Heriot-Watt University Malaysia Campus

Experiment 1
Reservoir Engineering Laboratory Report

Name Qamarul Aiman bin Mohd Jukris

Group Number 3

Experiment Title MARCET BOILER

Date of 17th October 2018

Experiment

Demonstrator Ir. Zaimul

ABSTRACT
The main objective of this experiment is to demonstrate the relationship between the steam
pressure and the heating temperature of saturated steam in a closed system. This experiment was
carried out by using a Marcet Boiler. Marcet Boiler is use for the understanding of basic
properties of saturated steam. When the pressure increases, the temperature also increases.
Therefore, the relationship of pressure and temperature is directly proportional.

INTRODUCTION
Thermodynamics is a branch of study of physics on the interchange of work and heat between a
system and the surrounding when the system undergoes a process which are either heating or
cooling. The gain or loss of energy within a system during a process has a direct impact on the
thermodynamics properties. The absolute pressure and the temperature are the 2 variables that
changes during the process in the system, therefore, these are the thermodynamics properties that
will be investigated in this experiment.
At a standard condition, the liquid-phase water will eventually change to gas-phase water at the
temperature of 100 oC. This gas-phase is also known as steam. In reservoir engineering, the
general use of steam is being applied in enhanced oil recovery. It is meant to enhance the
productions from reservoir consisting heavy oil and bitumen.
In this experiment, the thermodynamics behaviour of steam in a closed system is going to be
observed. Closed system means, there will be no mass entering or exiting from the system.
Marcet boiler is a machine where it boils water inside of a closed container. Values will be
obtained and it will be observed in order to see the dynamics of such system.
𝑑𝑇
The measured data of the slope of the graph (𝑑𝑝) can be obtained from the practical results. This

can be compared with the corresponding values calculated from data in the steam table.
From Claussius-Clapeyron tells us that:
APPARATUS AND MATERIALS

1) Marcet boiler: Model: HE 169, a unit designed to show the basic of thermodynamics
principal of saturated steam in an equilibrium with water.

2) Water: Used as the medium to demonstrate the principal of thermodynamics.

PROCEDURES

Step1: The boiler must be filled with water, the valve at the side of the tube were opened to
check the water level. Distilled water was poured until the tube shows the water level is at half.
Then the valve was closed

Step 2: Set the market boiler to the max pressure which is 16 bar.

Step 3: The switch is turned on and the boiling process will start.

Step 4: For every increase of 0.5 barg, the temperature of the marcet boiler was recorded.

Step 5: Switch is then turned off then for every decrease or 0.5 barg, the temperature of the boiler
was recorded.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Result of the heating of water/steam is tabulated below:

Pressure Temperature dT/dP

(Barg) (℃)
0 24.3 0
0.5 63.4 79.2
1 86.6 43.4
1.5 104.1 30
2 111.7 20.2
2.5 121.7 17
3 127.4 12.4
3.5 134.6 11.4
4 140.5 10.5
4.5 144.7 10.4
5 150.2 9
5.5 153.4 8.4
6 157.5 7.5
6.5 160.8 7
7 164.7 7.7
7.5 168.6 5.6
8 171.7 6.1
8.5 174.3 5.1
9 177.0 5.3
9.5 180.5 5
10 181.7 4.4
10.5 185.0 11.5

Graph below shows the pressure vs. temperature for the heating process:

Pressure Vs. Temperature for heating

12

10

0
0 50 100 150 200
Result of the cooling of water/steam is tabulated below:
Pressure Temperature dT/dP
(Barg) (℃)
10 183.8 0
9.5 181.5 4.1
9 178.3 4.7
8.5 176.1 4.3
8 173.7 4.7
7.5 171.3 4.7
7 168.7 5.1
6.5 165.9 5.5
6 163.1 5.5
5.5 162.1 6
5 156.9 6.3
4.5 153.6 6.5
4 151.1 7
3.5 146.2 7.7
3 141.8 8.7
2.5 137 9.5
2 131.6 10.9
1.5 125.5 12.1
1 117.9 15.1
0.5 106.3 23.1
0 94.8 23

Graph below shows the pressure vs. temperature for cooling process

Pressure Vs. Temperature for cooling

12

10

0
80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Based on the graph plotted from the obtained values, we can see that pressure increases with
temperature. We can say that the pressure depends on the expanding molecules of liquid.
Asymptotic behavior is not observed as there are a limit to the values obtained. An asymptote
might be observed if the experiment was carried on exceeding the limit temperature set on the
Marcet Boiler.

Errors can be made during the conduction of experiment. For example, opening the T-screw
before releasing the pressure. This can cause the top cap just drop up from the shell and can may
injure nearby people. To prevent this error from occurring, make sure the pressure is released
before opening the T-screw. Other than that, before starting the experiment, it is vital to remove
air from the boiler. This must be done to avoid the air affecting the accuracy of the experimental
results. The correct equilibrium measurement between boiling water and steam will not be
obtained if air is present inside. Due to atrial pressure of air, a lower water temperature will be
required to raise the pressure. Other than that, this could also lead to the failure of the boiler.

In industry work, the process named SAGD is widely applied. This acronym stands for the
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage. It utilizes steam to enhance the oil production along with
gravity. It uses 2 horizontal wells in the reservoir that hast different elevations, the higher
elevation well will act as a steam injector, while the other well will act as an oil producer. Based
on the data obtained, the pressure and temperature profile is vital for SAGD, it shows that the
temperature increases with pressure, in real life situation, when inserting the SAGD piping,
higher pressure environment is needed to maintain the high temperature so that the soften
bitumen will remain at the liquid state. However, since Marcet Boiler is a closed system, the
steam is not allowed to exit, hence increasing the pressure in the boiler. Thus, causing
temperature rise.
CONCLUSION
We can conclude that as the water in the boiler is heated up, the molecules of the liquid will start
to gain heat and move more vigorously. This is because the external energy (heat) breaks the
bond between the molecules. The movement of molecules will increase that they cannot hold on
to each other anymore, all the molecules moves randomly and becomes gas. As liquid absorbs
enough energy, it changes from liquid-state to gas-state.
After studying the results and plotting the diagram, we can observe that the relation between the
pressure and temperature in linearly proportional.

REFERENCE
1. En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Steam-assisted gravity drainage. [online] Available at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam-assisted_gravity_drainage [Accessed 5 Nov. 2018].

2. SUPPLIES, L. (2018). Marcet Boiler - HE169 | Products | Alberton North, Alberton, Johannesburg
| Laboratory Equipment Supplies | Alberton North, Alberton, Johannesburg. [online] Laboratory
Equipment Supplies. Available at: https://www.labequip.co.za/p/629591/marcet-boiler--he169
[Accessed 5 Nov. 2018].

3. Sjsu.edu. (2018). The Clausius-Clapeyron Equation: Its Derivation and Application. [online]
Available at: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/clausius.htm [Accessed 5 Nov. 2018].