SAMPLE PROBLEMS 1. Calculate the higher heating value of liquid dodecane fuel. The chemical formula of dodecane is C12H26.

Solution: Qh = 13500 C+ 60890H Btu/lb Where: %C  %C = 84.71% Then, Qh= 13500(.8471) + 60890(.1529) = 20745.93 Btu/lb Thus, Qh= 48255.04 KJ/kg 2. Calculate the minimum volume of day tank of 28 API fuel having a fuel consumption of 1 kg/s. Solution: V Solving for density SG 15..6C = 0.887 V=0.887(1000) = 887 kg/m3 Then, V= = 97.41 m3

%C  %C

= 15.29%

3. A gaseous mixture has the following molal analysis: H2 = 14% O2 = 0.6% N2 = 50.9% CH4 = 3% CO2 = 4.5% CO = 27%

Solution: Chemical reaction with hydrogen: 0.14 H2 + 0.0700 O2 -------- 0.14H2O 0.03 CH4 + 0.0600 O2 -------- 0.03CO2 + 0.06 H2O 0.27 CO + 0.135 O2 -------- 0.27 CO2 Total moles of Oxygen = (0.07+0.06++0.135) O2 = 0.265 O2 Actual Oxygen in the product = 0.265 O2 0.06 O2 = 0.259 O2 Then,


= 1.233

4. A bituminous coal has the following composition: C= 71.5% H= 5% O= 7% N= 1.3% S= 3.6% Ash= 8.2% W= 3.4%

Calculate for complete combustion the theoretical weight of air required in Solution: The theoretical weight of air ;
 

= 11.5 (0.715) + 34.5(0.05Thus,



) + 4.3 (0.036)

5. There are 20 grams of flue gasses formed per kilogram of oil burned in the combustion of a fuel oil C12 H26. What is the excess air in percent? Solution: C12H26 + 18.5 O2 +18.5(13.6)N2 ----------- 12 O2 + 13H2O + 18.5 (13.6) N2

 = 14.94


a = 20 kg gas 1 kg fuel = 19 Then, % Excess air = = = 0.2717 or 27.175%

   

References

Experiment 1. PROPERTIES OF FUEL GASES I. PREFACE Commercial gaseous fuels come largely from three sources, viz., petroleum products, from natural gas wells, and from coal-gas generators or coke ovens. Smaller amount of fuel gas are generated from coal by blast furnaces or by gas producers (both products largely carbon monoxide, CO) or are made by special processes such as the wetting of calcium carbide (acetylene). Many gases supplied by public utilities are mixed gases consisting of coke-oven gas enriched with natural gas or with petroleum-oil gas. The rich gases such as acetylene, propane, butane, and hydrogen are sold in high-pressure bottles or tanks. Gas fuel supplied from a pipe line as a public utility has outstanding advantages over other fuels. It can be burned in a simple device without producing smoke, odor, or refuse and can be easily and safely controlled entirely by automatic devices. One disadvantage of gas fuel is the high moisture lost in the products of combustion due to the hydrogen content of the fuel. Since the most important technical information required about a fuel gas is the volumetric heating value, this experiment is concerned chiefly with such a determination. Once the heating value is known, the theoretical air requirement may be closely approximated because almost all common gases require very close to 1 cu ft of theoretical air for each 100 Btu of heating value. As a result, the heating value of the theoretical or stoichiometric air-gas mixture is roughly 90 Btu/cu ft, whatever the gas (except highly dilute gases such as producer gas).

II.

PREPARATION A continue water-cooled calorimeter of the Junkers or the Emerson type will be assumed for this experiment period, all though an air-cooled may be substituted. 1. Apparatus. A Bunsen burner is used, with a wit-gas meter of the positive displacement type. Liquid fuels are burned in a generating or blowtorch type of burner, the entire torch being suspended on a positive balance. 2. Setup. Attach rubber hose for supply, discharge and overflow; then install thermometers. Place bucket under water outlet, open water tap carefully, and turn inlet valve on calorimeter to regular flow. When satisfactory water circulation has been secured, light and insert burner, making sure that burner flame is exactly in the center of the combustion chamber.

III.

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Procedure Regulate the water flow and the burner flame so that the products of combustions are discharged at approximately room temperature. When all temperatures become steady, the run may be started. Temperature readings and gas pressure are to be taken every minute and water and fuel quantities for the entire run. 2. Determinations For gas fuel, make three runs, burning 60 liters of gas for each run. For liquid fuel, make three runs, burning 10 g of fuel for each run. If it doesn t run properly, check each other closely and additional runs should be made. 3. Results and calculations In as much as it is most convenient to use English units (pounds) in measuring the cooling water in metric units in measuring the fuel and the condensate, care must be taken not to confuse two systems in calculating the results. The heating value of the fuel is to be expressed in Btu/lb, both higher and lower heating values are to be reported. For gas fuel, these values are to be expressed both the measured pressure and temperature and at standard conditions of 14.7 lb abs and 35 F. This conversion is accomplished by using the gas law PV=mRT. As a further refinement in the determination of heating value, a correction may be made for the heat carried away by the moisture in the exhaust gas. If the relative humidity of the air in the test room is as slow as 20% and the temperature is high, the correction may amount to about 10 Btu / cu ft.

IV.

PRECAUTIONS 1. Be sure that water is circulating through the calorimeter before introducing flame, as all joints are soldered. 2. Handle precision thermometers with care. 3. Adjustments may be between runs, but do not disturb valve settings during a run unless to protect precision thermometer.

EXPERIMENT 2. PROPERTIES OF OIL FUELS I. PREFACE The intimate mixing of liquid fuel and air for proper combustion is accomplished by one of three methods: 1. By direct gasification and nozzle mixing, as in plumber s blowtorch; 2. By carburetion and evaporation in air, as in an automotive engine;3. By atomization and spray mixing as in a gun-type furnace burner. In order to carry out these processes, the viscosity, density and other properties of the oil must be known. Moreover, as a guide for the design and operation of the combustion equipment, such as test data as the volatility, octane number and heating value should be available. Most commercial liquid fuels are derived from petroleum and are mixtures of various hydrocarbons. Alcohol is of course an exception. Liquid fuels from coal, from shale and from agricultural products are beginning to assume importance, especially in parts of the world where petroleum is scarce. Such common names of gasoline, distillate and fuel oil are closely applied and each refers to a rather large group of products. The pure hydrocarbons are classified in several series, and they include gases, liquids and solids.

Methane and ethane are the principal constituents of natural gas. Propane and butane are sold as bottled fuel gases. Pentane is used as refrigerant, as also are propane and butane. Octane has approximately the same ultimate analysis as motor gasoline as it is used as a comparison fuel. Pentane is also used as a blending agent in motor fuel. Benzene is used to enrich illuminating gas and is also constituent of some antiknock motor fuels. Acetylene is used in high-temperature torches and burners. II. INSTRUCTIONS Procedure. Most of the tests on liquid fuels are nearly identical with tests already described for determining the properties of liquids and other fuels. The following will serve as a guide: 1. Gravity or density tests are usually made with API hydrometer but a Westphal balance or a pycnometer may be used. 2. Viscosity tests are ordinarily made with a Say bolt viscometer, but other types of viscometers using either a falling sphere or a long capillary are favored by some engineers.

a. Heating Value of volatile fuels is determined by operating a blowtorch in a continuous calorimeter, while heavier fuels are tested in a bomb calorimeter. b. Volatility is determined by distillation test, as gasoline. 3. Other test, including flash and fire points, pour point, carbon residue and water sediment are similar for the corresponding test for lubricating.

Determinations. Make all possible tests on the fuel oils supplied by the instructor. Gravity and viscosity tests should be made at three or more temperatures. Duplicate determinations are required for each type of test, and the report should contain a thorough discussion of accuracy of results with comparisons. III. PERFORMANCE COMPARISON The fuel-test results obtained in this experiment should be compared with the data on similar fuels. Other comparison standards for liquid for liquid fuels are the heating values computed by the Sherman and Kroff formulas. These formulas, gasoline and light fuel oils are stated as follows: For gasoline: H = 18.320 + 40(API 10) H = 18.440 + 40(API 10)

For distillate fuel oil:

H = 18.650 + 40(API 10)

EXPERIMENT 6. DETERMINATION OF COMBUSTION LOSSES I. Object This experiment deals with various commercial methods for combustion analysis and with combustion losses and their control. Preface The cost of fuel in the largest single item in the expense of production of power, and it is in the savings of fuel the largest total saving in dollars can be realized. This saving must be made in the burning process by maintaining at all times the proper relationship between fuel demand and air supply. Modern mechanical control of the ratio of air to fuel is necessary for attaining maximum economy, and automatic combustion controls are provided in almost all modern power plant in heating finance. The automotive carburetor and the diesel-engine fuel system are other example of air-fuel metering.

II.

Combustion-control instruments are of four kinds, and any one of these may form the basis for the sensitive elements or detector in the automatic control sequence. The chemical-absorption method is adaption of the principle used in the Orsat, although the difference in pressure rather than in volume is usually measured. The thermal-conductivity method utilizes the higher electrical conductivity of CO2 as an indication of the CO2 content in the combustion products, and a wheat stone bridge is used as the measuring instrument. The density method is based on the higher density of CO2 as compared with other gases. A pair of fans one handling flue gases and the other air may be mounted in the balance so that the position of the unit indicates the percentage of CO2. The air-meter method embodies an air metering device and a device for metering the fuel, and the control operates to maintain a constant ratio air and fuel. A modification of this method is the air-flow steam-flow meter used for boiler-furnace control. One of the advantages of many combustion controls is the time lag inherent in their operation. Another practical difficulty is that securing a true average sample of the products.

III.

Instructions 1. Procedure. Inspect and describe the design and operation of one or more automatic gas analyzer or CO2 recorders. Investigate the adjustments or settings, the various scales furnished, and the maintenance required. Obtain a number readings, preferably over a period of time and under various combustion operating procedures. These variations in operations may consist of (1) changes in the condition of the fuel bed, the dampers and the draft fan settings in the case of the coal fired steam, boiler or a warm air furnace;(2) changes in the primary and secondary air supplies in the case of a gas or air burner; (3) changes in engine speed and load, and in carburetor adjustment or fuel pressure in the case of an inernalcombustion engine.

For at least one set of conditions, obtain the following data: 1. CO2 and CO in the products of combustion. 2. Temperature of the products of combustion. 3. Temperature of fuel and dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperature of the air supplied for combustion.

4. Identification of fuel so that its analysis may be approximated. 5. Approximation of cooling losses, fuel-bed losses jacket losses, etc., by such methods of measurement and calculation as are available. Calculation of losses A heat balance consisting of 6 items is to be computed for the one or more conditions in which complete data were obtained. (1) heat to dry flue gases; (2) heat loss due to moisture in the air and in the fuel; (3) hydrogen-moisture loss; (4) loss due to CO; (5) estimated miscellaneous losses; (6) useful heat. In many cases, it may be necessary to lump items 5 and 6 together, but the other items may be computed as stated in the next paragraph.

The total loss of heat to the dry gases is Q=



Where q is the loss in Btu/lb and tg and ta are the temperatures of exit gases and entering air, respectively. All three losses due to mixture in the combustion products are computed in similar manner. The specific heat of superheated steam in this range is taken as 0.46. The loss due to moisture in the fuel includes the heat of the liquid from the fuel temperature to the vaporizing temperature and the latent heat of the partial pressure corresponding to the vaporizing temperature, as well as the heat of superheat from the vaporizing temperature to the stack temperature. In simplified form, the equation reduced to Q= w (1089+0.46tg-tf) Where w is the weight of moisture in 1 lb of fuel, tg is the temperature of the flue gas and tf is the temperature of the fuel. Similarly, the hydrogen loss equals

q=9H(1089+0.46tg-tf) The loss due to incomplete combustion of carbon is very small in a well-designed and properly operated furnace and in diesel gas constituents and C is the pounds of carbon burned per pound of fuel; 10160 is the heating value of 1 lb of carbon when contained in carbon monoxide. The derivation of this equation is evident from the fact that the same weight of carbon is present in molecule of CO as is present in one molecule of CO2 and hence the fraction in the equation represents the ratio of carbon in the CO to total carbon in the products of combustion.

Q=

Where CO and CO2 represents volumetric percentages of these gas constituents and C is the lb of carbon burned per lb of fuel ; 10160 is the heating value of 1 lb of carbon when contained in carbon monoxide. The derivation of this equation is evident from the fact that the same weight of carbon is present in molecule of CO as is present in one molecule of CO2 and hence the fraction in the equation represents the ratio of carbon in the CO to total carbon in the products of combustion.

It is to be noted that the computations of the outlined of this experiment use only rough valu of the mean specific heat and do not consider dissociation.