Unit VI Dr.

Roop Lal
IC Engines

CO – 6: Introduction to Automotive Fuels: Petroleum based fuels and their

properties, knock rating of engine fuels, necessity of alternative fuels, LPG,
CNG, producer gas, biogas, H2, biodiesel and alcohols

Lecture 1: Unit VI; IC Engines: Introduction to Automotive Fuels:

Petroleum based fuels and their properties, knock rating of engine fuels,

CONVENTIONAL FUELS (FOR I.C. ENGINES)

Introduction
IC engines can run on different kinds of fuels, liquid, gaseous and solid fuels.
The properties and the character of the fuel influence on the design, power
output, efficiency, fuel consumption and the reliability and durability of the
engine. The use of solid fuels present problems of complicated injection
systems, as well as difficulties associated with solid residual ash, and hence are
not popular, gaseous fuels present problems of storage and handling of large
volumes. Hence for mobile use its use gets restricted. But gaseous fuels do find
use for stationary power plants particularly when gas is readily available at
location nearby. Thus liquid fuels find abundant use in IC engine.
Desirable Properties of Good I.C. Engines Fuels
The fuels used in I.C. engines are designed to satisfy the performance
requirements of the engine system in which they are used. This fuel should
possess the following properties:
1. High energy density (kJ/kg).
2. Good combustion qualities.
3. High thermal stability.
4. Low toxicity
5. Low pollution.
6. Easy transportation/transferability and storage
7. Compatibility with the engine hardware
8. Good fire safety.
9. Low deposit forming tendency.
10. Economically viable in very large quantities
11. Easy mixing with air and low latent heat of evaporation (hfg).
12. No chemical reaction with engine components through which it
flows
Unit VI Dr. Roop Lal
IC Engines

Gaseous Fuels
These fuels are used in S.I. engines. The different gaseous fuels are enumerated
and discussed below
1. Natural gas 2. Manufactured gases
3. By-product gases 4. Sewage sludge gas
5. Biogas.

Natural gas:
 Its composition varies with source but mainly it contains CH4. (75 to 95
percent) and remaining C2H6 and N2. From some areas, the natural
obtained contains H2S which is much harmful to the engines.
 It is available with oil wells and is colorless and odorless.
 It is found in several parts of the world but particularly in U.S.A. It is also
carried from the place of availability to the place of use through hundreds
of kilo meters pipeline.

2. Manufactured gases
The gases are manufactured by various methods, discussed briefly below
 Coal gas is manufactured by heating soft coal in closed vessel. The
contents of the gas depend upon the type of coal and method of operation
used in manufacturing.
A clean coal gas contains: 33% H2, and 66% CH4.
Its energy content is 50 percent of natural gas
 Water gas is formed by using steam. For its manufacture, the water and
air are passed alternately through a bed of hot carbon.
- it contains H2, CO and N2

3. By-product gases
The gases produced during manufacture of other substances are known as by-
product gases .
Blast furnace gas is a by-product of steel plants. It contains CO and N2. It
contains large amount of dust particles ; therefore, it should be cleaned by an
effective method before its use in the engine.

4. Sewage sludge gas

It contains CH4 and CO, with very small percentage H2S.
This gas is made available from present well developed sewage disposal plants

5. Biogas
This gas is produced from the cow dung which is available in large quantities in
India.
It is easy to produce (with appropriate chemical reaction) and use locally.
Unit VI Dr. Roop Lal
IC Engines

Except natural gas, all other gases mentioned above are generally employed for
running I.C. engines whose power is used locally to run different types of
equipment like small electric generators, pumps etc.

Advantages of gaseous fuels

(i) Easily compressed and stored
(ii) Easily carried through pipes
(iii) Easy starting of engines.
(iv) Easy to maintain A/F ratio in multi-cylinder engines, as compared
to liquid fuels.
Disadvantages
(i) High cost (on the basis of energy content)
(ii) High purifying cost.
(iii) Storage volume per unit energy very large.
(iv) As compared to engines using liquid fuels, the size and weight of
the engine (kg/kW) is considerably large.
(v) The cost(capital and running) of the plants manufacturing gases is
considerably high.

Liquid Fuels
Following are the three principal commercial types of liquid fuels
1. Benzol; 2. Alcohol; 3. Refined products of petroleum.

1. Benzol
It consists of benzene (C6H6) and toulene (C7H8) and is obtained as a by-
product of high temperature coal carbonization.
It possesses anti-knock quality. As compared to gasoline, its heating
value is low.

2. Alcohol
o it has good anti-knock qualities.
o Its heating value is low as compared to gasoline.
o it is more expensive to produce.
o It is used as fuel blended with gasoline
o It can be manufactured from grain, sugarcane and waste products.

3. Refined products of petroleum

 It is the main source of liquid fuels for I.C. engines.
 It is used in the form of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel oil
The liquid fuels are classified in two groups:
(i) Liquid fuels which are vaporized easily "Petrol" and "Alcohol”. These
are commonly used in SI engines
Unit VI Dr. Roop Lal
IC Engines

(ii) Liquid fuel which is directly injected in the combustion chamber:

"Diesel or fuel oil".

Structure of Petroleum
In I.C. engines the fuels which are usually used are complex mixtures of
hydrocarbons. These fuels are obtained by refining petroleum. Petroleum is a
mixture of hydrocarbons, compounds made up exclusively of carbon and
hydrogen atoms. It may also contain small quantities of other compounds
having Sulphur, Oxygen and Nitrogen.
The Constituents of petroleum are classified into following groups:
1. Paraffins CnH2n+2 Where n = number of carbon atoms
2. Olefins CnH2n
3. Naphthenes CnH2n
4. Aromatics CnH2n – 6

1. Parffins:
(i) Straight Chain or normal Paraffins:
Names in this group end with ane as in Methane, Propane, hexane etc.
The straight chain paraffins are saturated as valency of carbon is fully
utilized and therefore, they are stable.

Figure 1: Straight Chain Paraffins

(ii) Branched Chain or Iso - Paraffins:

The carbon atoms are branched in these compounds
Branched Chain or Iso – Paraffins have an open structure which is
branched as shown below:
Iso – Paraffins are also stable compounds and highly knock resistant
when used as S. I. engine fuels.
Unit VI Dr. Roop Lal
IC Engines

Figure 2: Branched Chain or Iso – Paraffins

2. Olefins:

These are compounds with one or more double bonded carbon atoms in
straight chain. The name end with ene for one double bond and adiene for
two double bonds. The examples are Hexene and Butadiene

Figure 3: Olefins

3. Napthenes:
These are ring structured compounds
Chemical formula is same as that of olefins, CnH2n but have each carbon
atom joined by single bond to two other C atoms, thus forming a ring of
structure. Examples are Cyclo propane (C3H6) and Cyclo Butane (C4H8)
etc.
Unit VI Dr. Roop Lal
IC Engines

Figure 4: Napthenes

4. Aromatics:

These compounds (CnH2n-6) have a ring type structure for all

or most of the carbon atoms, to which are attached H or grup of C
and H atoms. Examples are shown in figure 5.

Figure 5: Structure of Aromatics

Special properties of the of aromatics:

(i) Offer highest resistance to knocking in SI engins

(ii) Paraffins are most suitable fuels for CI engines and Aromatics
are most suitable fuels for SI engines.

(iii) With the increase in the number of atoms in the molecular

structure, the bpiling temperature of fuel generally increases.

(iv) As the proportion of H2 atoms to C atoms in the molecule

increases the calorific value of fuel increases. Thus, parafins
have lower calorific value whereas aromatics have highest calorific
value.
Unit VI Dr. Roop Lal
IC Engines

Petroleum and Composition of Crude Oil

 Petroleum is a dark viscous oily liquid known as rock oil (in Greek,
petra--rock, oleum--oil). It is formed from the bacterial
decomposition of the remains of animals and plants which got
buried under the sea millions of years ago. When these organisms
died, they sank to the bottom and got covered by sand and clay.
Over a period of millions of years, these remains got converted into
hydrocarbons by heat, pressure and catalytic action. The
hydrocarbons formed rose through porous rocks until they were
trapped by impervious rocks forming an oil trap.

 Natural gas is found above the petroleum oil trapped under rocks.
The crude petroleum is obtained by drilling a hole into the
earth's crust and sinking pipes into it. When the pipe reaches the
oil deposit, natural gas comes out with a great pressure. After the
pressure has subsided, the crude oil is pumped out of the oil well.
This process of obtaining crude oil from its sources is called
mining.

 The crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons such as alkanes,

cycloalkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons. It also contains a number
of compounds having oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur. The actual
composition of petroleum depends upon its place of origin.

Fractional distillation of crude oil

 The crude petroleum obtained by mining is a dark coloured viscous

liquid called crude oil before petroleum can be used for different
purposes, it must be separated into various components. The
process of separating petroleum into useful Factions and
removal of undesirable impurities is called refining.
 The refining of petroleum is carried out by the process of fractional
distillation as described below:
The oil is heated in a furnace to about 675K and the vapours thus
obtained are introduced into a fractionating tower. The tower is
divided into a number of compartments by means of shelves
having holes (Figure 6). The holes are covered with bubble caps
Unit VI Dr. Roop Lal
IC Engines

which allow the lighter more volatile components to pass up the

column while the heavier, less volatile componets condence and
flow into tray below. Each shelf is provided with an overflow pipe
which keeps the liquid to a certain level and allows the rest to flow
down to the lower shelf. Therefore, during fractional distillation,

Figure 6: Refining of Petroleum

the fraction with lower boiling points rise up the tower and
condense at different levels depending upon the boiling points.
Unit VI Dr. Roop Lal
IC Engines

Fuels for Spark-Ignition Engines

Gasoline, a mixture of various hydrocarbons (such as parafins, oleoffins,

napthenes, and aromatics) is the major fuel used for S.I. engines. The
composition depends upon the source of crude oil and the nature of refining
process. The following are the requirements of an ideal gasoline

1. High calorific value.

2. Knock-resistance.

3. Easy to handle.

4. Easy availability at reasonable cost.

5. Quick evaporation (when injected by carburetor in the current of air).

6. Clean burning and no deposition of the residue.

7. No pre-ignition.

8. No tendency to decrease the volumetric efficiency of engine.

Unit VI Dr. Roop Lal
IC Engines

Volatility

" Volatility" is commonly defined as the evaporating tendency of a liquid fuel.

This quality of the fuel has great significance for carbureted engines. This will
decide the fuel vapour to air ratio in the cylinder at the time of ignition.

As Fr = 0.6 is the lowest limit for satisfactory ignition and flame propagation,
therefore, volatility of fuel must ensure to give at least this fuel vapour to air
ratio at the time of ignition under all conditions of operation including starting
from cold