Combustion train

In organic chemistry a combustion train is analytical tool for the determination of elemental composition of a chemical compound. With knowledge of elemental composition a chemical formula can be derived. The combustion train allows the determination of carbon and hydrogen in a succession of steps:

combustion of sample at high temperatures with copper oxide as oxidizing agent
collection of resulting gas in anhydrous agent (magnesium perchlorate or calcium chloride) traps generated water
collecting remainder gas in strong base (for instance potassium hydroxide) traps generated carbon dioxide.

Analytical determination of the amounts of water and carbon dioxide from known amount of sample gives the elemental composition.

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