1) (32 pts) Ethanol is in a closed tank and the level indicator has broken. Your
ID: 982164 • Letter: 1
Question
1) (32 pts) Ethanol is in a closed tank and the level indicator has broken. Your boss requests that you determine the height (and therefore the volume) of the ethanol in the tank (the tank is partially full and there is a gas phase above the liquid). Connected to the very bottom of the tank is an open-ended manometer using mercury. On the tank side of the manometer tube, there is 500. mm of ethanol above the mercury. The height differential of the mercury is 300. mm. The pressure of the gas phase inside the tank is shown to be 0.800 psig from a gauge on top of the tank. Assume atmospheric pressure is 1.00 atm.Explanation / Answer
In a closed vessel or a tank, pure ethanol forms flammable fuel vapors at a temperature range of about 12 to 40 degrees Centigrade (12 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit while gasoline needs to be below about minus 20 C for such formation. Ethanol blends have a flammability range between pure ethanol and gasoline, depending on the specific composition. As a result, the possibility for flammable conditions in a storage tank, and thereby the risk for ignition, is greater for ethanol than gasoline.
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