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Bunker C Fuel Oil/ Hydrogen Or Carbon Compositions

bunker c fuel oil

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#1 Guest_EJGarcia_*

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Posted 27 September 2011 - 05:52 PM

As senior students coursing their last semester of Chemical Engineering, we were given the assignment to design a system to destroy VOCs present in the flue gas produced due to the combustion of Fuel Oil No. 6, commonly known as Bunker C.

We chose a Catalyst Oxidation unit using honeycomb ceramic materials to remove VOCs,yet we have had very little cooperation from the engineers at the power plants we chose to work for. They deny knowing the volumetric flow-rate of their industrial size boilers and hence we have been forced to calculate the compositions and flow-rate of Flue gas exiting these boilers.

I have had trouble finding compositions of Hydrogen or Carbon within the Bunker C Fuel Oil. These compositions would be necessary to complete our mass balance. Please... I need help.

#2 kkala

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Posted 28 September 2011 - 12:26 PM

Supposing you know at least specific gravity of fuel oil, you can estimate composition, though it would be more precise if you know e.g. S content, O content, ash etc.
Threads http://www.cheresour...h__1#entry35772, as well as http://www.cheresour...h__1#entry50121 give useful info on estimating fuel oil composition. They will be helpful.

#3 JMW

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Posted 30 September 2011 - 04:18 AM

Have you tried to obtain information from related areas?
Bunker C and similar fuels are also used as marine fuel and VLCCs use VOCs or "boil off" as fuel. It may be worth looking for information from the operators or equipment manufacturers

Of course, in marine applications they are required to have a lab analysis of the fuels used (see http://www.chevronma.../iso-specs.aspx for ISO N8217 which will identify the properties analysed and typical values).
Note that there are very few straight run residual or bunker fuels produced now. Most are blends of resid with distillates.

If this is commercially available fuel then they should have some kind of quality data for each batch of fuel including density, sulphur content ash content etc. Of course, unless they manage the fuel appropriately and have samples analysed as received, the quality declared may not be the true quality.

It is interesting that you say these power plants do not know the volumetric flow rate of fuel. Could it be that these are within refineries? If so then you also have to question if they are really using Bunker C or simply whatever equivalent products are produced, including off-spec products which are cheaper to use as fuel or disposed of in the fuel than reprocess.
Of course, if these are fuel supply to boilers/steam plant then they possibly are taking routine samples for analysis to establish the EVT (Equi-Viscous temperature, the optimum temperature for the injectors/nozzles).
Viscosity is important to combustion efficiency.

But whether any of this helps with your problem, I couldn't say.

Oh, there is an ASTM standard calculation that relates the molecular weight to the density and kinematic viscosity of the fuel.
Will molecular weight help you?

#4 breizh

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Posted 30 September 2011 - 06:27 AM

http://www.nature.np...ic/fueloil6.pdfHi ,

Did you try Google ?
A lot of information are available under " fuel oil 6" .

Hope this helps

Breizh

#5 Guest_EJGarcia_*

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Posted 01 October 2011 - 01:46 PM

Thank you all for the information and replies.
Although I have already obtained an average composition % of each compound within Bunker C, I do agree with all that has been said.

Yet, as I have said before, the engineers have proven to be less than helpful when it comes to this technical information that they themselves should have stored from years ago when they started using this Fuel Oil. Either-way, we as Students have taken it into our own accord to calculate an average volumetric flowrate using stoichiometry and assuming 30% oxigen excess to calculate an air inlet flow.

This discussion could be closed therefore. Thank you all.

Currently researching these honeycomb Ceramic catalyst to stuff our Oxidizer with.








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