LIQUID FUELS

Classifications
• Liquid fuels can be classified as:
i. Natural or crude oil and,
ii. Artificial or manufactured.
• Advantages of liquid fuels include:
i. Have higher calorific value per unit mass than solid
fuels.
ii. They burn more cleaner without dust, ash, clinkers etc.
iii. They are easier to ignite and the fire can also be easily
extinguished by stopping fuel supply.
 Advantages of liquid fuels
iv. They are easy to transport through pipes.
v. They can be stored indefinitely without loss.
vi. They are clean in use and economical to handle.
vii.Loss of heat in chimney is very low due to greater
cleanliness.
viii.They require less excess air for complete
combustion.
ix. They require less furnace space for combustion.
 Disadvantages
• The cost is relatively much higher than solid fuels.
• Require costly special storage tanks.
• There is a greater risk of fire hazards especially for
highly inflammable and volatile liquids.
• They give bad odour.
• For efficient combustion, they require specially
constructed burners and spraying apparatus.
 Petroleum and its characteristics
• It is a basic natural fuel. It is dark greenish
brown, mineral oil found deep in the earth’s
crust.
• It is composed of various hydrocarbons which
are:
• Straight chain paraffins, cycloparaffins or
naphthalenes, olefins and aromatics with small
organic compounds containing oxygen, nitrogen
and sulphur.
 Petroleum and its characteristics
• Average composition of crude petroleum is C = 79.5
– 87.1%; H = 11.5 – 14.8%; S = 0.1- 3.5%; N and O
0.1 – 0.5%.
• Petroleum products are graded based the following
physio-chemical properties: specific gravity,
Calorific value, flash or ignition point, viscosity,
sulphur contents, moisture and sediment content
and specific heat and coefficient of expansion.
 1. 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.
• Each type of oil has its own temperature - viscosity
relationship. The measurement of viscosity is made
with an instrument called Viscometer.
• Viscosity is the most important characteristic in the
storage and use of fuel oil.
 Viscosity
• It influences the degree of pre-heat required for
handling, storage and satisfactory atomization.
• If the oil is too viscous, it may become difficult to
pump, hard to light the burner, and tough to operate.
• Poor atomization may result in the formation of
carbon deposits on the burner tips or on the walls.
• Therefore pre-heating is necessary for proper
atomization.
 Characteristics
2. Flash point: It is the lowest temperature at
which the fuel gives off enough vapour that
can be ignited by an open flame. It is a
significant factor when safety is concerned.
3. The pour point: It 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.
 Firing Point
4. Firing point is the temperature at which
vaporization of the liquid is of such extent, that
with the approach of the flame for a short time it
is ignited and the burning will be constant on the
surface maintained for at least 5s.
• The firing point is characteristic to the
inflammability of the fuel.
5. Anti-knock quality: it is the ability of the fuel not
to detonate during combustion. This is rated by
Octane Number. The higher the number the less
the tendency to detonate.
6. Volatility: is the ability of the fuel to evaporate. It
is important in combustion since for fuel to
combust, fuel vapour must mix with air.
7. Self ignition: this is the ability to self-ignite under
compression. It is very important for diesel fuel. A
Cetane Number is a rating for ignition quality.
 8. Sulphur Content
• It is the amount of sulphur in the fuel oil.
• It depends mainly on the source of the crude oil
and to a lesser extent on the refining process.
• The main disadvantage of sulphur is the risk of
corrosion by sulphuric acid formed during and after
combustion, and condensing in cool parts of the
chimney or stack, air pre heater and economiser.
 9. 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, aluminium, 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.
5. 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 vaporisable
constituents evaporate.
6. Water Content:
• Water content of furnace oil when supplied is normally
very low as the product at refinery site is handled hot.
 Water Content
• 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, which can extinguish the flame and it also reduces
flame temperature and can lengthening the flame.
 Storage of Fuel oil
• Furnace oil is stored in cylindrical tanks, either above
or below the ground. It may contain dust, water and
other contaminants.
• Cleaning is necessary at regular because solids and
sludge will accumulate in the tank over time
• Fuel oil should be free from possible contaminants
such as dirt, sludge and water before it is fed to the
combustion system.
 Manufactured Liquid Fuels
• Liquid fuels are derived primarily from crude oil.
• Many products including gasoline, diesel fuels, jet
fuels, and fuel oils are produced by refining
processes of fractional distillation, cracking,
reforming, and impurity removal.
• Figure 1 shows typical end products from crude oil,
with the lighter, more volatile components at the
top.
Fig 1: End products from refining and
distilling crude oil
 Liquid Fuels
• Gasoline is used primarily in lightweight vehicles. It is a mixture
of light distillate hydrocarbons from refined crude oil.
• The precise composition of gasoline varies seasonally,
geographically and due to the producer.
• Diesel fuel is used in medium and heavy vehicles, as well as in rail
and marine engines.
• Diesel fuel is also a mixture of hydrocarbons with a higher boiling
point range than that of gasoline.
• Fuel oil (commonly called “bunker” fuel) is widely used in large
marine vessels.
 Liquid fuels – Bio-fuels
• Hydrocarbon fuels can come from sources other
than fossil fuels.
• Liquid hydrocarbon fuel derived from biomass, or
recently living organisms.
• There are several types of liquid bio-fuels which
include vegetable oil, biodiesel, bio-alcohols.
• All of these forms of bio-fuels still require
combustion of the fuel for power production.
 Continued …
• Straight vegetable oil can be used in some diesel engines
(those with indirect injection in warm climates), but
typically it is first converted into biodiesel.
• Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine and is made from
oils and fats through a process called transesterification.
• Compared to fossil diesel fuel, biodiesel can substantially
reduce emissions of unburnt hydrocarbons, carbon
monoxide (CO), sulfates, and particulate matter.
• Unfortunately, emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) are not
reduced.
 Bio-alcohols
• Bio-alcohols are produced by microorganisms and
enzymes that ferment sugars, starches, or
cellulose. .
• These are ethanol, propanol, and butanol, with
ethanol from corn or sugar cane being the most
common.
• Ethanol is often blended with fossil gasoline by up
to 20% by volume to increase efficiency and reduce
emissions.
 Ethanol

• With some modifications, many vehicles can

operate on pure ethanol.
• The production of ethanol is a multi-stage
process that involves enzyme digestion of starch
to release the sugar (hydrolysis), fermentation,
distillation, and drying.
Fig.2: Ethanol production process