Student Practice Questions for Chemical Engineering Calculations: Combustion System

1) A fuel gas contains 80% CH4 and 20%C2H6 is burned with dry air. Sixty-percent of the carbon goes to form CO2,
the rest goes to CO. Fifty-percent excess air is used. Determine the ORSAT analysis of the flue gases.
Answer: CO2 = 4.62%, CO = 3.08%, O2 = 8.91% , N2 = 83.39%

2) A hydrocarbon is burnt with excess air. The Orsat analysis of the flue gas shows 10.81% CO2, 3.78% O2 and
85.40 %N2. Calculate the atomic or elemental mole ratio of C:H in the hydrocarbon and the % excess air.
Answer: %x’s air = 16.65%, C:H elemental ratio = 1: 3

3) Natural gas containing 80% CH4, 15% C2H6 and 5% C3H8 is burnt with 50% excess air. Assuming that 90% of
the carbon in the hydrocarbons are converted to CO2 and the rest to CO, determine
(a) Flue gas analysis
(b) Orsat analysis
Answer: a.) CO2 = 6.20%, CO = 0,69%, O2 = 6.89%, N2 = 73.83%, H2O = 12.04% b.) CO2 = 7.05%, CO = 0.78%,
O2 = 7.83%, N2 = 89.62%

4) The composition of a gas derived by the gasification of coal is carbon dioxide = 4%, carbon monoxide = 16%,
hydrogen = 50%, methane = 15%, ethane = 3%,benzene = 2% and the balance is nitrogen. If the gas is burnt in a
furnace with 20 per cent excess air, calculate:
(a) the moles of air required per 100 kmol of gas,
(b) The moles of flue gas produced per 100 kmol of gas,
(c) the composition of the flue gases, on a dry basis. Assume complete combustion.

5) (Coulson) In a test on a furnace with natural gas containing 95% methane, 5%nitrogen, the following flue gas analysis
was obtained: carbon dioxide 9.1%, carbon monoxide 0.2%, oxygen 4.6%, nitrogen 86.1%. Calculate the percentage
excess air used. Answer: 22%

6) (Coulson) To ensure complete combustion, 20% excess air is supplied to a furnace burning natural gas. The gas
composition is methane 95%, ethane 5%. Calculate the mols of air supplied per mol of fuel. Answer:11.86mols

7) Coal fired in a furnace has a heating value of 13800 Btu/lb and contains 78.05%C and 1.2%S. The proximate analysis
shows 4%M, 24%FC, 8%A and the analysis of the refuse shows 8%VCM, 25%FC and 32% ash. Calculate the % of C
lost in the refuse.

8) A furnace completely burns coal containing 70%C. Analysis of the flue gas shows 15% CO2, 4% O2, 81% N2, and no
CO. What is the % of the net hydrogen in the coal?

9) A City gas has the following composition by volume

CO2 = 2.6%
C2.73 H4.72 (unsaturated) = 8.4%
O2 = 0.7%
H2 = 39.9%
CO = 32.9%
C1.14 H4.28 (paraffins) = 10.1%
N2 = 5.4%
a.) Calculate the theoretical moles of oxygen that must be supplied for the combustion of 1mol of the gas.
b.) Calculate the heating value of the gas in calories per gram-mole and BTU per standard cubic feet.
Answer: a.) 0.908mols b.) 109,361 cal/mol or 511 BTU/ft3

10) A coal having a heating value of 12180BTU/lb and containing 68.1% total carbon is burned to produce gases having
the following composition by volume on the moisture-free basis:
 CO2 = 12.4%, CO = 1.2%, O2 = 1.2% N2 = 81.0%
Calculate the standard heat of reaction in BTU per pound of coal burned. Answer: 11560 BTU/lb coal

11) A gas has the following composition by volume:

Illuminants (C2H4 and C6H6) = 53.6%
O2 = 1.6%
CH4 = 16.9%
C2H4 = 24.3%
N2 = 3.6%
The heating value of this gas is 1808 BTU/ standard cubic foot. Calculate the percentages of C2H4 and C6H6 in the
gas.
Answer: C2H4 = 31.7%, C6H6 = 21.9%

12) An automobile engine is supplied with gasoline that is found by analysis to contain 88% Carbon and 12% Hydrogen
by mole. It is operated at normal barometer. Theoretical amount of dry air is used under conditions that the oxygen is
completely eliminated but only 90% of carbon goes to form CO2, the rest to CO. The molal CO : H2 in the flue gases
is 2:1. Determine
a.) The ORSAT Analysis of the flue gases.
b.) Kg dry air supplied per kg of gasoline.

13) An automobile engine is being operated with pure methyl alcohol using 10% excess air. Ambient air is used at 30oC,
1 atm with partial pressure of water of 15mmHg. What is the ORSAT Analysis of the flue gases when combustion is
complete?

14) A furnace uses a producer gas of the following analysis 5.3% CO2, 21.1% CO, 15.3% H2, 1.0% CH4 and 57.3%
N2. The flue gases contain14,1% CO2, 2.3% O2 and 83.6% N2. Calculate the percentage air used for combustion.

15) The combustion gases from an industrial furnace using hydrocarbon fuel and dry air enter the stack at normal barometric
pressure and 375oF and have the following ORSAT Analysis: 12.2% CO2, 3.1% O2, 1.2% CO and 83.5% N2.
Calculate
a.) Percentage excess air used.
b.) Volume of combustion gases entering the stack , expressed as cubic feet per pound of carbon burnt in the furnace.
c.) Atomic ratio of hydrogen to carbon in the fuel.

16) A relatively pure saturated hydrocarbon gas is being subjected to analysis in a furnace. A sample of the flue gas is
taken and a portion is subjected to analysis in a standard ORSAT apparatus. The data obtained are as follows:
Volume in the Sampler
Initial volume of sample = 100 mL
After caustic absorption for CO2 removal = 92.6mL
After pyrogallol absorption for O2 removal = 87.1mL
After cuprous chloride absorption for CO removal = 83.4mL
Calculate:
a.) Percentage excess air used.
b.) Atomic ratio of hydrogen to carbon in the fuel.

17) A fuel gas containing a mixture of methane and ethane is burned producing a flue gas with the following analysis:
C02 = 4.62%
CO = 3.08%
O2 = 8.91%
N2 = 83.39%
Calculate:
a.) Moles dry air supplied per mole of dry flue gas.
 b.) Percentage excess air if all the fuels burned
c.) Kilograms fuel burned per kilogram mole of dry flue gas
d.) Analysis of the fuel gas

18) A coal consisting of 72% C, 10% ash, negligible N and S and the remainder net hydrogen and water (combined
and moisture) is burned completely with dry air. The Orsat Analysis of the flue gas is 8.50% CO2, 4.25%CO, 7.45%O2
and 79.8% N2. The flue gases leaves at 750mmHg. Calculate:
a.) The net hydrogen and water in the coal.
b.) The partial pressure of water in the flue gases.
c.) The percentage excess air.

19) Coal has the following analysis: C = 68.2%, H = 6.2%, N = 1.4%, O = 17.3% and the balance is ash.
Calculate the kg of dry air required per kg of coal to furnish 20% excess air for its combustion.

20) A furnace is fired with coal containing 6%moisture, 18% VCM, 67%FC and 9% ash. The refuse analysis shows
5%VCM, 23% FC and 62%ash. The HHV of coal “as fired” is 14300 BTU/lb. Calculate the percentage of the
heating value of coal that is lost in the refuse. Answer: 4.68% lost in HV

21) A mixture of methane and ethane is supplied to a furnace at a total rate of 0.01 kmol/min, and is burned with excess air
so that no CO is formed. The stack gas flows at 0.166 kmol/min and contains 6.4% carbon dioxide by volume. Calculate
the fraction of the total feed which is methane.

22) 100 kmol/hr of a gaseous fuel consisting of 90% by volume CH4, 8% C2H6and 2% CO2 is burned in an enriched air
mixture containing 40% oxygen by volume. This enters the combustion chamber in excess over that required to burn
the fuel completely. Analysis of the flue gas shows 10% carbon dioxide on a dry basis (i.e. after condensing out all the
water), with no unburned hydrocarbons, CO or hydrogen present. What is the rate of water production from the
combustor?

23) A hydrocarbon is burnt with excess air. The Orsat analysis of the flue gas shows 10.81% CO2, 3.78% O2 and
85.40% N2. Calculate the atomic ratio of C:H in the hydrocarbon and the % excess air.
Answer: C:H = 1:3, %x’s air = 20%

24) Natural gas containing 80% CH4, 15% C2H6 and 5% C3H8 is burnt with 50% excess air. Assuming that 90% of the
carbon in the hydrocarbons are converted to CO2 and the rest to CO, determine
a.) Flue gas analysis
b.) Orsat analysis
Answer: CO2 = 7.07%, CO = 0.79%, O2 = 7.86%, N2 = 84.28%

25) A fuel oil containing 88.2% Carbon and 11.8% Hydrogen (by weight) is burnt with 20% excess air. 95% of the carbon
is burnt to carbon dioxide and the rest to carbon monoxide. All the hydrogen is converted to water. Determine the Orsat
analysis of the flue gas.

26) A furnace uses a natural gas which consists of entirely hydrocarbons. The flue gas analysis is CO2 = 9.5%, O2 = 1.4%,
CO = 1.9% and the rest to N2. Calculate
a.) atomic ratio of hydrogen to carbon in the fuel
b.) percentage excess air used
c.) composition of the fuel gas in the form CxHy.

27) Pure propane (C3H8) is burnt in an excess of air to give the following analysis of combustion products in volume
percent: CO2 = 5.0, CO = 3.5, H2O = 11.4, O2 = 7.0 and N2 = 73.1. Calculate the percentage of excess air used.
28) Natural gas, comprising 92% CH4, 6.5% C2H6 and 1.5%C3H8, is fed at 100 kmol/min to a furnace where it is burned
in 40% excess air. Determine the flowrate and composition of the flue gas on a dry basis.

29) A coal containing 87% total carbon and 7% unoxidized hydrogen is burned in air.
(a) If air is used 40% in excess of that theoretically required, calculate the number of pounds of air used per pound
of coal burned.
b) Calculate the composition, by weight, of the gases leaving the furnace, assuming complete combustion.

30) A gaseous fuel is composed of 20% methane, 40% ethane and 40% propane, where all percentages are by volume. The
volumetric analysis of the dry products of combustion for this fuel gives 10.6% carbon dioxide (CO2), 3% oxygen (O2),
1% carbon monoxide (CO) and 85.4% nitrogen (N2). Determine the air fuel ratio on a mass basis for this reaction.
1 18 23 33

31) Dodecane gas at 25 oC is burned in a steady flow combustion chamber with 20% excess air that enters at -23.15 oC. The
products leave the combustion chamber at 500K. Assuming steady operating conditions and complete combustion,
determine the required mass flow rate of the dodecane to supply heat at a rate of 1.5 kW [kg/s].
170 100 38 0.038

32) The heating value measured when water formed from combustion is in the liquid state.
Gross Calorific Value Heat of combustion Latent Heat of Condensation Net Calorific Value

33) In the combustion of solid fuels, the tie element between the feed and the refuse is the
coked coal ash moisture volatile combustible matters

34) The coal analysis which is based upon the volatilization characteristics of the fuel is
Proximate analysis Modified analysis Ultimate analysis Elemental analysis

35) The empirical relation which allows one to compute for the net hydrogen in a given solid fuel is the
Calderwood equation Theoretical Oxygen Equation Dulong's formula Oxygen unaccounted for equation

36) Coal fired in a furnace has a heating value of 13800 Btu/lb and contains 78.05%C and 1.2%S. The proximate analysis
shows 4%M, 24%FC, 8%A and the analysis of the refuse shows 8%VCM, 25%FC and 32% ash. Calculate the
% of C lost in the refuse. 4.22 8 9.5 17

37) Ninety grams of ethane and 384 grams of oxygen are fed continuously to a laboratory furnace. The total combustion
products collected was 16.2 gmole with no carbon dioxide. However, not all of the ethane was burned due to faulty
combustion. The fraction of ethane that was burned is equal to 0.8 0.85 0.9 0.92

38) The furnace at the Bataan refinery is using a fuel gas which contains methane, ethane and 20% nitrogen. The ORSAT
analysis of the combustion products showed 7.8% CO2, 7.4% O2, and 84.8% N2. The gas is burned with excess air.
The % methane in the fuel gas is 63.25 57.24 51.2 22.76

39) Pyrite containing 78% FeS2 and 22% gangue is burned with excess air to produce a stack gas with the following
analysis: 7.29% SO2, 8.92%O2, 82.44%N2 and 1.35%SO3. If the cinder was found to have a partial analysis of 62.10%
Fe2O3, the % of FeS2 lost in the pyrite is 3.52 6.53 7.86 23.1

40) A flue gas gave an ORSAT analysis as follows: 11.6% CO2, 6.8% O2, 0.5% CO and leaves the boiler at 5380K. The
inlet air is at 2870K and the fuel contains 29.4% C. What is the amount of heat carried by the flue gas per kg of fuel
burnt? The mean heat capacity of the flue gas is 1.005 kJ/kg .K.
41) A fuel gas containing 60%CH4 and 40%C2H6 and is burned with 20% excess air. The fuel gas contains water vapor
whose partial pressure is 13 mmHg and in the air it is 20mmHg. The total pressure of both air and fuel gas is 760mmHg.
a.) Calculate the kgmols wet air actually supplied per 100kgmols of dry fuel.
 b.) Calculate the m3 of wet flue gases at 600oF, 1atm obtained per 100kgmols of dry fuel supplied.

42) A mixture of propane and butane is burned with pure oxygen. The combustion products contain 47.4% H2O. After
all the water is removed from the products, the residual gas contains 69.4% CO2 and the balance O2. What is the
composition of the fuel in mole percent?

43) A boiler is fired with coal containing C = 76% and Ash = 8.1%, burnt under condition where no combustible is
present in the refuse and using dry air. Sulfur and nitrogen in the coal is negligible. The flue gases go to the stack at
1atm and 640oF. The average flue-gas analysis shows CO2 = 12.6%, O2 = 6.2% and CO = 1.0%. Calculate
a.) Percent net H in coal.
b.) Percent excess air
c.) Cubic feet of wet flue gases going to the stack per kg of coal fired.

44) Natural gas containing 80% CH4, 15% C2H6 and 5% C3H8 is burnt with 50% excess air. Assuming that 90% of the
carbon in the hydrocarbons are converted to CO2 and the rest to CO, determine
a.) Flue gas analysis
b.) Orsat analysis

45) The composition of a gas derived by the gasification of coal is CO2 = 4%, CO = 16%, H2 = 50%, CH4 = 15%,
C2H6 = 3%, C6H6 = 2%, and the balance is nitrogen. If the gas is burnt in a furnace with 20% excess air, calculate:
a.) the amount of air required per 100 kmol of gas,
b.) the amount of flue gas produced per 100 kmol of gas,
c.) the composition of the flue gases, on a dry basis. Assume complete combustion.

46) Complete the following Analysis based on the following data:

UA PA MUA
C = 79.9 Moisture = 3.2%
H = VCM = 21.0
O = FC = 69.3
S = 0.69 Ash
N = 1.30
Ash = 6.18

47) A coal consisting of 72% C, 10% ash, negligible N and S and the remainder net hydrogen and water (combined
and moisture) is burned completely with dry air. The Orsat Analysis of the flue gas is 8.50% CO2, 4.25%CO,
7.45%O2 and 79.8% N2. The flue gases leave at 750mmHg. Calculate:
a.) The net hydrogen and water in the coal.
b.) The partial pressure of water in the flue gases.
c.) The percentage excess air.

48) Coal has the following analysis: C = 68.2%, H = 6.2%, N = 1.4%, O = 17.3% and the balance is ash. Calculate
the kg of dry air required per kg of coal to furnish 20% excess air for its combustion.

49) Pure methane is burned with 30% excess air at 25oC, 1 atm. If complete combustion takes place, determine
a.) Volume in m3 of dry air supplied 25oC, 1 atm per mol of methane.
b.) Volume of wet flue gas at 250oC, 1 atm per mol of methane.

50) Dry coal containing 75%C, 5%H, 8%O and the rest ash is burned with 30% excess air at 25oC, 1atm. Assume all
carbon converted to CO2 and only ash in the refuse, determine
a.) % net H
b.) ORSAT analysis of the flue gas
c.) Kilogram coal fired per 100mols dry flue gas obtained.
d.) Kilogram refuse per 100mols dry flue gas obtained.