Heats of Combustion

Related Resources: heat transfer

Heats of Combustion

Power Transmission and Technology
Heat Transfer Engineering and Design

Heats of Combustion for Common Compounds

Heats of Combustion is the amount of heat released per unit mass or unit volume of a substance when the substance is completely burned.

substance	molecular weight	specific volume (ft³/lbm)	heat of combustion
			Btu/ft³		Btu/lbm
			gross (high)	net (low)	gross (high)	net (low)
carbon	12.01	-	-	-	14,093	14,093
carbon dioxide	44.01	8.548	-	-	-	-
carbon monoxide	28.01	13.506	322	322	4347	4347
hydrogen	2.016	187.723	325	275	60,958	51,623
nitrogen	28.016	13.443	-	-	-	-
oxygen	32.000	11.819	-	-	-	-
paraffin series (alkanes)
methane	16.041	23.565	1013	913	23,879	21,520
ethane	30.067	12.455	1792	1641	22,320	20,432
propane	44.092	8.365	2590	2385	21,661	19,944
n-butane	58.118	6.321	3370	3113	21,308	19,680
isobutane	58.118	6.321	3363	3105	21,257	19,629
n-pentane	72.144	5.252	4016	3709	21,091	19,517
isopentane	72.144	5.252	4008	3716	21,052	19,478
neopentane	72.144	5.252	3993	3693	20,970	19,396
n-hexane	86.169	4.398	4762	4412	20,940	19,403
olefin series (alkenes and alkynes)
ethylene	28.051	13.412	1614	1513	21,644	20,295
propylene	42.077	9.007	2336	2186	21,041	19,691
n-butene	56.102	6.756	3084	2885	20,840	19,496
isobutene	56.102	6.756	3068	2869	20,730	19,382
n-pentene	70.128	5.400	3836	3586	20,712	19,363
aromatic series
benzene	78.107	4.852	3751	3601	18,210	17,480
toluene	92.132	4.113	4484	4284	18,440	17,620
xylene	106.158	3.567	5230	4980	18,650	17,760
miscellaneous fuels
acetylene	26.036	14.344	1499	1448	21,500	20,776
air	28.967	13.063	-	-	-	-
ammonia	17.031	21.914	441	365	9668	8001
digester gas^b	25.8	18.3	658	593	15,521	13,988
ethyl alcohol	46.067	8.221	1600	1451	13,161	11,929
hydrogen sulfide	34.076	10.979	647	596	7100	6545
iso-octane	114.2	0.0232^c	106	98.9	20,590	19,160
methyl alcohol	32.041	11.820	868	768	10,259	9078
naphthalene	128.162	2.955	5854	5654	17,298	16,708
sulfur	32.06	-	-	-	3983	3983
sulfur dioxide	64.06	5.770	-	-	-	-
water vapor	18.016	21.017	-	-	-	-

(Multiply Btu/lbm by 2.326 to obtain kJ/kg.)

(Multiply Btu/ft³ by 37.25 to obtain kJ/m³.)

^aGas volumes listed are at 60°F (16°C) and 1 atm.

^bDigester gas from wastewater treatment plants is approximately 65% methane and 35% carbon dioxide by volume. Use composite properties of these two gases.

^cliquid form; stoichiometric mixture