Important Fuels

& Composition
CHEMISTRY

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Important Fuels & Composition

What is a Fuel ?
 According to the law of conservation of energy, it can neither be created nor be destroyed, it can only be
changed from one form to another.

 Thus, we cannot produce energy to do certain work.

 Therefore, we use certain substances, which help us transform one form of energy to another form.

 For example, When we burn paper with a matchstick, light is produced by the flame.

 If we analyze this closely, light energy is not created over there, it has just been produced due to the
transformation of heat energy provided by the matchstick into light energy.

 Thus, we always need a certain substance to convert one form of energy into another for accomplishing
various jobs.

 We call such materials as fuels.

 In other words, any substance which upon combustion produces a usable amount of energy is known as
fuel.

 Example: fossil fuels, biogas, nuclear energy, etc.

Classification of Fuels
1. Renewable source of energy: one which is inexhaustible. Example: Solar energy.

2. Non-renewable source of energy: one which is exhaustible. Example: Fossil Fuels.

 Now, the energy produced by burning paper is not enough to run cars, but energy produced by burning
petrol is enough to do so.

 Thus, we can say that each fuel releases its own set of energy i.e. all of them do not release the same
amount of energy upon combustion.

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 The energy produced by combustion of one kg of fuel is known as its calorific value.

 Thus, we can differentiate different fuels based on their calorific value for their efficient usage.

 Furthermore, each of them has a different cost with respect to another.

 Some are cheaper while others are expensive.

 Therefore, we categorize fuel as an ideal based on different criteria.

Important Properties of Ideal Fuel

 An ideal fuel is readily available.

 An ideal fuel is cheap.

 An ideal fuel burns easily in the air at a moderate rate.

 It releases a large amount of energy.

 It should not leave behind any undesirable substances which can be harmful to us.

 It should not affect the environment adversely.

Types of Fuel
 Fuels can be generally classified into two factors:

1. On the basis of their fuels state

 Solid Fuels

 Liquid Fuels

 Gaseous Fuels

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 The energy produced by combustion of one kg of fuel is known as its calorific value.

 Thus, we can differentiate different fuels based on their calorific value for their efficient usage.

 Furthermore, each of them has a different cost with respect to another.

 Some are cheaper while others are expensive.

 Therefore, we categorize fuel as an ideal based on different criteria.

Important Properties of Ideal Fuel

 An ideal fuel is readily available.

 An ideal fuel is cheap.

 An ideal fuel burns easily in the air at a moderate rate.

 It releases a large amount of energy.

 It should not leave behind any undesirable substances which can be harmful to us.

 It should not affect the environment adversely.

Types of Fuel
 Fuels can be generally classified into two factors:

1. On the basis of their fuels state

 Solid Fuels

 Liquid Fuels

 Gaseous Fuels

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Based on their occurrence

 Natural Fuels

 Artificial Fuels

Examples of Fuels

Natural Fuels Artificial Fuels State

Tanbark
Bagasse

Solid Fuels

Liquid Fuels

Coal gas
Producer Gas
Water Gas

Gaseous Fuels
Blast Furnace Gas
Oil Gas

Solid Fuels
 Fuels which are found in their solid state at room temperature are generally referred to as Solid Fuels.

 They were the first kind of fuel known to be used by man, basically wood to create fire.

 Coal was another one of the influential fuels known to man as it leads the way for the industrial revolu-
tion, from firing furnaces to running steam engines.

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Advantages
 Easy to transport and store.

 Low production cost.

 Moderate ignition temperature.

Disadvantages
 Large portion of energy is wasted.

 Cost of handling is high, and controlling is also hard.

 Ash content is high & burn with clinker formation.

Coal
 Also called black gold.

 Found in sedimentary strata [layers of soil].

 Contains carbon, volatile matter, moisture and ash [in some cases Sulphur and phosphorous]

 Mostly used for power generation and metallurgy.

 Coal reserves are six times greater than oil and petroleum reserves.

 Peat, Lignite, Bituminous & Anthracite Coal.

 This division is based on carbon, ash and moisture content.

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Peat
 First stage of transformation.

 Contains less than 40 to 55 per cent carbon more impurities.

 Contains enough volatile matter and lot of moisture

 [more smoke and more pollution].

 Left to itself, it burns like wood, gives less heat, emits more smoke

 and leaves a lot of ash.

Lignite
 Brown coal.

 Lower grade coal.

 40 to 55 per cent carbon.

 Intermediate stage.

 Dark to black brown.

 Moisture content is high (over 35 per cent).

 It undergoes SPONTANEOUS COMBUS- TION [Bad. Creates fire accidents in mines]

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Bituminous Coal
 Soft coal; most widely available and used coal.

 Derives its name after a liquid called bitumen.

 40 to 80 per cent carbon.

 Moisture and volatile content (15 to 40 per cent)

 Dense, compact, and is usually of black colour.

 Does not have traces of original vegetable material.

 Calorific value is very high due to high proportion of carbon and low moisture.

 Used in production of coke and gas.

Anthracite Coal
 Best quality; hard coal.

 80 to 95 per cent carbon.

 Very little volatile matter.

 Negligibly small proportion of moisture.

 Semi-metallic lustre.

 Ignites slowly less loss of heat

 highly efficient.

 Ignites slowly and burns with a nice short blue flame. [Complete combustion

 Flame is BLUE little or no pollutants. Example: LPG]

 In India, it is found only in Jammu and Kashmir, but in small quantity.

Liquid Fuels

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 Most liquid fuels are derived from the fossilized remains of dead plants and animals by exposure to heat
and pressure in the Earth’s crust.

 The fumes of the liquid fuel are flammable instead of the liquid.

Advantages
 Higher calorific value per unit mass.

 Burn without ash, clinkers, etc.

 Controlling the combustion is easier.

 Transportation easier through pipes and stored indefinitely without loss.

 Loss of energy is comparatively lower.

 Require less furnace space for combustion.

Disadvantages
 Cost of liquid fuel is much higher compared to solid fuel.

 Storage methods are costlier.

 Greater risk of fire hazards.

 Special burning equipment required for more efficient combustion

Petrol

 The color and viscosity of petroleum vary markedly from one place to another.

 Most petroleum is dark brown or blackish in color, but it also occurs in green, red, or yellow.

 Although there is considerable variation between the ratios of organic molecules, the elemental compo-
sition of petroleum is well-defined:

 Carbon - 83 to 87%

 Hydrogen - 10 to 14%

 Nitrogen - 0.1 to 2% 4. Oxygen - 0.05 to 1.5% 5. Sulfur - 0.05 to 6.0%

 Oxygen - 0.05 to 1.5% 5. Sulfur - 0.05 to 6.0%

 Sulfur - 0.05 to 6.0%

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 Metals - < 0.1%

Refining of Petrol
 Products produced in Petroleum Refining Process

 Petroleum Gas: Generally, liquefied petroleum gas is useful for domestic fuel.

 Gasoline: Procuration of petrol occurs from this fraction.

 Kerosene: It is used as domestic fuel and as fuel in jet engines.

 Diesel oil or light oil: It is useful in the automobile industry.

 Heavy Oil or Lubricating Oil: This type of oil is used in making lubricating oils.

 Fuel Oil: It is essential for ships, central heating, and factories.

 Residue: We can procure products like paraffin wax, bitumen from this residue. It is useful for making
roads and roofing.

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

 Most gaseous fuels are composed of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, hydrogen or a mixture of them all.

Advantages
 Transportation through pipes is easy.

 Sparking combustion is really easy.

 They have a higher heat content.

 Clean after use.

 Do Not require any special burner technology.

Disadvantages
 Large storage tanks required.

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 As they are highly inflammable, the chance for fire hazards are extremely high and strict safety
measures need to be followed.

What are fossil fuels?

 Fossil fuels are the dead and decayed remains of plants and animals subjected to decades of pressure
and temperature under the earth’s crust.

 Primarily fossil fuels are hydrocarbons.

 They are convenient and effective.

 They provide the calorific value required to fulfill our needs.

 Even though they are available in plenty right now, they are a non-renewable source of energy.

 The burning of fossil fuels is responsible for a large section of the world’s pollution index.

Types of Fossil Fuels

 Coal

 Oil

 Natural Gas

Fuels and its Composition

Fuel Composition Sources

By passing stream overred

Water Gas Carbon monoxide (co) + Hydrogen (h2) hot coke

Producer Gas Carbon monoxide (CO) + Nitrogen ( N2)

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Coal Gas
+ Acetylene + CO + Nitrogen

Methan (83%) + Ethane From Petroleum

Liquefied PetroleumGas
(LPG) Butane (C4H10) 95% From Petroleum

Compressed Natu-ral
Gas (CNG) Methane (CH4) 95% From Petroleum

Biogas or Methane (CH4) + Carbon dioxide (CO2)

Gobar Gas From organic wastes

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