Leclerc (Chemical) (OP)

How can I calculate the flammability of a gas mixture from a knowledge of gas composition, and individual flammability lim
TD2K (Chemical)
I came across one reference in Explosions by Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, New York.
They claim (where Pn is the volume fraction of the individual components) that:
LEL =( P1 + P2 + ... Pn)/(P1/lel1 +P2/lel2 + ... Pn/leln)
P1 - vol fraction of first component
lel1 - lower explosive limit of component 1
For the UEL, the same equation is used except that lel is replaced with uel.

The book claims that this equation has been proven many times and gives a couple of references from German publication
Leclerc (Chemical) (OP)
Thanks, TD2K.
the equation seems eminently plausible, so I will run with it whilst I investigate the reference.

The second part of my problem, which I forgot to add under Chem Eng.Process, but put under Combustion Engineering, d
are at the LEL and UEL?
Putting the question more visually, on a triangular diagram whose axes are Gas, Air, Inert, how do I draw the envelope de
TD2K (Chemical)

The best way I know is to get hold of the data from the Bureau of Mines on explosion limits of various gases in 02 enriched
procedure the contractor proposed would not take us through the flammability region (basically, purging with N2 partway a
was safe).

I'm a little fuzzy on the details (this was a few years ago and I did not bring the reference material back from Arabia). I th
ethane and N2 but I converted it to air as I would be purging with air and it was easier to visually show this to manageme
the flammability region. Basically, you looked at starting with 100% ethane moving along the straight line connecting it to
area that I did not want to pass through the flammability region.
Rather hard to put into words. Try playing around with it and if you still are stumped, I'll take another whack at it.

(2)

Guidoo (Chemical)

Please check out "Rules of Thumb for Chemical Engineers" by Carl Branan, 2nd edition, pages 276-278.
Formula TD2K mentions is called LeChatelier's Law, and can also be written as:
Lm = 100/(x1/L1 + x2/L2 + ... xn/Ln)

%(vol)

where:
Lm = upper/lower flammability limit of gas mixture
Li = upper/lower flammability limit of component i
xi = concentration of component i in gas mixture
For combustible mixtures containing inert gases N2, CO2 as well as O2, following procedure can be followed:
- If O2 is present, the composition of the gas has to be corrected to render it "airless".

- Next, data from figures 1 and 2 on page 277 of Branan's book has to be used. These figures show flammable regions as
- Finally Le Chatelier's law has to be applied.
Branan's book shows how this works with a detailed example.

Another possibility (for N2) I used myself is when you have literature data of flammable limits both in air and in pure oxyge
in the three corners), and connecting the points by straight lines, you get a pretty good idea what the flammability envelop
Good luck!
dbachovchin (Chemical)
Limits of Flammability of Gases and Vapors by HF Coward and GW Jones, US Bureau of Mines bulletin 503.
And Flammabilty Characteristics of Combustible Gases and Vapors, by M Zabetics Bureau of Mines buletin 627.
They have all the gases, mixtures, etc.
Leclerc (Chemical) (OP)

thanks once again, people.

I did use the Bulletins way back in the early '70s for a similar job, but I thought there these days there would have been a
I hope to have copies of the USB documents to hand within a few days.
regards, Leclerc.
junnip (Mechanical)

I have also this same problem and I now know how to calculate gas mixture which contains nitrogen. But the problem is h
25362 (Chemical)

Nitrogen and carbon dioxide are geenrally used for inerting purposes and to reduce the MOC in a flammable vapour mix. S
junnip (Mechanical)

Yes, but how can I calculate flammability limits if gas mixture contains for example 30 vol-% CH4, 30 vol-% H2O, 30 vol-%
25362 (Chemical)

It is well known that with additions of inerts such as nitrogen the flammable range gets smaller, up to a point where the m
conditions.

For methane/air the internet tells us this happens for mixtures containing 21% CO 2, or 35% N2, or 48% He, or 26% water
To junnip, the example mixture you gave doesn't include oxygen or any other oxidant, thus at room conditions it wouldn't

I think every potentially flammable mixture should have its LFL and UFL checked in a specialized lab to be sure of its safe h
FWIW one may find the following site, on MOC with examples, of interest:
http://www.ntron.com/tb1.htm
kenvlach (Materials)

This subject: LEL, UEL, Le Chatelier's Rule, the US BurMines documents, as well as the effects of increasing temperature or
53 to 26-55.

(4)

Flareman (Petroleum)

I posted a page which will estimate the flammable envelope for you, together with the effect of a diluent, based on publis
http://www.geocities.com/flareman_xs/Gases/Flammability_calc.html
I just posted it today so there has been no feed-back yet. If it needs 'tweaking' let me know.

David
moquiton (Civil/Environmental)
Hello everybody!
i have read you questions and answers and i still have the doubt of how calculate the flammability limits of a mixture with
I have a diagram of Methane and these inert gases but i dont know how i can take both into account?
thanks every body
moquiton (Civil/Environmental)

Is there a method or formula with which we can obtain the flammabily limits of whatever flammable gases + whatever no

Could you recommend me any book for flammability limits of flammable gases + non-flammable gases (i am interesting w
thanks again
25362 (Chemical)

I haven't seen procedures to estimate the "corrected" flammability limits upon adding inert gases of many sorts to flammab
Although LFL/UFL are based on fuel in air at 25oC and 760 mm Hg, consider that in the process of inerting a combustible

For many (but not all) gases the MOC is ~10%, and for many dusts ~8%. I don't think there are procedures to estimate th
A control point of common use is 4% below the MOC, ie, 6% oxygen when the MOC=10%.

The MOC is expressed as % oxygen in the mixture of air + fuel. Below the MOC the reaction cannot generate sufficient en

It is generally determined experimentally. If data are not available, the MOC is estimated using stoichiometry of the com
molecules (ethylene oxide is another exception).
Following this procedure,

MOC = (LFL)(Mol
In a way, having the experimental MOC one could estimate backwards the LFL.

Take, for example, toluene whose MOC has been measured to be 9.5. Since the stoichiometric ratio is 9, the LFL would be

BTW, Steam is not always recommended for inerting, because its condensation, if the conditions allow it, would bring back
Some published experimental MOC I've found:
methane, 12; propane, 11.5; ethylene oxide, 0; benzene, 11.4; toluene, 9.5; H2S, 7.5; acetylene, 0; hydrogen, 5.

As it can be seen from these data, not all estimations are even in the "ballpark". It appears that the MOC also changes with
When googleing around just ask for minimum oxygen concentration for combustion, and you'll find a plethora of pertinent
http://www.banksengineering.com/about_flame_arrestors_and_detona.htm

moquiton (Civil/Environmental)
25362

So, there is a MOC, that represent the minimum concentration of oxygen for igniting a mixture.Is there also a maximum ox
Max Oxygen Conc. = (UFL)(Moles O2/Moles fuel)
Thank you
25362 (Chemical)
To moquiton, some sources also call the MOC a "maximum oxygen concentration", depending on what they mean by that.
Regarding you question: do you mean an oxygen-enriched atmosphere ?
moquiton (Civil/Environmental)
To 25362, that is what I want to say: a mixture in an oxygen-enriched atmosphere.
Thanks
25362 (Chemical)
Visit:
http://www.eiga.org/pdf/Doc%2004%2000%20E.pdf
for references
http://www.swagelok.com/downloads/webcatalogs/MS-06-13.pdf
Flareman (Petroleum)

There is relatively recent research by Wierzba and others from University of Calgary which covers this in a strongly technic
Journal Inst Energy Sept 1996 V69 pp 122-130
Journal of Energy Resources technology 1994 V116 p 181
Transactions of ASME 1999, V121 p 74

The upper limit is a little complex to estimate because it is a factor of the energy content of the intermediate radicals which
properties of the components.

All gases have a limiting heat transfer characteristic at the low limit which inhibits flame propagation. This is a feature of t
inert content, we only need to take account of the varying heat-sink ability as we change the inert from Nitrogen (=Air) to
same heat sink propeties as the actual inert.

For a given mixture of Flammable in inert an estimate of the true low limit concentration of flammable within the mixture [
Nitrogen equivalent of the Inert portion.
NE = S { NEi * I%i }
where I%i = fractional quantity of ith Inert component
NEi = nitrogen equivalent of ith Inert component
CLF = Sigma { F%n
} / Sigma { F%n / CLn }
= low limit of Flammable portion in Air
CLM = Sigma { I%i + F%n } / Sigma { F%n / CLn }
= low limit conc of total Mixture in Air
where F%n = fractional quantity of nth Flammable component
CLn = lower limit of nth Flammable component
There are relatively few common Inerts in gas mixtures and the following suggestions are made for values of NE

N2 = 1
H2O = 1.35
CO2= 1.82
SO2 = 2.1
He + Ar = 0.65

Remember that this is an estimate and use an approriate factor of safety depending on whether you are looking to be flam

Other cautions - if you use the flammable limits in tables they are based on 25 degC for the gas and the air. Flammable lim
AIT. However, if the air is always ambient, the gas temperature itself has less of an effect. It's all about total energy in th
Check the Wierzba ASME paper.
If you have already tried my excel sheet (noted above) and it doesn't work let me know.
Happy calculating
mbeychok (Chemical)
Laclerc:
It might be useful to read this tutorial from a Professor Ludlow at Arizona State University:
web.umr.edu/~dludlow/classes/che258/Flammability.ppt
I am not sure if it will help you, but I hope that it does.
Milton Beychok
(Contact me at www.air-dispersion.com)
Guidoo (Chemical)
I wonder if Leclerc is still interested, after 2 1/2 years...
Leclerc (Chemical) (OP)

Interested? I am always interested! I, personally, was pleased to receive some useful replies within the first week which go
Since then I have been happy to see the thread unravel, but I suspect that Guidoo is wondering how long should a thread
responsibility to stop a thread along the lines of, "This correspondence is at an end: Threadminder"?

I now know that I have one duty, of which Guidoo has gently reminded me, and that is to regularly thank contributors. I a

As to ending the thread, who am I to do this deed? All I can do is to remind people (as if they need reminding!) that if a co
thank you
Leclerc
alunjames (Materials)
On the premise that all threads relating to LEL and MOC gone prior are accurate.
How does one calculate the MOC of Carbon Monoxide?
IRstuff (Aerospace)

There is nothing that prevents a thread from running ad infinitum or even ad naseum, particularly if there is something new

The only thing to be vigilant about are people that hijack old threads with off-topic questions or people that are simply rev

In general, if the new additions are not contributions, but separate questions, the poster should be gently reminded to RF
TTFN

25362 (Chemical)

The calculated value from the stoichiometric reaction would be 12.5*0.5 = 6.25% vol of oxygen. Where 12.5 is the publish
However, published MOC values call for 5.5%, which is lower than the "estimated" MOC.

Although in theory, below the MOC, the reaction couldn't generate enough heat to get a self propagating flame, it should b
Flareman (Petroleum)
I'm always leery of saying MOC. Does it mean minimum or maximum?

The Lower explosive limit for CO (upward propagation) is very roughly 12.8% CO in 87.2% air which gives an oxygen figur
Similarly at the UEL of 74% (upward propagation) the air is 26% = 5.5% O2 (too rich to burn).

These are the experimental limits at which, some reaction will almost/just propagate through a mixture (in the right condit
Apply a factor of safety.
If you want it to burn, apply a factor of safety of 1.5 to the air/gas ratio to find
- the richer mixture at LEL (O2= 17.2%)
- the leaner mixture at UEL (O2 = 7.3%)
If you want it to NOT BURN use
- 0.25* LEL (O2 = 20.3%)
- O2 at UEL - 3% (O2 = 4.3%)
alunjames (Materials)
Using purely stoichometric theory is the MOC (min) for Deuterium 3.3%?????
Big thanks to Mr Beychock for the link to the ludlow article.
Excellent insight on the theoretical determination of Flammability limits and MOC.
Has made it quite straight forward for me to spreadsheet MOC's using the chemical composition.

Am still very wary of Acetylene and Ethylene Oxide as I understand they "misbehave". Are there any/many others that do