CARBON BASED FUELS

Carbon is known for a wide range of functions hence having a widerange

of functions. In making fuels, it is a major component, so majority of
fuels are carbon based fuels. Some of the common fuels used include
charcoal, paraffin, petrol, firewood,diesel.

CHARCOAL

Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly

heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all
water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process,
called charcoal burning, often by forming a charcoal kiln, the heat is supplied by
burning part of the starting material itself, with a limited supply of oxygen. The
material can also be heated in a closed retort. Modern "charcoal" briquettes used
for outdoor cooking may contain many other additives, e.g. coal.

This process happens naturally when combustion is incomplete, and is sometimes

used in radiocarbon dating. It also happens inadvertently while burning wood, as in
a fireplace or wood stove. The visible flame in these is due to combustion of the
volatile gases exuded as the wood turns into charcoal.
The soot and smoke commonly given off by wood fires result from incomplete
combustion of those volatiles. Charcoal burns at a higher temperature than wood,
with hardly a visible flame, and releases almost nothing except heat, water,
and carbon dioxide.

 Common charcoal is made from peat, coal, wood, coconut shell, or petroleum.
 Sugar charcoal is obtained from the carbonization of sugar and is particularly
pure. It is purified by boiling with acids to remove any mineral matter and is
then burned for a long time in a current of chlorine to remove the last traces
of hydrogen.[1] It was used by Henri Moissan in his early attempt to
create synthetic diamonds.[citation needed]
 Activated charcoal is similar to common charcoal but is manufactured
especially for medical use. To produce activated charcoal, common charcoal is
heated to about 900 °C (1,700 °F) in the presence of a gas (usually steam),
causing the charcoal to develop many internal spaces, or "pores", which help the
activated charcoal to trap chemicals. Impurities on the surface of the charcoal
are also removed during this process, greatly increasing its adsorption capacity.
 Lump charcoal is a traditional charcoal made directly from hardwood material.
It usually produces far less ash than briquettes.
 Japanese charcoal has had pyroligneous acid removed during the charcoal
making; it therefore produces almost no smell or smoke when burned. The
traditional charcoal of Japan is classified into three types:
o White charcoal (Binchōtan) is hard and produces a metallic sound when
struck.
o Black charcoal [ja]
o Ogatan is a more recent type made from hardened sawdust.
 Pillow shaped briquettes are made by compressing charcoal, typically made
from sawdust and other wood by-products, with a binder and other additives.
The binder is usually starch. Briquettes may also include brown coal (heat
source), mineral carbon (heat source), borax, sodium nitrate (ignition
aid), limestone (ash-whitening agent), raw sawdust (ignition aid), and other
additives.
 Sawdust briquette charcoal is made by compressing sawdust without binders
or additives. It is the preferred charcoal in Taiwan, Korea, Greece, and the
Middle East. It has a round hole through the center, with a hexagonal
intersection. It is used primarily for barbecue as it produces no odor, no smoke,
little ash, high heat, and long burning hours (exceeding 4 hours).
 Extruded charcoal is made by extruding either raw ground wood or carbonized
wood into logs without the use of a binder. The heat and pressure of the
extruding process hold the charcoal together. If the extrusion is made from
raw wood material, the extruded logs are subsequently carbonized.
Grill charcoal made from coconut shell
USES OF CHARCOAL
Charcoal has been used since earliest times for a large range of purposes including
art and medicine, but by far its most important use has been as a metallurgical
fuel. Charcoal is the traditional fuel of a blacksmith's forge and other applications
where an intense heat is required. Charcoal was also used historically as a source of
black pigment by grinding it up. In this form charcoal was important to early
chemists and was a constituent of formulas for mixtures such as black powder. Due
to its high surface area charcoal can be used as a filter, and as a catalyst or as an
adsorbent.

Metallurgical fuel
Charcoal burns at temperatures exceeding 1,100 degrees Celsius (2,010 degrees
Fahrenheit).[9] By comparison, the melting point of iron is approximately 1,200 to
1,550 °C (2,190 to 2,820 °F). Due to its porosity, it is sensitive to the flow of air
and the heat generated can be moderated by controlling the air flow to the fire.
For this reason charcoal is still widely used by blacksmiths. Charcoal has been used
for the production of iron since Roman times and steel in modern times where it
also provided the necessary carbon. Charcoal briquettes can burn up to
approximately 1,260 °C (2,300 °F) with a forced air blower forge. [10]

In the 16th century, England had to pass laws to prevent the country from
becoming completely denuded of trees due to production of iron. [citation needed] In the
19th century charcoal was largely replaced by coke in steel production due to cost,
even though coke usually adds sulphur and sometimes other deleterious
contaminants to the pig iron. Wooded metallurgical regions devoid of coal like
Sweden, the Urals, or Siberia transitioned from charcoal in the early 20th century.

Industrial fuel[
Historically, charcoal was used in great quantities for smelting iron
in bloomeries and later blast furnaces and finery forges. This use was replaced by
coal in the 19th Century as part of the Industrial Revolution.

Cooking and heating fuel[

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, charcoal was occasionally used as a cooking fuel.
It is counted as a smokeless fuel; that is, the carbon is sufficiently pure that
burning it causes substantially less air pollution than burning the original
uncarbonized organic material would. In the 20th century, clean-air legislation
mandated smokeless fuels (mostly coke or charcoal) in many areas of Europe. In
the 21st century, charcoal has been advocated as a way to improve the health of
people burning raw biomass for cooking and/or heating. Modern "charcoal"
briquettes, widely used for outdoor cooking, are made with charcoal but may also
include coal as an energy source as well as accelerants, binders and filler.

Reducing agent[edit]
Certain types of charcoal, such as wood charcoal, are used for reducing heated
metallic oxides to their respective metals: [citation needed]

 ZnO + C → Zn + CO
 Fe2O3 + 3C → 2Fe + 3CO
Charcoal can also be used to reduce super heated steam to hydrogen (along with
the formation of carbon monoxide): [citation needed]

 C + H2O (1000 °C) → H2 + CO (Water gas)

Syngas production, automotive fuel[edit]
Like many other sources of carbon, charcoal can be used for the production of
various syngas compositions; i.e., various CO + H2 + CO2 + N2 mixtures. The syngas is
typically used as fuel, including automotive propulsion, or as a chemical feedstock.

In times of scarce petroleum, automobiles and even buses have been converted to
burn wood gas: a gas mixture consisting primarily of diluting atmospheric nitrogen,
but also containing combustible gasses (mostly carbon monoxide) released by
burning charcoal or wood in a wood gas generator. In 1931, Tang
Zhongming developed an automobile powered by charcoal, and these cars were
popular in China until the 1950s, and in occupied France during World War II,
where they were called gazogènes.

Pyrotechnics
Charcoal is used in the production of black powder, which is used extensively in the
production of fireworks. It is usually ground into a fine powder, with air float
grade being the finest particle size available commercially. When used in black
powder compositions, it is often ball-milled with other ingredients so that they are
intimately mixed together. Certain charcoals perform better when used to make
black powder; these include spruce, willow, paulownia and grapevine among
others.[citation needed] Charcoal produces fine dark orange/golden sparks. Usually, powder
with a mesh size from 10 to 325 is used to obtain showers of golden sparks in
pyrotechnic compositions.[12]

Cosmetic use of bamboo charcoal

Charcoal is also incorporated in multiple cosmetic products. [13] It can be produced
from regular bamboo cut into small pieces and boiled in water to remove soluble
compounds.[13] Raw bamboo charcoal is obtained after drying and carbonization in an
oven at elevated temperature.[13] The role of charcoal in cosmetics is based on its
highly effective absorbing properties at a microscopic scale. [13]
Carbon source
Charcoal may be used as a source of carbon in chemical reactions. One example of
this is the production of carbon disulphide through the reaction of sulfur vapors
with hot charcoal. In that case, the wood should be charred at high temperature to
reduce the residual amounts of hydrogen and oxygen that lead to side reactions.

Purification and filtration

Activated carbon
Charcoal for dehumidification and air purification in bathroom
Charcoal may be activated to increase its effectiveness as a filter. Activated
charcoal readily adsorbs a wide range of organic compounds dissolved or suspended
in gases and liquids. In certain industrial processes, such as the purification of
sucrose from cane sugar, impurities cause an undesirable color, which can be
removed with activated charcoal. It is also used to absorb odors and toxins in
gaseous solutions, as in home air purifiers and some types of gas mask. The medical
use of activated charcoal is mainly the absorption of poisons.[14] Activated charcoal
is available without a prescription, so it is used for a variety of health-related
applications. For example, it is often used to reduce discomfort and
embarrassment due to excessive gas (flatulence) in the digestive tract

Art

Four sticks of vine charcoal and four sticks of

compressed charcoal Two charcoal pencils in paper

sheaths that are unwrapped as the pencil is used, and two charcoal pencils in
wooden sheaths
Main article: Charcoal (art)
Charcoal is used for drawing, making rough sketches in painting, and is one of the
possible media used for making a parsemage. It usually must be preserved by the
application of a fixative. Artists generally utilize charcoal in four forms:

 Vine charcoal is created by burning grape vines.

 Willow charcoal is created by burning sticks.
 Powdered charcoal is often used to "tone" or cover large sections of a drawing
surface. Drawing over the toned areas darkens it further, but the artist can
also lighten (or completely erase) within the toned area to create lighter tones.
 Compressed charcoal is charcoal powder mixed with gum binder and
compressed into sticks. The amount of binder determines the hardness of the
stick.[16] Compressed charcoal is used in charcoal pencils.
Horticulture
One additional use of charcoal was rediscovered recently for horticulture.
Although American gardeners have used charcoal for a short
time, research on Terra preta soils in Amazonia has discovered the widespread use
of biochar by pre-Columbian natives to ameliorate unproductive soil into soil rich
in carbon. The technique may find modern application, both to improve soils and as
a means of carbon sequestration.

Animal husbandry
Charcoal is mixed with feed, added to litter, or used in the treatment
of manure.[18] Poultry benefits from using charcoal in this manner

A concern that activated charcoal might be used unscrupulously to allow livestock

to tolerate low quality feed contaminated with aflatoxins resulted in the
Association of American Feed Control Officials banning it in 2012 from use in
commercial livestock feeds.[21]

Medicine

Charcoal pile
Charcoal in the form of charcoal biscuits was consumed in the past for gastric
problems. Now it can be consumed in tablet, capsule, or powder form for digestive
effects.]Research regarding its effectiveness is controversial

Charcoal has been used in combination with saccharin in research to

measure mucociliary transport time
Red colobus monkeys in Africa have been observed eating charcoal for self-
medication. Because their leafy diets contain high levels of cyanide, which may lead
to indigestion, they learned to consume charcoal, which absorbs the cyanide and
relieves discomfort. This knowledge is transmitted from mother to infant

IMPORTANCE OF OTHER FUELS

Formation and Uses of Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels are of the following types:

 Coal

 Petroleum

 Natural gas

Coal

 It is a hard, black coloured substance made up of carbon, hydrogen,

nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur.

 The major types of coal are- anthracite, bituminous and lignite.

 Anthracite has a higher carbon concentration and is the hardest type of

coal.

 Lignite has a high concentration of oxygen and hydrogen but a low

concentration of carbon.

 Bituminous is a moderate form of coal.

 Coal is processed industrially to obtain derivatives like coke, coal tar and
coal gas.

Formation of Coal

 The process of formation of coal is known as coalification.

 The dense forest present in the low-lying wetland got buried in the earth,
millions of years ago.

 Soil kept depositing over them and they got compressed.

  As they went deeper and deeper, they faced high temperature and pressure.

 As a result, the substances slowly got converted into coal.

Uses of Coal

 Coal was used to produce steam in the railway engines initially.

 It is used to cook food.

 It is used to generate electricity in thermal plants.

 It is used in industries as fuel.

Petroleum

 It is a clear, oily liquid, usually green or black in colour.

 It has a very strange smell and is a mixture of petroleum gas, diesel,

paraffin wax, petrol, lubricating oil, etc.

 It is also termed as “Black Gold” because of its wide range of uses in many
industries.

Formation of Petroleum

 The sea animals and plants died and their bodies settled at the bottom of
the sea.

 They got compressed by the layers of sand and clay.

 Their encounter with high temperature and pressure converts them into
petroleum.

 The petroleum is separated from the crude oil by a series of processes in a

refinery. This is known as petroleum refining.

Uses of Petroleum

 It is used to power internal combustion engines in the form of petrol.

 It is used in roofing, road pavements and as a water repellent.

 It is used in manufacturing detergents, plastics, fibres, polyethene, etc.

Natural gas

 It is a clean and non-toxic fossil fuel.

 It is colourless and odourless and can be easily transferred through

pipelines.

 It is stored as compressed natural gas (CNG) under high pressure.

 It is a less polluting and less expensive fossil fuel.

 Methane is the most important natural gas.

Formation of Natural Gas

 The phytoplankton and zooplankton sink to the bottom of the ocean and mix
with organic materials to form an organic-rich mud.

 The mud buried under more sediments and lithifies to form an organic shale.
This prevents its exposure to oxygen. This is done to protect the organic
materials from being decomposed by bacteria.

 The increasing pressure and temperature transform the shale into a waxy
material known as the kerogen.

 At temperatures between 90-160°C kerogen is transformed into natural gas.

Uses of Natural gas

 Compressed Natural Gas is used for generating power.

 It is used as fuels in automobiles.

 It can be used at homes for cooking.

 It is used as a starting material in chemicals and fertilizers.

16,665

Are Fossil Fuels Renewable?

Fossil fuels are a non-renewable source of energy. Most of the energy used by us is
obtained by the burning of fossil fuels. These fossil fuels are used up at a faster
rate. They cannot be regrown at a scale compared to their consumption. With the
increased demand for the production of various energies, fossil fuel energy is
declining. It is difficult to replace them. That is why they are known as a non-
renewable source of energy.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Fossil Fuels

Advantages:

 Fossil fuels can generate a large amount of electricity at a single location.

 They can be found very easily.

 They are cost-effective.

 Transportation of oil and gas can be done easily through pipelines.

 They have become safer over time.

 Despite being a finite resource, it is available in plenty.

Disadvantages

 Fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide when burnt which is a major greenhouse gas
and the primary source of pollution. This has contributed to global warming.

 They are a non-renewable resource, i.e., once used they cannot be replaced.

 Combustion of fossil fuels makes the environment more acidic. This has led
to unpredictable and negative changes in the environment.

 Harvesting of fossil fuels also causes fatal diseases among the people. For
eg., the coal miners often suffer from Black Lung Disease. The natural gas
drillers are constantly exposed to chemicals and silica which is dangerous for
their health.

These are the natural sources of energy and have extensive applications in
industrial as well as domestic purposes.