FUEL

Fuel is something that can be burnt to produce energy in the form of heat or power . Those substances which are
classified as fuel must necessarily contain one or several of the combustible elements : carbon, hydrogen,
sulphur, etc. In the process of combustion, the chemical energy of fuel is converted into heat energy. To utilize
the energy of fuel in most usable form, it is required to transform the fuel from its one state to another, i.e. from
solid to liquid or gaseous state, liquid to gaseous state, or from its chemical energy to some other form of energy
via single or many stages. In this way, the energy of fuels can be utilized more effectively and efficiently for
various purposes.

Types Of Fuel

Solid Fuel

Liquid Fuel

Gaseous Fuel

1.Solid Fuel
Solid fuels are mainly classified as wood,coal,etc.

Solid Fuel
Wood

Coal

The various advantages and disadvantages of solid fuels are given below :

Advantages:
(a) They are easy to transport.
(b) They are convenient to store without any risk of spontaneous explosion.
(c) Their cost of production is low.
(d) They posse moderate ignition temperature.
Disadvantages:
(a) Their ash content is high.
(b) Their large proportion of heat is wasted.
(c) They burn with clinker formation.

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Name: Hafez Nasim Bin Jasim

Roll:102001

(d) Their combustion operation cannot be controlled easily.

(e) Their cost of handling is high.

Types of coal:
Peat: Peat is considered to be a precursor of coal, has industrial importance as a fuel in some regions, for
example, Ireland and Finland. In its dehydrated form, peat is a highly effective absorbent for fuel and oil spills
on land and water. It is also used as a conditioner for soil to make it more able to retain and slowly release
water.
Lignite: Lignite or brown coal, is the lowest rank of coal and used almost exclusively as fuel for electric power
generation. Jet, a compact form of lignite, is sometimes polished and has been used as an ornamental stone
since the Upper Palaeolithic.

Bituminous coal : Bituminous coal is a dense sedimentary rock, usually black, but sometimes dark brown,
often with well-defined bands of bright and dull material; it is used primarily as fuel in steam-electric power
generation, with substantial quantities used for heat and power applications in manufacturing and to make coke.
Anthracite: Anthracite, the highest rank of coal, is a harder, glossy black coal used primarily for residential and
commercial space heating. It may be divided further into metamorphically altered bituminous coal and
"petrified oil", as from the deposits in Pennsylvania.
Graphite: Graphite, technically the highest rank, is difficult to ignite and is not commonly used as fuel it is
mostly used in pencils and, when powdered, as a lubricant.

2. Liquid Fuel

Liquid Fuel
Petrolium

Diesel

Bio
Diesel

Kerosene

Advantages:
(a) They posses higher calorific value per unit mass than solid fuels.
(b) They burn without dust, ash, clinkers, etc.
(c) Their firing is easier and also fire can be extinguished easily by stopping
liquid fuel supply.
(d) They are easy to transport through pipes.
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Name: Hafez Nasim Bin Jasim

Roll:102001

(e) They can be stored indefinitely without any loss.

(f) They are clean in use and economic to handle.
(g) Loss of heat in chimney is very low due to greater cleanliness.
(h) They require less excess air for complete combustion.
(i) They require less furnace space for combustion.
Disadvantages:
(a) The cost of liquid fuel is relatively much higher as compared to solid fuel.
(b) Costly special storage tanks are required for storing liquid fuels.
(c) There is a greater risk of five hazards, particularly, in case of highly
inflammable and volatile liquid fuels.
(d) They give bad odour.
(e) For efficient burning of liquid fuels, specially constructed burners and
spraying apparatus are required.

Petroleum
Most liquid fuels used currently are produced from petroleum. The most notable of these is gasoline. Scientists
generally accept that petroleum formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants and animals by exposure to
heat and pressure in the Earth's crust.
Diesel
Conventional diesel is similar to gasoline in that it is a mixture of aliphatic hydrocarbons extracted from
petroleum. Diesel may cost more or less than gasoline, but generally costs less to produce because the
extraction processes used are simpler.
Kerosene
Kerosene is used in kerosene lamps and as a fuel for cooking, heating, and small engines. It displaced whale
oil from lighting use.
The engine would start on gasoline, then switch over to kerosene once the engine warmed up. A "heat valve"
on the manifold would route the exhaust gases around the intake pipe, heating the kerosene to the point where it
can be ignited by an electric.
Kerosene is sometimes used as an additive in diesel fuel to prevent gelling or waxing in cold temperatures.
However, this is not advisable in some recent vehicle diesel engines, as doing so may interfere with the engine's
emissions regulation equipment.
Biodiesel
Biodiesel is similar to diesel, but has differences akin to those between petrol and ethanol. For instance,
biodiesel has a higher cetane rating and it acts as a cleaning agent to get rid of dirt and deposits. Analogous to
the use of higher compression ratios used for engines burning higher octane alcohols and petrol in sparkignition engines, taking advantage of biodiesel's high cetane rating can potentially overcome the energy deficit
compared to ordinary Number 2 diesel.

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Name: Hafez Nasim Bin Jasim

Roll:102001

Gaseous Fuel
Gaseous fuels occur in nature, besides being manufactured from solid and liquid fuels.

Gaseous Fuel
Natural Gas

Coal Gas

Water Gas

Producer
Gas

Wood Gas

Hydrogen
gas

Biogas

Blast
Furnace gas

Advantages
Gaseous fuels due to erase and flexibility of their applications, possess the following advantages over solid or
liquid fuels :
(a) They can be conveyed easily through pipelines to the actual place of
need, thereby eliminating manual labour in transportation.
(b) They can be lighted at ease.
(c) They have high heat contents and hence help us in having higher
temperatures.
(d) They can be pre-heated by the heat of hot waste gases, thereby
affecting economy in heat.
(e) Their combustion can readily by controlled for change in demand like
oxidizing or reducing atmosphere, length flame, temperature, etc.
(f) They are clean in use.
(g) They do not require any special burner.
(h) They burn without any shoot, or smoke and ashes.
(i) They are free from impurities found in solid and liquid fuels.

Disadvantages
(a) Very large storage tanks are needed.
(b) They are highly inflammable, so chances of fire hazards in their use is high.

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Natural gas
Natural gas is generally associated with petroleum deposits and is obtained from wells dug in the oil-bearing
regions. The approximate composition of natural gas is :
CH4 = 70.9%, C2H6= 5.10%, H2 = 3%, CO + CO2 = 22%
The calorific value varies from 12,000 to 14,000 kcal/m3. It is an excellent domestic fuel and is conveyed in
pipelines over very large distances.
Coal gas
Coal gas is obtained when it is carbonized or heated in absence of air at about 1300 degree in either coke ovens
or gas-making retorts. In gas making retort process coal is fed in closed silica retorts, which are then heated to
about 1300o C by burning producer gas and air mixture. Coal gas is a colourless gas having a characteristic
odour. It is lighter than air and burns with a long smoky flame. Its calorific value is about 4,900 kcal/m3.
Water Gas
Water gas is a synthesis gas, containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen. It is a useful product but requires
careful handling due to its flammability and the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. The gas is made by
passing steam over a red-hot carbon fuel such as coke:
H2O + C H2 + CO (H = +131 kJ/mol)
The reaction is endothermic so the fuel must be continually re-heated to keep the reaction going. In order to do
this, an air stream, which alternates with the vapor stream, is introduced for the combustion of carbon to take
place.
Producer Gas
Producer gas is essentially a mixture of combustible gases carbon monoxide and hydrogen associated with noncombustible gases N2, CO2, etc. It is prepared by passing air mixed with little steam (about 0.35 kg/kg of coal)
over a red hot coal or coke bed maintained at about 1100oC in a special reactor called gas producer. It consists
of a steel vessel about 3 m in diameter and 4 m in height. The vessel is lined inside with fire bricks. It is
provided with a cup and cone feeder at the top and a side opening for the exit of producer gas. At the base it has
an inlet for passing air and steam. The producer at the base is also provided with an exit for the ash formed.

Wood Gas
Wood gas is a syngas fuel which can be used as a fuel for furnaces, stoves and vehicles in place
of gasoline, diesel or other fuels. During the production process biomass or other carbon-containing materials
are gasified within the oxygen-limited environment of a wood gas generator to produce hydrogen and carbon
monoxide. These gases can then be burnt as a fuel within an oxygen rich environment to produce carbon
dioxide,water and heat. In some gasifiers this process is preceded by pyrolysis, where the biomass or coal is
first converted to char, releasing methaneand tar rich in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

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Name: Hafez Nasim Bin Jasim

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Hydrogen
Hydrogen (H2) is being explored as a fuel for passenger vehicles. It can be used in fuel cells to power electric
motors or burned in internal combustion engines (ICEs).
It is an environmentally friendly fuel that has the potential to dramatically reduce our dependence on imported
oil, but several significant challenges must be overcome before it can be widely used.
Bio Gas
Biogas is characterized based on its chemical composition and the physical characteristics which result from it.
It is primarily a mixture of methane (CH4) and inert carbonic gas (CO2). However the name biogas gathers a
large variety of gases resulting from specific treatment processes, starting from various organic waste industries, animal or domestic origin waste etc . Different sources of production lead to different specific
compositions. The presence of H2S, of CO2 and water make biogas very corrosive and require the use of
adapted materials. The composition of a gas issued from a digester depends on the substrate, of its organic
matter load, and the feeding rate of the digester
Blast furnace gas
It is a by product flue gas obtained during the reduction of ion ore by coke in the blast furnace. Its calorific
value is about 1,000 kcal/m3. It contains about 20-25% carbon monoxide along with CO2, N2, etc. About 1/3 of
this gas is used for preheating air used in blast furnace itself; while the remaining 2/3rd is available for
use in boilers or after cleaning in gas engines. It is also used for burning in a special type of stoves (called
Cowpers stove) where the furnace is preheated.This gas contains much dust and is usually cleaned before use
by dust settlers, cyclones or electrolytic precipitators.

Conclusion
Fuel serves as a major part of our energy requirement. Petroleum, a major fuel is widely used in our everyday
lives and also used to power automobiles, produce containers and to keep us warm. All plastic is made from it
and used in cars, houses, computers, paraffin wax, paints and pharmaceuticals, at times it is also used as a
solvent found in large quantities below the surface of the Earth and is used as fuel and raw material in the
chemical
industry.

6|P a g e

Name: Hafez Nasim Bin Jasim

Roll:102001