Prof. Dr. F.

Prof. Dr. F.
NAWAZ KHAN, VIT UNIVERSITY

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN
Fuels
o Major ingredient carbon, when combusted large amount of heat.
o During the process of combustion of a fuel,
carbon, hydrogen etc. will combine with oxygen to liberate heat at a rapid
rate.
Fuel + O2 Products + heat exothermic

used for various domestic and industrial purposes.
The term combustion refers to the exothermal
oxidation of a fuel, by air or oxygen occurring at a
sufficiently rapid rate to produce a high
temperature, usually with the appearance of a flame.
As most of the fuels contain carbon or carbon and

hydrogen, the combustion involves the oxidation
of carbon to carbon dioxide and hydrogen to
water. Sulphur, if present, is oxidised to
sulphur dioxide while the mineral matter forms
the ash. Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN
Fuels Classification
Chemical Fuels
Secondary fuels
Primary fuels Or
Or Artificial fuels
Natural fuels
Solid fuels Solid fuels

Wood, coal Coke Liquid fuels
Liquid fuels charcoal Petrol, diesel,
Petroleum kerosene
Crude oil
Gaseous fuels
Gaseous fuels Bio gas,
Natural gas Water gas,
Producer gas
Characteristics of a good fuel
o High calorific value
o Low cost
o Low moisture content
o Low non-combustible matter
o Moderate ignition temperature
o Moderate velocity of combustion
o Controllable combustion
o Should not undergo spontaneous combustion
o Pollution free combustion products

o Should burn in air easily without much smoke
o Easy to transport
o Storage should be cheap and easy

Property Solid fuels Liquid fuels Gaseous fuels
combustion Slow combustion Quick combustion Combustion is rapid
not easy to control it it can be controlled burning can be
controlled
transport Transportation Transportation is easy Transportation is easy

is difficult through pipelines and through pipelines and
containers containers
storage Storage is safe Risk involved High risk involved in

in storage storage
Calorific Calorific value Calorific value Calorific value
value is relatively low is relatively high is higher that liquid
fuels
Engines Cannot be used in Can be used in IC Can be used in IC
used Internal Combustion engines engines but to a lesser
engines extent
products Ash and smoke are No ash is produced but No ash and no smoke
produced during the some flue gases are are produced
process of combustion produced
oUnits of heat are
Calories, k.calories
B.Th.U (British thermal unit) or C.H.U
(Centrigrade heat unit)
1 B.Th.U = 252 cal =
0.252 k.Cal
1 k.Cal = 3.968
B.Th.U = 2.2 C.H.U

Calorific value of a fuel
Higher or Gross Calorific Value (HCV or GCV):
“ The amount of heat liberated when unit weight or volume of
a fuel is completely burnt and the products of combustion
are cooled to room temperature”

Low or Net Calorific Value (LCV or NCV):
“ The amount of heat liberated when unit weight or
volume of a fuel is completely burnt and the products
of combustion are allowed to escape”

 The calorific value of a fuel depends upon the nature of the
fuel and the relative proportions of the elements present,
increasing with increasing amounts of hydrogen. Moisture
if present, considerably reduces the calorific value of a fuel.
The calorific value may be theoretically calculated from the
chemical composition of the fuel.
 If both hydrogen and oxygen are present, it may be assumed that

all the oxygen are already combined with 1/8 of its weight of
hydrogen to form water. This fraction is then deducted from the
hydrogen content of the fuel in the calculation. Thus for a fuel
containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur, the calorific
value of the fuel is given by DULONG FORMULA
Determination of Calorific Value

Calculation
m = mass of fuel pellet (g)
W = mass of water in the calorimeter (g)
w = water equivalent of calorimeter, stirrer and thermometer (g)
t1 = initial temperature of calorimeter.

t2 = final temperature of calorimeter.
Heat liberated by the fuel = mL
Heat absorbed by water and apparatus = (W+w)(t2-t1)

1. 0.72 gram of a fuel containing 80% carbon, when burnt in a
bomb calorimeter, increased the temperature of water from 27.3o
to 29.1oC. If the calorimeter contains 250 grams of water and its
water equivalents is 150 grams, calculate the HCV of the fuel. Give
your answer in kJ/kg.
Solution. Here x = 0.72 g ,

W = 250g,
t1 = 27.3oC,
t2 = 29.1oC.
HCV of fuel (L) = (W + w) (t2 – t1) kcal/kg

x
= [(250 + 150) × (29.1-27.3)] kcal/kg
0.72
= 1,000 × 4.2 kJ/g = 4,200 kJ/kg

2. On burning 0.83g of a solid fuel in a bomb calorimeter, the
temperature of 3,500g of water increased from 26.5oC to 29.2oC.
Water equivalent of calorimeter and latent heat of steam are
385.0g of and 587.0 cal/g respectively. If the fuel contains 0.7%
hydrogen, calculate its gross and net calorific value.
Solution. Here wt. of fuel (x) = 0.83 g of ; wt of water (W) = 3,500
g; water equivalent of calorimeter (w) = 385 g; (t2 - t) = (29.2 oC -
26.5 oC) = 2.7oC ; percentage of hydrogen (H) = 0.7% ; latent
heat of steam = 587 cal/g
Gross calorific value = (W + w) (t1 - t2) cal/g
x
= (3,500 +385) × 2.7 = 12,638 cal/g
0.83
NCV = [GCV – 0.09 H × 587]
= (12,63 8– 0.09 × 0.7 × 587) cal/g
= (12,638 – 37) cal/g = 12,601 cal/g
Corrections
 Fuse wire correction.
Heat liberated during sparking should be subtracted from heat
liberated.
 Acid correction. Fuels containing Sulphur and Nitrogen if oxidized,

the heats of formation of H2SO4 and HNO3 should be subtracted (as
the acid formations are exothermic reactions).

Cooling correction.
As the temperature rises above room temperature, the loss of heat does occur due to
radiation, and the highest temperature recorded will be slightly less than that
obtained. Therefore a correction is necessary to get the correct rise in the temperature
The rate of cooling of the calorimeter from maximum temperature to room
temperature is noted.
From this rate of cooling (i.e., dt°/min)
and the actual time taken for cooling (t min)
then
correction (dt × t) is called cooling correction and is added to the t2, t1 term.

GCV = (W + w) (t1 - t2) –[acid+fuse corrections]
x
= (550+2,200) × 2.42 – [50+10] cal
0.92g
= 7,168.5 cal/g.
NCV = [GCV – 0.09 H × latent heat steam]
= (7168.5 – 0.09 × 6 × 580) cal/g
= 6855.3 cal/g
Heat liberated by the combustion of fuel = VL
Heat absorbed by the circulating water = W (T2-T1)
HCV or GCV = L = W (T2-T1)/V
Let the mass of water condensed per m3 gas = m/V
Then LHS per m3 of gas = m x 587/V
Therefore LCV or NCV = L – mx587/V kcal/m3

1. The following data were obtained in a body’s gas calorimeter experiment:
Volume of the gas used = 0.1 m3 at STP
Wt. Of water heated = 25kg
Temperature of inlet water = 20oC
Temperature of outlet water = 33oC
Wt. of steam condensed = 0.025 kg
Calculate the higher and lower calorific value per m3 at STP. Take the heat liberated in
condensing vapour cooling the condensed as 580 kcal/kg.
Solution: Here V = 0.1 m3; W = 25 kg; T1 = 20oC; T2 = 33 oC; m = 0.025kg

HCV = L= W (T2-T1)/V
= 25(33-20)/0.1 = 3,250 kcal/m3
LCV = HCV- (m/V) × 580

= 3,250 kcal/m3–[(0.025kg/0.1m3) × 580 kcal/kg
= 3,250 kcal/m3 – 145kcal/m3 = 3105 kcal/m3.

Dulong’s Formula
The approximate calorific value of a fuel can be determined by knowing the

amount of constituents present:
Gross or higher calorific value (HCV) from elemental constituents of a fuel.
H = 34500 kcal/kg; C = 8080 kcal/kg; S = 2240 kcal/kg
Oxygen present in the fuel is assumed to be present as water

(fixed hydrogen).
Available Hydrogen = Total hydrogen - Fixed hydrogen
= Total hydrogen - 1/8 mass of oxygen in fuel.
Dulongs formula for calorific value from the chemical composition of fuel
is,

A 1.000 g sample of octane (C8H18) is burned in a bomb calorimeter containing
1200 grams of water at an initial temperature of 25.00ºC. After the reaction, the
final temperature of the water is 33.20ºC. The heat capacity of the calorimeter
(also known as the “calorimeter constant”) is 837 J/ºC. The specific heat of water is
4.184 J/g ºC. Calculate the heat of combustion of octane in kJ/mol
a. Calculate the heat absorbed by the water (qwater)
m = 1200 grams
cwater = 4.184 J/gºC
DT = 33.20 – 25.00 = 8.20ºC
qwater = (m)(c)(DT), so
qwater = (1200) 4.184 8.20 = 41170.56 = 41.2 kJ
Calculate the heat absorbed by the calorimeter (qcal)
Ccal = 837 J/ºC
DT = 33.20 – 25.00 = 8.20ºC
qcal = (Ccal)(DT), so
so, qcal = (837 )(8.20 C)= 6863.4 J = 6.86 kJ
The TOTAL heat absorbed by the water and the calorimeter is
the sum of (a) and (b): 41.2 +6.86 = + 48.1 kJ
The amount of heat released by the reaction is equal to the amount of heat absorbed by
the water and the calorimeter. We just need to change the sign. So,
qreaction = – 48.1 kJ 1 mol of octane weighs 114 grams, so (-48.1 kJ/g)(114 g/mol)
= – 5483 kJ/mol.
A fuel contains C = 75%; H = 4%; O = 5%; S = 7% remaining ash.
Calculate the minimum quantity of air required for complete combustion
of 1kg of fuel.
Given
Weight of the fuel = 1 kg
Weight of C in the fuel = 0.75 kg
Weight of H in the fuel = 0.04 kg
Weight of O in the fuel = 0.05 kg
Weight of S in the fuel = 0.07 kg
Solution
C + O2 CO2
12 kg of carbon requires 32 kg of oxygen
0.75 kg carbon requires = (32/12) ´ 0.75 = 2 kg
H2 + ½ O2 H2O
2 kg of hydrogen requires 16 kg of oxygen
0.04 kg hydrogen requires = (16/2) ´ 0.04 = 0.32 kg
S + O2 SO2
32 kg of carbon requires 32 kg of sulphur
0.07 kg carbon requires = (32/32) ´ 0.07 = 0.07 kg
Total weight of oxygen required = 2 + 0.32 + 0.07 = 2.39 kg
But weight of oxygen already present = 0.05 kg
Actual weight of oxygen required = 2.39-0.05 = 2.34 kg
Weight of air required = 2.34 ´ (100/23) = 10.17 kg of air
Let the ultimate analysis of a coal sample is as follows:
Carbon: 73%; hydrogen: 4.5%; oxygen 5.9%; nitrogen: 1.5%; sulphur: 5%
; water 2.1%; ash 8%
Oxygen required for burning of carbon, hydrogen and sulphur are as follows:
32 kg of oxygen combines with 12 kg carbon in the first

reaction to form 44 kg of carbon dioxide. So, 1 kg of carbon requires 2.667
kg of oxygen.
Similarly, 1 kg of carbon requires 1.33 kg of oxygen to form 28 kg of carbon

monoxide. 1 kg of sulphur requires 1 kg of O2
Basis: 1 kg coal burned

C: 0.73 × 2.667 kg = 1.9469 kg of oxygen
H: (0.045 × 8) - 0.059 = 0.301 kg of oxygen
(1 kg of hydrogen consumes 8 kg of oxygen and 0.059 kg of oxygen is
initially present in coal which should be subtracted from the total required
oxygen)
S: 0.05×1 kg = 0.05 kg of oxygen
TotalProf.
oxygen required
Dr. F. NAWAZ to accomplish the complete burning =
KHAN
1.9469+0.301+0.05 = 2.298 kg
A gas used in an internal combustion engine had the following composition by
volume
Hydrogen : 45%; Methane : 36%; Carbon monooxide: 15%; Nitrogen : 4%. Find the
Volume of air required for the combustion of 1m3 of the gas
Solution : 1m3 of the gas contains, hydrogen : 0.45m3; Methane : 0.36m3;

Carbon monooxide : 0.15m3; Nitrogen : 0.04m3
Combustion reaction Volume of O2 required (m3)

H2 + 0.5O2  H20 0.45 X 0.5 = 0.225
CH4 + 2O2  CO2 + 2H2O 0.36 X 2 = 0.720
CO + 0.5 O2  CO2 0.15 X 0.5 = 0.075
Total : 1.020
Therefore, volume of air required per m3 of the gas = 1.020 m3 X (100/21) = 4.857
m3
Calculate the mass of air needed for complete combustion of 5 kg of coal contain:
C=80%; H=15%; O = rest
Solution : 5kg of coal contains: C=4kg; H=0.75kg; O= (5-(4+0.75)kg = 0.25kg
Therefore, amount of air required for complete combustion of 5kg coal
= [ 4 X (32/12) + 0.75 X (16/2) - 0.25] kg X 100/23
= [ 10.67 + 6.000 – 0.25]kg X 100/23 = 71.387kg

A sample of coal was found to contain: Carbon : 80%; H = 5%; O=1%; N=2%;
remaining being ash. Calculate the amount of air required for complete
combustion of1kg of coal sample.
Solution : 1kg of coal contains : C=800g; H=50g; O= 10g; N=20g
Combustion reaction Wt. of O2 required

C + O2 - CO2 800g (32/12) = 2,133g
12 32
2H + 0.5O2  H2O 50g X (16/2) = 400g

2 16
------------------------------------
Total = 2,533g
Less O in fuel = 10g
---------------------------------
Net O2 required = 2,522
Therefore, wt. of air required = 2,523g X (100/23) = 10.97kg

A gaseous fuel has the following composition by volume. Methane : 5%; hydrogen
: 20%Carbon monooxide : 25%; carbon dioxide : 6% and rest nitrogen.
If 20% excess air is used for combustion, then calculate volume of air supplied
per m3 of fuel.
Solution : 1m3 od gaseous fuel contains : Methane : 0.05m3; Hydrogen= 0.20m3;

CO=0.25m3; CO2= 0.06m3 and N2= 0.46m3 (by difference)
Combustion reaction Volume of O2 required m3

CH4 + 2O2  CO2 + H2O 0.05 X 2 = 0.100
H2 + 0.5O2  H2O 0.20 X 0.5 = 0.100
CO + 0.5O2  CO2 0.25 X 0.5 = 0.125

Total = 0.325
Therefore, volume of air required (using 20% excess) per m3 of gaseous fuel
= 0.325 m3 X (100/21) X ( 120/100) = 1.857 m3

Calculate the volume of air required for complete combustion of 1 litre
of CO?
Consider the combustion reaction of CO
CO + ½ O2 CO2
1 vol 0.5 vol
1 vol of CO requires 0.5 vol of oxygen for complete of combustion.
1 litre of CO requires 0.5 litre of oxygen for complete of combustion
The volume of air required = 0.5 ´ 100/21 = 2.38 lit of air

Knocking and Antiknocking
 Gasoline and air (1:17) mixture is compressed and ignited by a
spark , in ICE where oxidation of HC takes place.
 Maximum power – Gasoline when burnt uniformly, silently in an
ICE
 Presence of certain constituents in gasoline, rate of oxidation
becomes so great that the unburnt fuel may rapidly react with the
formation of explosive violence. This is called Knocking
 Products of oxidation drives the piston down in cylinder

compression ratio
 The ratio of the gaseous volume in the cylinder at the end of the suction stroke to
the volume at the end of compression-stroke of the piston is known as the
'compression ratio
 successful high compression ratio is dependent on the nature of the constituents

present in the gasoline used.
 The knocking results in loss of efficiency, since this ultimately decreases the
compression ratio.
Knocking characteristics of a fuel depends on the chemical structure

Knocking results in loss of efficiency of the engine
Knocking tendency:
Straight chain paraffins > Branched chain paraffins > Cycloparaffins > Olefins >
Aromatics
Knocking characteristics of a combustion engine fuel – octane number
Octane number
 Antiknock quality of a fuel is expressed as its octane number
 Percentage of iso-octane (2,2,4-trimethyl pentane). in n-heptane-iso-octane

blend – octane number
 Isooctane – best antiknocking properties and assigned O.N of 100
 n-heptane – poor antiknocking property and assigned O.N. of 0
 Most effective antiknock agent is tetraethyl lead (TEL) along with

ethylene dibromide which prevents deposition of lead by forming volatile lead
halides
 • The octane number of many otherwise poor fuels can be raised by
the addition of tetra ethyl lead (C2H5)4Pb or TEL and
diethyl telluride (C2H5)2Te.
In motor spirit (Motor fuel) about 0.5ml
and in aviation fuel
1.0 - 1.5ml of TEL is added per litre of petrol.
 Others are tetramethyl lead, tertiary butyl acetate,
 Greater the octane number, greater is the

resistance of knocking

Diesel knock
 In diesel driven vehicles, the ignition is not caused by the spark, However it is
caused due to heat and pressure.
 i.e Air is first drawn into the cylinder, then compressed and at the end of
compression diesel is injected into the compressed air where it reaches its
ignition temperature, the pressure of the gases is increased by heat of ignition.
 Piston is then pushed up due to the expansion of gases, which is referred as
power stroke. Then in the down stroke fuel feed and ignition continues.
 Long ignition delays lead to accumulation of more vapours in the engine and
when ignited an explosion results as the combined effect of temperature and

pressure. This is responsible for diesel knock.

Aniline Point
 an approximate measure of the aromatic content of a
hydrocarbon fuel.
 It is defined as the lowest temperature at which a fuel oil is

completely miscible with an equal volume of aniline.
 lower the aniline point, higher the aromatics

content in the fuel oil.
 The higher the aromatics content, the lower the cetane number of
the fuel.
 The aniline point can thus be used to indicate the probable

ignition behavior of a diesel fuel.

Cetane number
 There is a delay period between the injection of diesel fuel and its ignition.
If this delay period is large, too much fuel accumulates in the cylinder and
burn very rapidly and causes diesel knock.
 Increasing delay period occurs in the series :

n-paraffin < Olefins < naphthenes < isoparaffins < aromatics.
 Order is the reverse for gasoline antiknock quality.

 n-hexadecane or cetane ; Cetane number 100
  – methyl naphthalene ; cetane number 0
 A given fuel matches in quality with the blend having 40/60 blend of cetane
and methyl naphthalene, it is assigned a cetane number 40
 Cetane number of diesel can be improved by adding

amyl/butyl nitrite, carbamates, ditertiary butylperoxide and metal organic
compounds.
CH3-(CH2)14-CH3 – n-hexadecane (C.N = 100)
CH3
1-methyl naphthalene (C.N. = 0)

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Prof. Dr. F.

NAWAZ KHAN, VIT UNIVERSITY

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

As most of the fuels contain carbon or carbon and

Solid fuels Solid fuels

o Pollution free combustion products

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

transport Transportation Transportation is easy Transportation is easy

storage Storage is safe Risk involved High risk involved in

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

 If both hydrogen and oxygen are present, it may be assumed that

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

t1 = initial temperature of calorimeter.

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

Solution. Here x = 0.72 g ,

HCV of fuel (L) = (W + w) (t2 – t1) kcal/kg

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

 Acid correction. Fuels containing Sulphur and Nitrogen if oxidized,

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

Heat absorbed by the circulating water = W (T2-T1)

HCV or GCV = L = W (T2-T1)/V

Let the mass of water condensed per m3 gas = m/V

Then LHS per m3 of gas = m x 587/V

Therefore LCV or NCV = L – mx587/V kcal/m3

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

Solution: Here V = 0.1 m3; W = 25 kg; T1 = 20oC; T2 = 33 oC; m = 0.025kg

LCV = HCV- (m/V) × 580

= 3,250 kcal/m3 – 145kcal/m3 = 3105 kcal/m3.

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

The approximate calorific value of a fuel can be determined by knowing the

Gross or higher calorific value (HCV) from elemental constituents of a fuel.

H = 34500 kcal/kg; C = 8080 kcal/kg; S = 2240 kcal/kg

Oxygen present in the fuel is assumed to be present as water

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

32 kg of oxygen combines with 12 kg carbon in the first

Similarly, 1 kg of carbon requires 1.33 kg of oxygen to form 28 kg of carbon

Basis: 1 kg coal burned

Solution : 1m3 of the gas contains, hydrogen : 0.45m3; Methane : 0.36m3;

Combustion reaction Volume of O2 required (m3)

Solution : 5kg of coal contains: C=4kg; H=0.75kg; O= (5-(4+0.75)kg = 0.25kg

Therefore, amount of air required for complete combustion of 5kg coal

= [ 4 X (32/12) + 0.75 X (16/2) - 0.25] kg X 100/23

= [ 10.67 + 6.000 – 0.25]kg X 100/23 = 71.387kg

Combustion reaction Wt. of O2 required

2H + 0.5O2  H2O 50g X (16/2) = 400g

Therefore, wt. of air required = 2,523g X (100/23) = 10.97kg

Solution : 1m3 od gaseous fuel contains : Methane : 0.05m3; Hydrogen= 0.20m3;

Combustion reaction Volume of O2 required m3

H2 + 0.5O2  H2O 0.20 X 0.5 = 0.100

CO + 0.5O2  CO2 0.25 X 0.5 = 0.125

= 0.325 m3 X (100/21) X ( 120/100) = 1.857 m3

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

spark , in ICE where oxidation of HC takes place.

 Maximum power – Gasoline when burnt uniformly, silently in an

 Presence of certain constituents in gasoline, rate of oxidation

 Products of oxidation drives the piston down in cylinder

Prof. Dr. F. NAWAZ KHAN

 successful high compression ratio is dependent on the nature of the constituents

Knocking characteristics of a fuel depends on the chemical structure

 Percentage of iso-octane (2,2,4-trimethyl pentane). in n-heptane-iso-octane

 Isooctane – best antiknocking properties and assigned O.N of 100

 n-heptane – poor antiknocking property and assigned O.N. of 0

 Most effective antiknock agent is tetraethyl lead (TEL) along with