MODULE 5 : FUELS (25 MARKS)

Definition:
It may be defined as a substance, which by oxidation is made a source of heat that can be used for
any desired purpose.
OR
Fuel is a combustible substance, containing carbon as main constituent, which on proper burning
gives large amount of heat which can be used economically for domestic and industrial purposes.
Fuel + O2 → Products + Heat.
OR
According to modern concept, fuel is any fissionable material which produces energy that can be
used for producing power.
Wood, charcoal, coal, kerosene, petrol, diesel, producer gas, oil gas etc. are some of the fuels.
Classification:
Fuels may be divided into two types,
i) Natural or primary fuels which are found in nature. Example wood, peat, coal, natural
gas, petroleum etc.
ii) Artificial or secondary fuels which are derived from primary fuels. Examples coke,
charcoal, kerosene, coal gas, producer gas, oil gas etc.
Calorie:
It is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water through one degree
centigrade.
1000 cal = 1Kcal.
Calorific value:
Q. 1 Define HCV or GCV and LCV or NCV.
Q.2 Why GCV is greater than NCV?
It is the amount of heat liberated during complete combustion of unit weight or volume of the fuel.
It is most important property because efficiency of fuel is judged by its calorific value.
Units of calorific value:
For solids and liquids – Kcal/Kg (MKS or SI units)
For gaseous fuel – Kcal/m3
The calorific value of a fuel can be considered in two ways, 1. High
calorific value (HCV) or gross calorific value (GCV):
It is defined as a total amount of heat produced when a unit mass of fuel is burned completely
and the products of combustion are cooled down to room temperature usually 60ºF or 15ºC.
Explanation: Hydrogen is present in almost all fuel and when the fuel burns, hydrogen
present in the fuel is converted into steam. Now, when the products of combustion are cooled
down to 60ºF or 15ºC, the steam gets condensed into water and the latent heat is evolved on
condensing the steam. This latent heat of condensation of the steam also gets included in the
total heat and as a result more amount of heat is available.
2. Low calorific value (LCV) or net calorific value (NCV):
It is defined as a net amount of heat produced when a unit mass of fuel is burned completely
and the products of combustion are allowed to escape into the atmosphere. In actual practice
water (steam) is not condensed but escapes into the atmosphere along with other hot
combustion gases and as a result lesser amount of heat is available.

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 If a fuel does not contain hydrogen, then, HCV = LCV.

Characteristics of a good fuel:

1. High calorific value: A fuel should possess high calorific value; since the amount of heat
liberated and temperature attend thereby depend upon the calorific value of fuel.
2. Moderate ignition temperature: Ignition temperature is the lowest temperature to which the fuel
must be preheated so that it starts burning smoothly. Low ignition temperature is dangerous for
storage and transport of fuel, since it can catch fire easily. On the other hand high ignition
temperature causes difficulty in igniting the fuel but the fuel is safe during storage, handling
and transport. Hence an ideal fuel should have moderate ignition temperature.
3. Low moisture content: The moisture content of fuel reduces the calorific value. Hence fuel
should have lower moisture content.
4. Low non-combustible matter: Non-combustible matter such as ash reduces the calorific value.
Each percent of non-combustible matter in fuel means a heat loss of about 1.5%. Also it
increases the cost of storage, transport and disposal of waste matter produced. Hence a good
fuel should have low content of non-combustible matter.
5. Moderate velocity of combustion: Velocity of combustion is the rate or time taken by fuel to
burn. If the fuel has high velocity of combustion, it burns so rapidly that it may not attain
desired temperature. On the other hand if velocity of combustion is low then it burns so slowly
that major part of heat is lost to the surrounding. Hence a good fuel must have moderate
velocity of combustion.
6. Products of combustion should not be harmful: fuels on burning should not give out
objectionable and harmful gases such as CO, SO2, and H2S etc.
7. Low cost: A good fuel should be easily available in bulk at a cheap rate.
8. Easy to transport: Fuel must be easy to handle, store and transport at a low cost. Solid and
liquid fuels can be easily transported while transportation of gaseous fuels is costly and can
even cause fire hazards.
9. Combustion should be easily controllable that is combustion of fuel should be easy to start or
stop when required.
10. Cleanliness in use : A good fuel should be ash less, smoke less, easily combustible.

Dulong’s formula:
It is used for calculating gross value or HCV and net value or LCV from the chemical composition
of fuel in MKS system.

1. HCV or GCV = 1/ 100 [ 8080 C + 34500 ( H – O/8) + 2240 S]

Where C, H, O and S are the percentage of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur in the fuel
respectively.
2. NCV or LCV = GCV – latent heat of condensation of water vapour formed.
= GCV – (weight of hydrogen x 9 x latent heat of steam)
Per unit weight of fuel
= GCV – [( H/ 100) x 9 x 587]
Where H = percentage of hydrogen in the fuel.
Problems based on Dulong’s formula:

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 HCV or GCV = 1/100 [ 8080 C + 34500 ( H – O/8) + 2240 S] Kcal/Kg

NCV or LCV = GCV – [ (H/ 100) x 9 x 587] Kcal/Kg

Where, Where C, H, O and S are the percentage of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur in the
fuel respectively.
Solved example:
The ultimate analysis of coal gave the following results, C = 84%, S = 1.5%, N = 0.6%, H =
5.5% and O = 8.4%. Calculate the gross and net calorific value of the coal using Dulong’s
formula. Solution:
HCV or GCV = 1/100 [8080 C + 34500 (H – O/8 ) + 2240 S] Kcal/Kg

= 1/100 [8080 x 84 + 34500 (5.5 – (8.4/8)) + 2240 x 1.5] Kcal/Kg

= 8356 Kcal/Kg.
NCV or LCV = GCV – ( H/100 x 9 x 587) Kcal/Kg

= 8356 – ( (5.5/100) x 9 x 587) Kcal/Kg

= 8356 – 290.56 = 8065.44 Kcal/Kg.
Ans. HCV or GCV = 8356 Kcal/Kg.
NCV or LCV = 8065.44 Kcal/Kg. Problems
for practice:
1. A sample of coal was found to have the following percentage composition. C = 75%, N =
3.2%, H = 5.2% O = 12.1% and ash = 4.5%. Calculate the gross and net calorific value of
the coal using Dulong’s formula. [Ans. GCV = 7332.18Kcal/Kg, NCV = 7057.47 Kcal/Kg]
2. A sample of coal contains. C = 76%, N = 1.5%, H = 5 % O = 16.2%, S = 0.3 %, and ash =
1.0%. Calculate the higher and lower calorific value of the coal. [Ans. GCV =
7173.895Kcal/Kg, NCV = 6909.745 Kcal/Kg]
3. Find the gross and net calorific value of a fuel, which an ultimate analysis gave the
following results; C = 68.3%, N = 0.25%, H = 5% O = 25.6% and S = 0.3 %. Assume latent
heat of steam is 600cal/gm. [Ans. GCV = 6146.36Kcal/Kg, NCV = 5876.36 Kcal/Kg]
4. Determine the gross and net calorific value of a fuel, which an ultimate analysis gave the
following results; C = 92%, N = 1%, H = 4% O = 2% S = 0.3 %, and ash = 0.7%.Assume
latent heat of condensation of steam is 580cal/gm. [Ans. GCV = 8734.07Kcal/Kg, NCV =
8525.27 Kcal/Kg]
5. Calculate the gross and net calorific value of a fuel having following composition: C =
86%, H = 6%, O = 0.5%, N = 3%, ash = 0.5%. [Ans. GCV = 8997.23Kcal/Kg, NCV =
8680.25 Kcal/Kg]
6. A sample of coal has the following percentage composition: C = 82%, H = 3.1%, O = 4%,
N = 0.7%, ash = 9%, S = 1.2%. Calculate the gross calorific value. [Ans. GCV =
7549.48Kcal/Kg]

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 7. A sample of coal has the following percentage composition: C = 60%, H = 6%, O = 33%,
N = 0.3%, ash = 0.2%, S = 0.5%. Calculate the gross calorific value. [Ans. GCV =
5506.07Kcal/Kg]
8. A coal having the following composition by weight: C = 90%, O = 0.3%, N = 0.5%, ash =
2.5%, S = 0.5%. The net calorific value was found to be 8925.28Kcal/kg. Calculate the %H
and gross calorific value.

9. A coal sample contains C = 70%, H = 8%, O =20%, N = 0.2%, ash = 0.5%, S = 0.5%.
Calculate GCV and NCV. [Ans. GCV = 7564.70Kcal/Kg, NCV = 7142.06 Kcal/Kg]

Solid fuels
Solid fuels contain combustible organic material and incombustible or mineral part known as
ballast. The organic part of fuel consists of carbon, hydrogen and sulphur. The organic portion may
also include elements such as nitrogen and sulphur. The ratio of the various elements present in a
fuel determines its properties. The incombustible or mineral part of the fuel consists of moisture
and minerals. The mineral part of a fuel consists of carbonates, phosphates, sulphates, sulphides
of Fe, Ca, Mg, Al, K, Na etc.
Solid fuels form a quite substantial part of total fuels. Solid natural fuels are wood, peat, lignite,
anthracite coal, bituminous coal etc. and the most important artificial fuels are coke and charcoal,
which are derived from natural coal.

1. Coal:
Coal is highly carbonaceous matter that has been formed as a result of alteration of vegetable
matter (e. g. plants) under certain favorable conditions. It is mainly composed of C, H, N and
O, besides non-combustible inorganic matter. There are several different types of coal, which
have different properties depending upon their age and depth to which they have been buried
under the other rocks. The degree of coal development is referred to as a coals “rank”, with
peat being the lowest rank coal and anthracite being the highest. The ranks of coal from those
with the least carbon to those with high carbon content are lignite, sub-bituminous, bituminous
and anthracite.

Analysis of coal:
There are two types of analysis, 1) Proximate analysis and 2) Ultimate analysis.
1) Proximate analysis:
It deals with the determination of moisture, volatile matter, ash and fixed carbon.
a. Determination of moisture:
Presence of moisture in coal lowers its calorific value. Hence determination of moisture
content is important. It is carried out as below, Procedure:
• About 1g of powdered sample coal is weighed in a clean and dry silica crucible with lid.
• The crucible, after removing the lid is placed inside the electric hot air oven maintained
at 105-110ºC.
• The crucible is allowed to remain in oven for about an hour.

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 • After one hour it is transferred to a desiccator by means of a pair of tongs and is allowed
to remain there till it acquires room temperature.
• When the crucible with its contents attains the room temperature, it is taken out of the
desiccator and weighed along with the lid.
• The process of heating followed by cooling to room temperature and weighing is
continued till the constant weight is obtained.
During the process of heating, the crucible in the electric oven to a temperature in the range of
105-110ºC, the moisture associated with the coal gets vaporized. Thus

% of moisture = loss in weight of coal sample x 100

Weight of coal taken
b. Determination of volatile matter:
Presence of volatile matter leads to lowering of calorific value. Determination of it involves
the following procedure. Procedure:
• Crucible containing moisture free coal is covered with a lid.
• It is then transferred to a muffle furnace, which is maintained at a temperature of about
925± 20 ºC for nearly seven minutes.
• The crucible after seven minutes is taken out and allowed to remain in air till it attains
room temperature.
• It is then placed in a desiccator for some time to remove any moisture that may get
associated with it during cooling.
• The crucible along with its content is then weighed to know the loss in weight
corresponding to the amount of volatile matter evaporated.
• The process of heating followed by cooling and weighing is continued till constant
weight is obtained.
% of volatile matter = loss in weight at 925± 20 ºC x 100
Weight of coal taken
c. Determination of ash:
Presence of ash leads to the formation of clinkers (i. e. fused ash lumps), which are bad
conductors of heat and create problems of its disposal. The fuel is then neither clean in use nor
economic in labor. Determination of it involves the following procedure.

Procedure:
• After the determination of volatile matter, the crucible with contents, but without lid, is
placed in the muffle furnace which is maintained at the temperature in the range of
725750 ºC for nearly one hour. Hence the coal burns to form ash.
• The crucible along with its contents (ash) is then transferred to desiccator and allowed to
attain room temperature.
• It is then taken out of the desiccator and weighed to know the weight of the ash formed.

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 • The process of heating followed by cooling and weighing is continued till the constant
weight is obtained.
During the process of heating, the coal burns to form ash, which is the ultimate product of
combustion. Its determination is important in the selection of proper quality of coal for a
specific purpose, because the coal forming large amount of ash affects the calorific value and
hence quantity of heat obtained is less.
% of Ash = Weight of residue left in crucible x 100
Weight of coal taken
d. Determination of fixed carbon:
The percentage of fixed carbon in the given sample of coal is calculated by subtracting the
sum of percentage moisture, percentage volatile matter and percentage ash from 100.

% of fixed carbon = 100 – (% of moisture + % of volatile matter + % of ash)

Significance / Importance of proximate analysis:

The proximate analysis plays a vital role in the selection of a specific variety of coal for a specific
purpose and thereby in deciding the quality of coal. A. Moisture:
i) The high percentage of moisture reduces the calorific value of coal since a significant
amount of liberated heat is wasted in evaporating the moisture. Therefore the net useful
heat is less.
ii) Since the moisture is transported at the same cost as coal, fuel becomes expensive. iii)
Due to excessive surface moisture, handling of coal becomes troublesome.
iv) However a small quantity of surface moisture up to 10% is desirable in coal as it improves
yield and quantity of metallurgical coke.
v) It also produces a more uniform fuel bed and reduces the amount of fly ash. Hence a good
quality of coal should have less amount of moisture. B. Volatile matter:
i) The volatile matter is produced as a result of thermal decomposition of coal.
ii) The volatile matter consists of combustible gases like CO, H 2, CH4 and other
hydrocarbons and incombustible gases like CO2 and N2.
iii) The incombustible gases do not have any heating value and are undesirable.
iv) Some coals having large amount of volatile matter burn with long, sooty (smoky) flame
and have low heating value. Hence lesser the percentage of volatile matter better will be
the rank of coal.
v) Coals with low volatile matter burn with a shorter flame. Thus information regarding the
percentage of volatile matter is essential while designing a furnace, as combustion space
required depends upon the nature of the flame.

C. Ash:
i) Ash is a non-combustible inorganic matter left after complete combustion of organic
matter in the coal. Ash reduces the calorific value of coal.
ii) Ash also causes hindrance in the burning of coal. Hence lower the ash content, better the
quality of coal.
iii) The presence of ash also increases the transporting, handling and storage costs. It also
involves additional cost in ash disposal.

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 iv) The presence of ash also causes early wear of furnace walls, burning of apparatus and
feeding mechanism. D. Fixed carbon:
1. Higher the percentage of fixed carbon, greater is its calorific value and better will be the
quality of coal. Hence high percentage of carbon is desirable.
2. It also helps in designing the furnace and shape of fire box because it is the fixed carbon
that burns in solid state.

Numericals:
1. A coal sample was analyzed as follows:
Exactly 2.5g was weighed into silica crucible. After heating for 1 hour at 110ºC the residue
weighed 2.415g, the crucible was then covered with a vented lid and strongly heated for
exactly seven minutes at 950±20ºc. The residue weighed 1.528g. The crucible was then
heated without cover at 700ºC until a constant weight was obtained. The last residue was
found to weigh 0.245g. Calculate the percentage results of above analysis.

Solution:-

i) Determination of % moisture:
Weight of coal taken = 2.5g
Mass of moisture in coal sample =2.5- 2.415

= 0.085g
Therefore % of moisture = loss in weight of coal sample x 100

Weight of coal taken

= 0.085 x 100
2.5
= 3.4%
ii) Determination of % volatile matter:
Mass of volatile matter = 2.145- 1.528
= 0.887g
% of volatile matter = loss in weight due to volatile matter x 100

Weight of coal taken

= 0.887 x 100
2.5
= 35.48%

iii) Determination of % ash:

Mass of residue = 0.245g
% of ash = weight of ash left x 100

Weight of coal taken

= 0.245 x 100

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 2.5
= 9.8%
iv) Determination of % fixed carbon:
% of fixed carbon = 100 – (% of moisture + % of volatile matter + % of ash)
= 100 – (3.4+35.48+9.8)
= 100 – 48.68
= 51.32%
2. 2.5g of air dried coal sample was taken in a silica crucible, after heating it in an electric oven
at 105-110ºC for 1 hour; the residue was weighed 2.410g. The residue was heated in a silica
crucible covered with vented lid at a temperature 950±20ºC for exactly 7 minutes. After cooling
the weight of the residue was found to be 1.78g. The residue was then ignited at 700750ºC to
a constant weight of 0.2469g. Calculate the percentage of fixed carbon in a coal sample.
3. One gram of dried sample of coal on heating at 110ºC for 1 hour produced a residue 0.850g
and this residue on heating at 950 ºC for 7 minutes in absence of air left 0.72g mass which on
combustion left 0.1g of non-combustible matter. Calculate the result of proximate analysis.
4. A sample of coal was analyzed for content of moisture, volatile matter and ash. From the
following data, calculate the percentage of the above quantities.
i) Weight of coal taken = 2.5g ii) Weight of coal
after heating at 100ºC = 2.365g
iii) Weight of coal after heating in an covered crucible at 950±20ºC = 1.165g iv)
Constant weight obtained at the end of the experiment = 0.460g
5. 1.5g of coal was weighed into a silica crucible. After heating for 1 hour at 100ºC, the residue
weighed 1.415g. The crucible was then covered with lid and strongly heated for exactly 7
minutes at 950±20ºC. The residue weighed 0.528g. The crucible was then heated without
cover, until a constant weight was obtained. The residue was found to weigh 0.254g. Calculate
the percentage results.
6. An air dried coal sample weighing 2.9g was taken for volatile matter determination. After
losing volatile matter, the coal sample weighed 1.96 g. if it contains 4.5% moisture, find %
volatile matter in it.

Ultimate analysis:
This type of analysis deals with the determination of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, oxygen
as follows,
a) Determination of percentage of carbon and hydrogen:
Here the carbon is oxidized to carbon monoxide which is then oxidized to carbon dioxide,
while the hydrogen is converted into water. From the weight of the products, percentage of
respective components is determined.
Principle: A known weight of powdered sample of dry coal is heated in a combustion tube in
a current of dry oxygen. Here carbon is oxidized to CO 2 while hydrogen is converted into
water.
Chemical reactions taking place are,
C + O2 → CO2
12 44
H2 + ½ O2 → H2O

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 2 18
CaCl2 + 7 H2O → CaCl2. 7 H2O

2 KOH + CO2→ K2CO3 + 2 H2O.

These gaseous products are absorbed in U-tubes containing anhydrous calcium chloride and
potassium hydroxide respectively. CaCl2 tube absorbs water vapours formed, while the second
tube containing potassium hydroxide absorbs CO2. From the increase in weight of the respective
tubes, % of carbon and hydrogen can be calculated as below, Procedure:
1. Weigh out accurately a small quantity of powdered sample of dry coal in a previously
weighed crucible.
2. Place the crucible in a hard glass tube, open at both the ends. At one side CuO gauge and
other side silver gauge is present. CuO gauge ensures complete oxidation of the sample
and silver gauge retains the oxidation products other than CO 2 and H2O. Close the ends by
airtight rubber corks having a hole at the centre. Insert two small tubes through these holes.
One glass tube is connected to oxygen supply, while the second tube is connected to two
U-tubes connected in series.
3. In the first U-tube, introduce anhydrous CaCl2 and in the second pour KOH solution. Weigh
both these tubes before the experiment.
4. Strongly heat the hard glass tube containing the crucible. Pass a current of dry oxygen
through one end of the tube. Allow the gases to escape and enter into the two U-tubes
connected in series.
5. After definite span of time, stop the oxygen supply and cool the hard glass tube containing
the crucible, to room temperature.
6. Disconnect the two U-tubes and weigh them separately. Find out the increase in their
weights.
% of C = Increase in weight of KOH tube x 12 x 100
Weight of coal taken x 44

% of H = Increase in weight of CaCl2 tube x 2 x 100

Weight of coal taken x 18

OR
% of C = weight of CO2 formed x 12 x 100
Weight of coal taken x 44

% of H = weight of H2O formed x 2 x 100

Weight of coal taken x 18

b) Determination of nitrogen ( Kjeldhal’s method):

Principle:

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 • A known quantity of powdered sample of coal is heated with concentrated H 2SO4 in a
Kjeldhal’s flask, in presence of potassium sulphate and copper sulphate as a catalyst,
till the solution becomes clear.
• Nitrogen present in the coal gets converted into ammonium sulphate [(NH 4)2SO4]
hence the solution becomes colourless.
• The solution of ammonium sulphate is then boiled with KOH/NaOH solution to liberate
ammonia, which is absorbed in a known volume of standard acid solution (H 2SO4) with
few drops of methyl red till colour changes to faint pink.
• The acid solution (unreacted acid) is then back titrated with standard NaOH solution
(till the colour is completely discharged).
• Blank titration is carried out using same volume of H2SO4.
• From the volume of the acid consumed nitrogen present in the coal can be estimated.

(NH4)2SO4 + 2 NaOH → Na2SO4 + 2 NH3 + 2 H2O

% of N = Volume of acid used x normality of acid x 1.4
Weight of coal taken

c) Determination of sulphur:
The method consists of the conversion of sulphur present in the coal into BaSO 4. From the
weight of BaSO4 obtained, sulphur can be estimated.
Principle:
A known mass of powdered sample of coal is heated in current of dry oxygen in the bomb
calorimeter, where the sulphur present in the coal is oxidized to sulphates. These sulphates
are then treated with BaCl2 solution to obtain precipitate of BaSO4. From the weight of dry
BaSO4, sulphur can be estimated.
Procedure:
1. Weigh carefully and accurately some quantity of powdered sample of dried coal.
2. Heat the sample in the bomb calorimeter in the current of dry oxygen. Ash formed is
extracted with dil. HCl and extract is heated with solution of BaCl2 to obtain the precipitate
of BaSO4.
3. The precipitate is washed thoroughly with water and separated on a filter paper and dried
thoroughly.
4. The dry precipitate is weighed accurately. From the weight of dry BaSO 4, sulphur can be
estimated.
S + O2 → SO4-2 + BaCl2 → BaSO4.
32g 233g

% of S = weight of BaSO4 formed x 32 x 100

Weight of coal taken x 233

d) Determination of oxygen:

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 It is obtained by deducting the sum of the percentage of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur
from 100.

% of O2 = 100 – (% C + % H + % N+ % S + % ash) Significance:

1. Carbon: Calorific value of a fuel is related to its carbon content. Higher the percentage of
carbon, greater is the calorific value and better is the quality of coal. It also helps in the ranking
of coal and classification of coal.
2. Nitrogen: Nitrogen is an inert and incombustible gas; hence its presence is undesirable. Thus a
good quality coal should have very little nitrogen content.
3. Sulphur: Although sulphur increases the calorific value, on oxidation it produces harmful and
corrosion causing gases like SO2 and SO3. These oxides of sulphur pollute the atmosphere.
Presence of sulphur is highly undesirable in coal which is used for making coke for iron
industry since it is transferred to the iron metal and badly affects the quality and properties of
steel.
4. Oxygen and hydrogen : Since hydrogen is mainly present in combination with oxygen as water
which is not desirable as it lowers the calorific value of a fuel. Lesser the percentage of
hydrogen better is the quality of coal. Further hydrogen is associated with volatile matter of
the coal and affects the use of coal. Oxygen is present in combined form with hydrogen in coal.
Coals having high oxygen content have high inherent moisture and low calorific value. Thus a
good coal should have low percentage of oxygen.

Problems based on ultimate analysis:

1. Determination of % of C and H
 0.250g of coal sample was burned in steam of oxygen at 1290ºC in a combustion tube. There
was increase in weight of calcium chloride tube by 0.025g and that of KOH tube by 0.8g
after combustion. Find out the % of C and H of sample. Solution:-
% of H = Increase in weight of CaCl2 tube x 2 x 100
Weight of coal taken x 18

= 0.025 x 2 x 100
0.250 x 18

= 1.11%
% of C = Increase in weight of KOH tube x 12 x 100
Weight of coal taken x 44

=
0.8 x 12 x 100
0.250 x 44
= 87.27%
Problems for practice:

i) 0.2g of coal was burned in a combustion apparatus and the gaseous products of combustion
were absorbed in a KOH bulb and CaCl2 tube which were previously weighed. There was

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 increase in weight of calcium chloride tube by 0.1g and that of KOH tube by 0.56g after
combustion. Find out the % of C and H of sample.
ii) A 0.5g of coal sample on ultimate analysis produced 1.60g of CO2 and 0.225g of H2O. Find
out the % of C and H of sample.
iii) 0.4g of coal sample was burned in a combustion tube. There was increase in weight of
calcium chloride tube by 0.2g and that of KOH tube by 0.88g after combustion. Find out
the % of C and H of sample. iv) A 0.5g of coal sample on ultimate analysis produced 1.35g
of CO2 and 0.225g of H2O. Find out the % of C and H of sample.
v) 0.2g of coal was burned in a combustion apparatus and the gaseous products of combustion
were absorbed in a potash bulb and CaCl2 tube which were previously weighed. There was
increase in weight of calcium chloride tube by 0.06g and that of potash bulb by 0.64g after
combustion. Find out the % of C and H of sample.

2. Determination of % of N and S:

 1.4g of coal sample in Kjeldhal’s experiment liberated ammonia which was absorbed in
50ml N/10 H2SO4. The resultant solution required 10ml of N/10 NaOH solution for
complete neutralization. Find out % of Nitrogen.
Solution:
Volume of acid taken = 50ml
Volume of acid unreacted (in terms of NaOH) = 10ml Therefore
volume of acid consumed = (50-10) = 40ml.
% of N = Volume of acid used x normality of acid x 1.4
Weight of coal taken
% of N = 40 x 0.1 x 1.4
1.4

= 4%

 0.5g coal sample was burned completely in a bomb calorimeter. The ash formed was
extracted with acid and the extract obtained was treated with barium chloride solution to
get barium sulphate precipitate. The weight of dry precipitate was 0.04g. Calculate the %
of S in the coal sample.
Solution:
% of S = weight of BaSO4 formed x 32 x 100
Weight of coal taken x 233
% of S = 0.04 x 32 x 100
0.5 x 233
= 1.09%
Problems for practice:

1. 1g of coal sample in Kjeldhal’s experiment liberated ammonia which was absorbed in 25ml
N/5 H2SO4. The excess of acid required 40ml of N/10 NaOH solution for back titration. Find
out % of Nitrogen.

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 2. 0.5g coal sample was burned completely in a bomb calorimeter. The ash formed was
extracted with acid and the extract obtained was treated with barium chloride solution to get
barium sulphate precipitate. The weight of dry precipitate was 0.025g. Calculate the % of S
in the coal sample.
3. A coal sample on ultimate analysis gave following result:
a) 0.5g coal produces 1.35g CO2 and 0.225g H2O.
b) 0.4g coal in Kjeldhal’s experiment liberated ammonia which was absorbed in 50ml 0.5N
H2SO4. The resultant solution required 22ml of 1 N NaOH solution for complete
neutralization.
c) 0.5g coal on combustion in a bomb calorimeter followed by the treatment with BaCl 2
produces 0.04g BaSO4.Calculate the % of C, H, N,S and O assuming coal contents 3.6%
ash and also find GCV.
4. A coal sample on ultimate analysis gave following result:
a) 0.5g coal produces 1.3g CO2 and 0.2g H2O.
b) 0.4g coal in Kjeldhal’s experiment liberated ammonia which was absorbed in 50ml 0.5N
H2SO4. The resultant solution required 23ml of 1 N NaOH solution for complete neutralization.
c) 0.5g coal on combustion in a bomb calorimeter followed by the treatment with BaCl2 produces
0.06g BaSO4.Calculate the % of C, H, N, S and O assuming coal contents 4.5% ash and also
find GCV and NCV.
5. A coal sample on ultimate analysis gave following result:
a) 0.25g coal produces 0.782g CO2 and 0.021g H2O.
b) 1.4g coal in Kjeldhal’s experiment liberated ammonia which was absorbed in 50ml N/10 H 2SO4.
The resultant solution required 15ml of N/10 NaOH solution for complete neutralization.
c) 3.2g coal on combustion in a bomb calorimeter followed by the treatment with BaCl2 produces
0.233g BaSO4. Find GCV and NCV.

COMBUSTION:
Combustion is an exothermic chemical reaction, which is accompanied by development of heat
and light at a rapid rate, so that temperature rises considerably. For e.g. combustion of carbon
in oxygen.
C (s) + O2 (g) → CO2 (g) + 97Kcal
For proper combustion, the substance must be brought to its kindling or ignition temperature
which may be defined as “the minimum temperature at which the substance ignites and burns
without further addition of heat from outside”. Calculation of air quantities:
To find the amount of oxygen and hence the amount of air required for the combustion of a unit
quantity of a fuel, it is necessary to apply the following elementary principles:
1. Substances always combine in a definite proportion and these proportions are determined
by the molecular masses of the substances involved and the products formed. In order to
know the amount of oxygen required for combustion of an element or a gas, we must know
the combustion reaction.
For e.g. when carbon combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide.

13
 C (s) + O2 (g) → CO2 (g)
Mass proportion 12 32 44
Volume proportion 1vol 1 vol 1vol
Thus 12 parts by weight of carbon required 32 parts by weight of oxygen and 44 parts
by weight of carbon dioxide produced by 12 parts by weight of carbon.
OR
One volume carbon requires one volume of oxygen and one volume carbon dioxide
produced by 1 volume of carbon.
The most commonly involved combustion reactions may be written as follows:
2H2 + O2 → 2H2O S + O2 → SO2
2CO + O2 → 2CO2 CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O
2C2H6 + 7O2 → 4CO2 + 6H2O C2H4 + 3O2 → 2CO2 + 2H2O
2C2H2 + 5O2 → 4CO2 + 2H2O C4H8 + 6O2 → 4CO2 + 4H2O
2C4H10 + 13O2 → 8CO2 + 10H2O 2C3H6 + 9O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O
C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O
Nitrogen, ash and carbon dioxide, if any, present in the fuel or air are incombustible matters
and hence they do not take oxygen during combustion reaction. The total amount of oxygen
required by the fuel can be given by sum of the amounts of oxygen required by individual
constituent present in the fuel and these calculations are shown below:

(ONLY FOR UNDERSTANDING, NOT REQUIRED FOR EXAM)

a) Combustion of carbon:
Combustion of carbon is expressed by the equation

2C + O2 → CO2

12 Kg of carbon requires for complete combustion 32 Kg of oxygen.

Therefore, C Kg of carbon requires for complete combustion = C x 32
12
= 2.67 C Kg of O2

Therefore, quantity of oxygen required for C Kg of carbon = 2.67 C Kg.

b) Combustion of hydrogen
Combustion of hydrogen is expressed by the equation

2H2 + O2 → 2H2O

4 Kg of hydrogen requires for complete combustion 32 Kg of oxygen Therefore,

H Kg of hydrogen requires for complete combustion 8H Kg of
Oxygen.

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c) Combustion of sulphur:
Combustion of sulphur is expressed by the equation
S + O2 → SO2
32 Kg of sulphur requires for complete combustion 32 Kg of oxygen
Therefore, S Kg of sulphur requires for complete combustion S Kg of oxygen.
Thus the quantity of oxygen required for complete combustion of 1 Kg of fuel can be given
by,
(2.67C+8H+S)Kg
2. But some quantity of oxygen is already present in the fuel. Therefore the minimum corrected
quantity of oxygen required for complete combustion of 1 Kg of fuel will be ; (2.67C+8H+S-
O)
3. Air contains 23% oxygen by weight and 21% oxygen by volume
From the above total quantity of air required for combustion of 1 Kg of fuel can be calculated.
Since 23kg oxygen is present in100 Kg of air. Therefore (2.67C+8H+S-O) Kg is present in
(2.67C+8H+S-O) x 100/23 Kg.
4. Further it should be noted that weight can be converted into volume in the following ways: At
N.T.P. (i.e. at 0ºC and 760 mm pressure), 22.4 litre of any gas will weigh one gram molecule
i.e. its molecular weight in grams.
For example, 22.4 liters of CO2 at N.T.P. will weigh 44g of CO2 (44 being the molecular weight
of CO2)
OR
3
22.4m of CO2 = 44Kg of CO2
5. The average molecular weight of air is taken as 28.94
6. For calculating the quantity of air required for combustion following formulae can be applied.

Weight of air needed = 32C/12 + 16H/2 + 32S/ 32 – O x 100

23

(O is oxygen present in the fuel)

Volume of air required = (number of moles of air) x 22.4 m3 at N.T.P.
= weight of air needed in kg x 22.4 m3 at N.T.P.
28.94

7. The mass of any gas can be converted to its volume at certain temperature and pressure by
using the gas equation
PV = nRT
Where P = pressure of gas in
atmosphere V = volume of gas in
liters n = number of moles of gas
T = Temperature on Kelvin scale.
8. To calculate the volume of gas at given temperature and pressure, following relation is used.
P0V0 = P1V1 (From Boyle’s and Charles law)
T0 T1

15
 Where P0, V0 and T0 are standard pressure, volume and temperature, P1 and T1 are the given
pressure and temperature. Thus, V1 volume at given pressure and temperature can be easily
calculated.

NOTE: students should read the numerical carefully. If only elemental composition of each
constituent of fuel is given, then it can be directly substituted in the formula, if not, then you
can find amount of oxygen and air, by writing down the combustion reactions and calculating
the total amount of oxygen and air. For this, students must write the correct combustion
reactions.

NUMERICALS:
Formula Based:
1. A liquid fuel has C =80%, H= 12%, O2= 8%. Find the minimum quantity of air needed for
complete combustion of 1 Kg of the above liquid fuel. (Ans: 13.11kg)
2. A coal sample was found to contain the following constituents: C =81%, H= 6%, O= 7%, S=
1%, N=1%, ash= 4%. Calculate the minimum amount of air required for complete combustion
of 1 kg of coal.(Ans: 11.2kg)
3. Calculate the weight and volume of air needed for complete combustion of 1 Kg of coal
containing has C =65%, H= 4%, O2= 7%, N= 3.0%, moisture= 15% and remaining is ash.
Molecular weight of air = 28.949g.
4. Calculate the volume of air by weight and volume for combustion of 2 Kg of carbon.
5. The percentage composition by mass of a sample of coal is as follows: C =75%, H= 10%, O 2=
10%, S= 1%, N=2% and remaining is ash. Calculate a) Amount of air required for complete
combustion of 1kg of fuel. b) GCV and NCV.
6. A sample of coal contains: C =65%, H= 15%, O2= 10%, S= 4%, N=2% and ash=4%. Calculate
the minimum amount of air required for complete combustion of 2kg of fuel.
7. A sample of coal contains: C =80%, H= 6%, O2= 8%, S= 2.5% and ash=3.5%. Calculate the
gross and net calorific value of coal. Also calculate the minimum amount of air required for
complete combustion of 1kg of above coal.
8. Calculate the weight and volume of air required for complete combustion of 5kg of coal with
following composition: C =85%, H= 10%, O2= 5%.
9. Calculate the weight and volume of air required for complete combustion of 1kg of coal with
following composition: C =54%, H= 6.5%, O2=3%, N=1.8%, moisture=17.3%, ash=17.4%.
(given molecular weight of air =28.949)
10. A coal sample has C =70%, H= 10%, O= 0.05%, S= 3%, N=2% and ash= 6.5%. Calculate the
minimum amount of air required for complete combustion of 1kg of coal.
11. Calculate the weight of air required for complete combustion of 5kg of coal with following
composition: C =80%, H= 15%, O= remaining.
12. Calculate volume of air containing 20% oxygen by volume at 27ºC and 760mm pressure which
will be required for complete combustion of 2 kg of fuel containing C=70%, H=25%, ash=
5%.
13. Calculate volume of air containing 20% oxygen by volume at 27ºC and 760mm pressure which
will be required for complete combustion of 4 kg of fuel containing C=80%, H=15% and
incombustible matter= 5%.

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14. The percentage composition of coal sample was C =88%, H= 3.5%, O2= 5%, S= 0.5%, N=1%.
Calculate the theoretical quantity of oxygen and air (in volume) required at 27ºC and 1 atm
pressure for the combustion of 2kg of coal.

Equation Based:

15. Calculate the volume of air required for complete combustion of 6m3 of gaseous fuel with
following composition. CO= 46%, C2H4=1%, CH4=8%, N2=3%, H2=6%, CO2= remaining.
16. Calculate the volume of air required for complete combustion of 1m3 of gaseous fuel, which
possess by volume CH4=35%, C2H4=4%, CO=10%, H2=45%, N2=2%, Water vapour=4%.
17. The composition of gas was found to be H 2=10%, CH4=15%, C2H6=25%, N2=5%, CO=20%,
and O2= 5%. Calculate the volume of oxygen and air required for complete combustion of 8m3
of this gas.
18. A gas has following composition by volume H2=20%, CH4=5%, CO=25%, CO2=10%, O2=
6%, N2=34%. If 20% excess air is used, find the weight of air supplied per m3 of gas.
19. A gaseous fuel has following composition by volume H 2=30%, CH4=40%, C2H6=10%,
CO=10%, N2=5%. Calculate volume of air required if 20% excess air is used for complete
combustion assuming air contains20% oxygen by volume.

Liquid fuels:
In the modern era, liquid fuels have become more popular for their use as domestic as well as
industrial fuels since they are better, more convenient for use, more economical than solid fuels.
Petroleum is one of the most important sources of liquid fuels.

Petroleum or crude oil:

The word petroleum is derived from petra meaning rock and oleum meaning oil. It is a dark,
greenish-brown, viscous oil found deep in earth’s crust, may be off shore or on shore. It is
composed of many hydrocarbons (like straight chain paraffin, cyclo-paraffin or naphthalene,
olefins and aromatics), together with small amount of organic compounds containing oxygen,
nitrogen and sulphur. The oil is usually found floating upon a layer of brine and has a layer of gas
at the top of it.

The average composition of crude petroleum is

C = 79.5-87.1% H
= 11.5-14.8%
S = 0.1-3.5% N +
O = 0.1-0.5% Importance
of petroleum:
1. It is the main fuel, which can be used in I. C. engines and runs the automobiles, airships,
ships and practically all types of machines.

17
 2. It is also a source of lubricating oils which reduces friction between the moving parts of
machines and thereby increases the life and efficiency of machines. Such machines may
either be of automobiles or those used in industries.
3. Commonly used products such as paints, cold creams, lotions, ointment, shampoos etc. are
obtained from petroleum products.
4. It is also used as a source of asphalt or pitch, which is commonly used for road making, in
the manufacture of paraffin wax, waterproofing compounds, waterproofing papers, in
making cheap candles etc.
Classification of petroleum:
According to its chemical nature, petroleum has been classified as:
• Paraffin base petroleum: It consists of a number of either straight chain or branched chain
saturated hydrocarbons thatA coal sample has C =70%, H= 10%, O= 0.05%, S= 3%, N=2%
and ash= 6.5%. Calculate the minimum amount of air required for complete combustion of
1kg of coal. is paraffin from CH4 to C35H72. The series of hydrocarbons from C18H38 to
C35H72 are semisolids hence they are known as waxes. When ignited they burn with a long
sooty flame. Hence, this type of petroleum is known as paraffin base petroleum.
• Naphthalene base petroleum: It consists of naphthalene or substituted naphthalene
product with little quantity of paraffin and aromatic hydrocarbons. It burns with a short,
non-sooty flame.
• Mixed base petroleum: It is a mixture of both, paraffin base and naphthalene base
petroleum. It generally contains large amount of semisolid waxes.

Mining of petroleum:
Mining of petroleum is done by drilling holes in the earth’s crusts and sinking pipes up to the
oil-bearing porous rocks. Oil, usually, comes out itself due to hydrostatic pressure of natural
gas. Alternatively it may be mechanically pumped up by using either lift pump or air-lift pump.
The latter consists of two co-axial pipes, lowered into the base of the oil bed. Compressed air
is forced through the outer pipe whereby oil comes out through the inner pipe. The oil is
conveyed to refinery by a system of pipelines.

Refining of petroleum:
The crude oil, itself, cannot be used directly as a fuel, since it contains lot of impurities,
which must be removed. The process in which petroleum is separated into different fractions
having different boiling points is called “refining of petroleum”. The plant set up for refining
is called refinery.
The crude oil is an emulsion having greenish red to black colour mixed with sandy oil and
water. It contains dissolved gases, liquids of low, medium and high boiling points, of widely
different viscosities and solids as well as semi-solids waxes. The steps involved in the process
of refining consist of:
Step- I) Separation of water or De-emulsification or Cottrell’s process:
The crude oil is as obtained from oil wells is an extremely stable emulsion of oil and salty
water. Such an oil and water mixture is allowed to flow through cylindrical tanks fitted with
charged electrodes. This causes the breaking of emulsion forming two different layers. The
layers are withdrawn separately. Dissolved salts that may be present in oil are removed by
thorough washing with water.

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Step- II) Removal of sulphur compounds :( desulphurization)
Sulphur present in crude causes corrosion, hence needs to be removed during refining of crude
petroleum. For this purpose the oil is treated with copper oxide, which forms insoluble
precipitate of copper sulphide that can be removed by simple filtration. Complete removal of
sulphur may be effected by the treatment of oil with alcoholic caustic soda and sodium
butyrate.
Step –III) Fractional distillation:

• The crude oil, after removal of sulphur and water, is heated in an iron retort to a temperature
of about 400ºC. In such heating volatile components of the crude oil gets evaporated.
• The vapours are then cooled by passing them up a tall cylindrical tower (bubble tower)
consisting of a number of horizontal stainless steel trays, called fractionating columns.
• Each tray is provided with a small chimney, which is covered with a loose cap.
• As the vapours move up the tower, condensation of different fractions takes place, as per their
boiling points i.e. high boiling fraction condenses first, followed by the one having somewhat
lower boiling point and so on, i.e. higher boiling fractions condenses at lower plates and lower
boiling fraction condenses at higher one.
• Each fraction is collected separately finally the residue left in the retort is black tarry mass
called asphalt or pitch.
Thus, the various fractions between the temperature range of 20ºC-350ºC and above are separated.

Gasoline or Petrol:
The fraction which is obtained between 40ºC to 120ºC is known as petrol or gasoline.

19
It is associated with impurities of thiocompounds, colour and few unsaturated hydrocarbons which
are essential to be removed for further purification. In addition to this it also contains H 2S and
thioalcohols, which are responsible for the bad odour of the oil.Thus gasoline is first made free
from bad odour by washing with NaOH and adding salts such as sodium butyrate which mask the
undesirable odours. Sulphur can be removed by treatment with alcoholic caustic soda and sodium
butyrate.The colouring matter is removed by treating the fractions at about 450ºC, with bauxite or
liquid sulphur dioxide.

Give the characteristics of ideal gasoline.

i. It must be cheap and readily available.
ii. It must burn clean and produce less harmful combustion products. iii. It
should easily mix with air and should easily vaporize. iv. It must have high
calorific value.
v. It must be knock resistant.
vi. It should be stable and safe in storage.

Diesel oil Gasoline

1 It is the fraction collected at 250320°C 1 It is the fraction collected at 40-120°C

2 Its calorific value is 11,000Kcal/Kg. 2 Its calorific value is 11,250Kcal/Kg.

3 It is cheaper than gasoline. 3 It is costlier
4 Its consumption per unit of power 4 Its consumption is more.
produced is less.
5 Its thermal efficiency is higher by 5 It has lower thermal efficiency.
about 30-35% than gasoline.

Knocking:
It is a term related to internal combustion engine working on petrol.
1. In an internal combustion engine, a mixture of air and petrol vapour is compressed and ignited
by an electric spark and the essential chemical reaction is the oxidation of hydrocarbon
molecules.
2. Due to combustion or oxidation , gases are produced which move the piston down the cylinder.
3. It is essential that the combustion of the fuel in the cylinder of an I.C. engine should proceed
in a smooth and regular way.
4. But sometimes, the rate of oxidation is so great that the mixture detonates (i.e. the mixture on
ignition produces a sudden increase in gaseous volume) which causes uneven moving of the
piston producing a sound called as engine ‘Knock’.
5. Thus knocking is defined as, ‘the rattling noise or sharp metallic noise produced in an
internal combustion engine (I.C. engine) and which results into the loss of energy. Thus
it is the abnormal type of combustion.’

20
6. Knocking causes A) loss of large amount of energy.
B) Damage to piston and cylinder.
7. It is observed that straight chain saturated hydrocarbons have more knocking tendency than
straight chain unsaturated hydrocarbon.
With normal paraffin, the anti-knock properties decrease with increase in the length of
hydrocarbon chain (number of carbon atoms). E.g. n-propane, n-butane, n-pentane, n-hexane
and n-heptane have octane numbers 100, 92, 62, 26 and 0 respectively. Also cyclic compounds
have fewer tendencies to knock than straight chain compounds. Further Aromatic hydrocarbons
like benzene, toluene, naphthalene and alcohols show good anti-knock properties.

Straight chain paraffin > branched chain paraffin > olefins > cyclo-paraffin > aromatics.
High knocking low knocking
Low octane number High octane number
Low anti-knocking property High anti-knocking property
Thus knocking can be minimized by using fuel of high octane number and by adding a small
amount of anti-knocking agents like tetra ethyl lead to gasoline.

Anti-knocking agents:
1. Knocking can be decreased by addition of certain compounds to the fuels and these compounds
are known as anti-knocking agents and the process of adding these compounds is called
‘doping’.
2. Examples of anti-knocking agents are tetra ethyl lead (TEL), tetra methyl lead, diethyl zinc
(DEZ) etc.

3. Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE): {same is the answer of unleaded petrol}
• Octane rating of petrol is increased by adding TEL. However, combustion of leaded
petrol causes formation of lead oxide which gets deposited on inner walls of cylinder
and jams the piston.
• Also leaded petrol cannot be used in automobiles equipped with catalytic converters (a
device which is used in motor vehicle exhaust systems which converters toxic
combustion by-products into less toxic substances), because lead present in exhaust gas
poisons the catalyst, thereby destroying its active sites.
• Alternative method of increasing octane number of petrol is to add high octane
compounds like iso-pentane, iso-octane, ethyl benzene, MTBE etc.
• Out of these MTBE is preferred because it contains oxygen in the form of ether group
which supplies oxygen for the combustion of petrol in I.C engines, thereby reducing
the extent of per-oxy compound formation.
• Thus petrol added with such compounds is called as ‘unleaded petrol’ where higher
octane rating is obtained without addition of lead compounds.
• An advantage of unleaded petrol is that it permits the use of catalytic converter attached
to the exhaust in automobiles.

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Octane value or octane number:

1. It is a measure of anti-knocking property of gasoline or petrol. It is a number given to petrol

that signifies its anti-knocking property. Fuel having high octane number will have good
antiknocking property
2. Octane number of a fuel was introduced by Edger in 1927.
3. He found that, straight hydrocarbons such as n-heptane (C7H16), knocks very badly (poor
antiknocking property). On the other hand iso-octane (C8H18) burns smoothly without
producing any knock (highest anti-knocking property).
4. Therefore he rated; n- heptanes as zero.
And Iso-octane as 100.
5. Thus if two hydrocarbons such as iso-octane and n-heptane are mixed in all proportions then a
series of fuels having anti-knocking property from 0-100 octane are obtained. Such mixtures
of iso-octane and n-heptane are taken as standard and the knocking property of gasoline and
other fuels are compared with them.
6. Definition: - octane value is defined as percentage of iso-octane in the mixture of isooctane
and n-heptane that knocks with the same intensity as petrol being tested.
7. The octane number scale has been extended by treating a mixture of iso-octane and n-heptane
with the addition of tetra ethyl lead (TEL) which mixes thoroughly with gasoline and increases
the octane rating of the gasoline.
8. Nowadays fuels with octane number above 100 are available E.g. Aviation gasoline. Octane
number of few of the hydrocarbons is given below:

Cetane value or Cetane number:

1. Knocking characteristics of diesel are expressed in terms of Cetane number.

2. Diesel engine is a compression ignition engine in which fuel is ignited by the application of
heat and pressure.
3. In diesel engine first only the air is forced into the cylinder and compressed at high pressure
due to which air temperature is raised to 500°C to 600°C. At this stage the fuel is injected in
the form of spray into the very hot air. The droplets vaporize and get heated to the temperature
at which spontaneous ignition takes place.
4. The time gap between the beginning of fuel injection and the beginning of combustion is
called as ‘ignition delay’ or ‘ignition lag’.
5. If the fuel does not ignite fast i.e. it has long ignition delay, a large portion of injected oil gets
accumulated into the cylinder before ignition as a result a violent combustion and sudden
increase in pressure takes place on ignition resulting in rough and bumpy running of engine
called as diesel knock.
6. Thus, it is desirable for a diesel fuel to ignite very quickly (without any delay) when injected
into the cylinder of a compression ignition engine.
7. Thus ignition quality of diesel oil is measured in terms of Cetane number. Higher the Cetane
number shorter is the ignition delay.

22
 8. Ignition delay depends upon engine design, type of the injector, size of oil droplets, the way
in which air and diesel are mixed and chemical nature of the fuel
9. In order to grade diesel fuels, Cetane number scale was introduced
10. Cetane (C16H34) is a saturated hydrocarbon which ignites very quickly (without delay).
11. While α- methyl naphthalene (C11H10), an aromatic hydrocarbon, does not ignite quickly (with
long delay).
12. Thus, Cetane is rated as 100 and α-methyl naphthalene is rated as zero.
13. Thus Cetane and α-methyl naphthalene are mixed in all proportions then a series of fuels
having Cetane number from 0-100 Cetane are obtained. Such mixtures are taken as standard
and the ignition quality of diesel are compared with them.
14. Definition: Thus Cetane number is defined as percentage by volume of Cetane in the
mixture Cetane and α-methyl naphthalene which has same ignition delay as fuel being
tested.
15. The Cetane number of diesel oil can be improved by using the additive like acetylene, ethyl
nitrite; ethyl nitrate, acetone, diethyl ether etc. (reduce the ignition delay by reducing flash
point).

Distinguish between Octane value and Cetane value:

Octane value Cetane value

1 It is defined as, percentage of iso-octane in the 1 It is defined as, percentage by volume of

mixture of iso-octane and n-heptane that Cetane in the mixture Cetane and α-methyl
knocks with the same intensity as petrol being naphthalene which has same ignition delay
tested. as fuel being tested.

2 It is a measure of Anti-knocking property of 2 It is a measure of ignition quality of diesel.

petrol.
3 Octane number of petrol can be increased by 3 Cetane number of diesel oil can be improved by
addition of TEL. using the additive like acetylene, ethyl nitrite,
ethyl nitrate, acetone, diethyl ether
4 Petrol containing aromatics have highest 4 Diesel containing n- paraffins have highest
octane number. Cetane number.
5 Oils having high Octane number have a low 5 Oils having high Cetane number have a low
Cetane number. Octane number.

• Catalytic converters
A catalytic converter is a device used to reduce the toxicity of emissions from an I.C engine.
Catalytic converters are most commonly used in motor vehicle exhaust systems. They are also
used on generator sets, mining equipments, trucks, buses, trains and other engine-equipped

23
machines. A catalytic converter provides an environment for a chemical reaction wherein toxic
combustion by-products are converted to less toxic substances.
Catalytic converters are mainly of two types:
a) Three –way catalytic converter: It is used in spark ignition engines (petrol engine or I.C
engine). It performs three simultaneous tasks i.e. it converts three main pollutants- CO, HC
(hydrocarbon) and NOx (nitrogen oxides) to less toxic substances.
2NOX → X O2+N2
2CO + O2 → 2CO2
Hydrocarbon + O2 → CO2 + H2O
b) Two –way catalytic converter: It is used in compression ignition engines (diesel engine). It
performs two simultaneous tasks i.e. it converts two main pollutants- CO and HC
(hydrocarbon) to less toxic substances. This catalyst uses excess oxygen in the exhaust gas
stream to carry out following reactions.
2CO + O2 → 2CO2
Hydrocarbon + O2 → CO2 + H2O
• Here for NOx, Selective Catalytic or NOx traps are used.

It consists of three parts,

a. Core or substrate ( catalyst support) eg. Honeycomb core.
b. Washcoat ( mixture of silica and alumina) this coating forms many rough surfaces over
the substrate increasing the number of active sites. Hence efficiency increases. c.
Catalyst Pt, Pd, Rh.

24