Rate Controlling Factors in a Bunsen Burner Flame

Combustion and flames have been extensively investigated during past decades due to their industrial importance. The associated phenomena are both physical and chemical in nature, and the rigorous mathematical description is beyond the undergraduate teaching level. While thermodynamic calculations of temperature of a Bunsen burner flame can be made at the college level, there are not accessible chemical–kinetic descriptions that can be used for instruction. In this paper we present a simple model that accounts for mass transfer, energy transfer, and kinetics of chemical reaction. From such a description, different controlling regimes can be deduced and tested with experimental data.