which combustion is complete combustion: burning a candle or ethanol?

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which combustion is complete combustion: burning a candle or ethanol?

2007-10-28 19:34:14 · 2 answers · asked by Arianna 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics

2 answers

Both and none.
Candle is a saturated hydrocarbon whereas ethanol has one atom of oxygen also.
Whether combustion will be complete or not depends on the amount of air. Complete combustion can be achieved in both cases with enough excess air.

2007-10-28 19:39:34 · answer #1 · answered by Madhukar 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋

A wax candle never burns completely. The evidence is the yellow flame, caused by chemiluminescence of free carbon atoms. If there is free carbon, the combustion is not complete.

Ethanol can achieve near-perfect combustion if it is pre-mixed with an abundance of oxygen before ignition.

2007-10-28 19:45:48 · answer #2 · answered by lithiumdeuteride 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋