Fuel is a combustible substance which may
be burnt to supply heat energy without the
production of exclusively objectionable by-
products.
According to the modern concept of fuel-
“Any chemical or reactant which produces
energy in a form that can be used for
producing power is called fuel. Eg. Wood,
charcoal, coal, petrol, kerosene, diesel etc.
Proper ignition point
High Calorific value
Low cost
Low moisture content
Low content of non-combustible material
Moderate speed of combustion
Combustion should not be spontaneous
Easy to handle, store and transport
Eco-friendly
Combustion should be easily contorllable
Natural / Primary
Solid: coal, wood
Liquid: petroleum, crude oil
Gaseous: natural gas
Artificial / Secondary
Solid: coke, charcoal, coal
Liquid: kerosene, diesel, petrol
Gaseous: water gas, bio gas
Coalis one of the most important solid fuel.
It varies greatly in composition and
properties. The important types are-
Peat
Lignite / Brown coal
Bituminous / Soft coal
Anthracite / Hard coal
In the proximate analysis, moisture (M), Ash (A) and
volatile matter (VM) are determined. Fixed carbon
(FC) is obtained from the following equation:
C= 100 – (%M + %A + %VM)
Moisture is determined by drying 1gm of sample at 105o C for 1hr.
Weight loss is expressed in % of initial weight of sample ;
i.e. %M = (weight loss/weight of sample) ×100
Volatile matter is the weight loss obtained on heating 1 gm sample of
coal at 950oC for 7 minutes in the absence of air.
%VM = (weight loss due to VM/ weight of sample) ×100
Ash is weight of residue obtained after complete combustion of 1 g of
coal at 700‐750o C. Ash in % is
%A= (weight of residue/weight of sample)×100
The main chemical elements in coal (apart
from associated mineral matter) are C, O, H,
N and S. The chemical analysis is very
important to calculate material balance
accurately and calorific value of coal. For
the ultimate analysis C, H, S and N are
determined by chemical analysis and
expressed on a moisture free basis. Ash is
determined as in proximate analysis and is
calculated on moisture free basis. Then,
%O = 100 -(%C + %H + %N + %S + % ash)
Bio gas is a mixture of methane, Carbon
dioxide, hydrogen and hydrogen sulphide. It
contains about 65% methane.
Bio gas is obtained by anaerobic
fermentation of animal and plant wastes in
the presence of water.
Cheapest and easily producible bio-gas is
gobar gas.
Alsoknown as Gobar-gas plant.
Two types of bio gas plants being used in our
country are:
Fixed dome type
Floating-gas holder type
Clean fuel. Doesn’t produce smoke during
burning, hence no pollution
High calorific value
Very convenient to use
Cheaper than other fuels
It is directly supplied through pipes from the
gas plant, hence doesn't require any storage
space in houses.
However its drawback is that biogas plant is
foul smelling, it should be in viscinity and it
cannot be transported to longer distances.
Biogas is used as a domestic fuel in many
villages.
It is used for street lighting and power
purpose.
The term biomass is used for the waste
material of living organism and the dead
parts of living objects ie. Plants, trees and
animals.
It includes wood, crops, herbaceous plants,
residues from agricultural and forest
products, manure, fresh water and marine
plants and micro-organisms as well.
Calorific
value of a fuel may be defined as
the amount of heat produced, when a unit
mass or volume of the fuel is burnt
completely. Units of calorific value are-
Calorie
1calorie= 4.185 joules
[Link].U. (British Thermal Unit)
1 [Link].U.= 252 Cal= 0.252 kcal or
1kcal= 3.968 [Link].U.
C.H.U.
1C.H.U.= 1.8 [Link].U.= 4536 cal
GCV or HCV is defined as the total amount of
heat produced, when unit mass of the fuel
has been burnt completely and the products
of combustion have been cooled to room
temperature.
NCV or LCV is defined as the net heat
produced, when unit mass of the fuel is
burnt completely and the products are
permitted to escape.
Bomb Calorimeter is used to find the calorific
value of solid and liquid fuels.
For accurate results the following corrections are
also incorporated-
Cotton thread correction
Fuse wire correction
Acid correction
Cooling correction
Hence,
GCV= [(W+w)(t2-t1+cooling correction)]-(Acid+Fuse
+cotton thread correction) / mass of fuel sample(x)