International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET)

Volume 10, Issue 06, June 2019, pp. 97-102, Article ID: IJCIET_10_06_010
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijciet/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=10&IType=6
ISSN Print: 0976-6308 and ISSN Online: 0976-6316
© IAEME Publication

SELECTIVE METHOD OF CALCULATING THE

FLASH POINT TEMPERATURE USING THE
PENSKY- MARTENS CLOSED CUP TESTER OF
A PURE LIQUID
Ngo Trung Hoc*
University of Fire, 243 Khuat Duy Tien – Thanh Xuan – Hanoi – VietNam.

Dang Thi Bich Hop

University of Transport Technology, 54 Trieu Khuc- Thanh Xuan –Ha Noi – VietNam.

Nguyen Huu Dung

University of Fire, 243 Khuat Duy Tien – Thanh Xuan – Hanoi – VietNam.

Truong Quang Vinh

University of Fire, 243 Khuat Duy Tien – Thanh Xuan – Hanoi – VietNam.
* Corresponding Author

ABSTRACT
Flash point temperature is a characteristic used to distinguish between flammable
liquid and combustible liquid. At the same time it is also used to assess the fire and
explosion hazards of liquid fuels. The determination of flash point temperature has a
practical meaning in the storage, transport and used of liquid nowaday. Thus we
choose the best calculation method to get the result with the lowest averange absolute
error (A.A.E) for experiment.
Key words: Pensky – Martens, pure liquid, flash point, flammable liquid.
Cite this Article: Ngo Trung Hoc, Dang Thi Bich Hop, Nguyen Huu Dung, Truong
Quang Vinh, Selective Method of Calculating the Flash Point Temperature Using the
Pensky - Martens Closed Cup Tester of a Pure Liquid, International Journal of Civil
Engineering and Technology 10(6), 2019, pp. 97-102.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=10&IType=6

1. INTRODUCTION
Flash point is a major property used to identify the fire hazard of liquids in the safe practice of
handling and storing liquid mixtures and to assess the exact level of risk. It is defined as the
minimum temperature that vapor appears on the liquid in equilibrium to form a flammable
mixture when mixed with air. Flash point is a pure liquid that can be determined by
experimental or estimated method by calculating with available information. The information
needed for the composite flash point prediction is the vapor pressure and boiling temperature

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 Ngo Trung Hoc, Dang Thi Bich Hop, Nguyen Huu Dung, Truong Quang Vinh

of liquid at atmospheric pressure. The full test data is not available and need other methods to
identify basic information. So Pensky – Martens closed cup apparatus is designed to analyze
petroleum products and biodiesel according to ASTM D93[1].
The flash point temperatures is determined in many different ways including experimental
and calculating methods. Depending on the characteristics of the liquid as well as the number
of samples to be determined, different methods can be selected. For each method, there are
advantages for determining the flash point temperature of pure liquid. To solve that problem
we use some different calculation methods and choose the most optimal method.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1. General Information
All chemicals were purchased as reagent grade and used without further purification. Solvents
were distilled and/or dried according to standard methods . PM-93 Pensky-Martens Flash
Point Tester (Stanhope-Seta, London Street, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 8AP, UK). Measure of
flash point in +5 °C to 400 °C, fast heating rate (>10 °C/min) and standard; 5.5 °C/min; 3
°C/min; 1.3 °C/min; 1 °C/min. Results are recorded in accordance with ASTM D6299
(Standard Practice for Applying Statistical Quality Assurance and Control Charting
Techniques to Evaluate Analytical Measurement System Performance).

2.2. Calculation method

The Satyarayna and Rao method [2] is carried out with organic compounds and petroleum
fractions using boiling temperature at atmospheric pressure to calculate the flash point
temperature of pure liquid. The method was carried out with 1221 compounds and gave the
averange absolute error lower than 1%. For different compounds with the corresponding
parameter values are shown in Table 4.
c
 c  T
b e b
T 
Tf  a 
 b
 c 2
1  e Tb 
 
  (1)
Tf – Flash point temperature (K)
Tb – Boiling temperature of liquid at atmospheric pressure (K)
a, b, c – Parameters

Table 1. Parameters for Satyarayna and Rao method

Compounds a b c
Hydrocacbon 225.1 537.6 2217
Alcohols 230.8 390.5 1780
Amines 222.4 416.6 1900
Acids 323.2 600.1 2970
Ethers 275.9 700.0 2879
Sunphur 238.0 577.9 2297
Esters 260.8 449.2 2217
Ketones 260.5 296.0 1908
Halogens 262.1 414.0 2154

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 Selective Method of Calculating the Flash Point Temperature Using the Pensky - Martens Closed
Cup Tester of a Pure Liquid

Aldehydes 264.5 293.0 1970

Phosphorous 201.7 416.1 1666
Nitrogen 185.7 432.0 1645
Petroleum fractions 237.9 334.4 1807
The Hshieh method [3] developed based on the closed cup device for the normal boiling
temperature of the organic compound. The method was carried out with 1221 compounds and
gave the averange absolute error is 0.967.
2
T f  51, 2385  0, 4994Tb  0, 00022Tb (2)
where Tf , Tb calculated at degree C. The method continues to grow with the basis of 494
compounds which include: (250 organic, 207 silicone, 31 sulfur, 6 phosphorous) compounds
and gave the averange absolute error is 0.966.
2
T f  54, 5377  0, 5883Tb  0, 00022Tb (3)
The Prugh method [4] to calculate flash point by using Stoichiometric concentration:
83, 8%
X st 
4(C )  4( S )  H  X  2(0)  0, 84
(4)
where : C, S, H, X, O – The number of elements atoms in the compounds.
For alcohols :
Tb
 1, 3611  0, 0697 ln( X st ) (5)
Tf

Other compounds :
Tb
 1, 4420  0, 08512 ln( X st ) (6)
Tf

The V.I.Blinov method [5]. Determining the flash point temperature value of liquid
depends mainly on experimental conditions so there are certain difficulties to establish
methods to assess their magnitude.
B
Tf  (7)
D0 nPf
where : D0 - Vapor diffusion coefficient of flammable liquid (m2 / s).
Pf - The partial pressure of temperature-saturated liquid vapor that flash point, Pa.
B = 28 for closed cup tester, n- The number of oxygen molecules needed to fully oxidize a
molecule of fuel

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

hydrocarbons and other
For experimentation and calculation, we used 12 samples including alcohol,
groups to perform the determination of flash point temperature by various methods. The
results are shown in Table 2-4 and Figure 1-3. The average absolute error included in tables is
defined as:

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 Ngo Trung Hoc, Dang Thi Bich Hop, Nguyen Huu Dung, Truong Quang Vinh

exp cal
N Ti  Ti
A. A.E  
i 1 N (8)
Where N is the number of exprerimental data, the Tiexp is the exprerimental by closed cup
apparatus, Tical is the calculated flash point.

Table 2. Flash point temperatures for alcohols

Number Alcohols Blinov Rao Hshieh Prugh Exp
1 Metanol 273.3 294.7 257.5 284.6 283.0
2 Etanol 279.9 305.0 265.9 287.6 292.0
3 1-Propanol 297.8 316.9 277.6 295.3 296.0
4 1-Butanol 310.5 281.2 290.8 308.1 310.0
A.A. E 4.9 4.2 22.3 1.3

350
340
330
320 Blinov
310 Rao
300
Hshieh
290
Prugh
280
270 Exp
260
250
Metanol Etanol 1-Propanol 1-Butanol

Figure 1. The comparison of flash points of experimental and calculated for alcohols

Table 3. Flash point temperature for Hydrocacbons

Number Hydrocacbons Blinov Rao Hshieh Prugh Exp
1 Ethyl benzen 297.8 295.62 302.54 295.33 295
2 Propyl benzen 320.6 309.83 317.69 309.59 310
3 Octane 291.6 289.42 295.76 284.75 285
4 Toluene 283.2 280.94 286.22 279.59 279
A.A. E 6.1 1.7 8.3 0.1

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 Selective Method of Calculating the Flash Point Temperature Using the Pensky - Martens Closed
Cup Tester of a Pure Liquid

350
340
330
320 Blinov
310 Rao
300
Hshieh
290
Prugh
280
Exp
270
260
250
Ethyl benzen Propyl benzen Octane Toluene
Figure 2. The comparison of flash points of experimental and calculated for Hydrocacbons

Table 4. Flash point temperatures for other Compounds

Other
Number Blinov Rao Hshieh Prugh Exp
Compounds
1 Acid axetic 321.3 340.56 290.8 312.49 313
2 Butyl axetat 312.4 314.83 296.15 294.97 295
3 Ethylene glycol 360.3 353.28 343.1 390.51 384
4 m-Cylen 310.3 297.42 304.49 298.67 300
A.A. E 3.1 3.5 14.4 1.2

Figure 3. The comparison of flash points of experimental and calculated for other Compounds

4. CONCLUSION
The results of averange absolute error by 4 calculation methods compared with experiments
for alcohol, hydrocarbon groups and other groups. The results of Prugh method give the best
results with 1% is acceptable.

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 Ngo Trung Hoc, Dang Thi Bich Hop, Nguyen Huu Dung, Truong Quang Vinh

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank The University of Fire for suport.

REFERENCES
[1] ASTM Standards: D93 Standard Test Methods for Flash Point by Pensky-Martens Closed
Cup Tester.

[2] K. Satyarayana and P.G. Rao, Improved equation to estimate flash points of organic
compounds, J Hazard Mat 32 (1992), 81–85.

[3] F. Hshieh, Note: correlation of closed-cup flash points with normal boiling points for
silicone and general organic compounds, Fire Mat 21 (1997), 277–282.

[4] R.W. Prugh, Estimation of Flash Point Temperature, J Chem Educ 50 (1973), A85–89.

[5] D.Tung, D.Q.Hop, C.D.Phong, Theory combustion process, HaNoi, 2004.

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