Abstract
In this work we present the thermochemistry of combustion and ideal plasmas, illustrating it with some examples related to pollutants production in engines and plasma physics. We first define the problem and then present two different but equivalent strategies to solve it: (i) determination of a complete set of chemical reactions, its equilibrium constants and balance equations; (ii) minimization of the Gibbs free energy of the system. Some examples are solved using the code CEA - Chemical Equilibrium with Application developed by NASA, which is available on the web. In one of them the adiabatic temperature and the final chemical composition of decane (C10H22 combustion is determined. In another one we explored the problem of an ideal plasma composed of He and H2O. We also present the general problem of the time development of the chemical composition in a reactive medium. This is illustrated solving the Zeldovich-Keck mechanism for the formation of NO and applying it to the problem of pollution produced by internal combustion engines. These examples may inspire teaching activities in graduation and post graduation courses in Physics and Engineering.
Keywords:
Thermodynamics; Thermochemistry; Plasma Physics
