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1. INTRODUCTION
 Fuel is a substance which, when burnt, i.e. on coming in contact and
reacting with oxygen or air, produces heat.
Thus, the substances classified as fuel must necessarily contain one or
several of the combustible elements: carbon, hydrogen, sulphur, etc.
 In the process of combustion, the chemical energy of fuel is converted
into heat energy.
 To utilize the energy of fuel in most usable form, it is required to
transform the fuel from its one state to another, i.e. from solid to liquid or
gaseous state, liquid to gaseous state, or from its chemical energy to some
other form of energy via single or many stages.
 In this way, the energy of fuels can be utilized more effectively and
efficiently for various purposes. 2
2. OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you should be able to
 describe the classification of fuels,
 explain the various types of fuels and their characteristics, and
 know their applications in various fields.

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 3. TYPES OF FUELS AND THEIR CLASSIFICATIONS
3. 1 classification of fuels

Fuels may broadly be classified in two ways, i.e.

(a) according to the physical state in which they exist in nature –
solid, liquid and gaseous, (E.g.. coal, petroleum, natural gas)
(b) according to the mode of their procurement – natural and
manufactured.

None of these classifications, however, gives an idea of the qualitative or

intensive value of the fuels, i.e. their power of developing the thermal
intensity or calorimetric temperature under the normal condition of use,
i.e. combustion of fuels in mixture with atmospheric air in stoichiometric
proportion. 4
CLASSIFICATION Cont…

3.1.1 Natural and Manufactured Fuels

Natural Fuels Manufactured Fuels
Solid Fuels
Wood Tanbark, Bagasse, Straw
Coal Charcoal
Oil shale Coke
Briquettes
Liquid Fuels
Petroleum Oils from distillation of petroleum
Coal tar
Shale-oil
Alcohols, etc.
Gaseous Fuels
Natural gas Coal gas
Producer gas
Water gas
Hydrogen
Acetylene
Blast furnace gas
Oil gas
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Manufacture of Engine Fuels cont…
 crude oil is the liquid part of the naturally occurring organic material
composed mostly of HCs that is trapped geologically in underground
reservoirs - it is not uniform and varies in density, chemical composition,
boiling range etc. for different fields.
 Four different crude oils are shown in Table for different boiling ranges
Table - Main products from crude oil by distillation (%)

Crude type Arabian light Nigerian Brent Maya

LPG 0.7 0.6 2.1 1.0
Naphtha 17.8 12.9 17.8 11.7
Gas oil/Kerosene 33.1 47.2 35.5 23.1
Residue 48.4 39.3 44.6 64.2

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Manufacture of Engine Fuels Cont…

Naphtha- represents the percentage of HC boiling to gasoline range

Gas oil-kerosene- represents the percentage boiling to diesel fuel range,
including jet fuel and kerosene
Refineries- consist basically of distillation units with processes for
upgrading the octane quality of naphtha and for removing sulfur
compounds – these are called Hydro skimming refineries- refineries
today have conversion processes – convert heavier streams to lighter
streams by cracking

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Refinery Process

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Distillation
 This is the initial process used in all refineries – aims to separate the crude
oil into different boiling range fractions, each of which may be a product in
its own right, a blend component or feed for further processing step
 Crude oil contains many thousands of different HCs, each has its own
boiling point – lightest are gases at ambient T but can remain dissolved in
heavier liquid HCs unless T is raised, heaviest are solids at ambient T but
stay in solution unless T is lowered.
Gasoline distillation temperature is 35 – 200 OC
Jet fuel 35 - 150
Diesel fuel 175 – 370
Heavy fuels, oil 370 – 550
Generally distillation of crude oil produces 30% gasoline, 20-40 % diesel
fuel, 20 % heavy fuels, 10-20 % heavy oils.
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10
Cracking Process
There are two types of cracking process for engine fuel production :
 thermal cracking and catalytic cracking
 Visbreaking and coking are also cracking procedures for fuel oil etc.
 Thermal cracking take place through the creation of HC free radicals by C-
to-C bond scission
 The feed is heated to around 500 - 600 OC and 70 - 100 bars and passed
into a soaking chamber where cracking takes place.
 The cracked products are fractionated.
 The product is relatively unstable and requires the use of antioxidants
and other treatments to prevent gum formation in use. It has relatively
poor MON.

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Catalytic Cracking
 It is the most important and widely used process for converting heavy
refinery streams to lighter products – to increase the ratio of light to
heavy products from crude oil.
 Compared to thermal cracking, it has higher yields, improved quality
product for gasoline (not for diesel fuel) and superior economics.
 A fluidized bed of catalyst is used – feed is introduced into it. Catalyst
flows from one vessel to another through a pipe (between reactor and
regenerator).
 Cracked oil vapor pass to fractionating towers where smaller molecules
are separated from heavier products (gas, catalytic naphtha's, cycle oils
and residue).
 Aluminum silicate known as zeolite is used as a catalyst – has high
activity and suppress the formation of light olefins.
 Hydro cracking and steam cracking mechanisms are also used.

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3.2 Type of fuels

3.2.1 Liquid Fuels

The liquid fuels can be classified as follows :

(a) Natural or crude oil,
(b) Artificial or manufactured oils.

Usage
Used extensively in industrial applications

Examples: Furnace oil, Light diesel oil, Petrol, Kerosene, Ethanol

and LSHS (low sulpure heavy stock)

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Liquid Fuels Cont…
Petroleum and its Characteristics
 Petroleum is a basic natural fuel.
 It is a dark greenish brown, viscous mineral oil, found deep in earth’s crust.
 It is mainly composed of various hydrocarbons (like straight chain
paraffins, cycloparaffins or napthenes, olefins, and aromatics) together with
small amount of organic compounds containing oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur.
 The average composition of crude petroleum is : C = 79.5 to 87.1%; H =
11.5 to 14.8%; S = 0.1 to 3.5%, N and O = 0.1 to 0.5%.
Petroleum are graded according to the following phsio-chemical properties :
(a) Specific gravity,
(b) Calorific value,
(c) Flsh point or ignition point,
(d) Viscosity,
(e) Sulphur contents,
(f) Moisture and sediment content, and
(g) Specific heat and coefficient of expansion.
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Liquid Fuels Cont…
Manufactured Liquid Fuels and their Characteristics
 Manufactured liquid fuels include Gasoline, Diesel oil, Kerosene, Heavy
oil, Naptha, Lubricating oils, etc.
 These are obtained mostly by fractional distillation of crude petroleum or
liquefaction of coal
Gasoline or Petrol and its Characteristics
 The straight run gasoline is obtained either from distillation of crude
petroleum or by synthesis.
 It has boiling range of 40-120oC.
 It contains some undesirable unsaturated straight chain hydrocarbons and
sulphur compounds.
 The, unsaturated hydrocarbons get oxidized and polymerized, thereby
causing gum and sludge formation on storing.
 On the other hand, sulphur compounds lead to corrosion of internal
combustion engine and at the same time they adversely affect tetraethyl lead,
which is generally added to gasoline for better ignition properties.
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Gasoline or petrol and its characteristics cont…

Some of the characteristics of an ideal gasoline are the following :

 It must be cheap and readily available.
 It must burn clean and produce no corrosion, etc. on combustion.
 It should mix readily with air and afford uniform manifold
distribution, i.e. should easily vaporize.
 It must be knock resistant.
 It should be pre-ignite easily.
It must have a high calorific value.

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Antiknock quality of gasoline
 Knock occurs when the un burnt gases ahead of flame front (the end
gases) spontaneously ignite causing a sudden rise in pressure accompanied
by a characteristic pinging sound - this results in a loss of power and can
lead to damage the engine.
 Combustion chamber shape, spark plug location, ignition timing, end gas
temperatures, in cylinder gas motion, air-fuel ratio of the mixture, fuel
specifications etc effects the occurrence of knock.
 Compression ratio of the engine also strongly effects knock.
 The higher the CR, the better the thermal efficiency - but the greater the
tendency for knock to occur.

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Antiknock quality of gasoline cont…

 Auto ignition of the end gases causes a rapid increase of p, producing p

waves which resonate in the combustion chamber at a frequency of
between 5000 - 8000 Hz, depending on the geometry of the chamber
Knock results in an increase of T in the cylinder and causes a severe
damage to engine components like cylinder head gasket, piston, spark
plugs etc.

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Measurement of gasoline antiknock quality
 Prior to 1929, fuels were rated using an engine in which CR could be varied
between 2.7:1 to 8:1 - each fuel was run in this engine at various A/F ratios and
ignition timing to obtain conditions for max power output.
 Fuels were assigned values in terms of Highest Useful Compression Ratio, HUCR
 in 1929 Octane scale was proposed by Graham Edgar.
 In this scale two paraffinic HCs have been selected as standards (PRF or primary
Reference Fuels)- iso-octane (2-2-4 trimethyl pentane) with very high resistance to
knock (arbitrary assigned a value of 100) and n-heptane with extremely low knock
resistance (assigned a value of 0).
 Octane number of the fuel is the volume percentage of iso-octane in a blend
with n-heptane (PRF), that shows the same antiknock performance as test fuel
tested in standard engine and standard conditions.

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Measurement of gasoline antiknock quality cont…

Octane Number of the fuel is the volume percentage of iso-octane in a

blend with n-heptane (PRF), that shows the same antiknock performance
as test fuel tested in standard engine and standard conditions.
 Test engine for determining Octane values, was developed by
Cooperative Fuel Research Committee (CFR). It is a single cylinder, variable
CR engine.
 Two different test conditions specifies the Research Octane Number
(RON) and the Motor Octane Number (MON)
 RON correlates with low speed, mild driving conditions, MON relates to
high speed, high severity conditions.
 Most gasolines have higher RON than MON. This difference is called fuel
sensitivity (=RON-MON) – for fuels of same RON, high sensitivity gasoline
has lower MON.
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 Test Conditions for RON and MON
Test Research Motor
ASTM method D2699 D2700
Engine rpm 600 900
Intake air temp, OC depends on p 38
(~ 51.7 OC)
Mixture temp, OC not specified 149
Humidity, kg/kg dry air 0.0036 - 0.0072
Coolant temp, OC 100 100
Ignition advance, OCA 13 BTDC varies with CR
(14 - 26 BTDC)
A/F ratio adjusted for max knock

Test Conditions for RON and MON

Test engines -
CFR : D = 3.25”, H = 4.50”, CR = 4 - 12
BASF : D = 65 mm, H = 100 mm, CR = 4 - 12
Critical compression ratio -
auto ignition occurring at CRs for different fuel Octane numbers
CR 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
ON 78 85 91 96 100 103 106
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Octane Number Measurement

for fuels with ON greater than 100, the sample is mixed with certain amount of n-
heptane - a linear correction is done according to the percentage of n-hepthane
added.
For non paraffinic fuels, ON relation is not linear
TEL is added to the PRF to increase the ON above 100 or n-heptane is added to the
sample to reduce ON below 100, then nonlinear extrapolation is applied
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Cetane Number

 Cetane number is used to specify the ignition quality of diesel fuel.

Running on low cetane number
 will produce cold start problems.
 Peak cylinder p, combustion noise and HC emissions will increase - more
fuel will be injected before ignition, less time for combustion.
Higher CN results in a sooner ignition - extremely high CN may ignite before
adequate Fuel-Air mixing can take place - higher emissions.
 Power output can be reduced if burning starts too early.

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Cetane Number Measurement
 Cetane number is measured by comparing the “ignition delay time” of the
sample fuel with a mixture of cetane (C16H34) and alphamethyl naptane (C10H7
CH3).
 The cetane percentage in the mixture gives the CN of the sample fuel.
 CN of the reference fuel cetane is arbitrarily set at 100, and of alphamethyl
naptane at 0.
 CFR engine is used to measure the compression ratio at which ignition starts.
 CR is gradually increased while the engine is driven by an electric motor - a curve
of CN vs critical CR is obtained.
 Inlet air temp is 30 OC and cooling water temp is at 100 OC
An easier and practical method to obtain Cetane Number is by calculating the
Diesel Index. Increasing the DI, increases the tendency to ignite

Cetane number is in the range of,

50 - 60 for high speed Diesel engines
25 - 45 for low speed Diesel engines
Normal Diesel fuel CN is 40 - 55
DI of 50 gives a CN of around 50 25
Diesel Fuel and its Characteristics
 The diesel fuel or gas oil is obtained between 250-320oC during the fractional
distillation of crude petroleum. This oil generally contains 85% C. 12% H.
 Its calorific value is about 11,000 kcal/kg.
 The suitability of a diesel fuel is determined by its cetane value.
 Diesel fuels consist of longer hydrocarbons and have low values of ash, sediment,
water and sulphalt contents.
 The main characteristics of a diesel fuel is that it should easily ignite below
compression temperature.
 The hydrocarbon molecules in a diesel fuel should be, as far as possible, the
straight-chain ones, with a minimum admixture of aromatic and side-chain
hydrocarbon molecules.
 It is used in diesel engines as heating oil and for cracking to get gasoline.
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Kerosene Oil and its Characteristics
 Kerosene oil is obtained between 180-250oC during fractional
distillation of crude petroleum.
 It is used as an illuminant, jet engine fuel, tractor fuel, and for preparing
laboratory gas.
 With the development of jet engine, kerosene has become a material of
far greater importance than it is used to be.
 When kerosene is used in domestic appliances, it is always vaporized
before combustion.
 By using a fair excess of air it burns with a smokeless blue flame.

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Heavy Oil and its Characteristics
It is a fraction obtained between 320-400oC during fractional distillation of
crude petroleum.
This oil on refraction gives :
(a) Lubricating oils which are used as lubricants.
(b) Petroleum-jelly (Vaseline) which is used as lubricants in medicines and
in cosmetics.
(c) Greases which are used as lubricants.
(d) Paraffin wax which is used in candles, boot polishes, wax paper,
tarpolin cloth and for electrical insulation purposes

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Advantages liquid fuels
(a) They posses higher calorific value per unit mass than solid fuels.
(b) They burn without dust, ash, clinkers, etc.
(c) Their firing is easier and also fire can be extinguished easily by stopping liquid fuel
supply.
(d) They are easy to transport through pipes.
(e) They can be stored indefinitely without any loss.
(f) They are clean in use and economic to handle.
(g) Loss of heat in chimney is very low due to greater cleanliness.
(h) They require less excess air for complete combustion.
(i) They require less furnace space for combustion.

Disadvantages liquid fuels

(a) The cost of liquid fuel is relatively much higher as compared to solid fuel.
(b) Costly special storage tanks are required for storing liquid fuels.
(c) There is a greater risk of fire hazards, particularly, in case of highly inflammable and
volatile liquid fuels.
(d) They give bad odour.
(e) For efficient burning of liquid fuels, specially constructed burners and spraying apparatus
are required.

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 Liquid fuels characteristics
 Density
 Ratio of the fuel’s mass to its volume at 15 oC,
 The unit of density is kg/m3
 Useful for determining fuel quantity and quality
 Density is measured by an instrument called a hydrometer.

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Liquid fuels characteristics Cont…

 Specific gravity
 Ratio of weight of oil volume to weight of same water volume at a
given temperature.
 The density of fuel, relative to water, is called specific gravity
 Specific gravity is used in calculations involving weights and
volumes.
 Specific gravity of water is 1
 Hydrometer used to measure

Table 1. Specific gravity of various fuel oils

Fuel oil type LDO Furnace oil LSHS (Low Sulphur Heavy Stock)
(Light Diesel Oil)
Specific Gravity 0.85-0.87 0.89-0.95 0.88-0.98

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Liquid fuelscharacteristics Cont…

 Viscosity
 The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its internal resistance to
flow.
 Viscosity depends on the 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. Sometimes
viscosity is also quoted in Engler, Saybolt or Redwood.
 Each type of oil has its own temperature - viscosity relationship.
The measurement of viscosity is made with an instrument called a
Viscometer.

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Viscosity Cont…

 Viscosity is the most important characteristic in the storage and

use of fuel oil.

 It influences the degree of pre-heating 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 difficult to handle. 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.

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Liquid fuels Cont…

 Flash point

 Lowest temperature at which a fuel can be heat so that the

vapour gives off flashes when an open flame is passes over it

 Flash point of furnace oil: 66oC

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Liquid fuels Cont…

 Pour point
 Lowest temperature at which fuel will flow
 Indication of temperature at which fuel can be pumped
 Specific heat

 kCal needed to raise temperature of 1 kg oil by 1oC (kcal/kgoC).

It varies from 0.22 to 0.28 depending on the oil specific gravity.

 Indicates how much steam/electricity it takes to heat oil to a

desired temperature

 Light oils have a low specific heat, whereas heavier oils have a
higher specific heat.

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Liquid fuels Cont…

 Calorific value
 Heat or energy produced
 Gross calorific value (GCV): vapour is fully condensed
 Net calorific value (NCV): water is not fully condensed

Fuel Oil Gross Calorific Value (kCal/kg)

Kerosene 11,100
Diesel Oil 10,800
L.D.O 10,700
Furnace Oil 10,500
LSHS 10,600

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Liquid fuels Cont…

 Ash content
 The ash value is related to the inorganic material or salts in the
fuel oil
 Residual fuels have higher ash levels. 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 an erosive effect on the burner tips, causes damage to
the refractories at high temperatures and gives rise to high
temperature corrosion and fouling of equipments.

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Liquid fuels Cont…

 Carbon residue
 Tendency of oil to deposit a carbonaceous solid residue on
a hot surface
 Residual oil: >1% carbon residue
 Water content
 Normally low in furnace oil supplied (<1% at refinery)
 Free or emulsified form
• Can damage furnace surface and impact flame

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Liquid fuels Cont…

 Storage of fuels
 Store in cylindrical tanks above or below the ground
 Recommended storage: >10 days of normal consumption
 Cleaning at regular intervals

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3.2.2 Solid Fuels
Solid fuels are mainly classified into two categories, i.e. natural fuels, such as
wood, coal, etc. and manufactured fuels, such as charcoal, coke, briquettes,
etc.

Advantages
(a) They are easy to transport.
(b) They are convenient to store without any risk of spontaneous explosion.
(c) Their cost of production is low.
(d) They posses moderate ignition temperature.

Disadvantages
(a) Their ash content is high.
(b) Their large proportion of heat is wasted.
(c) They burn with clinker formation.
(d) Their combustion operation cannot be controlled easily.
(e) Their cost of handling is high.
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3.2.3 Gaseous Fuels
 Advantages of gaseous fuels

 Least amount of handling

 Simplest burners systems

 Burner systems require least maintenance

 Environmental benefits: lowest Green House Gas (GHS) and

other emissions

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Gaseous fuels Cont…
 Classification of gaseous fuels
(a) Gas fuels naturally found in nature
 Natural gas
 Methane from coal mines
(b) Gas fuels made from solid fuel
 Gases derived from coal
 Gases derived from waste and biomass
 From other industrial processes
(c) Gas fuels made from petroleum
 Liquefied Petroleum gas (LPG)
 Refinery gases
 Gases from oil gasification
(d) Gases from some fermentation, like -- Bio gas 42
Gaseous fuels Cont…

 Calorific value
 Fuel should be compared based on the net calorific value
(NCV), especially natural gas

Typical physical and chemical properties of various gaseous fuels

Fuel Gas Relative Higher Heating Air/Fuel Flame Flame

Density Value kCal/Nm3 ratio m3/m3 Temp oC speed m/s
Natural Gas 0.6 9350 10 1954 0.290
Propane 1.52 22200 25 1967 0.460

Butane 1.96 28500 32 1973 0.870

Gaseous fuels Cont…
 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)

 Propane, butane and unsaturated, lighter C2 and heavier C5

fractions

 Hydrocarbons are gaseous at atmospheric pressure but can

be condensed to liquid state

 LPG vapor is denser than air: leaking gases can flow long
distances from the source
Gaseous Fuels Cont…

 Natural gas

 Methane: 95% and

 Reaming 5%: ethane, propane, butane, pentane, nitrogen,

carbon dioxide, other gases

 High calorific value fuel

 Does not require storage facilities

 No sculpture

 Mixes readily with air without producing smoke or soot

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Principles of Combustion

 Combustion = rapid oxidation of a fuel

 Complete combustion = total oxidation of fuel (adequate supply of

oxygen needed)

 Air = 20.9% oxygen, 79% nitrogen and other

 Nitrogen = (a) reduces the combustion efficiency (b) forms NOx at

high temperatures

 Carbon forms = CO2 and CO resulting in less heat production

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Principles of combustion Cont…

 Control the 3 Ts to optimize combustion:

1T) Temperature
2T) Turbulence
3T) Time

 Water vapor is a by-product of burning fuel that contains

hydrogen and this robs heat from the flue gases

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Principles of combustion Cont…

Oxygen is the key to combustion

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