Abstract:
The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether or not nitrogen
in a compound has an associated correction in bomb calorimetry. Using
Parr calorimetry apparatus and literature, four nitrogenous samples, varying
in content of nitrogen by percent weight, were combusted in a pure oxygen
environment to determine the nitrogen correction factors. The four
compounds used were alanine, arginine, glycine, and valine. By combusting
four samples of each compound, experimental nitrogen corrections were found
as follows:
Alanine: N Correction (cal) 11.73 (% dev = 1.62)
Arginine: N Correction (cal) 14.28 (% dev = 5.95)
Glycine: N Correction (cal) 9.29 (% dev
= 1.72)
Valine: N Correction (cal) 8.39
(% dev = 5.72)
After plotting the mass of nitrogen in sample vs. correction (in calories),
a new correction factor, R2 (in calories), was found to be the slope of
the line of best fit of this plot. The results show this equation
to be R2 = 16.132m+ 7.7671. Here m is the mass of nitrogen found
in each compound.