Excess Air = Excess Oxygen

(see F&R, 3rd Ed., p. 145)

The equation for percent excess air is as follows:

=
% excess air

( moles of

air ) fed ( moles of air ) theoretical

( moles of

air ) theoretical

100

If you multiple the fractional term in the above equation by (0.21 / 0.21) and remember that (0.21 moles
of air) equals (moles of oxygen), you can write the following expression for "percent excess oxygen":

% excess O 2

0.21 ( moles of air ) fed ( moles of O 2 )theoretical

( moles of

O 2 ) theoretical

100

0.21 ( moles of air ) fed = (1.0 + excess ) ( moles of O 2 )theoretical

where excess = % excess O2 /100.

(Eq. 1)

Thus, "% excess air" and "% excess O2" have the same value.

Theoretical oxygen is the moles (for a batch system) or molar flow rate (for a continuous system) of O2
needed for complete combustion of all fuel fed to the reactor, assuming that all carbon in the fuel is
oxidized to CO2, all of the hydrogen is oxidized to H2O, and any sulfur is oxidized to SO2.
For example, 75 mol% C3H8 (propane) and 25 mole% H2 are fed in Stream F to a reactor. An air stream
(21 mol% O2 and 79 mol% N2) is fed to the same reactor as Stream A. This stream contains twenty-five
percent excess air. The following chemical reactions are actually what occur in the reactor:
C3H8
2 C3H8
2 H2

+
+
+

5 O2
7 O2
O2

3 CO2
6 CO
2 H2 O

+
+

4 H2O
8 H2O

In the theoretical case which is not associated with the actual case above, all of the propane must be
oxidized to CO2 and H2O, and all of the hydrogen must be oxidized to H2O by the following reactions:
C3H8
2 H2

+
+

5 O2
O2

3 CO2
2 H2O

4 H2O

For 25% excess air in the example, we can write the following equation in a mathematical model:

0.21 n A

mol O 2 mol A

mol A time

= (1 + 0.25)

5 mol O 2
0.75 n F
1 mol C3 H8

mol C3 H 8 mol F mol O 2

mol F
time mol C3 H 8

0.25 n F

1 mol O 2

2 mol H 2

mol H 2 mol F mol O 2

mol F time mol H 2

This example equation for % excess oxygen is Equation 1 above, since % excess air and % excess
oxygen are numerically equivalent. Equation 1 is what you are to write in a mathematical model when a
problem statement contains % excess air.
v10.02.05

2010, Michael E. Hanyak, Jr., All Rights Reserved

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