A gas burner is a device that produces a non-controlled flame by mixing a fuel gas such as acetylene, natural gas, or propane with an oxidizer such as the ambient air or supplied oxygen, and allowing for ignition and combustion.
The flame is generally used for the heat, infrared radiation, or visible light it produces. Some burners, such as gas flares, dispose of unwanted or uncontainable flammable gases. Some burners are operated to produce carbon black.
A Bunsen burner, named after Robert Bunsen, is a kind of ambient air gas burner used as laboratory equipment; it produces a single open gas flame, and is used for heating, sterilization, and combustion.
The gas can be natural gas, which is mainly methane, or a liquefied petroleum gas, such as propane, butane, a mixture or, as Bunsen himself used, coal gas. Combustion temperature achieved depends in part on the adiabatic flame temperature of the chosen fuel mixture.
Fuel gas is one of a number of fuels that under ordinary conditions are gaseous. Most fuel gases are composed of hydrocarbons (such as methane and propane), hydrogen, carbon monoxide, or mixtures thereof. Such gases are sources of energy that can be readily transmitted and distributed through pipes.
Fuel gas is contrasted with liquid fuels and solid fuels, although some fuel gases are liquefied for storage or transport (for example, autogas and liquified petroleum gas). While their gaseous nature has advantages, avoiding the difficulty of transporting solid fuel and the dangers of spillage inherent in liquid fuels, it also has limitations. It is possible for a fuel gas to be undetected and cause a gas explosion. For this reason, odorizers are added to most fuel gases. The most common type of fuel gas in current use is natural gas.