Calculating Carbon, Hydrogen Content in Solid Fuel

[GG!!]

Hi, I have the following problem, for which I am not sure if i should be making assumptions.

"a solid fuel assumed to consist of carbon and hydrogen only is burnt in air. an analysis of the dry products of combustion yields the following results: Oxygen, 02 = 5.45%
Carbon dioxide, CO2 = 10.71%
Nitrogen, N2 = 83.84%

I need to calculate gravimetric air fuel ratio, carbon & hydrogen content of fuel by mass.

Ive calculated the amount of air required to be 30.6kg for x kg of fuel, but the fuel is causing some problems?
Is the formula simply xCH2 + 0.21y02 + 0.79yN2??

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[GCT]

Please show us your approach for calculating the "amount of air" and show all of the information that was included in the original problem.

 

[Blueshift5]

"

I would first like to commend you for seeking clarification and not assuming any information in your calculations. It is important to have accurate and reliable data in scientific research.

To calculate the gravimetric air fuel ratio, we need to first determine the mass of each component in the dry products of combustion. From the given results, we can see that the total mass of the dry products is 100%, since oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen make up 100% of the dry products. Therefore, we can calculate the mass of each component as follows:

Mass of oxygen = 5.45% of total mass = 5.45% * 30.6 kg = 1.67 kg
Mass of carbon dioxide = 10.71% of total mass = 10.71% * 30.6 kg = 3.28 kg
Mass of nitrogen = 83.84% of total mass = 83.84% * 30.6 kg = 25.63 kg

Now, to calculate the gravimetric air fuel ratio, we need to divide the mass of air by the mass of fuel. From the given information, we know that the mass of air is 30.6 kg. However, we do not have the mass of fuel, so we cannot calculate the gravimetric air fuel ratio at this point.

To calculate the carbon and hydrogen content of the fuel, we need to use the formula you mentioned: xCH2 + 0.21y02 + 0.79yN2. However, we need to find the values of x and y. To do so, we can use the information provided in the problem.

From the balanced combustion reaction, we know that for every mole of carbon in the fuel, we need one mole of oxygen to produce carbon dioxide. Similarly, for every 2 moles of hydrogen in the fuel, we need one mole of oxygen to produce water. Using this information, we can set up the following equations:

x + y = 10.71% (since carbon dioxide makes up 10.71% of the dry products)
2y = 5.45% (since oxygen makes up 5.45% of the dry products)

Solving these equations, we get x = 7.71% and y = 2.73%. Therefore, the formula for the fuel is 7.71%CH2 + 0.