March 29, 2024, 09:00:28 AM
Forum Rules: Read This Before Posting


Topic: Efficient Calorimeter Design  (Read 838 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline lofupini

  • Very New Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1
  • Mole Snacks: +0/-0
Efficient Calorimeter Design
« on: January 17, 2022, 11:27:45 PM »
So basically at the moment I am preparing for an extended experimental investigation in which I plan to utilise a calorimeter in order to measure the heat of combustion of various home-made biofuels. As such, I have been conducting research online into calorimeters and have found several ideas for creating a calorimeter.

The first idea was to use a "coffee mug" as the main calorimetric capsule, whereas the other idea was to use two styrofoam cups as the main calorimetric capsule.

Naturally, I would assume that such designs would have a lower efficiency in comparison to theory (say ~20%). However, I was just wondering what countermeasures I could put in place in order to increase this efficiency (such as to utilise a calorimetric capsule of a different material, or to implement additional insulation, such as foam.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Offline Borek

  • Mr. pH
  • Administrator
  • Deity Member
  • *
  • Posts: 27635
  • Mole Snacks: +1799/-410
  • Gender: Male
  • I am known to be occasionally wrong.
    • Chembuddy
Re: Efficient Calorimeter Design
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2022, 03:20:25 AM »
Complete combustion requires high temperature and excess oxygen (which is usually added under pressure). Somehow I doubt you will be able to get good results with simple DIY design, these are OK for reactions occurring under standard pressure and at more or less room temperatures.
ChemBuddy chemical calculators - stoichiometry, pH, concentration, buffer preparation, titrations.info

Sponsored Links