Specific heating capacity of a furnace: How is the capacity commonly expressed so that throughputs of different sized furnaces can be compared on a normalized basis?

Introduction / Context:
When benchmarking furnaces, engineers need a size-independent metric to compare productivity. The specific heating capacity normalizes throughput by furnace internal volume to reflect how effectively space and heat are used.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Furnaces of different volumes handling similar materials.
• Steady continuous or averaged batch operation.
• Throughput expressed as mass per unit time.

Concept / Approach:
Simple throughput (weight heated per hour) does not account for furnace size. Dividing by the working volume gives a fair comparison across designs and scales. Thus, specific heating capacity = (weight heated per hour) / (furnace volume).

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Plants with similar fuels but different sizes show closer performance alignment when using per-volume metrics rather than absolute throughput.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

Common Pitfalls:
Comparing furnaces on absolute throughput can mislead decisions about efficiency and design quality; always include size normalization.

Final Answer:
weight heated/hr/furnace volume