What is complete combustion?

Complete combustion is a chemical reaction, also known as complete or oxidative combustion, which means that all carbon atoms in a specific substance are completely consumed This chemical definition is much broader than simple flame combustion There is no doubt that fire is a form of combustion that can cause complete combustion of wood and other substances However, there are many other possibilities From a scientific point of view, this reaction can occur at any time when oxygen, heat and any carbon containing fuel exist at the same time The carbon atoms combine with the oxygen atoms to make them perfectly matched, and are converted by heat (usually carbon dioxide and water, depending on the chemical composition of the element at the starting point) If there is not enough oxygen in the atmosphere to match every carbon atom, combustion is usually incomplete, meaning that only part of the material is converted into gas, not all The amount of heat required for the reaction usually depends on the fuel, because the temperature needs to reach or exceed the combustion threshold of the material to react How to understand general combustion? Many substances, and all life sustaining substances, are based on carbon Like oxygen, carbon is an almost ubiquitous element Every carbon compound has a flash point Different compounds have different thresholds, but they need heat first Sometimes the amount of heat required is very low (such as the heat generated by rubbing the match surface), but in many cases, the heat must be very high When the material is exposed to high temperatures above its ignition temperature, the carbon atoms begin to rearrange They match oxygen in the atmosphere and react at the atomic level From the outside, the reaction is usually quite dramatic Sometimes the whole thing burns in the fire, or melts quickly; it may smoke, or even bang Much depends on the substance involved, as well as combustion compounds other than carbon These secondary elements are usually the default What makes combustion "complete"? When scientists talk about complete combustion, it usually refers to the reaction that consumes all substances To achieve this goal, each carbon atom in the compound needs to have enough oxygen available to find a match or pair in the ambient air Most of the time, this is not a problem, because there is a lot of oxygen in the atmosphere, and only when the reaction takes place in an unusual place, there will be a shortage, such as caves under the ground and high altitude areas.