Emissions from Hydrocarbon Fuel Utilisation

Abstract

As in all reaction devices involving a throughput of matter, the nature of the output material provides evidence of the effectiveness of the reaction and, frequently, of the condition of the device itself. The output from combustion chambers using hydrocarbon fuels lends itself to such an analysis, and provides knowledge of both the fuel and its mixture with air. Exhaust-gas analysis is therefore a standard procedure in large installations such as boilers and furnaces, where it assists in the maintenance of maximum combustion efficiency, and also represents a valuable tool in combustion work generally. Depending on the concentration of each component to be measured, analysis may be conducted by chemical absorption in liquid reagents, as in the Orsat apparatus, or in solid reagents, as in the N.G.T.E. system1. Alternatively, physical methods may be used, based on such properties as thermal conductivity, infrared absorption, adsorption (as in chromatography), paramagnetism, density or sonic velocity. Although H2 O is one of the major products of combustion of a hydrocarbon, product analysis is invariably made on a dry basis.