Combustion - EMOC Combustion Combustion is the process through which hydrocarbons are oxidized in air. This results in carbon dioxide and water.
Oxidation reactions involve the transfer of electrons.
The diagram below shows how oxidation states in the combustion of methane are determined. The reaction is called an oxidation rather than a redox reaction because organic chemists concern themselves primarily with the organic species. A simple first-guess rule for identifying organic oxidations is that they result in either the gain of oxygen or the loss of two hydrogen atoms in the organic compound. These pages may be downloaded and linked from other pages freely for academic and educational purposes.