ISO 15971:2008 (R2025)

ISO 15971:2008 concerns the measurement of calorific value of natural gas and natural gas substitutes by non-separative methods, i.e. methods that do not involve the determination of the gas composition, nor calculations from it. ISO 15971:2008 describes the principles of operation of a variety of instruments in use for this purpose, and provides guidelines for the selection, evaluation, performance assessment, installation and operation of these. Calorific values can be expressed on a mass basis, a molar basis or, more commonly, a volume basis. The working range for superior calorific value of natural gas, on the volume basis, is usually between 30 MJ/m3 and 45 MJ/m3 at standard reference conditions (see ISO 13443). The corresponding range for the Wobbe index is usually between 40 MJ/m3 and 60 MJ/m3. ISO 15971:2008 neither endorses nor disputes the claims of any commercial manufacturer for the performance of an instrument. Its central thesis is that fitness-for-purpose in any particular application (defined in terms of a set of specific operational requirements) can be assessed only by means of a well-designed programme of experimental tests. Guidelines are provided for the proper content of these tests.