in Coal
There are three elements in coal that combine with oxygen in the air duing the combustion
process. The most important element is carbon. This makes up about 30% to 60% of the
substance. Hydrogen makes up about 1% to 3% and Sulphur, 0.3% to 3%.
The other elements found in coal are nitrogen, which can make up about 1% to 2% of the
substance, and oxygen, 5 % to 12%. Oxygen is also used up in the combustion process. The
exact amounts of each element depends on the type and rank of coal, how the coal was formed
millions of years ago and the location or mines from which the coal is sourced.
 Stoichiometric or Theoretical Air Quantity
Theoretical Air Quality is calculated based on the chemical reaction between the elements and
oxygen.
o Carbon combines with oxygen to form carbon-dioxide and heat.
C+ O > CO2 2

1 C +32/12 O > 44/12 CO 2

1 kg Carbon +2.67 kg Oxygen > 3.67 kg Carbon Dioxide

o Hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water and heat
2 H + O > 2H O
2 2 2

1 H +32/4 O >36/4 H O 2

1 kg Hydrogen +8 kg Oxygen >9 kg Water

o Sulphur combines with oxygen to form sulphur dioxide
S + O > SO 2 2

1 S +32 /32 O >64 /32 SO 2

1 kg Sulphur +1 kg Oxygen >2 kg Sulphur Dioxide.

For this example, we are considering coal having a makeup of 57.2 % Carbon, 2.2 % Hydrogen ,
0.5 % Sulphur and 6.9 % Oxygen.
o The theoretical oxygen required to burn this coal is then
2.67 x C % + 8 x H% + 1 x S % - O% = 1.64 kg of Oxygen for 1 kg of Coal.
Air contains 23.2% by weight of oxygen.

oThe theoretical air required to burn the coal is

= 1.64 / 23.2% = 7.1 kg of Air for 1 kg of Coal.
This is the theoretical air required to burn the coal.