Flue gas is the gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue, which is a pipe or channel for conveying exhaust

gases from a fireplace, oven, furnace, boiler or steam generator. Quite often, the flue gas refers to
the combustion exhaust gas produced at power plants. Its composition depends on what is being burned,
but it will usually consist of mostly nitrogen (typically more than two-thirds) derived from the combustion
air, carbon dioxide (CO2), and water vapor as well as excess oxygen (also derived from the combustion
air). It further contains a small percentage of a number of pollutants, such as particulate
matter (like soot), carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides.
A flue-gas stack is a type of chimney, a vertical pipe, channel or similar structure through which
combustion product gases called flue gases are exhausted to the outside air. Flue gases are produced
when coal, oil, natural gas, wood or any other fuel is combusted in an industrial furnace, a power
plant's steam-generating boiler, or other large combustion device. Flue gas is usually composed of carbon
dioxide (CO2) and water vapor as well as nitrogen and excessoxygen remaining from the intake
combustion air.

Stoichiometric or Theoretical Combustion is the ideal combustion process where fuel is burned
completely.
To ensure complete combustion of the fuel used, combustion chambers are supplied with excess air.
Excess air increases the amount of oxygen and the probability of combustion of all fuel.

when fuel and oxygen in the air are in perfectly balance - the combustion is said to
be stoichiometric

The combustion efficiency will increase with increased excess air, until the heat loss in the excess air
is larger than the heat provided by more efficient combustion.
Excess Air
There is a theoretical amount of fresh air that when mixed with a fixed amount of fuel, and burnt will
result in perfect combustion. In this situation all of the fuel will have been properly burnt and all of the
oxygen in the air will have been consumed. In this circumstance there will be no excess air and
combustion efficiency will be maximized.

Air and oxygen are sometimes used interchangeably, but the two things are actually different.
Oxygen is a pure element, while the air people breathe is a mixture of elements. Although oxygen is
necessary for survival, repeated exposure to the pure form could be harmful. The air that makes up
Earth's atmosphere has a healthy balance of elements to sustain human life.
Oxygen is a pure gaseous element. Prolonged exposure to it can actually cause brain damage,
although the element is sometimes used therapeutically. Most animals require a certain
concentration of oxygen in their blood in order to thrive, and for this reason, the gas is used in
emergency situations in which access to air is restricted. When used therapeutically, oxygen is
usually mixed with other elements.
Oxygen is number eight on the periodic table, which means that it has eight electrons and eight
protons. Only a handful of elements, including helium and hydrogen, are lighter. It has a cubic
structure and is a totally colorless element.
The air that people breathe is a mixture that contains primarily oxygen and nitrogen. The nitrogen
generally makes up approximately 78%, while oxygen makes up 21%. Other gases, including carbon
dioxide, hydrogen, helium, argon, and neon, make up the remainder. These gases dissolve and are
carried in the blood.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-combustion-efficiency.htm
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-difference-between-air-and-oxygen.htm
http://www.cormetech.com/nox-reduction.htm
http://www2.emersonprocess.com/siteadmincenter/PM%20Rosemount%20Analytical
%20Documents/Comb_AN_106_300A_Net_vs_Gross_Wet_vs_Dry_Oxygen_Measurem
ents.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nernst_equation