6/10/2015

EnergyReleasedWhenaFuelisBurnt

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EnergyReleasedWhenaFuelisBurnt

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Theenergyreleasedbya unit quantity of fuel when it is burnt is known as its calorific value and is usually quoted in
kJ/kg.
Thecalorificvalueofafueldependsonitsmakeup.
TheconstituentsoffuelwhichreleaseenergywhentheyareburntareHydrogen,carbonandsulphur
Hydrogenreleasesthemostenergy144000kJ/kg.
Carbonreleases33700kJ/kg.
Sulphuristhelowest,onlyreleasing9750kJ/kg.

Itshouldbeevidenttherefore,thatthelesssulphur,andthemorehydrogenafuelcontains,thegreateritscalorificvalue
willbe.

Forexample,atypicalmarineheavyfueloilmaycontain85%carbon,12%hydrogenand3%sulphurbymass.

.
Thehighercalorificvalue(HCV)ofthefuelwillbe(0.8533700)+(0.12144000)+(0.039750)=46217.5kJ/kg.

Notalltheenergyreleasedcanbeutilisedwhenhydrogenburns,thewaterproducedisassteam,andthistakesenergy
fromtheburningfuel.Thisenergylostisknownastheenthalpyofevaporation,andis2442kJ/kg(ofwaterproduced).
Theusefulenergyinthefuelisknownasit'sLowerCalorificValue(LCV)andiscalculatedbysubtractingtheenergy
requiredtoturnthewaterproducedfromburningthehydrogenintosteamfromtheHigherCalorificValue(HCV)

WhenamassofHydrogenisburnt,9timesthatmassisproducedaswater.

SoLCV=HCV(9massofhydrogen/kgfuel2442)

FortheexampleaboveLCV=46217.5(90.122442)=43580.14kJ/kg

DownloadthespreadsheethereandcalculatetheHCV&LCVofafuel

EngineManufacturersquotetheirfuelconsumptionfiguresing/kWh.Typicalfiguresforamodernenginearebetween
165and170g/kWh.Thisgivesaguidetotheefficiencyoftheengine.

Because the specific fuel consumption would vary depending on its calorific value (the lower the value, the more fuel
must be burnt to produce a certain amount of power), engine manufacturers base their figures on a calorific value of
42700kJ/kg

forexampleifafuelwithalowercalorificvalueof42700kJ/kgisburntthen1gwillrelease427kJofusefulenergyand
170grams (0.17kg) will release 7259kJ of useful energy. If this is the energy released in one hour to provide 1kW of
powerforonehourthentheenergyreleasedpersecondbythefuelis72593600=2.02kJ

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EnergyReleasedWhenaFuelisBurnt

ThismeansthatforeverykWofpowerproducedattheoutputshaft,theenginemustproduce2.02kJenergy from the

fuel,makingitjustunder50%efficient.

Thecalorificvalueofafuelcanbedeterminedwithoutknowingitspreciseratioofcarbonhydrogenandsulphur.Todo
this,apieceofequipmentcalledabombcalorimeterisused.

The design of a typical bomb calorimeter is shown in the

picture.Asmallsampleoffuel(usuallylessthan1gram)is
placed in a crucible inside a steel pressure vessel called a
bomb. The steel bomb is placed inside a container filled
withwater,whichiskeptataconstanttemperaturerelative
totheentirecalorimeterbyuseofaheaterandastirrer.The
temperature of the water is monitored with a thermometer
fitted with a magnifying eyepiece, which allows accurate
readingstobetaken.Heatlossesareminimizedbyinserting
an air space between the bucket and an exterior insulating
jacket. Slots at the top of the steel bomb allow ignition
wires and an oxygen supply to enter the vessel, both of
which are critical in starting the chemical reaction. The
bomb is pressurised with oxygen to 20 bar to ensure
complete combustion of the fuel When an electric current
passesthroughtheignitioncoil,thefuelisignited.Theheat
releasedfromthesampleisabsorbedbythewaterandthe
bomb, which results in an increase in temperature. The
increaseintemperatureismeasuredandthecalorificvalue
ofthefuelcanbecalculatedasshownbelow.

Heatreleasedbyburningfuel(Q)=massofwater(m)specificheatcapacityofwater(C)changeintemperature(T)

Thespecificheatcapacityisdefinedasthequantityofenergyrequiredtoraise1kgofthesubstancethrough1C,andfor
wateris4.2kJ/kgC

The heat energy absorbed by the bomb and the water container must also be taken into account. To simplify the
calculationthemanufactureroftheequipmentgivesawaterequivalentofthebombandcontainerwhichisaddedtothe
massofwatertoallowfortheheatenergyabsorbedbythem.

TheequationthereforebecomesQ=(massofwater+waterequivalent)4.2T

Forexample:Afuelsampleof0.7graisesthetemperatureof2kgwater+bombandcontainerwithawaterequivalentof
0.5kgby3C.Calculatethecalorificvalueofthefuel.

Q=2.54.23=31.5kJ.

This is the heat energy released by 0.7 grams of fuel. Therefore the heat released by 1kg fuel = 31.5 0.0007 =
45000kJ/kg

Thehighercalorificvalue(HCV)ofthefuelistherefore45000kJ/kg

Thisisthehighercalorificvaluebecausethehydrogenburnstowater(intheformofsteam).Thissteamthencondenses
ontheinsidesurfacesofthebombgivingupitsheatenergy.

Tocalculatethelowercalorificvalue(LCV)theamountofwaterproducedbyburningthefuelsamplemustbemeasured.
Thewaterproducedbyburning1kgoffuelcanthenbecalculated.andifthisfigureismultipliedby2442(theenthalpyof
evaporation)andsubtractedfromtheHCV.TheLCVwillbefound.

Forexample:Afterthecombustionofthesampleabove,thebombisopenedandfoundtocontain0.75gofwater.

LCV=HCV{(0.750.7)2442}=450002616.4=42383.6kJ/kg

Thespreadsheetallowsyoutoinputdataandviewtheresultsoftheexperiment.

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EnergyReleasedWhenaFuelisBurnt

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