FUELS

Fuel:
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to
perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by
humans undergo combustion, a redox reactions in which a combustible
substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in
the air. Other processes used to convert fuel into energy include various
other exothermic chemical reactions and nuclear reactions, such
as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. Fuels are also used in
the cells of organisms in a process known as cellular respiration, where
organic molecules are oxidized to release usable energy. Hydrocarbons are
by far the most common source of fuel used by humans, but many other
substances, such as radioactive metals, are currently used as well.

Types Of Fuels
Chemical Fuels:
Chemical fuels are substances that release energy by reacting with
substances around them, most notably by the process of oxidation.

Biofuels:
Biofuel can be broadly defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or
derived from biomass. Biomass can also be used directly for heating or
powerknown as biomass fuel. Biofuel can be produced from any carbon
source that can be replenished rapidly e.g. plants. Many different plants
and plant-derived materials are used for biofuel manufacture.

Recently biofuels have been developed for use in automotive transport

(for example Bioethanol and Biodiesel), but there is widespread public
debate about how efficient these fuels are.

Fossil Fuels:
Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal and petroleum (liquid
petroleum or natural gas), formed from the fossilized remains of ancient
plants and animals by exposure to high heat and pressure in the absence
of oxygen in the Earth's crust over hundreds of millions of
years. Commonly, the term fossil fuel also includes hydrocarboncontaining natural resources that are not derived entirely from biological
sources, such as tar sands. These latter sources are properly known
as mineral fuels.

Nuclear Fuels:
Nuclear fuel is any material that is consumed to derive nuclear energy.
Technically speaking this definition includes all matter because any
element will under the right conditions release nuclear energy, the only
materials that are commonly referred to as nuclear fuels though are those
that will produce energy without being placed under extreme duress.

Fission:
The most common type of nuclear fuel used by humans is heavy
fissile elements that can be made to undergo nuclear fission chain
reactions in a nuclear fission reactor; nuclear fuel can refer to the material
or to physical objects (for example fuel bundles composed of fuel rods)
composed of the fuel material, perhaps mixed with structural, neutron
moderating, or neutron reflecting materials. The most common fissile

nuclear fuels are

235

U and

239

Pu, and the actions of mining, refining,

purifying, using, and ultimately disposing of these elements together

make up the nuclear fuel cycle, which is important for its relevance
to nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons. In addition there are
various types of fuels.

Fusion:
Fuels that produce energy by the process of nuclear fusion are currently
not utilized by man but are the main source of fuel for stars, the most
powerful energy sources in nature. Fusion fuels tend to be light elements
such as hydrogen which will combine easily.
In stars that undergo nuclear fusion, fuel consists of atomic nuclei that can
release energy by the absorption of a proton or neutron. In most stars the
fuel is provided by hydrogen, which can combine together to
form helium through the proton-proton chain reaction or by the CNO cycle.
When the hydrogen fuel is exhausted, nuclear fusion can continue with
progressively heavier elements, although the net energy released is lower
because of the smaller difference in nuclear binding energy. Once iron-56
or nickel-56 nuclei are produced, no further energy can be obtained by
nuclear fusion as these have the highest nuclear binding energies.

LUBRICANTS
Definition:

A substance such as grease or oil used for minimizing friction is called

lubricant.

Types of Lubricants
In 1999, an estimated 37,300,000 tons of lubricants were consumed
worldwide. Automotive applications

dominate, but other

industrial,

marine, and metal working applications are also big consumers of

lubricants. Although air and other gas-based lubricants are known, e.g., in

fluid bearings), liquid and solid lubricants dominate the market, especially
the former.
Lubricants are generally composed of a majority of base oil plus a variety
of additives to impart desirable characteristics. Although generally
lubricants are based on one type of base oil, mixtures of the base oils also
are used to meet performance requirements.

Base oil groups:

Mineral oil term is used to encompass lubricating base oil derived from
crude oil. The American Petroleum Institute (API) designates several types
of lubricant base oil:
Group I Saturates <90% and/or sulfur>0.03%, and Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE) viscosity index (VI) of 80 to 120
Manufactured by solvent extraction, solvent or catalytic dewaxing,
and hydro-finishing processes. Common Group I base oil are 150SN
(solvent neutral), 500SN, and 150BS (bright stock)
Group II Saturates over 90% and sulfur under 0.03%, and SAE
viscosity index of 80 to 120
Manufactured by hydrocracking and solvent or catalytic dewaxing
processes. Group II base oil has superior anti-oxidation properties
since virtually all hydrocarbon molecules are saturated. It has waterwhite color.
Group III Saturates > 90%, sulfur <0.03%, and SAE viscosity
index over 120
Manufactured by special processes such as isohydromerization. It can be
manufactured from base oil or slax wax from dewaxing process.
Group IV Polyalphaolefins (PAO)
Group V All others not included above such as naphthenic, PAG,
esters.
In North America, Groups III, IV and V are now described as
synthetic

lubricants,

with

group

III

frequently

described

as

synthesized hydrocarbons, or SHCs. In Europe, only Groups IV and V

may be classed as synthetics.
The lubricant industry commonly extends this group terminology to
include:
Group I+ with a Viscosity Index of 103108
Group II+ with a Viscosity Index of 113119
Group III+ with a Viscosity Index of at least 140
Can also be classified into three categories depending on the prevailing
compositions:
Paraffinic
Naphthenic
Aromatic

Bio lubricants made from vegetable oils and other

renewable sources:
These are primarily triglyceride esters derived from plants and animals.
For lubricant base oil use the vegetable derived materials are preferred.
Common ones include high oleic canola oil, castor oil, palm oil, sunflower
seed oil and rapeseed oil from vegetable, and Tall oil from tree sources.
Many vegetable oils are often hydrolyzed to yield the acids which are
subsequently combined selectively to form specialist synthetic esters.
Other naturally derived lubricants include lanolin (wool grease, a natural
water repellent).
Lanolin is a natural water repellent, derived from sheep wool grease, and
is an alternative to the more common petro-chemical based lubricants.
This lubricant is also a corrosion inhibitor, protecting against rust, salts,
and acids.
Water can also be used on its own, or as a major component in
combination with one of the other base oils. Commonly used in
engineering processes, such as milling and lathe turning.

Synthetic oils: -

Polyalpha-olefin (PAO)
Synthetic esters
Polyalkyleneglycols (PAG)

Phosphate esters
Alkylated naphthalene (AN)
Silicate esters
Ionic fluids

Solid lubricants: PTFE: Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is typically used as a coating layer

on, for example, cooking utensils to provide a non-stick surface. Its usable
temperature range up to 350 C and chemical inertness make it a useful
additive in special greases. Under extreme pressures, PTFE powder or
solids is of little value as it is soft and flows away from the area of contact.
Ceramic or metal or alloy lubricants must be used then.

Aqueous lubrication:
Aqueous

lubrication

is

of

interest

in

number

of

technological

applications. Strongly hydrated brush polymers such as PEG can act as

lubricants at liquid solid interfaces.[5] By continuous rapid exchange of
bound water with other free water molecules, these polymer films keep
the surfaces separated while maintaining a high fluidity at the brush
brush interface at high compressions, thus leading to a very low
coefficient of friction.

Lubricants Manufacturing

With 50 years of design experience, we design Lube Oil Blending Plants

(LOBP) to produce wide range of lubricants for our customers around the
globe. Our services are applied to projects ranging from blend optimizer,
reactor upgrades, heat exchangers, hydraulic systems, measurement
systems,

pigging

systems

and

control

systems.

Whether your process requires modification of an existing site or design of

new lubricant facility, FMC provides total solutions that meets your project
requirements. We

incorporate

proven,

cutting

edge

technology,

to

assure our final design meet the product specifications. Our optimized
design covers the entire plant:
Raw materials storage
Blending units
Finished product storage

 Filling and loading

Warehouse and dispatch