Inflection Point Engineering Scripts & Utilities

LCO2 Boiloff Estimator

Estimates heat leak and CO2 vapor boiloff rate from refrigerated liquid CO2 storage tanks (typical −10 to −20 °F at 145–300 psig). Required columns: tag, diameter_ft, length_or_height_ft, orientation, insulation_thick_in, insulation_k_btuhr_ftF, ambient_F, liquid_F, fill_fraction, hours.

Method: outer surface area of cylindrical body plus two 2:1 elliptical heads. Overall U from insulation conduction (k/t) in series with an outdoor film resistance of 0.5 hr·ft2·°F/Btu and an inside boiling-film resistance of 0.02 hr·ft2·°F/Btu. Heat leak Q = U × A × (Tamb − Tliq); boiloff = Q / hfg, with hfg ≈ 136 Btu/lb and ρL ≈ 65 lb/ft3 at −10 °F (NIST Webbook). References: ASHRAE Handbook — Refrigeration, Ch. 18 (Insulation); CGA G-6.2 Standard for Bulk Carbon Dioxide Systems.