Flame Temperature and Species Calculations with an Excel/VBA Computer Code for General Fuel-Air Combustion

Abstract

A general calculation procedure has being developed that permits very rapid calculation of general fuel-air combustion with many parameter variations. The program calculations are via Excel/VBA with immediate graphics of the parameter effects on the results. Thus, an extensive range of parameter effects may be quickly investigated and assessed. The very-general fuel is specified by way of its C-H-O-N-S content and additional water content and the by way of the volume percent of oxygen, and the other component of (nitrogen and/or carbon dioxide), each specified by the user. The temperature of each inlet (fuel and air) is specified by the user. The methodology and computer code takes as input also the equivalence ratio. Then, results of adiabatic flame temperature are calculated along with the equilibrium product species both with and without dissociation. Alternatively, the products temperature may be specified and the heat transfer in the combustor is then calculated. The computer code is very user friendly, with automatic nested loops for parameter variation and automatic generation of graphs, which are particularly useful in assessing the particular process under consideration. It has application directly to high temperature air combustion processes, municipal solid waste, and plastic and non-plastic fuel blends, for which some useful results are generated and discussed.