International Organization for Standardization

Natural gas - Calculation of calorific values, density, relative density and Wobbe indices from composition - Third Edition
 N 6976

Annotation

This document specifies methods for the calculation of gross calorific value, net calorific value, density, relative density, gross Wobbe index and net Wobbe index of natural gases, natural gas substitutes and other combustible gaseous fuels, when the composition of the gas by mole fraction is known. The methods specified provide the means of calculating the properties of the gas mixture at commonly used reference conditions.

Mole fractions by definition sum to unity. Guidance on the achievement of this requirement by chromatographic analysis is available in ISO 6974-1 and ISO 6974-2.

The methods of calculation require values for various physical properties of the pure components; these values, together with associated uncertainties, are provided in tables and their sources are identified. Methods are given for estimating the standard uncertainties of calculated properties.

The methods of calculation of the values of properties on either a molar, mass or volume basis are applicable to any natural gas, natural gas substitute or other combustible fuel that is normally gaseous, except that for properties on the volume basis the method is restricted to mixtures for which the compression factor at reference conditions is greater than 0,9.

Example calculations are given in Annex D for the recommended methods of calculation.

NOTE 1 The qualifiers “superior”, “higher”, “upper” and “total” are, for the purposes of this document, synonymous with “gross”; likewise, “inferior” and “lower” are synonymous with “net”. The term “heating value” is synonymous with “calorific value”; “mass density” and “specific density” are synonymous with “density”; “specific gravity” is synonymous with “relative density”; “Wobbe number” is synonymous with “Wobbe index”; “compressibility factor” is synonymous with “compression factor”. The dimensionless quantity molecular weight is numerically equal to the molar mass in kg kmol?1.