Benghazi University Faculty of Engineering

.Petroleum Engineering Dept

FUEL AND COMBUSTION

PE 488
Sheet # 1
Mr. Salah Elbadri
Spring 2020
 
 
 
FUELS AND COMBUSTION
•Introduction
Fuel is a combustible substance, containing carbon as a main
constituent, which on proper burning gives large amount of heat, which
can be used economically for domestic and industrial purpose.
Example :
Wood, charcoal, coal, kerosene, petrol, diesel, producer gas, oil
gas etc.
During the process of combustion, carbon, hydrogen, etc., combine
with oxygen with a liberation of heat.
The combustion reaction can be explained as
Classification of Fuels -2
Fuels are classified into
(i) Primary or Natural fuels - These are found in nature.
(ii) Secondary or Artificial fuels - These are derived from
primary fuels.
Primary and secondary fuels may also be divided into 3 classes
namely solid, liquid and gaseous fuels.
2.1- Solid Fuels
Coal is a familiar solid fuel. Its composition varies considerably with the
location from which it is mined. For combustion calculations, the
composition of coal is usually expressed as an ultimate analysis. The
ultimate analysis gives the composition on a mass basis in terms of the
relative amounts of chemical elements (carbon, sulfur, hydrogen,
nitrogen, oxygen) and ash. The ultimate analysis gives the chemical
elements that comprise the coal substance, together with ash and
moisture. The coal substance consists of organic compounds of carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen derived from the original vegetable matter. The
analysis shows the following components on mass basis: carbon (C),
hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), moisture (M) and ash
(A). Therefore
2.2- Liquid Fuels
Liquid hydrocarbon fuels are commonly derived from crude oil through distillation and cracking
processes. Examples are gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, and other types of fuel oil. Most liquid
fuels are mixtures of hydrocarbons for which compositions are usually given in terms of mass
fractions
Advantages :
1. Require less space for storage.
2. Higher calorific value.
3. They have nearly constant calorific value
4. Easy control of consumption.
5. Staff economy.
6. Absence of danger from spontaneous combustion.
7. Easy handling and transportation.
8. Cleanliness.
9. No ash problem.
10. Non-deterioration of the oil in storage.
Disadvantages:
1. Higher cost.
2. Greater risk of fire
3. Costly containers are required for storage and transport.
2.3- Gaseous Fuels
Gaseous hydrocarbon fuels are obtained from natural gas wells or are produced in certain
chemical processes. Natural gas normally consists of several different hydrocarbons, with the
major constituent being methane, CH4. The compositions of gaseous fuels are usually given in
terms of mole fractions.
Advantages :
1. Better control of combustion.
2. Much less excess air is needed for complete combustion.
3. Economy in fuel and more efficiency of furnace operation.
4. Easy maintenance of oxidizing or reducing atmosphere.
5. Cleanest of all type of fuels.
6. No problem of storage if the supply is available from public supply line.
7. The distribution of gaseous fuels even over a wide area is easy through the pipe lines and as
such handling of the fuel is altogether eliminated.
8. Gaseous fuels give economy of heat and produce higher temperatures (as they
can be preheated in regenerative furnaces and thus heat from hot flue gases can be
recovered).
9. It is free from ash and mixes well with air to undergo complete combustion producing very
little smoke.
Disadvantages:
1. They are readily inflammable.
2. They require large storage capacity.
3. Heating Value or Calorific Value
It is defined as the heat liberated in kJ by complete combustion of 1 kg of fuel (solid or
liquid). For gaseous fuels, the normal practice is to express calorific value in kJ/m3. Calorific
value is further classified as (i) Higher Heating Value (HHV) and (ii) Lower Heating Value
(LHV).
HHV: It is the total amount of heat produced when unit quantity of fuel is completely burnt
and the products of combustion are cooled to room temperature (25 oC).
LHV: It is the net amount of heat produced when unit quantity of fuel is completely burnt
and the products of combustion are NOT cooled to room temperature but are allowed to
escape.
The calorific value of a fuel depends mainly on the amount of Carbon and Hydrogen.

Requirements of a Good Fuel -4

A good fuel should have the following characteristics:
o High calorific value.
.o Moderate ignition temperature
.o Low contents of non-combustible matters
o Low moisture content.
o Free from objectionable and harmful gases like CO, SOx, H2S.
o Moderate velocity of combustion.
o Combustion should be controllable.
o Easy to transport and readily available at low cost.
5- Properties of Liquid Fuels
Liquid fuels like furnace oil and LSHS are predominantly used in industrial application.
The various properties of liquid fuels are given below.
5.1 Density
This is defined as the ratio of the mass of the fuel to the volume of the fuel at a reference
temperature of 15°C. Density is measured by an instrument called hydrometer. The
knowledge of density is useful for quantity calculations and assessing ignition quality. The unit
of density is kg/m3.
5.2 Specific gravity
This is defined as the ratio of the weight of a given volume of oil to the weight of the same
volume of water at a given temperature. The density of fuel, relative to water, is called
specific gravity. The specific gravity of water is defined as 1. Since specific gravity is a ratio, it
has no units. The measurement of specific gravity is generally made by a hydrometer.
Specific gravity is used in calculations involving weights and volumes. The specific
gravity of various fuel oils are given in Table
5.3 Viscosity
The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its internal resistance to flow. Viscosity depends on
temperature and decreases as the temperature increases. Any numerical value for viscosity has
no meaning unless the temperature is also specified. Viscosity is measured in Stokes /
Centistokes. The measurement of viscosity is made with an instrument called Viscometer.

5.4 Flash Point

The flash point of a fuel is the lowest temperature at which the fuel can be heated so that the
vapour gives off flashes momentarily when an open flame is passed over it. Flash point for
furnace oil is 66°C.

5.5 Pour Point

The pour point of a fuel is the lowest temperature at which it will pour or flow when cooled
under prescribed conditions. It is a very rough indication of the lowest temperature at which
fuel oil is readily pumpable.
5.6 Specific Heat
Specific heat is the amount of kCals needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of oil by 1°C.
The unit of specific heat is kCal/kg°C. It varies from 0.22 to 0.28 depending on the oil specific
gravity. The specific heat determines how much steam or electrical energy it takes to heat oil
to a desired temperature. Light oils have a low specific heat, whereas heavier oils have a
higher specific heat.
5.7 Sulphur
The amount of sulphur in the fuel oil depends mainly on the source of the crude oil and to a
lesser extent on the refining process. The normal sulfur content for the residual fuel oil
(furnace oil) is in the order of 2-4 %.
Typical figures are:
5.8 Ash Content
The ash value is related to the inorganic material in the fuel oil. The ash levels of distillate fuels
are negligible. Residual fuels have more of the ash-forming constituents. These salts may be
compounds of sodium, vanadium, calcium, magnesium, silicon, iron, aluminum, nickel, etc.
Typically, the ash value is in the range 0.03–0.07%. Excessive ash in liquid fuels can cause fouling
deposits in the combustion equipment. Ash has erosive effect on the burner tips, causes damage
to the refractories at high temperatures and gives rise to high temperature corrosion and fouling
of equipment's.

5.9 Carbon Residue

Carbon residue indicates the tendency of oil to deposit a carbonaceous solid residue on a hot
surface, such as a burner or injection nozzle, when its vaporizable constituents evaporate.
Residual oil contain carbon residue ranging from 1 percent or more.

5.10 Water Content

Water content of furnace oil when supplied is normally very low as the product at refinery site is
handled hot and maximum limit of 1% is specified in the standard.
Water may be present in free or emulsified form and can cause damage to the inside furnace
surfaces during combustion especially if it contains dissolved salts. It can also cause spluttering
of the flame at the burner tip, possibly extinguishing the flame and reducing the flame
temperature or lengthening the flame.