SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL AND BIOMEDICAL

ENGINEERING

Nanyang Technological
University

Year 1 Lab
Material/energy Balance for a Combustion
Process at Steady State

CH1702 Material/energy Balance for a Combustion Process at Steady State

Objectives:
1. Formulate the material & energy balance for a steady-state combustion process;
2. Understand and calculate the air excess ratio, stoichiometry, higher heating value, lower
heating value, etc.
3. Learn the principle & the application of Gas Chromatography (GC).

Principles & Definitions:

Under the atmospheric pressure, a fuel (propane gas) reacts with O2 (Air, O2: N2 = 1 :3.76 ). The
process is exothermic and the stoichiometric combustion formula is:
C 3 H 8+5(O2 + 3.76 N 2 )

3CO2 + 4 H 2 O + 18.8 N 2 + H

As the Air/fuel ratio changes, the enthalpy of combustion and the composition of the product (exhaust
gases) will change accordingly. However, the principles of energy and materials balance are always
valid and can be used to solve the unknowns.
Theoretical & Excess Air:
Theoretical air is the quantity of air that contains theoretical oxygen (5 moles in the above
example)
(moles air ) fed (moles air ) theo
Percent excess air:
100%
(moles air ) theo
Dry and Wet basis: composition on a wet basis denotes the component mole fractions of a gas that
contains water; composition on a dry basis signifies the component mole fraction of the same gas
without water.
Standard heat (enthalpy) of combustion, H c0 : the heat of reaction of the substance with oxygen to
yield specific products (e.g., CO2, H2O), with both reactants and products are at the reference
temperature and pressure (25C, 1 atm).
Standard heat (enthalpy) of formation, H 0f : enthalpy change associated with the formation of 1
mole compound from naturally occurring elements under reference state (25C, 1 atm ). (e.g. H2 +
O2 H2O + H 0f ). The heat of combustion is related to heat of formation:

H c0 =

H
i

products

0
fi

H
i

0
fi

reac tan ts

Higher heating value (HHV): Negative of heat of combustion when H2O is at liquid state in the
product.
Lower heating value (LHV): Negative of combustion when H2O is at vapor state in the product.
First laws for open system at steady state: Our system is the open system at steady state, the first
laws can be written as:

Q+ W s = H + E k + E p

Q = H = ni H i ni H i
out

in

Enthalpy changes for processes involving chemical reaction: Two methods exists for the
calculation of the overall enthalpies changes, they are: (1) heat of reaction method (molecular species
at 25C, 1atm), and (2) heat of formation method (naturally occurring elemental species at 25C,
1atm). Details can be read from the Text book of CH1004: Elementary Principles of Chemical
Processes.

Equipment:
Fireboy burners equipped with quartz tube are used as the combustion device (chambers), propane
gas as the fuel.
A MKS Mass gas flow controller is used to regulate the volumetric flow rate of the fuel gas.

Shimadzu GC 14B is used to analyze the composition of the exhaust gases (Appendix I).
A micro-syringe is used as the sampling device.

Experimental procedures
1. Start the GC (follow the procedures listed in the Lab) and wait for the base-line to be stable
(The lab staff may have done this for you);
2. Turn on the fuel gas supply, switch on the mass flow controller (MFC) and check zero.
3. Set the propane flow rate, then ignite (ask lab-staff for safety precautions).
4. Wait (at least 3 mins) until the combustion reach steady state;
5. Take the sample from the exhaust gas using the micro-syringe, measure the temperature of
outlet exhaust.
6. Inject the sample gas into the analytical port of the GC and start analysis; (Please note: the
GC result is on dry basis)
7. Switch off the burner, the MFC and turn off the gas supply valve;
8. Do the computation/analysis and try to work on the logsheet.

Reports:

a) The experimental data may be shared within a group. The sample data calculation and the
analysis/discussions should be done individually, Identical reports will be equally
penalized.
b) Calculate the higher heating value (HHV) and the low heating value (LHV) of propane gas;
c) Calculate the composition of the exhaust gas in terms of wet basis, with the aid of result of
GC analysis;
d) Calculate the net rate of heat transfer of the combustion chamber. The property Table is
given in Appendix II.

Q&A:

Please discuss the following questions in your report (you may use the back of the Logsheet)
a) What is the detector used in the GC? Briefly describe its working principles.
b) What are the basic assumption(s) of this experiment (e.g. the combustion process) ?
c) Briefly comment on the experimental data (possible factors of errors, etc.)

Appendix I: Introduction to Gas Chromatography

Introduction

Gas chromatography (GC) is a chromatographic technique used to separate compounds that are
volatile. A GC consists of a flowing mobile phase, an injection port, a separation column containing
the stationary phase, a detector, and a data recording system. The compounds are separated due to
differences in their partitioning behavior between the mobile gas phase and the stationary phase in the
column.

Instrumentation
Carrier gas: The carrier gas must be chemically inert (helium in this experiment). The carrier gas
system also contains a molecular sieve to remove water and other impurities.

Sample injection port: A microsyringe is used to inject sample through a rubber septum into a flash
vapouriser port at the head of the column. The temperature of the sample port is usually about 50C
higher than the boiling point of the least volatile component of the sample.
Columns: There are two general types of column, packed and capillary. Most packed columns (This
experiment) are 1.5 - 10m in length and have an internal diameter of 2 - 4mm.
Column temperature: For precise work, column temperature must be controlled to within tenths of a
degree. The optimum column temperature is dependant upon the boiling point of the sample. As a rule
of thumb, a temperature slightly above the average boiling point of the sample results in an elution
time of 2 - 30 minutes. Minimal temperatures give good resolution, but increase elution times. If a
sample has a wide boiling range, then temperature programming can be useful.
Detectors: A Thermal Conductivity Detector (TCD) is used which is universal for organic and
inorganic compounds. The Flame Ionization Detector (FID) is suitable for organic compounds.

The TCD measurement is based on changes in electrical conductivity of gases. The background
signal is the thermal conductivity of pure helium (carrier gas).
TCD is a non-destructive means for detecting tiny amounts of organic compounds present in the gas
phase. TCD consists of passing the He stream over a wire that has a constant voltage applied. As long as
only He passes over the wire, the rate of heat and consequently the electrical resistance stay constant. As
an organic vapor passes over a small filament with current, the temperature, and hence the resistance of
the filament will change. The change in resistance is an electrical signal, which is then amplified,
conditioned, and plotted versus separation time. The result is a series of peaks plotted versus time
called a chromatogram. The area under each peak can be calibrated with known standards, and the
analysis can be quantitative.
Retention Time (RT): the time for a compound to travel from the injection port to the detector. The
retention time is measured by the recorder as the time between the moment you press start and the time
the detector sees a peak.

The actually structure and operation manual of the GC14 B can be viewed in the Lab.

Appendix II: Property Table

O2
0

N2
0

H2O

CO2
-393.5

CO
-110.5

-2,204.0(l)
-2220.0(g)

-283

a103

68.032

29.61

29.00

33.46(g)

36.11

28.95

b105

22.59

1.158

0.2199

0.6880

4.233

0.4110

C3H8
Standard Heat of Formation
^

(kJ/mol), H

-119.8(l)
-103.8(g)

0
f

Standard Heat of Combustion

^

(kJ/mol), H 0c
Heat Capacity (kJ/mol.C)
CP = a + bT

-285.8 (l)
-241.8(g)

CH1702 Material/Energy Balance for a Combustion Process at Steady State

(Log Sheet)
Name __________

Group ___________

Date:___________

Basic Data

Room Temp____ (C), Product Temp. _____(C), Room Pre _____(kPa)

Flow rate of propane: ________(mole/s)

The Diagram of the Combustion Process

Tin =

Tout =

n prop

n prop

n oxy

n oxy

n nitro

n nitro

n CO 2

n CO

n water

Table 1 The enthalpy inlet-outlet Table (based GC analysis)

Reference :
Inlet
yi
%

Outlet

ni
mol/s

Hi
kJ/mol

yi
%

ni
mol/s

Hi
kJ/mol

GC analysis
1
2

N2
O2
C3H8
H2O
CO2
CO

(The sample calculation and discussions can be written on the space below and the back of this page)

Table 2 Energy & Material Balance (formula of calculation required)

Standard Enthalpy of
Combustion (Hc) =

kJ/mol

Higher heating value (HHV) =

kJ/mol
Lower heating Value (LHV) =
kJ/mol
The heat rejection of the

combustion chamber Q =
The percentage of air excess ratio
(based on N2)

kW
%

Sample calculation & discussion: