What Does Combustion Mean?

Simply put, combustion means "the process of burning." It is the result of a rapid chemical change involving two or more substances, followed by the release of heat and light. The word owes its origin to the Latin word combūrere, which means "to burn up."

The burning of a fuel like natural gas, oil or wood in the presence of oxygen is air is a common example of combustion. However, it is not necessary for oxygen to be involved in the combustion process. Hydrogen, for instance can burn in chlorine to liberate heat and light. The crux of combustion is the exothermic reaction, or the process in which heat energy is liberated.

Combustion consists of oxidation process (addition of oxygen in a substance) and reduction process (deduction of oxygen from a substance). One of the things which come to play in the process of combustion is the ignition point. For combustion, it is necessary for substances to be heated to their ignition points. Though the ignition points of substances remain unchanged, the time taken for combustion depends on factors like the oxygen in the air and the texture of the substance. This is the reason why some things take to burn while some are quickly ignited or volatile. The French scientist Lavoisier is credited with performing experiments which led to the discovery of the combustion. Incidentally, combustible also pertains to a person who gets violent or agitated easily.

The chemical process in which a substance burns in air or oxygen with the release of heat and light energy

When a fuel burns to produce energy, we say it is undergoing combustion. It is an exothermic series of reactions. It occurs when a fuel and an oxidant are allowed to come into contact and provided some energy. As a result of combustion energy is produced, usually in the form of heat. Energy may also be given off in the form of light (as the flame).
The most common oxidant used for combustion is oxygen. When hydrocarbon compounds are combusted, they form water and carbon dioxide along with energy. Other oxidants, like fluorine, may also be used but the use of oxygen is most common. This is majorly because of its presence in air. So, we can say that when ever we burn any thing in air, it reacts with oxygen in the air to combust.
Some examples of hydrocarbons undergoing combustion are:
CH₄ + 2O₂ -----> CO₂ + 2H₂O

C₃H₈ + 5O₂ -----> 3CO₂ + 4H₂O

When combustion is incomplete, it may not form carbon dioxide. Instead, it forms carbon monoxide (especially if oxygen is limiting) and soot. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas.

It is the principle of combustion that we experience when we light a fire and the logs burn, when we drive the car and the gasoline provides energy and when we burn charcoal to hold a barbeque. The basic thing is that energy stored within these compounds is liberated from them in the form of heat energy when they are burned in the presence of an oxidant (oxygen).

the process of burning