[lofupini]

So basically at the moment I am preparing for an extended experimental investigation in which I plan to utilise a calorimeter in order to measure the heat of combustion of various home-made biofuels. As such, I have been conducting research online into calorimeters and have found several ideas for creating a calorimeter.

The first idea was to use a "coffee mug" as the main calorimetric capsule, whereas the other idea was to use two styrofoam cups as the main calorimetric capsule.

Naturally, I would assume that such designs would have a lower efficiency in comparison to theory (say ~20%). However, I was just wondering what countermeasures I could put in place in order to increase this efficiency (such as to utilise a calorimetric capsule of a different material, or to implement additional insulation, such as foam.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Borek]

Complete combustion requires high temperature and excess oxygen (which is usually added under pressure). Somehow I doubt you will be able to get good results with simple DIY design, these are OK for reactions occurring under standard pressure and at more or less room temperatures.