Zawia University

Sabratha Faculty of Engineering, SFE

Department of Mechanical & Environmental
Engineering

Energy and Environment

ME 627
Dr. M. Beskri

Spring 2016
Sunday 02:30 pm – 04:30 pm

Mohamed.almehdi85@gmail.com, Baset.krbash90@gmail.com, Elmoktaf@yahoo.com, Muradsalah84@gmail.com, Aziz.ber.90@gmail.com

 
 Course timetable and grades distributions

Project 25%*
• 15 points for the report & 10 points for the presentation.
• Submission of the title is due on the 05th of June, 2016.
• Approval of the titles is on the 12th of June, 2016.
• Submission of the report is due on the 17th of July, 2016.
• Presentations start on the 24th of July. All presentations will be
given at one day starting with the earliest registered number
and so on.
• Mid-term Test 25% 10/07/2016.
• Final Examination* 50% 31/07/2016.

• 5% Extra points for complete attendance.

• * If any changes occur, you will otherwise be informed.
•   mohamedbeskri9@gmail.com
Fuel: is any material that stores energy that can
later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a
controlled manner.
Fossil Fuels:
3 main types: coal, oil, natural gas. It represents
85% of the world’s commercial energy. Coal is the
most abundant and most polluting energy source.
coal has high-sulfur content; hence, it is more
expensive to mine.
Alternative Fuels: Fuels that are substantially
non-petroleum and yield energy security and
environmental benefits.
 Comparison of major types of fossil fuel

• 1. Carbon content
• 2. Heat Content
• 3. Environmental Concerns
 Carbon Content
• Oil contains 17% less C/unit energy than coal.

• Natural gas contains 43% less C/unit energy than

coal.
• Natural gas contains 31% less C/unit energy than
oil

Gas < Oil < Coal

 Heat content
Units Heat (106 Btu)

• Coal Short ton 21.266

• Anthracite Short ton 22.244

• Natural Gas 1000 ft3 1.029

• Gasoline Gallon 0.125079

• Heating Oil Gallon 6.49

• Electricity Kwh 0.003412

• Wood Cord 21.50

Environmental Concerns

Refer to Slides 24-32

Alternative Fuels as defined by EPA:
- Natural Gas – Compressed or Liquefied.
- Propane/Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
- Ethanol (denatured, E-5 & E-85).
- Methanol (M-85).
- Electricity and Hybrid Electric.
- Biodiesel (B100 neat, B20, B5).
- Hydrogen (ICE and Fuel Cell).
- P-Series and blends.

• E85 or E5 percentage Ethanol to gasoline.

• B100 neat, B20, B10, B5 Percentage vegetable oil to diesel.
 Types and Properties of Fuels
• there are alternative fuels like bio-gas and ethanol, we are not
dealing in detail as they are not used in practice due to non-
availability in sufficient quantity.
• Petrol
• Diesel
• CNG
• LPG (Propane).
• Compressed air.

• Apart from these fuels we can also use Electric

and Hybrid Vehicles which are eco-friendly.
 Gasoline
• Gasoline or petrol - is a petroleum-derived
liquid mixture which is primarily used as a fuel in
internal combustion engines.
• Crude Oil: A complex mix of hydrocarbons with
different boiling points.
• Refining: separating crude into a number of
different products.
 Gasoline …Continued
• A typical gasoline is predominantly a mixture of paraffin's, naphthenes and
olefins.

• Energy content per kilogram is higher than for gasoline (higher hydrogen to

carbon ratio).

• The weight-density of gasoline is about 740 kg/m³.

• Gasoline contains about 43.2 MJ/L energy content.

• The CO2 emissions from diesel are 73.38 g/MJ.

• Octane rating of gasoline is it’s ability to resist.

• Auto-ignition is measured relative to a mixture of 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (an

isomer of octane) and n-heptane.
 Oil or Petroleum
Buried organic matter and rich in hydrocarbons
The U.S. Accounts for 26% of World Oil Consumption and
9% of World Oil Production,
but Has Only 2% of World Oil Reserves
 Diesel
• Diesel: is any liquid fuel used in diesel engines produced from petroleum and
many other sources.

• Density of diesel is about 0.832 kg/l (6.943 lb/US gal), about 12% more than ethanol-
free petrol (gasoline), which has a density of about 0.745 kg/l (6.217 lb/US gal).

• Offers a net heating value of 43.1 MJ/kg as opposed to 43.2 MJ/kg for gasoline.

• Higher volumetric energy density at 35.86 MJ/l (128 700 BTU/US gal) vs. 32.18
MJ/l(115 500 BTU/US gal) for gasoline.

• The CO2 emissions from diesel are 73.25 g/MJ, just slightly lower than for gasoline at
73.38 g/MJ.

• Cetane number for diesel is a measure of the fuel’s delay of ignition time.
 Cetane Number
• It is a Measure of the ignition quality of diesel 
fuel; higher this number, the easier it is to start
a standard (direct-injection) diesel engine. It
denotes the percentage (by volume) of cetane (
chemical name Hexadecane) in a combustible
mixture (containing cetane and 1-
methylnapthalene) whose ignition characteristics
 match those of the diesel fuel being tested.
 Octane Number

• Measure of the ignition quality of gas (gasoline or petrol).

Higher this number, the less susceptible is the gas to
'knocking' (explosion caused by its premature burning in
the combustion chamber) when burnt in a standard
 (spark-ignition internal combustion) engine.
 Octane number denotes the percentage (by volume) of
iso-octane (a type of octane) in a combustible mixture (
containing iso-octane and normal-heptane) whose 'anti-
knocking' characteristics match those of the gas being
tested.
 Natural Gas
• Natural gas: is a mixture of methane (CH4) 50-
90% by volume, and other heavier hydrocarbons.
• Source rock: where we find oil and natural gas.
 Composition of Natural Gas
• Mostly methane, CH4
• Some ethane, C2H6
• Propane, C3H8
• Butane, C4H10
• Hydrogen, H2
• Some Nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and
hydrogen sulphide.
 Natural Gas
Advantages & disadvantages
• Cleaner to burn: • Difficult to transport:
– Half as much CO2 – Pipelines.
as coal. – Liquified Natural Gas
(LNG) tankers.

• More efficient: • Can be polluting,

– 10% energy lost. dangerous when
extracted.

• 60-year supply at • Methane bed drilling

current rates. pollutes.
 CNG
• Compressed natural gas,  (CNG), is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline
(petrol), diesel, or propane/LPG.

• Produced by compressing natural gas methane [CH4]), to less than 1% of

the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure.

• It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of 200 –248

usually in cylindrical or spherical shapes.

• Volumetric energy density is estimated to be 42% of LNG's (because it is

not liquefied), and 25% of conventional vehicles.

• CNG is less likely to auto-ignite on hot surfaces, since it has a high auto-
ignition temperature (540 °C) and a narrow range (5%-15%) of flammability.

• CNG can be used in Otto-cycle (gasoline) and modified Diesel cycle

engines except the design should be altered.
 CNG … contiued

• CNG fuel systems are sealed, which prevents

any spill or evaporation losses.

• CNG does not contaminate and dilute

the crankcase oil.

• CNG takes up more space for each gasoline

gallon equivalent (GGE) and greater amount of
space for fuel storage.
 Propane – LPG
• Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases used
as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles. The international standard is EN 589.

• Specific calorific value of 46.1 MJ/kg compared with 42.5 MJ/kg for fuel-oil and43.5
MJ/kg for premium grade petrol (gasoline).

• Energy density per volume unit of 26 MJ/l is lower than either that of petrol or fuel-oil.

• Higher calorific value (94 MJ/m3 equivalent to 26.1kWh/m³) than natural

gas(methane) (38 MJ/m3 equivalent to 10.6 kWh/m3).

• Used as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant to reduce ozone layer damage

• compared to CFC’s.

• Liquefied Compressed Natural Gas (LCNG). LNG can be pressurized and vaporized
to give LCNG.
 COMPRESSED AIR
• If we can use air as fuel, why think about using anything else? Air is all
around us. Air never runs out. Air is nonpolluting. Best of all, air is free.

• Less working temperatures up to only 100 degree Celsius.

• Carbon or glass fiber tanks can crack easily are used to avoid explosion
during accidents where Air is stored at a pressure of 4,351 psi.

• Priced at $12,700-$15000 can hit 68 mph at a range of 125 miles.

• Takes just minutes to get refueled.

• Cost only around $2 to fill the car up with 340 liters of air.

• 0.176 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per mile compared to 0.40 of I.C
engines.
 Comparison of these types of fuels
Environmentally
• Petrol has the disadvantage of emitting carbon monoxide, which is
a very poisonous gas.

• Diesel, though it emits dusty gas, has more environment friendly

emissions than petrol.

• LPG/CNG are much more environmental friendly and produces a

clean exhaust gas.
 
Rank  Fuel Type
1 Air
2/3 LPG/CNG
4 Diesel
5 Petrol
 Environmental Impacts of
Fossil Fuels--Combustion

• Human health.

• Acid rain.

• Global climate change.

 Effects on health

• Black Lung Disease

(miners)

• Respiratory illnesses
(public)
 Effects on land
• Coal sludge releases

• Hardpan at strip mines

• Mountaintop removal

• Huge water use

– Slurry pipelines
 Effects on air
• Greenhouse gases
– sulfur dioxide
– nitrogen oxides
– carbon dioxide

• Toxics
– Mercury
– Uranium
 A greenhouse gas
• A greenhouse gas: Any of the atmospheric gases
that contribute to the greenhouse effect.

•  (sometimes abbreviated GHG) is a gas in an

atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the 
thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental
cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse
gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water
vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,
and ozone. 

• I advice you to read about the greenhouse effect.

Acid rain
Acid rain global problems
 Acid rain
Sources of Nitrogen Oxides: Acidity of rain

• pH of 6.0
Transport – Kills insects,
ation
Electrical crabs
plants
Other

• pH < 5.0
– Kills fish, trees
 Advantages of using natural
sources of energy
• They are inexhaustible – they will always be
available – they are renewable
• They are clean and will not damage the Earth
• There are several types – so one or more of
them is present in each country
• Most natural sources can be used on a small
scale and serve local needs therefore cutting
costs of transmitting the energy.
 Alternative sources of energy
• What is the alternative sources of energy?
• An energy source that can be used
instead of fossil fuels
• It is usually a renewable source of energy
that could be used in case of fossil fuels
run out.
 Continuation to …. alternative sources of energy

• Why is there a need for alternative sources of

energy?
• Burning fossil fuels has increased atmospheric
pollution.
• Vehicle exhausts contribute to acid rain more so
than power stations burning coal.
• The carbon stored in fossil fuels is released as
carbon dioxide when they are burnt – this leads
to the green house effect and global warming
• Don’t get this confused with the hole in the
ozone layer – this was caused by CFC’s
So what are the alternative energy sources to fossil fuels?
• Future Fuels and Electricity:
• Now:
• Fossil fuels: natural gas, oil, coal
– Gas, steam turbines, combined cycle
• Intermediate:
– Hydrogen from fossil fuels
– Fuel cells and new processes
– Distributed systems
– Superconducting transmission lines
• Future
– Nuclear
– Solar
– Hydrogen from water
• Electrolysis
• Thermal from HT nuclear reactors
• Photo-electrolysis
– Renewables
 Nuclear power was seen as the
answer
• Huge amounts of power could be
produced from a small amount of uranium.
• But:
• it produces radioactive waste.
• The waste is dangerous to health.
• There is no secure place for storage.
• Public confidence has also been shattered
by the explosion at Chernobyl in 1986
Alternative Energy Technologies: Fuel Cells

• What is a Fuel Cell?

• A fuel cell is a device that converts the
chemical energy from a fuel into electricity
through a chemical reaction with oxygen
or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is
the most common fuel.
 • Energy Sector –
Fuel Combustion Emissions
 Stationary sources
• Energy Industries
– Extraction, production and transformation
– Electricity generation, petroleum refining
– Autoproduction of electricity
• Manufacturing Industries and Construction
– Iron and steel production
– Non-ferrous metal production
– Chemical manufacturing
– Pulp, paper and print
– Food processing, beverages and tobacco
• Commercial/Institutional
• Residential
• Agriculture/Forestry/Fisheries
 Mobile sources
• Civil Aviation
• Road Transportation
– Cars
– Light duty trucks
– Heavy duty trucks and buses
– Motorcycles
• Railways
• Navigation

• International Bunker Fuels are reported

separately
 Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions

• Methodology is mass-balance-based.
• Oxidation of the carbon in fuels during
combustion.
• In perfect combustion conditions, total
carbon content of fuels would be
converted to CO2.
• Real combustion processes result in small
amounts of partially oxidized and
unoxidized carbon.
 Carbon flow for a typical combustion process

• Most carbon is emitted as CO2 immediately

• Small fraction emitted as non-CO2 gases
– CH4, CO, non-methane volatile organic compounds
(NMVOCs)
– Ultimately oxidizes to CO2 in the atmosphere
– Integrated into overall calculation of CO2 emissions
– Each carbon atom has two atmospheric lifetimes
• Remaining part of the fuel carbon is unburnt
– Assumed to remain as solid (ash and soot)
– Account by using oxidation factors
 Non-CO2 emissions

• Direct greenhouse gases

– Methane (CH4)
– Nitrous oxide (N2O)

• Precursors and SO2

– Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
– Carbon monoxide (CO)
– Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs)
– Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
 Methane (CH4)

• Emissions a function of:

– methane content of the fuel
– hydrocarbons passing unburnt through engine
– engine type
– post-combustion controls
• Depends on temperature in boiler/kiln/stove
• Highest emissions in residential applications
(e.g. small stoves, open biomass burning,
charcoal production).
 Nitrous oxide (N2O)
• Lower combustion temperatures tend to lead
to higher N2O emissions
• Emission controls (catalysts) on vehicles can
increase the rate of N2O generation,
depending on:
– driving practices (i.e. number of cold starts)
– type and age of the catalyst
• Significant emissions for countries with a high
penetration of vehicles with catalysts.
 Methods for estimating CO2
• Reference Approach
– Estimates based on national energy balance (production +
imports - exports) by fuel type without information on activities
– Performed quickly if basic energy balance sheet is available
– Way of cross-checking emission estimates of CO2 with the
Sectoral Approach
• Sectoral Approach
– Estimates based on fuel consumption data by sectoral activity
• Bottom-Up Approaches
– More detailed activity and fuel data
Fundamental equation
 Six basic steps
1. Collect fuel consumption data
2. Convert fuel data to a common energy unit
3. Select carbon content factors for each fossil
fuel/product type and estimate the total carbon
content of fuels consumed
4. Subtract the amount of carbon stored in
products for long periods of time
5. Multiply by an oxidation factor
6. Convert carbon to full molecular weight of CO2
and sum across all fuels
 2. Common energy unit
• Convert fuel data to a common energy unit
• Production and consumption of solid and liquid
fuels in tonnes
• Gaseous fuels in cubic meters
• Original units converted into energy units using
calorific values (i.e. heating values)
• Reference approach: use different calorific
values for production, imports and exports
• Calorific values used should be reported
 3. Estimate total carbon content of
fuels consumed
Natural gas
– Depends on composition (methane, ethane, propane, butane
and heavier hydrocarbons)
– Natural gas flared at the production site will usually be “wet’’ – its
carbon content factor will be different
– Typical: 15 to 17 tonnes C/TJ
Oil
– Lower carbon content for light refined petroleum products such
as gasoline
– Higher for heavier products such as residual fuel oil
– Typical for crude oil is 20 tonnes C/TJ
Coal
– Depend on coal's rank and composition of hydrogen, sulfur, ash,
oxygen and nitrogen
– Typical ranges from 25 to 28 tonnes C/TJ
 4. Subtract non-energy uses
• Oil refineries: asphalt and bitumen for road construction, naphthas,
lubricants and plastics
• Natural gas: for ammonia production
• Liquid petroleum gas (LPG): solvents and synthetic rubber
• Coking: metals industry
Attempt to use country-specific data instead of Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, IPCC default carbon storage factors.
 5. Oxidation factor
• Multiply by an oxidation factor to
account for the small amount of
unoxidized carbon that is left in
ash or soot.
• Amount of carbon remaining
unoxidized should be low for oil
and natural gas combustion…
• …but can be larger and more
variable for coal combustion
• When national oxidation factors
are not available, use IPCC
default factors
 Oxidation factor values
Natural gas
– Less than 1% left unburnt
– Remains as soot in the burner, stack or environment
– IPCC default oxidation factor = 99.5%
– Higher for flares in the oil and gas industry
– Closer to 100% for efficient turbines
Oil
– 1.5 ± 1 per cent left unburnt
– IPCC default oxidation factor = 99%
– Recent research has shown 100% in autos.
 Oxidation factor values (cont.)

Coal
– Range from 0.6% to 6.6% unburnt
– Primarily in the form of bottom and fly ash
– IPCC default oxidation factor = 98%
Biomass
– Can range widely, especially for open combustion
– For closed combustion (e.g. boiler), the range is from
1% to 10%
– No IPCC default.
6. Convert to full molecular weight and sum

• Convert carbon to full molecular weight of

CO2 and add across all fuels
• To express the results as CO2, multiply the
quantity of carbon oxidized by the
molecular weight ratio of CO2 to C (44:12)
 International bunker fuels
• CO2 emissions arising from fuels used in ships
or aircraft for international transport, not to be
included in the national total
• Fuels delivered to and consumed by
international bunkers should be subtracted from
the fuel supply to the country
• Bunker fuel emissions should be mentioned in a
separate table as a memo item
• See IPCC decision trees on marine and aviation
transport emission allocation.
 Biomass fuels
• CO2 emissions from biomass fuels should not be
included in national emission totals from fuel
combustion
• Reported for information only…
– household fuelwood
– ethanol & biodiesel for transport
• Account for mixed fuels (e.g. ethanol blends)
• Net CO2 emissions implicitly accounted for under
the Land Use Change and Forestry Sector
• Non-CO2 emissions from biomass combustion
should be estimated and reported under the Energy
Sector!
Methods for non-CO2 emissions
Tier 1
• Multiply fuel consumed by an average emission factor
• Does not require detailed activity data
• Rely on widely available fuel supply data that assume an average
combustion technology is used

Tiers 2/3
• Multiply fuel consumed by detailed fuel type and technology-specific
emission factors
• Tier 2 methods use data that are disaggregated according to technology
types
• Tier 3 methods estimate emissions according to activity types (km
traveled or tonne-km carried) and specific fuel efficiency or fuel rates

Use most disaggregated technology-specific and country-specific emission

factors available
 Fundamental equation
Emissions =
Σ(Emission Factorabc • Fuel Consumptionabc)

Where,
a = fuel type
b = sector activity
c = technology type including emissions controls.
 Stationary combustion
• Default emission factors for CH4, N2O, NOx, CO
and NMVOCs by major technology and fuel type
are presented in the IPCC Guidelines
• Most notable: CH4 emissions from open burning
and biomass combustion
• Charcoal production is likely to produce methane
emissions at a rate that is several orders of
magnitude greater than from other combustion
processes.
 Mobile combustion
• Major transport activity (road, air, rail and
ships)
• Most notable: N2O emissions from road
transportation, affected by the type of
emission control technologies
• Non-Annex I Parties should focus their
efforts on collecting data on the number of
vehicles with catalytic emissions control
devices that operate in their country