Natural Gas Boiler Plant - Essay Example

Stack gas analysis sought to find the composition of the stack gas, proportion of excess air, the average capacity of stack gas heat, composition of fuel, inlet and outlet temperatures and air to fuel ratio. A gas combustion analyzer was used to achieve this objective together with computation of various equations as follows. A bomb calorimeter could be defined as a device for measuring energy which combusts a specified amount of fuel in excessive air, comparing it to a baseline fuel which is of known calorific value.

This would be achieved by measuring the change in temperature after a settling time in a given quantity of water. From this, the fuel calorific value would be computed from the ratio difference between the maximum and minimum temperatures. Determining the overall efficiency of the natural gas boiler called for arranging the collected information numerically. Efficiency was first determined using the input vs. output method. In this method, the energy input into the boiler (making use of fuel mass flow rate and calorific value) and that output from the boiler (making use of steam and feed water enthalpies and steam mass flow rate) would be compared.

This method yields equation (ii). Alternatively, the efficiency of the boiler could be determined through the heat loss method. This has two major components: the first employs stack gas heat capacity together with the input and output temperatures; while the second uses the heat lost through radiation and convection. Equation (iii) represents this method. After weighing the fuel, it would be placed inside a crucible. This would then be dipped into an oxygen-filled bomb under a pressure of about 35 atmospheres.

This bomb would then be placed into a container with predetermined amount of water. This container would then be placed inside a jacket. The impellor on the lid of the jacket ensures that heat is evenly distributed throughout the water while the thermometer