LESSON 02: FUELS AND ENERGY

Unit 01: The Fuel and Energy Relationship

Introduction:

Have you ever wondered how an internal combustion engine makes a vehicle move upon
introducing fuel to it? Have you thought of the reason why we become weak when do not eat
much food for a day’s work? Answers to such queries can be found by going through a discussion
on the relationship of fuel and energy.

Lesson Objectives:

After successful completion of this lesson, the students are expected to:

1.) Define what a fuel is.

2.) Cite the different classifications of fuels.
3.) Discuss how fuels generate energy and explain why do they have different energy values.
4.) Define what is octane number and discuss its relationship with engine knocking.
5.) Differentiate the different calorific values and their means of determination.
6.) Discuss the relationship of the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics to energy
production from fuels.

Course Materials:

What is a fuel?

Fuels are dense repositories of energy that are consumed to provide energy services such
as heating, transportation and electrical generation.1 They are substances which when
undergoes the process of combustion, will produce energy in the form of heat. Fuels contain
elements that are readily combustible (readily reacts with air oxygen) such as carbon and
hydrogen.

Classifications of Fuel

Fuels can be classified according to its phases: solid, liquid and gaseous.

A. Solid fuels

a) Coal

Coal originated from the arrested decay of the remains of different forms of plant
life which flourished in huge swamps and bog millions of years ago.2

b) Coke
Coke is the solid, cellular, infusible material remaining after the carbonization of
coal, pitch and petroleum residues and certain other carbonaceous materials.2

c) Coal Char
Coal char is the non-agglomerated, non-fusible residue from the thermal treatment
of coal.
 d) Peat
Peat is partially decomposed plant matter that has accumulated underwater of in
a water-saturated environment.2

e) Wood
Wood is a hard fibrous substance consisting basically of xylem that makes up
the greater part of the stems, branches, and roots of trees or shrubs beneath
the bark and is found to a limited extent in herbaceous plants. 3

f) Charcoal
Charcoal is the residue from the destructive distillation of wood.2

g) Solid wastes and biomass

Biomass is a plant material and animal waste used especially as a fuel.3

B. Liquid fuels

1. Liquid petroleum fuels

Liquid petroleum fuels are made by fractional distillation of crude petroleum which
is a mixture of hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon derivatives.2

2. Nonpetroleum liquid fuels

a. Tar sands
Canadian tar sands are strip-mined and extracted with hot water to recover
heavy oil which is further processed into naphtha, kerosene and gasoline
fractions.2

b. Oil shale
Oil shale is nonporous rock containing organic kerosene.

c. Coal-derived fuels
Liquid fuels derived from coal range from highly aromatic coal tars to liquids
resembling petroleum.

C. Gaseous fuels

1. Natural gas
Natural gas is a combustible gas that occurs in porous rock of the earth’s crust and
is found with or near accumulations of crude oil.

2. Hydrogen gas
Hydrogen gas is made industrially by the steam reforming of natural gas, as the
by-product or industrial operations such as thermal cracking of hydrocarbon and
the production of chlorine, and to a lesser extent, by the electrolysis of water.2

3. Acetylene
Acetylene is a colorless hydrocarbon with a chemical formula of C2H2.3
 4. Miscellaneous fuels
This includes reformed gas, oil gases, producer gas, blue water gas, carbureted
water gas, coal gas and blast-furnace gas.2

An Overview: How do fuels generate energy?

Chemical energy is the interaction energy present between the atomic elements that comprise
a material. When the bonds between atoms changes, the energy between them can either be
absorbed or released. When the process of absorbing energy is involved, it means that energy is
stored. Wood has a stored energy absorbed from the sun which can be released through
appropriate processes. With this, we can claim that wood provides energy and can be considered
as a fuel.

The energy that is released from the combustion of a fuel is equivalent to the difference of the
energy available between the bonds that were broken and the energy that is used in the formation
of new bonds that were formed due to the process.

𝑁𝑒𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 = ∑ 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑔𝑒 − ∑ 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

Consider the combustion of methane (CH4), a highly combustible hydrocarbon.

𝐶𝐻4(𝑙) + 2𝑂2(𝑔) → 𝐶𝑂2(𝑔) + 2𝐻2 𝑂(𝑙)

In the given reaction, the bonds between C-H and O-O are broken down and bonds between C-
O and H-O are formed. With this, the energy that is released during the procedure is equivalent
to the total energy that exist between the C-H and O-O bonds minus the total energy that exist
between the C-O and H-O.

The C-H bond energy is around 410 kJ/mole and the O-O bond energy is 494 kJ/mole. Given this
data, the total bond energy that was released due to the breakdown of four (4) C-H bonds and
two (2) O-O bond is 2628 kJ/mole. C-O bond energy is around 799 kJ/mole and the H-O bond
energy is around 460 kJ/mole. Given this data, the total bond energy that was absorbed due to
the formation of two (2) C-O bond and four (4) H-O bond is 3438 kJ/mole. Therefore, net energy
released from the combustion of one mole of methane (CH4) is 810 kJ.

410 𝑘𝐽 494 𝑘𝐽 799 𝑘𝐽 460 𝑘𝐽

𝑁𝑒𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 = [(4𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑥 ) + (2𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑥 )] − [(2 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑥 ) + (4 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑥 )]
𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑙
= 810 𝑘𝐽

How does an internal combustion engine work?

The turning on of the ignition of the vehicle produces electric current from the battery which will
turn the engine on. When the engine is on, it begins to consume fuel and air. The combustion
reaction between the fuel and the air will occur upon firing of the spark plug. The chemical energy
that is produced from the combustion reaction is what keeps the engine running.

The ratio of the maximum volume of the gasoline-air mixture ate the beginning of the compression
stroke of the engine to the volume of the fully compressed mixture as the spark plug fires at the
end of the compression stroke is known as the compression ratio.4 The higher the compression
ratio, the higher the combustion ratio, the more energy is squeeze out of the fuel and the more
power the engine can provide.

However, the compression ratio is limited by knocking, that is, the higher the compression ratio,
the higher the occurrence of knocking to occur. Knocking is a rapid pinging or knocking sound
that comes from an engine when it is pushed to produce a lot of power quickly. It is a result (1)
from an ignition of the mixture before the piston has risen to the point where the spark plug
normally fires, (2) from a combustion that begins spontaneously at one or more spots in the
cylinder, either before or just as the plug fires, or (3) a combination of the two. Knocking can result
to a loss of power, inefficient and uneconomical fuel use and can produce fractures in the top
surface of the piston.4

Studies show that the more highly branched an alkane is, the greater is its tendency to burn
smoothly and evenly and to resist knocking4. With this, branched alkanes are blended to the fuel
to improve its resistance to knocking. The fuel mixture content is reflected on the fuel’s octane
rating or octane number, which is also a measure of the fuel’s ability to resist engine knock. The
higher the octane number of the fuel, the higher is its ability to resist knocking. Straight chain
unbranched alkanes are assigned with low octane numbers because they have a great tendency
to knock, while highly branched and aromatic hydrocarbons receive high octane numbers
because of their high resistance against knocking.

Octane (C8H18), a straight-chain hydrocarbon, was used as a reference because it has a highly
branched isomer called the 2-2-4-trimethylpentane which has a considerable ability to burn
smoothly and resist knocking; therefore, has an assigned octane number of 100. Meanwhile,
heptane was assigned with zero octane number because of its great tendency to knock. The
combination of 2-2-4-trimethylpentane and heptane is used to evaluate octane ratings.

How does a human engine work?

Metabolism is a complex series of chemical reactions taking place inside a living organism which
includes the breaking down of food as its means of producing energy. Carbohydrates, proteins
and fats are made up of hydrocarbons which reacts with oxygen to break its bonds to produce
energy.

Fuel Calorific Value

Because different fuels have different chemical structures and compositions, they also provide
different amount of energy.

The amount of heat that is liberated by a fuel’s complete combustion is known as the fuel’s calorific
value or heating value. The higher the calorific value of a fuel, the higher is the amount of energy
that is released from it during the combustion process. Table 1.0 shows different mechanical fuels
with their corresponding calorific values while Table2.0 shows the calorific value for food.
 Table 1.0 Calorific values of different mechanical fuels.
ENERGY ENERGY
CONTENT CONTENT
FUELS
(Lower Heating (Higher Heating
Value, BTU/gal) Value, BTU/gal)
Gasoline 112,114 - 116,090 120,388 - 124,340
Low Sulfur Diesel 128,488 138,490
Biodiesel 119,550 127,960
Propane (LPG) 84,250 91,420
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) *20,160 *22,453
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) *21,240 *23,726
Ethanol 76,330 84,530
Methanol 57,250 65,200
Hydrogen *51,585 *61,013
5
Source: www.afdc.energy.gov ; Note: *BTU/lb

Table 2.0: Calorific Values of Food Content

ENERGY CONTENT, calories
FUEL
per gram
Carbohydrates 4
Proteins 4
Fat 9
6
Source: www.nal.usda.gov

The fuel calorific value can be determined using the method of calorimetry through the application
of the First Law of Thermodynamics.

Sample Problem 01:

A pouch of a chocolate has 10 grams of fat, 24 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of protein.
(a) Calculate the total energy, in calories, that this pouch of chocolate can provide.

Solution:
9 𝑐𝑎𝑙 4 𝑐𝑎𝑙 4 𝑐𝑎𝑙
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 = (10 𝑔 𝑥 ) + (24 𝑔 𝑥 ) + (4 𝑔 𝑥 ) = 202 𝑐𝑎𝑙
𝑔 𝑔 𝑔

Fuel Energy and its Relationship to Thermodynamics

The potential energy that can be derived from fuels are transformed into different forms that can
be used as a source of power. With this, the energy from the fuel is said to be conserved; hence,
follows the First Law of Thermodynamics which is also known as the Law of Conservation of
Energy. This thermal energy is taken randomly and is transformed into ordered work by going
against the Second Law of Thermodynamics which states that “the entropy of the universe is
increasing.”
Activities and Assessments:

1.) In your own words, define what is a fuel and how do they generate energy.
2.) Cite the different classifications of fuels. Explain the reason why they have different energy
values.
3.) Define what is octane number and discuss its relationship with engine knocking.
4.) Discuss the relationship of the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics to energy
production from fuels.
5.) Look for any food label and calculate the total energy that it can provide.