COMBUSTION OF ALKANES

15/07/2017

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Combustion of alkanes is very important a reaction that constantly occurs in our everyday life.
It is one of the most important sources of energy in our contemporary society.

One gets ca. 165 kcal/mol per carbon when we burn an alkane or, in general, an organic compound.

Heats of combustion are experimental numbers that allow us to make an estimation on the relative stability of alkanes bearing the same number of carbons.

From the heats of combustion of the two main elements in organic chemistry (C and H2), one can obtain the heats of formation of organic compounds.

The difference between the 'real' heat of combustion and the 'theoretical' one calculated from the elements is the heat of formation.
If the latter ends up as a negative value, it means that the compound is more stable than its isolated elements. This is the normal pattern but not always happens.