Practice Problems Set1 WithAnswers
Practice Problems Set1 WithAnswers
1. Consider a mixture of N 2 and Ar in which there are three times as many moles of N 2 as there are
moles of Ar. Determine the mole fractions of N 2 and Ar, the molecular weight of the mixture, the
mass fractions of N 2 and Ar, and the molar concentration of N 2 in kmol/m3 at a temperature of
500 K and a pressure of 250 kPa. [X Ar =0.25, Y Ar =0.322, C N2 =0.0451 kmol/m3]
2. In a propane-fueled truck, 3% (by volume) oxygen is measured in the exhaust stream of the
running engine. Assuming “complete” combustion without dissociation, determine the air–fuel
ratio (by mass) supplied to the engine. [18.37]
3. Consider a stoichiometric mixture of isooctane and air. Calculate the enthalpy of the mixture at
the standard-state temperature (298.15 K) on a per-kmol-of fuel basis (kJ / kmol fuel ), on a per-
kmol-of-mixture basis (kJ/kmol mix ), and on a per-mass-of-mixture basis (kJ/kg mix ). [-224109
KJ/kmol fuel ,-3700 KJ/kmol Mix , -122.2 KJ/kg Mix ]
4. A natural gas–fired industrial boiler operates with an oxygen concentration of 3 mole percent in
the flue gases. Determine the operating air–fuel ratio and the equivalence ratio. Treat the natural
gas as methane. [0.84, 20.3]
5. A gas stream at 1 atm contains a mixture of CO, CO 2 , and N 2 in which the CO mole fraction is 0.10
and the CO 2 mole fraction is 0.20. The gas-stream temperature is 1200 K. Determine the
standardized enthalpy of the mixture on both a mole basis (kJ/kmol) and a mass basis (kJ/kg).
Also determine the mass fractions of the three component gases. [Refer S.R. Turns Example
2.3]
6. A) the upper and lower heating values at 298 K of gaseous n-decane (C 10 H 22 ), per kmole of fuel
and per kilogram of fuel. [48.003MJ/kg fuel , 44.6MJ/kg fuel ]
B) If the enthalpy of vaporization of n-decane is 359 kJ/kg fuel at 298 K, what are the upper and
lower heating values of liquid n-decane? Take MW C10H22 =142.284. [47.644MJ/kg fuel ,
44.242MJ/kg fuel ]
7. Determine the adiabatic flame temperature for constant-pressure combustion of a
stoichiometric propane–air mixture assuming reactants at 298 K, no dissociation of the products.
You may use constant specific heats of the product gases at 298 K. [2879 K]
8. Calculate the adiabatic constant-volume flame temperature for a boiler operating with the fuel
blend which is an equimolar mixture of propane (C 3 H 8 ) and natural gas (CH 4 ) and having an
equivalence ratio of 0.8. Assume complete combustion to CO 2 and H 2 O and neglect any
dissociation. Also, assume the heat capacities of the combustion products are constant evaluated
at 1200 K. The boiler operates at 1 atm, and both air and fuel enter at 298 K. [2581.53 K]
9. Estimate the constant-pressure adiabatic flame temperature for the combustion of a
stoichiometric CH 4 –air mixture. The pressure is 1 atm and the initial reactant temperature is 298
K. Use the following assumptions: “Complete combustion” (no dissociation), i.e., the product
mixture consists of only CO 2 , H 2 O, and N 2 . The product mixture enthalpy is estimated using
constant specific heats evaluated at 1200 K (≈ 0.5(T i + T ad )), where adiabatic flame temperature
T ad is guessed to be about 2100 K). [2317.136 K]
10. Estimate the constant-volume adiabatic flame temperature for a stoichiometric CH 4 –air mixture
using the same assumptions as in Problem 9. Initial conditions are T i = 298 K, P = 1 atm (= 101325
Pa). [2889 K]
11. Liquid octane (C 8 H 18 ) enters the combustion chamber of a stationary gas turbine at 250C and air
enters from the compressor at 2500C. It is determined that 98% of the carbon in the fuel burns
to form CO 2 and remaining 2% buns to form CO. What amount of excess air will be required if
the temperature of the products is to be limited to 8500C?
12. Consider the dissociation of CO 2 as a function of temperature and pressure,
1
𝐶𝐶𝑂𝑂2 ⇔ 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 + 𝑂𝑂2
2
Find the final composition of the mixture, in terms of the mole fractions of CO 2 , CO, and O 2 , that
results from subjecting originally pure CO 2 to various temperatures (T = 1500, 2000, 2500, and
3000 K) and pressures (𝑃𝑃 = 0.1,1,10,∧ 100 atm). [Refer S.R. Turns Example 2.7]
1
13. Consider the equilibrium reaction, 𝐻𝐻2 𝑂𝑂 ⇔ 𝐻𝐻2 + 𝑂𝑂2 . At 0.8 atm, the mole fractions are 𝜒𝜒𝐻𝐻2 𝑂𝑂 =
2
0.9, 𝜒𝜒𝐻𝐻2 = 0.03,∧ 𝜒𝜒𝑂𝑂2 = 0.07. Determine the equilibrium constant K p for this reaction.
[0.00789]
14. In their survey of experimental determinations of rate coefficients for the N–H–O system,
recommend was the following rate coefficient for the reaction NO + O → N + O 2 :
K f = 3.80 ⋅109 T1.0exp( −20820/T ) [cm3 /gmol-s.]
Determine the rate coefficient K r for the reverse reaction, i.e., N + O 2 → NO + O, at 2300 K.
[5.28E12 cm3/gmol-s]
1. A famous chain mechanism is the Zeldovich mechanism, or thermal mechanism for the formation
of nitric oxide (NO) from atmospheric N 2 :
𝑘𝑘1𝑓𝑓
N2 + O �� NO + N
𝑘𝑘2𝑓𝑓
N + O2 �� NO + O
Because the second reaction is much faster than the first, the steady-state approximation can be
used to evaluate the concentration of N-atom. Furthermore, in high-temperature systems, the
NO formation reaction is typically much slower than other reactions involving O 2 and O. Thus, O 2
𝐾𝐾𝑃𝑃
and O can be assumed to be in equilibrium: O2 ⇔ 2O. Construct a global reaction N2 + O2
𝑘𝑘𝐺𝐺
�� 2NO represented as
𝑑𝑑
[NO] = 𝑘𝑘𝐺𝐺 [N2 ]𝑚𝑚 [O2 ]𝑛𝑛
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
and determine the reaction rate constants k G , m, and n for the global reaction from the
elementary reactions mentioned above. [m=1, n=0.5]
15. Consider the shock-heating of air to 2500 K and 3 atm. Use the results of Problem 15 to
determine:
A. The initial nitric oxide formation rate in ppm/s. [3.45E06 ppm/s]
B. The amount of nitric oxide formed (in ppm) in 0.25 ms. [864 ppm]