A combustor is a specialized reactor. It is a piece of equipment where two or more substances react with each other to form one or more products. A combustor is used to bring about the rapid oxidation of a fuel. as such it requires an oxidizer source, such as an oxygen or air stream, and a fuel source, usually a gas or vapor. By properly controlling the ration of fuel to oxidant, a complete reaction of all the fuel can be achieved. The product gasses are then removed in a stream often referred to as a flue gas stream. Heat is often produced as a primary or side product. A reactor is usually thought of as a rigid, durable container so we can increase pressure and temperature without affecting volume. Common combustors are the cylinders in a car engine. Here liquid fuel is vaporized by the fuel injectors and combined in the cylinder. The reaction is initiated a spark from the spark plugs and the resulting explosion us used to produce mechanical movement. The residual gasses are expelled through the exhaust system.

A basic schematic of a combustor is shown below:

The two feed streams enter the combustor, rapid oxidation takes place and one or more streams leave the column as the products, byproducts, or leftover reactant.

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