Gaseous Fuel in Steam Boiler

Steam boiler can be classified based on fuel; one of the fuels is gaseous.  Gas can be generally divided as three categories; natural gas, butane, and propane. Natural gas is gas which be found in offshore area, while butane and propane are gases which be found in crude oil and had been separated from it. Natural gas is usually used for fuel combustion in steam boiler or for industry such as manufacturing of steel. Butane and propane are generated as LPG (Liquefied Petroleum gases)

Gaseous fuel generally has unit to express calorific value at pressure and temperature in normal condition. The unit is Mega Joules per Cubic Meter or can be symbolized with MJ/m3.  Butane and propane are kept in designed place which has pressure and the unit can be expressed as Giga Joules per metric Ton (GJ/tonne). The details explanation of natural gas, butane and propane as follow:

Natural Gas:
  • Specific gravity compared to air : 0.59
  • Specific gravity liquid compared to water : -
  • Calorific value (MJ/m3) : 38 – 39
  • Calorific value (GJ/tonne) : -
  • Flammability limits air/gas ratio % by volume : 5.3 – 14
  • Volume gas m3 perkg of liquid at normal pressure & temperature : -

Butane:
  • Specific gravity compared to air : 1.49 – 2.1
  • Specific gravity liquid compared to water : 0.57 – 0.58
  • Calorific value (MJ/m3) : 121.8
  • Calorific value (GJ/tonne) : 49.3
  • Flammability limits air/gas ratio % by volume : 1.8 - 9
  • Volume gas m3 perkg of liquid at normal pressure & temperature : 0.42

Propane:
  • Specific gravity compared to air : 1.4 – 1.55
  • Specific gravity liquid compared to water : 0.5 – 0.51
  • Calorific value (MJ/m3) : 93.1
  • Calorific value (GJ/tonne) : 50
  • Flammability limits air/gas ratio % by volume : 2.2 - 10
  • Volume gas m3 perkg of liquid at normal pressure & temperature : 0.54

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