SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

MIT-ADT,UNIVERSITY

BY
PROF.RAJESH B. JADHAV
FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING (CHEMISTRY)
 Definition: Fuel is the substance which on combustion
produces large amount of heat.

CLASSFICATION OF FUELS
CHEMICAL FUELS
OCCURENC
E
Primary/Natural Secondary/Derived
State State

Solid Liquid Gaseous Solid Liquid Gaseous

wood Crude Natural Charcoal Petrol, Biogas,
oil gas diesel LPG
coke
Calorific value
It is defined as the amount of heat obtained on
complete combustion of unit mass of a solid or
liquid fuel or unit volume of a gaseous fuel at STP.

Two Types of Calorific Values:

1. Gross Calorific value (GCV): It can be defined as the
total amount of heat obtained on complete combustion of
unit mass of a solid or liquid fuel or unit volume of a
gaseous fuel (STP) and on cooling the products of
combustion to 150C. The gross calorific value is called as
higher calorific value.
2. Net Calorific value (NCV): It is defined as the amount of
heat obtained practically on complete combustion of unit
mass of solid or liquid fuel or unit volume of a gaseous
fuel at STP and the products of combustion are allowed
to escape with heat. NCV is also called as lower calorific
value.
NCV and GCV are related as
0.09 x h x latent heat of water
GCV = NCV +

h = Percentage of hydrogen in fuel.

Units for Calorific value

1 cal/gm = 1Kcal/kg = 4.18 kj/kg

Latent
Systemheat of water = 587 cal/gm = 2450 values
Calorific Joules/gm
Criteria/Characteristics of Good Fuel
1. High calorific value.
2. Low cost, shd be cheaper, easily available.
3. Harmless products of combustion.
4. Moisture content decreases C. V.
5. Minimum or No non combustible matter.
6. Minimum or No Volatile matter (which evaporate
without burning)
7. Moderate ignition point: Lowest temp. at which
continuous combustion of fuel starts.
8. Less storage space.
9. Easily transportable.
Comparison

Criteria Solid Liquid Gaseous

BOMB CALORIMETER
Bomb Calorimeter: for determining c. v. of solid & liquid fuels.

• Principle: The fuel is burnt in calorimeter and the heat produced is

transferred to the surrounding water and from this rise in temp. of
water, Calorific value is calculated.

• Construction: It consists of 4 parts

1. Bomb Pot: It consists of 2 electrodes & oxygen inlet valve. Ring
holder is fitted with one electrode to hold the sample. Resistance
wire tied to electrodes in loop form & loop touches the fuel. The
fuel is weighed & burnt in bomb pot in presence of oxygen.
2. Calorimeter: made up of stainless stell. Bomb pot is kept in
calorimeter. Calorimeter contains known volume of water & it is
stirred. Beckmann thermometer records rise in temp.of water due to
absorbing heat generated in burning of fuel in bomb pot.
3. Water & air jackets: to avoid heat loss due to radiation. It acts as
insulator.
4. Accessories: Pellet press, oxygen cylinder, D. C. battery
Working of Bomb Calorimeter
1. Weigh the sample in crucible. Keep crucible in ring of
electrodes. Keep resistance wires touching it.
2. Add 10 ml distilled water in bomb and fix the lid.
3. Fill bomb with O2 & place it in calorimeter.
4. Add known amount of water in calorimeter to immerse the
bomb.
5. Keep thermometer in water, start stirrer.
6. Place cover on top. Make electrical connections from
battery to electrodes. Note initial temp.
7. Pass current for 5-10 sec to heat wire so that fuel catches
fire. If fuel contains ‘S’ & ‘N’, will get converted to SO3 &
N2O5 . These gases dissolve in water to form HNO3 & H2SO4
.
8. Note down max. temp. After that note the rate of fall of temp
per minute & time taken to reach initial temp.
9. Open bomb pot & wash contents at its bottom into beaker, find
HNO3 & H2SO4 formed
Observations :

1. Mass of fuel in gm = X gm
2. Mass of water in calorimeter = W gm
3. Water equivalent of calorimeter = w gm
4. GCV of fuel = L calories/gm
5. Rise in temp. of water = (t2 – t1)

Calculations:

Heat liberated by burning of fuel = Heat absorbed by water & calorimeter

XL =
W (t2 – t1) + w (t2 – t1)

XL = (W + w) (t2 – t1)

(W + w) (t2 – t1)
GCV = L = cal/gm
X

NCV = GCV - 0.09h x latent heat of water

NCV = GCG - 0.09h x 587 cal/gm
h = Percentage of hydrogen in fuel , w = water equivalent of calorimeter
Water equivalent of calorimeter : It can be defined as the mass
of apparatus i.e. mass of stirrer, mass of thermometer, mass
of calorimeter & mass of bomb which has same heat
absorbing capacity as that of water.
To get more accurate results, following corrections are to be
taken into account.
1. Fuse wire correction (f): Out of total heat obtained, little heat
is given out by fuse wire when the current is passed to start
combustion. Hence it must be subtracted.
2. Acid correction (a) : N & S in fuel are oxidized to HNO3 &
H2SO4 is exothermic & the heat measured includes a small
share by these acids formation so acid correction
subtracted.
3. Cooling correction (tc) : Some time is required to transfer the
heat liberated in pot from bomb to water goes on
decreasing, this decreasing temp., is known as cooling
correction & is added.
4. Thread correction (tt) : Cotton thread is used to hold the
sample which also increases temp. of water & hence it
should be subtracted.
After taking all corrections into account, the final formula
for GCV is

(W + w) (t2 – t1 + tc)-(ta + tf + tt)

GCV = L =
cal/gm
X
 BOYS CALORIMETER
• Principle: A gaseous fuel is burnt at a known constant rate in
the calorimeter under such conditions that entire amount of
heat produced is absorbed by circulating water.
• Construction: It consists of following parts
1. Gas burner: Known volume of fuel gas is burnt at a known
pressure.
2. Combustion chamber: There is a combustion chamber around
the burner, which has copper tubing coiled inside as well as
outside of it. Water enters from top of the outer coil, moves to
bottom of chimney and then goes up through inner coil to exit
at top.
3. Thermometers: Thee are 2 thermometers to measure
temperature of inlet water & outlet water.
4. Insulating over: The assembly is covered with an insulator to
detach combustion chamber from atmosphere. There are 2
outlets i.e. one for exhaust gas & condensed steam. One inlet
for water.
 Working of BOYS CALORIMETER
1. Start burning gas at suitable pressure & adjust the rate of flow
such that the temp, of outgoing water remains constant.
2. Burn the gas with gaseous/liquid fuel for 5-10 minutes to have
steady temp. in & around combustion chamber.
3. After steady conditions of outgoing water temp., constant
water circulation & gas flow reached, note down the
following:
Observations :
(a) Volume of gas burnt at given temp, & pressure in certain time
period = V m3
(b) Quantity of water passed through coil during this period = W
kg
(c) Mass of water condensed from product gas during the period
= m kg
(d) Steady temp. rise of water = (t2 – t1)
(e) GCV of the fuel = L
Calculations: BOYS CALORIMETER
Heat produced by combustion of fuel = Heat absorbed by
cooling/circulating water

VL = W (t2 – t1)

W (t2 – t1)
L = Kcal/m3
V

NCV = GCV – latent heat of steam per m3 of gas.

The total amount of water condensed from the steam produced by
burning of 1m3 of gas is m/V x 587 Kcal/m3

Hence, NCV = GCV - m/V x 587 Kcal/m3

 SOLID FUELS

CLASSIFICATION OF FUELS
 Coal is carboneous matter formed from vegetable matter by action of
aerobic & anaerobic bacteria.
 Plants are not directly converted into coal but there is stepwise
conversion.

Peat Lignite Bituminous Anthracite

During this process, there is increase in carbon %age, C.V.,density,

hardness and decrease in moisture, V.M., % of N, H, O, S, ash.
 Comparison/Properties:

Type C. V. C
%age Uses
Analysis of Coal:
1. Proximate Analysis: moisture, VM, ash & fixed carbon
2. Ultimate Analysis: C, H, N, S, & O
2. Significance of Proximate Analysis:
1. Moisture: Decreases C. V., increases ignition point of coal.
2. Volatile Matter: Decreases CV, elongates flame, forms smoke & pollutes
air.
3. Ash: Reduces CV, Disposal problem, ash fuses at higher temp. & abstracts
air supply to coal.
4. Fixed carbon: Carbon is burning part of coal so higher C%, good is the
coal.

Calculation of Proximate Analysis:

1. Moisture%: Heat coal sample at 1000C for 1 hr. in hot air oven.

Wt . ofmoisture× 100
Moisture =
wt . ofcoal
Proximate Analysis:
2.Volatile Matter% : Heat coal sample at 9500C for 7 minutes in
muffle furnace.
Wt . ofVM× 100
VM =
wt . ofcoal
3.Ash % : Heat coal sample at at 7500C for 30 minutes in
muffle furnace
Wt . ofash× 100
Ash =
wt . ofcoal
4. Fixed Carbon % :

F . C . = 100− ( moisture +VM + ash )

Ultimate Analysis: C, H, N, S. Ash & O percentages

1. C, H in coal:
Principle :- On combustion, carbon and hydrogen present in coal are
converted to equivalent amount of CO2 & water vapour as
products of combustion, which get absorbed in KOH tube &
CaCl2 tube, of known weights & from increase in weights of
those tubes, %age of C & H can be determined.
a) C + O2 → CO2
b) H2 + ½ O2 → H2O
Ultimate Analysis: C, H in coal
1. A known amount/wt. of coal is burnt in the presence of pure
O2 , in a combustion apparatus. C & H are converted into
CO2 & H2O.
2. Gaseous products are allowed to pass first through
preweighed anhydrous CaCl2 tube & then through
preweighed KOH soln tube.
3. The increase in weight of U-tube containing CaCl2
corresponds to wt. of water & increase in wt. of U-tube
containing KOH soln corresponds to CO2 .

12× wt . of CO 2 × 100
%C =
44 × wt . of coal
2× wt . of H 2 O × 100
H=
18× wt . ofcoal
 Nitrogen in coal: Kjeldahl’s method

Principle: Nitrogen in coal, in presence of conc. H2SO4 & K2SO4 ,

converted into equivalent amount of ammonia which is distilled in
standard acid soln. & from acid consumed by ammonia, percentage of
nitrogen in coal can be determined.
 N (coal) (NH4)2SO4 NH3 H2SO4

 %N = (V-V1) x N x 1.4/ W
 Carbonization of Coal
Definition:
It is process of converting bituminous coal into
coke by heating the bituminous coal at high
temp in absence of air and is known as
carbonization of coal.
 Coke obtained by carbonization is dense,
lustrous and strong porous mass.
 During carbonization coal loses only volatile
matter and moisture
 hence carbon percentage in coke increases.
This coke burns rapidly with complete
combustion.
 Coke oven gas is the main byproduct which
can used as fuel and is composed of tar, NH3,
sulphur, naphthalene and benzene and some
moisture.
 It possess high calorific value than its mother
coal.
 Carbonization can be done by using different
types of ovens e.g. Otto-Hoffmann`s oven,
Beehive oven etc.
 Low High
No Characteristics temperature temperatur
e

1 Type of coal used Lignite, sub- Bituminous

bituminous

2 Heating 500-700 C 900-1200 C

temperature
 Suitable for
6 Use Good domestic fuel metallurgic
al use

7 Quantity of 130-150 m3 Tonne- 300-390

m3 tonne-
byproduct gas 1 1

8 Calorific value of 6500-9500 kcal/m3 5400-6000

Liquid Fuels
 e.g. Petroleum oil or crude oil
 Most of the liquid fuels are obtained from
petroleum oil or crude oil, which is the dark
greenish brown viscous liquid found in earth
crust.
 Origin of Petroleum Oil
 The following theories have been put forward
to explain the formation or origin of crude oil.
1) Carbide theory or inorganic Mendeleef`s
theory
 This theory can be represented schematically
in following reaction which shows conversion
of organic carbon into petroleum.
2) Engler’s theory or organic theory

 Petroleum was formed by decomposition of

marine animals and forests under high pressure
at high temperature underground. In due
course of time these got converted into
petroleum. This supports presence of N, S,
brine, sea water in petroleum.
 But these two theories failed to explain the
presence of organic matter, sulphur, nitrogen
containing compounds in crude oil and
presence of brine near crude oil. Thus modern
theory was developed.
3) Modern theory:

According to modern theory, petroleum resulted

form the partial decomposition of marine animals
and forests of pre-historic time.

Due to changes like earth quakes in earth crust

these pre-historic forests and animals got buried
underground, where they were subjected to
prolonged action of high temperature and
pressure during the ages of time in the interior of
the earth.

Under the action of high pressure and

temperature the biological matter decomposed
into viscous dark greenish brown liquid
known as crude oil.
 Composition of petroleum oil:
Petroleum oil is composed mainly of various
hydrocarbons such as paraffin, cyclo paraffin's or
naphthenes, olefins and aromatic, together with
small amount of organic compounds containing
oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur.
The average % composition of elements in crude oil is –

 C= 79.5 to 81%
 H= 11 to 15 %
 S= 0.1 to 3.5 %
 O= 0.1 to 0.9%
 N= 0.4 to 0.9 %
 Mining of Petroleum Oil
Definition:-
Removal of crude oil from its deposits below
the earth’s crust is known as mining of petroleum
oil.
 Petroleum deposits are mainly found in the
dome structure below the earth’s crust and
generally accumulation of natural gas occurs
above the oil.
 In order to bring the oil to the surface holes
are drilled into the earth’s crust and pipes are
inserted up to the oil bearing porous rocks and oil
is pumped up with the help of air lift pump as
shown in fig
Fig. Mining of Petroleum Oil
Refining or fractional distillation of crude oil
 Definition:
The process in which crude oil is separated
into various useful fractions, depending upon
their boiling points in a refining tower or
distillation tower, is known as refining or
fractional distillation of crude oil.
 Process :
After the mining, crude oil can not be directly
subjected for fractional distillation because it
contains insoluble impurities, salty water and
sulphur as impurities, which can be removed by
following steps.
 Filtration: All insoluble impurities are removed
from crude oil by filtration.
 De-emulsification : Removal of salty water from
crude oil is known as de-emulsification process. For
that crude oil subjected to an electrical field
formed by a high voltage of alternating current
where the droplets coalsec in big drops. This causes
separation of oil from water containing dissolved
salts.
 Removal of sulphur : Besides in soluble
impurities and water, crude oil mainly contains
sulphur as impurity. In order to remove sulphur,
crude oil is treated with CuO which results in the
formation of CuS ppt, which is then removed by
filtration
 Fractional distillation :

 Principle :
Fractional distillation is based on boiling points
of fractions of crude oil. Those fractions which
have high boiling points get condensed at the
bottom of tower while fraction with lower
boiling points condense in the higher parts of
tower
Fig: Refining Tower
 Construction :
 It consist a vertical cylindrical stainless steel column
known as refining or distillation tower.
 It is about 30 meter in height and 3 meter in diameter.
 It also consists a large number of horizontal stainless
steel plates or trays, known as theoretical plates.
 Each plate is provided with number of small chimneys,
covered with loose bubble caps and each plate is
provided with a downspout pipe, which carries the
condensed liquid to lower plate and an outlet to
remove respective fraction.
 Efficiency of tower depends upon the number of
theoretical plates. Higher the number of theoretical
plates, better is the efficiency of tower.
 Near the base of tower, there is heating chamber in
which crude oil is heated continuously and converted
to vapors which are sent to fractionating column.
 Working :
 The crude oil is heated to about 400 C in
heating chamber to form vapors of crude oil,
which enter into the fractionating tower from
the bottom.
 Those fractions having high vapour pressure
i.e. less boiling point exert more pressure on
cup and get condensed at the upper part of
tower.
 While those fractions having less vapours
pressure i.e. high boiling points, exert a less
pressure on cap and condensed at the bottom
of tower and hence fractional distillation takes
place through chimneys in trays at different
heights of column.
 The outlets are provided in the side of the
column at suitable heights to withdraw a
number of fractions from the column. The
uncondensed gases escape from the top of the
tower, which are liquefied to give fuel, known
as liquified petroleum gas ( L. P. G.)

 The residue left at the bottom of tower is

known as asphalt , which is used for making
tar, water proofing of roofs, paints etc.

 The various products obtained during

fractional distillation are as given below
Sr. Name of Compo Temper Uses
No fraction sition ature
range

1 Natural gas C1 – C4 Below Domestic and

400 C industrial fuel, source
of many organic
chemicals
Sr. Name of Compo Temper Uses
No fraction sition ature
range

3 Naphtha/Solve C10 - 1800- As a solvent in dry

nt spirit C16 250 C cleaning

4 Kerosene C5- C7 30-60 0C Domestic fuel, jet

engine fuel
Sr. Name of Compo Temp Uses
No fraction sition eratur
e
range

7 Residue Above Above

i)Asphalt C30 4000 C Water proofing of
ii)Petroleum roofs, road making
coke As a fuel, in moulding
arc light rods.
 Knocking
Definition:-
Vibration along with sound is known as knocking.
In case of any engine knocking is not desirable
because
i) it decreases efficiency of machine
ii) decreases life of machine
iii) increases maintenance cost and causes sound
pollution.
Hence good fuel should have better antiknocking
property.
In case of petrol engine, knocking is due to very fast
combustion , while in case of diesel engine it is due
to delay in combustion or oxidation.
 The knocking property of petrol engine is
expressed in terms of octane number. While the
knocking property of diesel engine is expressed in
terms of cetane number.
Octane Number :-
It is used to express the knocking property of petrol
engine.
In petrol engine combustion of petrol takes place
by electrical spark. When gasoline or petrol fuel is
used in petrol engine and if it burns very rapidly, then
pressure inside the combustion chamber increases.
The rapid rise in pressure seats up vibration of gases,
the cylinder walls and other metallic surfaces, giving a
distinct noise or knock, known as knocking,
 which decreases efficiency and life of machine and also
increases maintenance cost. The intensity of a
knocking depends upon nature of fuel, combustion
mechanism and air fuel ratio.
 In order to determine the octane number of petrol
engine, two standard fuels are used, one is n heptane,
which burns very fast because of straight chain
structure and is highly volatile in nature. Hence it gives
very bad knocking, therefore its octane number is
taken as zero.
 While second standard fuel is iso octane which burns
very smoothly without producing any knock because
of branched structure.
Therefore its octane number is taken as 100.
 Thus octane number scale has been formed in which
iso-octane is rated '100' octane number and n-heptane
is rated '0' octane number.

100% n heptane 100% iso – octane

0 100

octane number octane number

Chemical Structures:

n heptane iso – octane

Thus octane number is defined as
“The percentage by volume of iso octane in an iso-
octane and n-heptane mixture, which matches the fuel
under test in knocking characteristics."
 e.g. A fuel sample is said to have an octane number
80 if its knocking property matches to a mixture of
80% iso-octane and 20% n heptane.
 Hence it is clear that higher the octane number
of fuel, lesser will be its knocking tendency and better
is the quality of fuel for I.C. engine.
 Anti-knocking agents:
Octane number of petrol can be improved by adding
anti-knocking agents such as
i) branched chain alkanes of high molecular weight.
ii) benzene or toluene.
iii) by adding di-ethyl telluride
 Cetane Number
It is used to measure the knocking characteristic of
diesel engine.
In case of diesel engine combustion of diesel takes
place under compression and heat.
 The time interval between the injection of diesel and
its combustion is known as period of ignition, which is
important for knocking in diesel engine.
 In case of diesel engine knocking is due to the delay
in ignition of the first part of the fuel. Cetane and α
methyl naphthalene.
 Hence it is desirable for a fuel to ignite very quickly
without delay.
 In order to determine the cetane number of diesel
following two standard fuel are used cetane and α-
methyl naphthalene.
 Cetane is a saturated hydrocarbon, which ignites very
quickly without delay. Therefore it possess high anti
knocking property and hence its cetane number is
rated as 'l00'.
 While α methyl naphthalene is aromatic
hydrocarbon which does not ignite quickly and thus
has a long ignition delay, therefore it possess less anti
knocking property, hence its cetane number is rated as
zero.
 Thus a cetane number scale has been set up, in
which cetane is rated as '100'
 Thus, if two hydrocarbons such as a methyl
naphthalene and cetane are mixed in all proportions, a
series of fuels having knocking property of cetane
number from '0' to 100 is obtained.

100% α methyl Naphthalene 100% cetane

Cetane number Cetane number

‘0’ ‘100’
2-Methylnaphthalene:

n hexadecane (cetane)
 Cetane number of fuel is determined by comparing
the ignition property or knocking property with the
mixture of cetane and α methyl naphthalene.
Thus cetane number of diesel is defined as
“The percentage by volume of cetane in the mixture of
cetane and α methyl naphthalene which has the same
knocking as the fuel under test, is known as cetane
number.”
 Thus a fuel has cetane number 70 when is matches
with ignition properties or knocking property of the
mixture of 70% cetane and 30% of methyl
naphthalene.
 Anti-knocking agents:
Cetane number of an diesel can be improved by
adding anti knocking agents such as about 2%
acetylene, ethyl nitrite, acetone and di-ethyl ether.
 From study of octane number and cetane number it
shows that in petrol engine knocking is due to the
sudden spontaneous combustion,
 while knocking in diesel engines is due to the delay in
the spontaneous combustion.
 Thus an oil of high octane number has a low cetane
number and vice-versa. Further, a crude oil which gives
petrol of high octane number gives a diesel oil of low
cetane number.
 Power Alcohol
 Definition:-
"When ethyl alcohol is used as fuel in internal
combustion engine for generation of power is called
power alcohol."
Pure ethyl alcohol can not be used as fuel. It is always
used along with petrol in the ratio 1 : 4, that petrol is
known as alcohol blended petrol which has
following advantages and disadvantages.
 Advantages:-
1. Alcohol has an octane number 90, while petrol has 60
to 70. However by the addition of alcohol to petrol
octane number of alcohol blended petrol increases a
hence it possess better anti knocking property than
petrol.
2. Alcohol has property of absorbing the traces of water
if present in petrol and minimizes the starting
difficulties.
3. On adding alcohol to petrol level of oxygen in
blended alcohol petrol is increased, which helps for
complete combustion of fuel and reduces the
polluting emissions of CO, hydrocarbons and
particulates.
4. It reduces dependency on petrol which is non
renewable.
5. Ethyl alcohol is cheaper than petrol and has
renewable source
 Disadvantages :-
1. Calorific value of alcohol is lower than petrol hence
alcohol blended petrol has low calorific value.
2. Alcohol gets easily oxidized to acids, which causes
the corrosion of I.C. engine.
3. Special arrangements are to be provided in
carburetor for starting of such blended petrol,
because alcohol is difficult to atomize due to its high
surface tension, particularly at low temperature.
4. Since the blended petrol requires less air for
combustion than that of pure petrol, it requires
modification or adjustment in carburetor.
5. As only dry alcohol can be used in blended petrol
which is more expensive, cost increases.
 Manufacturing of ethyl alcohol
Ethyl alcohol is mainly manufactured by fermentation
of molasses, starch, carbohydrates etc. by using
invertase and zymase enzymes.
Invertase
i) C12H22O11 C6H12O6 + C6H12O6
H2O
Sucrose in (fermentation) Fructose Glucose
molasses

Zymase enzyme
ii) C6H12O6 2C2H5OH + 2CO2
from yeast 300C
distillation
 Biodiesel
 Definition
“ It is the methyl ester of long chain carboxylic
acids, which is obtained by transesterification of
vegetable oil or animal fats in presence of alcohol
and sodium methoxide as catalyst.
 Reaction
A molecule of oil or fat contains three
molecules of glyceride, which on treating with
alcohol in presence of sodium methoxide as
catalyst gives water soluble glycerol and methyl
esters of long chain carboxylic acid which are
water insoluble and yellowish in color. This
mixture of esters is known as biodiesel
 Preparation
 Take filtered waste vegetable oil or any fatty materials.
 Heat upto 1100C to remove water.
 Then add 2% sodium methoxide by weight and also
20% methanol by volume in fatty oil.
 Reflux the material in water bath for 30 minutes.
 Cool and add water to remove the water soluble
glycerol.
 Separate the water insoluble yellowish oily product
from water, which is known as biodiesel.
 Purify further before use. (distillation)
 Advantages of biodiesel
1) It has higher cetane number than petroleum diesel and
hence possesses better anti knocking property.
2) It has higher calorific value than petroleum diesel i.e.
possesses higher efficiency.
3) It causes less pollution than petroleum diesel, because
it does not emit CO and Particulates during
combustion.
4) It is natural, it also can perform the functions of
lubricant.
5) It is non risky for storage, transportation because of its
high flash point.
6) It has renewable source and hence reduces dependency
on petrol and diesel, which is not renewable.
7) It is cheaper and easy to produce than petroleum diesel.
 Gaseous Fuel
 Gaseous fuel possesses very high calorific value as well
as does not cause pollution.
 It also burns with minimum knocking.
 It burns with uniform rate and rate of combustion can
be easily controlled.
 It is easy to transport as well as to store but is
risky due to inflammable nature of the gas.
 The important gaseous fuels are natural gas, LPG,
CNG, LNG, coke gas, hydrogen gas etc.
Natural Gas
Natural gas is found along with crude oil
and coal. It mainly contains methane.
Composition:-

 CH4 = 80 to 85%
 C2H6 = 4 to 5%
 C4H10 = 1 to 3%
 C5H12 = 1 to 0.5%

Besides these hydrocarbons, natural gas

also contains CO, water vapour,H2S, NH3,
CO2 and N2.
 Properties:-
 i) The calorific value of natural gas varies from 12,000
to 14,000 k cal/m3.
 ii) When natural gas occurs along with petroleum oil,
it is called as wet gas.
 iii) If it is associated with crude oil, it is called as dry
gas.
 iv) Octane number of natural gas is 130, which depends
on its composition.
 Applications
i) It is an excellent domestic fuel.
ii) It has recently been used in manufacturing of a
number of chemicals by synthetic processes.
iii) It is used as raw material for the manufacture of
carbon black, which is used as filler for rubber.
iv) Natural gas is useful for manufacture of hydrogen,
which is utilized in ammonia synthesis.
v) Synthetic proteins are obtained by microbiological
fermentation of methane, which are used as animal
feed.
Compressed Natural Gas: (C.N.G)
Manufacture
After scrubbing out CO2, NH3 , H2S from the natural
gas, it is filled under pressure in cylinder, and is known
as compressed natural gas.
It mainly contains CH4 along with CO and C2 - C4
hydrocarbons.
Composition
 CH4 = 88%
 C2 to C4 = 10%
 CO = 0.5 to 1 %
 Properties
i) C.N.G. on combustion produces little CO and
reactive hydrocarbons thus does not cause air
pollution.
ii) C.N.G. burns very clearly and hence reduces
maintenance cost as well as wear and tear of engine.
iii) Calorific value of C.N.G. is 13,000 cal/liter.
 Applications
i) C.N.G. is used as excellent fuel for domestic
purposes.
ii) It is used as automobile fuel.
iii) It is a good industrial fuel also.
iv) It is also used as a raw material for carbon black and
hydrogen gas.
 Liquefied Natural Gas (L.N.G.)
 Manufacture
 If natural gas stored in liquid form at cryogenic
temperature (- 161°C) and at atmospheric pressure is
known as liquefied natural gas.
 Composition
 It mainly contains propane, butane, pentane, hexane
along with little quantity of CO2, CO.
 Properties
i) It possess high calorific value i.e. 14,000 cal/liter.
 Applications
i) L.N.G. is used as automobile fuel.
ii) It is also used for industrial and domestic heating.
iii) It is used as raw material for hydrogen and carbon
black.
 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (L.P.G.)
 Manufacture
 Propane and butane from natural gas can be isolated
and liquefied at normal conditions of temperature and
pressure and are sold in cylinders or tanks in liquid
form and is known as liquefied petroleum gas.
 Composition
 L.P.G. mainly contains propane and butane along with
little quantity of pentene, hexane.
 Properties
 i) Calorific value of L.P.G. is 25000 cal/liter.
 ii) It burns with blue flame and reduces pollution to
90%.
 iii) It has high octane number.
 Applications:-

 i) It is used mostly as domestic fuel.

 ii) It is used as a fuel in I.C. engine due to minimum
pollution.
 iii) It can be also used as industrial fuel.
 Fuel cells

 Definition:-
 A Fuel cell is a device that converts chemical
energy from fuel into electrical energy(power)
through a chemical reaction with oxygen or other
oxidizing agents.

 William Grove developed the first crude fuel cell in

1839.
 The commercial use of fuel cell was in NASA space
programs to generate power for probes, satellites
and space capsules.
 Fuel cell are used for primary and backup power
for commercial, industrial and residential
buildings.
Advantages:-
 High efficiency
 High energy density
 High reliability in generating electricity
 Silent operation and requires less attention
 The byproducts are environmentally acceptable
as mostly water and waste heat is produced
Limitations:-
 High cost
 Requires storage of large quantity of hydrogen
and availability of alter fuels
 The electrodes used are Pt, Ag or the alloys of
noble metals which are expensive
Cell representation:-
 Fuel cell consists of an anode, cathode and
electrolyte that allows charges to move between
the two sides of the fuel cell.
 Electrons are drawn from the anode to cathode
through an external circuit, producing direct
current electricity.

Fuel|Electrode|Electrolyte |Electrode
|Oxidant
H2 - O2 Fuel cell
 Fuel Cell
Typical diagram of a fuel cell:
The basic arrangement of the fuel cell can be
represented as:
Fuel | Electrode | Electrolyte | Electrode | Oxidant

The cell reaction is as follows:

At anode : 2 H2 → 4 H+ + 4 e-
At cathode: O2 + 4 H+ + 4 e- → 2 H2O
Net reaction: 2 H 2 + O2 → 2 H2O
 Fuel Cell
A fuel cell consists of:
Electrodes: Anode and Cathode
•It should have high electron conductivity and zero
proton conductivity
Catalyst:
i) Platinum is used for low temperature fuel cell
(operating tempt.<1000C)
ii) For high temperature fuel cell (operating
tempt. >5000C), nickel is used as a catalyst.
Electrolyte: Proton exchange membrane.
•It should have high proton conductivity and zero
electron conductivity
 Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell
A “First
generation’’ of Fuel: Hydrogen gas or reformate gas
modern fuel cells or methanol
Oxidizer: Air
Electrolyte: Liquid Phosphoric acid
contained in a Teflon bonded
silicone carbide matrix.
Electrodes: Platinum catalysed,
porous carbon paper bonded with
Teflon on both anode and cathode.
Operating temperature: Between
150-2000C.
 Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell
• Advantages :
1. Efficiency of fuel cell is about 40%.
2.Conc. H3PO4 electrolyte can operate above B.P. of
water.
3.Other acid electrolytes requires water for conductivity.
4.can tolerate CO2 up to 1.5%.
• Disadvantages:
1. costly platinum catalyst is required.
2.Less powerful than H2-O2 and PEMFC.
3.Liquid electrolyte can migrate and leak out.
4.Mostly used in stationary power generation.
 Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell

• Applications:
PAFC’s are used where on-site, high quality, reliable
power is required, so are used in hotels, hospitals,
offices, large vehicles in USA, Japan etc.
 Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

These fuel cells are also known as,

•PEMFC - Proton exchange membrane fuel cell
•IEMFC – Ion exchange membrane fuel cell
•SPFC – Solid polymer fuel cell
Fuel: H2 Oxidizer: Air
Electrolyte: Thin Polymer
membrane named as Nafion
Electrodes: Graphite sheet
impregnated with platinum
on both anode and cathode.
Operating temperature:
Between 50-1000C
 Proton Exchange
Membrane Fuel Cell
• Advantages :
1. High power density and quick start up
2.Low sensitivity to orientations
3. Efficiency is in the range of 50 to60 %
4.Light weight and very compact.
Disadvantages:
Water management is crucial
 expensive catalyst is required
less durable because of chances of degradation of
polymer membrane
 Proton Exchange
Membrane Fuel Cell

• Applications:
1. Used in Mobile phones
2.Used in passenger vehicles such as cars and buses after
stacking
3. Stationary applications like residential and office
buildings
4.Used for backup power systems
 References

• Engineering Chemistry - Jain and Jain

• Engineering Chemistry – O. G. Pallana

• Engineering chemsitry Wiley India Pvt. Ltd.

• Text book of Engineering Chemistry, S. S. Dara and

Umare