An Approximate Rate Expression for the Combustion of a Sample of Forest Litter

Abstract

On the basis of experimental results reported in an earlier paper [1] together with some supplementary information from the literature, a rate expression is developed for the oxidation of a sample of forest litter comprising debris from a tree canopy of Eucalyptus pilularis. A zeroth order model in fuel is used and, by arguments based on measured diffusion coefficients of oxygen (reported for the first time), it is shown that the partial pressure of oxygen need not appear in the rate expression. Semi-quantitative comparisons with rate ex pressions for other oxidation processes are made.