FUELS AND HEAT POWER

FUELS, FURNACE, AND FIRING

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.
Fuels are also any materials that store potential energy in forms
that can be practicably released and used for work or as heat energy.
The concept originally applied solely to those materials storing energy
in the form of chemical energy that could be released through
combustion,[1] but the concept has since been also applied to other
sources of heat energy such as nuclear energy (via nuclear fission or
nuclear fusion).
Fuels are contrasted with other methods of storing potential
energy, such as those that directly release electrical energy (such as
batteries and capacitors) or mechanical energy (such as flywheels,
springs, compressed air, or water in a reservoir).

History
1

The first known use of fuel was the combustion of wood or sticks
by Homo erectus near 2,000,000 (two million) years ago. Throughout
most of human history fuels derived from plants or animal fat were the
only ones humans used. Charcoal, a wood derivative, has been used
since at least 6,000 BCE for melting metals. It was only supplanted by
coke, derived from coal, as European forests started to become
depleted around the 18th century. Charcoal briquettes are now
commonly used as a fuel for barbecue cooking.
Coal was first used as a fuel around 1000 BCE in China. With the
development of the steam engine in the United Kingdom in 1769, coal
came into more common use as a power source. Coal was later used to
drive ships and locomotives. By the 19th century, gas extracted from
coal was being used for street lighting in London. In the 20th and 21st
centuries, the primary use of coal is to generate electricity, providing
40% of the world's electrical power supply in 2005.
Fossil fuels were rapidly adopted during the industrial revolution,
because they were more concentrated and flexible than traditional
energy sources, such as water power. They have become a pivotal part
of our contemporary society, with most countries in the world burning
fossil fuels in order to produce power.
Currently the trend has been towards renewable fuels, such as
biofuels like alcohols.

Problems with Fuels

Several:

Fuels are dangerous, because they accumulate a lot of chemical

energy that may be accidentally released, causing deathly
thermal and chemical effects.
2

Fuels are pollutant when burnt (and even before; most liquid
fuels are cancerous); they are presently the major contribution to

environmental pollution, both locally and at a global scale.

Fuels are scarce (fossil sources are being depleted) and the
sources are unevenly spread (most petroleum reserves are in the

Middle East, causing economic and political instabilities).

Fuels are difficult to handle: coal is very dirty, crude-oil is too
viscous, natural gas has very low density, to say the less.
But, as just discussed, fuels are so convenient energy storage

systems, that their associated problems are but to be solved.

Elaborating on the above problems:

Danger in fuel handling can be controlled and reduced to a

relatively very low risk (in comparison with other accepted risks,

as in transportation or sports).
Pollution by fuels can be negligible if clean renewable fuels are
used; basically a fuel is a C-H- compound that combines with
oxygen to yield CO2 ( a natural compound of no harm if it does
not accumulate, as for biofuels) and H2O (the most life
compatible compound). A short-term palliative to vehicle engine
pollution is to force a dual-fuel system (with dual fuel-reservoirs
and engine controls or even two different engines), using a nonpollutant fuel inside cities, ports and urban areas, and leaving
the resent more-convenient but more pollutant fuels to highway

and cruising.
Scarcity of fuels is like scarcity of water: what we mean is
scarcity of cheap good-quality sources, i.e. that we have to
devote a sizeable effort within our limited capabilities. The atoms
that make the fuel and oxidizer are preserved after combustion,
and with the addition of some external energy (freely available
from the Sun) those atoms can be arranged to form the initial
fuel and oxidizer molecules. It may be difficult to think of such a
3

new gadget added to our cars that would regenerate the

gasoline and air from the exhaust gases, but think on a fuel-cell
car that runs on H2+(1/2)O2=H2O and uses off-line-produced
solar electricity (in the garage or at the station) to recharge the
tank by electrolysis H2O=H2+(1/2)O2. Thus, the problem is an
ancient one: it is hard to become a farmer if you can find suitable

wild plants, animals and fuels.

Water-like fuels seem the best to handle, so coal should be
liquefied (i.e., converted to liquid, what is presently done by first
gasifying it), crude-oil is distilled, and natural gas should be
liquefied (as done with coal gases by Fischer-Tropsch process,
since the 1920s). Liquid fuels are a must, particularly for vehicle
propulsion (in land, water, air and space).

PRINCIPLES OF 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, and
(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.

We shall now proceed with the further description of the fuels. A

brief description of natural and manufactured fuels is given in Table
3.1.
4

Table 3.1: Natural and Manufactured Fuels

Natural Fuels

Manufactured Fuels
Solid Fuels

Wood

Tanbark, Bagasse,

Coal

Charcoal

Oil shale

Coke
Briquettes
Liquid Fuels

Petroleum

Oils from distillation of

Coal tar
Shale-oil
Alcohols, etc.
Gaseous Fuels

Natural gas

Coal gas
Producer gas
Water gas
Hydrogen
Acetylene
Blast furnace gas
Oil gas

SOLID FUELS
Solid fuel refers to various types of solid material that are used
as fuel to produce energy and provide heating, usually released
through combustion. Solid fuels include wood (see wood fuel),
charcoal, peat, coal, Hexamine fuel tablets, and pellets made from
5

wood (see wood pellets), corn, wheat, rye and other grains. Solid-fuel
rocket technology also uses solid fuel (see solid propellants).
Solid fuels have been used by humanity for many years to create
fire. Coal was the fuel source which enabled the industrial revolution,
from firing furnaces, to running steam engines. Wood was also
extensively used to run steam locomotives. Both peat and coal are still
used in electricity generation today. The use of some solid fuels (e.g.
coal) is restricted or prohibited in some urban areas, due to unsafe
levels of toxic emissions.
The use of other solid fuels such as wood is decreasing as
heating technology and the availability of good quality fuel improves.
In some areas, smokeless coal is often the only solid fuel used. In
Ireland, peat briquettes are used as smokeless fuel. They are also used
to start a coal fire.

SOLID FUELS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

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. (Table 3.1).
The various advantages and disadvantages of solid fuels are given
below:
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 possess moderate ignition temperature.
6

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.

Woods and their Characteristics

The most commonly used and easily obtainable solid fuel is
wood. It is the oldest type of fuel which man had used for centuries
after the discovery of the fire itself. In India, wood is used in almost
every village, as well as in small towns and cities. In some parts of
country such as Kashmir and Mysore, wood is used for industrial
purposes as well.

Constituents of Wood
Wood is vegetable tissue of trees and bushes. It consists of
mainly cellular tissue and lignin and lesser parts of fat and tar, as well
as sugar.
The main constituents of several kinds of wood are given in Table 3.2.

Table 3.2: Constituents of Wood (%)

Types of
wood

Water

Sugar

Fat-tar

Cellular

Lignin

Tissue
7

Beach

12.57

2.41

0.41

45.57

39.14

wood
Birch

12.48

2.65

1.14

55.62

28.21

wood
Fir (Boot)

13.87

1.26

0.97

55.90

26.91

Pine

12.87

4.05

1.63

53.27

28.18

wood
The constituents of cellular tissue and lignin of wood are given in Table
3.3.

Table 3.3: Constituents of Cellular Tissue and Lignin of Wood

(%)
Constituents

Cellular Tissue

Lignin

Carbon

44.4

54.58

Hydrogen

6.2

5.8-6.3

Oxygen

49.4

35.39

The cellular tissue has a definite chemical composition and thus

has stable constituents, while those of lignin vary within narrow limits.
Hence, the constituent elements of different kinds of wood are slightly
variable. Table 3.4 gives the constituents elements of wood and the
average values of constituents of wood are given in Table 3.5.

Table 3.4: Constituents of different kinds of Wood (%)

Element

Pine Wood

Birch Wood

Oak Wood

50.05

48.45

49.8

6.04

5.95

5.81

O+N

43.21

45.26

44.00

Ash

0.70

0.34

0.4

Table 3.5: Average Values of Constituents of Wood

Constituents
C
H
O
N
Ash

Cellular Tissue
50.00
6.00
43.10
0.30
0.60

Calorific Value
Engineer A. Marjhevskee determined the calorific values of
different kinds of wood with the help of the samples taken out from the
same tree at different distances from centre. The calorific values are
given in Table 3.6.

Table 3.6: Calorific Values of Wood

Kinds of Wood

Lowest Calorific

Highest Calorific

Value

Value

Oak

(cal/kg)
4729

(cal/kg)
4750

Birch

4695

4831

Elm

4674

4833

Alder

4745

4839

Pine

4818

5310

Fir

4887

4900

Lrch

4775

4840

Ash
The ash content of wood is negligible. The ash consists of
mineral water that is found in the wood itself, with an admixture of
some impurities which accure during transportation, etc. The mineral
matte is distributed in the tree rather irregularly. The ash consists of
mainly

potassium

carbonate

with

varying

degrees

of

calcium,

magnesium and sodium carbonate, as well as minute quantities of iron

oxides, alumina and silica. Pure ash is white in colour.

Moisture
A freshly felled tree anything from 40% to 60% of hygroscopic
moisture depending upon the species of the tree as well as the seasons
of the year. On exposure to atmospheric air, the moisture dries up and
reduces to 15-20% in about 18 months. On the exposure for a longer
period, no appreciable change had been observed. When wood is
seasoned in water, it absorbs nearly 150% of water by weight.

Characteristics of Flame
The nature of the flame depends on the tar content of wood. Pine
and birch contain more tar and hence burn with a thick and bright
flame, while aspen and alder burn with a dim, transparent flame. The
length of the flame also depends on the tar content.
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Combustion Characteristics
The lighter the wood, the more intensely it burns with a long
flame. This is because air penetrates easily throughout the whole piece
during combustion. If the wood is heavy, i.e. hard, the penetration of
air is rendered difficult and a concentrated flame results with the
development of more heat at the point of burning.

Ignition Temperature
Wood ignites very easily. That is why it is used for lighting other
fuels. The average ignition temperature of different kinds of wood is
given in Table 3.7.
Type of Wood

Ignition Temperature

Pine

(oC)
295

Oak

287

Larch

290

Fir

292

Coal
Coal is the main source of solid fuel in industry and therefore
only coal will be explained. Coal is classified into three major types
namely anthracite, bituminous, and lignite. Anthracite is the oldest coal
from geological perspective. It is a hard coal composed mainly of
carbon with little volatile content and practically no moisture. Lignite is
the youngest coal from geological perspective. It is a soft coal
composed mainly of volatile matter and moisture content with low
fixed carbon.

11

Coal is also further classified as semi- anthracite, semibituminous, and sub-bituminous. The common coals used in Indian
industry are bituminous and sub-bituminous coal.

Anthracite Coal
Anthracite coal is a form of coal that is almost made entirely of

carbon. Anthracite coal is much harder than other forms of coal such
as bituminous, and is usually found in areas surrounding mountains or
deep valleys. Anthracite burns much cleaner than other forms of coal
due to its low pollutant content. In fact, anthracite may contain 91% to
98% pure carbon, leaving only 2% to 9% of other elements. Anthracite
coal is difficult to ignite and burns with a blue, smokeless flame.
Anthracite coal is a metamorphic rock and is found in areas
where the Earth has had large amounts of movement and compression
over long periods of time, such as mountain ranges. For example, most
of the anthracite coal mined in the United States comes from the
Appalachian Mountains in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Anthracite coal
can also be found at volcano ridges and sometimes in areas where
large earthquakes are common.
Anthracite coal is used in a variety of applications but is usually
used for heating. Anthracite coal is the cleanest form of coal as it
produces very little pollution and does not stain skin when touched,
unlike most forms of coal. While anthracite coal is more difficult to
burn, it produces more heat than other types of coal. Anthracite is
most often used in domestic furnaces and fireplaces, although it is also
used in some types of filters and is a common ingredient in charcoal.
Anthracite is also used in steam-based power generators and can be
converted into liquid in order to be used in internal combustion
engines.
12

Anthracite coal has several important advantages not only over

other forms of coal, but over other energy producing materials in
general. Its most important advantage is, of course, the fact that it
produces very little pollution or soot, making it a very clean source of
heat. Anthracite coal is also very efficient because only a small amount
needs to be burnt to produce a large amount of energy. Additionally,
there is a large supply of anthracite, over six billion tons in the
Appalachian Mountains alone, with more reserves found in the Rocky
Mountains and the Andes.
Although anthracite coal has many advantages and has a variety
of uses, it has several drawbacks. For example, anthracite coal is more
expensive than other forms of coal due to its high quality. This is the
primary reason that anthracite coal is not used in power plants or as a
replacement to petroleum-based gasoline in automobiles. Anthracite
coal is also more difficult to ignite than other forms of coal and requires
a draft of air from beneath to catch fire. Despite this fact, however,
anthracite coal is often the source of large underground fires that can
burn for years or even decades and are often difficult to detect due to
the lack of smoke.

Bituminous Coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a

tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality thanlignite coal

but of poorer quality than anthracite. Formation is usually the result of
high pressure being exerted on lignite. Its coloration can be black or
sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright
and dull material within the seams. These distinctive sequences, which
are classified according to either "dull, bright-banded" or "bright, dullbanded", is how bituminous coals are stratigraphically identified.
13

Bituminous coal is an organic sedimentary rock formed by

diagenetic and sub metamorphic compression of peat bog material. Its
primary constituents are macerals: vitrinite, and liptinite. The carbon
content of bituminous coal is around 60-80%; the rest is composed of
water, air, hydrogen, and sulphur, which have not been driven off from
the macerals. Bank density is approximately 1346 kg/m (84 lb/ft).
Bulk density typically runs to 833 kg/m (52 lb/ft). The heat content of
bituminous coal ranges from 24 to 35 MJ/kg (21 million to 30 million
BTU per short ton) on a moist, mineral-matter-free basis.
Within the coal mining industry, this type of coal is known for
releasing the largest amounts of firedamp, a dangerous mixture of
gases that can cause underground explosions. Extraction of bituminous
coal demands the highest safety procedures involving attentive gas
monitoring, good ventilation and vigilant site management.
Bituminous coals are graded according to vitrinite reflectance,
moisture

content,

volatile

content,

plasticity

and

ash

content.

Generally, the highest value bituminous coals have a specific grade of

plasticity, volatility and low ash content, especially with low carbonate,
phosphorus, and sulphur.
Plasticity is vital for coking as it represents its ability to gradually
form specific plasticity phases during the coking process, measured by
coal dilatation tests. Low phosphorus content is vital for these coals, as
phosphorus is a highly damaging element in steel making.
Coking coal is best if it has a very narrow range of volatility and
plasticity. This is measured by the free swelling index test. Volatile
content and swelling index are used to select coals for coke blending
as well.
Volatility is also critical for steel-making and power generation,
as this determines the burn rate of the coal. High volatile content
14

coals, while easy to ignite often are not as prized as moderately

volatile coals; low volatile coal may be difficult to ignite although it
contains more energy per unit volume. The smelter must balance the
volatile content of the coals to optimize the ease of ignition, burn rate,
and energy output of the coal.
Low ash, sulphur, and carbonate coals are prized for power
generation because they do not produce much boiler slag and they do
not require as much effort to scrub the flue gases to remove
particulate matter. Carbonates are deleterious as they readily stick to
the boiler apparatus. Sulphide contents are also deleterious in some
fashion as this sulphur is emitted and can form smog, acid rain and
haze pollution. Again, scrubbers on the flue gases aim to eliminate
particulate and sulphur emissions.
Bituminous coal contains moisture up to about 17 percent. Its
fixed carbon content can range up to about 85 percent, with ash
content up to 12 percent by weight. Bituminous coal can be
categorized further by the level of volatile matter it contains: highvolatile A, B, and C, medium-volatile, and low-volatile. About 0.5 to 2
percent of the weight of bituminous coal is nitrogen.
Bituminous coal lights on fire easily and can produce excessive
smoke and soot (particulate matter) if improperly burned. Its high
sulfur content contributes to acid rain.
Bituminous coal commonly contains the mineral pyrite, which
can serve as a host for impurities such as arsenic and mercury. Burning
of bituminous coal releases trace mineral impurities into the air as
pollution. During combustion, about 95 percent of the sulfur content of
bituminous coal gets oxidized and released as gaseous sulfur oxides.
Hazardous emissions from bituminous coal combustion include
particulate matter (PM), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx),
15

trace metals such as lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg), vapor-phase

hydrocarbons (such as methane, alkanes, alkenes, benzenes, etc.) and
polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans
(known popularly as dioxins and furans). When burned, bituminous
coal can also release hazardous gases such as hydrogen chloride (HCl),
hydrogen fluoride (HF), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Incomplete combustion leads to higher levels of PAHs, which are
carcinogenic. Burning bituminous coal at higher temperatures reduces
its carbon monoxide emissions. Therefore, large combustion units and
well-maintained

ones

generally

have

lower

pollution

output.

Bituminous coal has slagging and agglomerating characteristics.

Lignite Coal
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft brown

combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat.

It is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat
content. It has a carbon content of around 25-35%. It is mined inChina,
Bulgaria, Greece, Germany, Kosovo, Poland, Serbia, Russia, Turkey, the
United States, Canada, India, Australia and many other parts of Europe
and it is used almost exclusively as a fuel for steam-electric power
generation, but is also mined for its Germanium content in China.
26.3% of Germany's electricity comes from lignite power plants, while
in Greece lignite provides about 50% of its power needs.
Lignite is brownish-black in color and has a carbon content of
around 25-35%, a high inherent moisture content sometimes as high
as 66%, and an ash content ranging from 6% to 19% compared with
6% to 12% for bituminous coal.
The energy content of lignite ranges from 10 20 MJ/kg (917
million BTU per short ton) on a moist, mineral-matter-free basis. The
16

energy content of lignite consumed in the United States averages 15

MJ/kg (13 million BTU/ton), on the as-received basis (i.e., containing
both inherent moisture and mineral matter). The energy content of
lignite consumed in Victoria, Australia averages 8.4 MJ/kg (6.5 million
BTU/ton).
Lignite has a high content of volatile matter which makes it
easier to convert into gas and liquid petroleum products than higher
ranking

coals.

Unfortunately

its

high

moisture

content

and

susceptibility to spontaneous combustion can cause problems in

transportation and storage. It is now known that efficient processes
that remove latent moisture locked within the structure of brown coal
will relegate the risk of spontaneous combustion to the same level as
black coal, will transform the calorific value of brown coal to a black
coal equivalent fuel while significantly reducing the emissions profile of
'densified' brown coal to a level similar to or better than most black
coals.
Because of its low energy density and typically high moisture
content, brown coal is inefficient to transport and is not traded
extensively on the world market compared with higher coal grades. It
is often burned in power stations near the mines, such as in Australia's
Latrobe Valley and Luminant's Monticello plant in Texas. Primarily
because of latent high moisture content and low energy density of
brown coal, carbon dioxide emissions from traditional brown-coal-fired
plants are generally much higher per megawatt generated than for
comparable black-coal plants, with the world's highest-emitting being
Hazelwood Power Station, Victoria.[4] The operation of traditional
brown-coal plants, particularly in combination with strip mining, can be
politically contentious due to environmental concerns.

17

Reaction with quaternary amine forms a product called aminetreated lignite (ATL), which is used in drilling mud to reduce fluid loss
during drilling.

Coals and their Characteristics

It is commonly adopted view that coal is a mineral substance of
vegetable origin. The large deposits of coal in India are in Bengal, Bihar
and Madhya Pradesh. Most of the Indian coal is of low grade variety
and coal washing to obtain low ash metallurgical coal is unavoidable.
Over 30% of coal output is consumed by railways, another similar
proportion is used by industry including iron and steel works. This
leaves barely 40% of coal mined for use of the power supply
undertakings.

Analysis of Coal
To ascertain the commercial value of coal certain tests regarding
its burning properties are performed before it is commercially
marketed. Two commonly used tests are: Proximate analysis and
Ultimate analysis of coal. Calorific value of coal is defined as the
quantity of heat given out by burning one unit weight of coal in a
calorimeter.

Proximate Analysis of Coal

This analysis of coal gives good indication about heating and
burning properties of coal. The test gives the composition of coal in
respect of moisture, volatile matter, ash and fixed carbon. The

18

moisture test is performed by heating 1 gm of coal sample at 104oC to

110oC for 1 hour in an oven and finding the loss in weight. The volatile
matter is determined by heating 1 gm of coal sample in a covered
crucible at 950oC for 7 minutes and determining loss in weight, from
which the moisture content as found from moisture test is deducted.
Ash content is found by completely burning the sample of coal in a
muffled furnace at 700oC to 750oC and weighing the residue. The
percentage of fixed carbon is determined by difference when moisture,
volatile matter and ash have been accounted for. The results of
proximate analysis of most coals indicate the following broad ranges of
various constituents by weight:
Moisture

3-30%

Volatile matter

3-50%

Ash

2-30%

Fixed Carbon

16-92%

The importance of volatile matter in coal is due to the fact that it

largely governs the combustion which in turn governs the design of
grate and combustions space used. High volatile matter is desirable in
gas

making,

while

low

volatile

matter

for

manufacturing

of

metallurgical coke.

The Ultimate Analysis of Coal

This analysis of coal is more precise way to find the chemical
composition of coal with respect to the elements like carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur and ash. Sine the content of carbon and
hydrogen that is already combined with oxygen to form carbon dioxide
and water is of no value for combustion, the chemical analysis of coal
19

alone is not enough to predict the suitability of coal for purpose of

heating. However, the chemical composition is very useful in
combustion calculations and in finding the composition of flue gases.
For most purposes the proximate analysis of coal is quite sufficient.

The broad range in which the constituents of coal vary by weight as

determined by ultimate analysis are given below:

Carbon

50-95%

Hydrogen

2.5-5%

Oxygen

2-4%

Sulphur

0.5-7%

Nitrogen

0.5-3%

Ash

2-30%

Manufactured Solid Fuels and their Characteristics

The manufactured solid fuels include, charcoal, coke, briquettes, etc.
They are obtained from the natural fuels, like wood, coal, etc.

Charcoal
Charcoal is a light, black residue, consisting of carbon and any
remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile
constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is
usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other
substances in the absence of oxygen (see char and biochar). It is
usually an impure form of carbon as it contains ash; however, sugar
charcoal is among the purest forms of carbon readily available,
particularly if it is not made by heating but by a dehydration reaction
20

with sulfuric acid to minimise the introduction of new impurities, as

impurities can be removed from the sugar in advance. The resulting
soft, brittle, lightweight, black, porous material resembles coal.

Charcoal and its Characteristics

Out of the mentioned various manufactured fuels, the charcoal
occupies the first place in India. In some parts of the country, for
example, Mysore, huge quantities of charcoal are being used till today
in blast furnaces for reducing iron ores, etc. and in many homes
charcoal is used for cooking purposes. Charcoal is a produce derived
from destructive distillation of wood, being left in the shape of solid
residue. Charcoal burns rapidly with a clear flame, producing no smoke
and developing heat of about 6,050 cal/kg.

Coke
Coke is a fuel with few impurities and a high carbon content,
usually made from coal. It is the solid carbonaceous material derived
from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal.
Cokes made from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be
formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made. The form
known as petroleum coke, or pet coke, is derived from oil refinery
coker units or other cracking processes.
Coke is used in preparation of producer gas which is a mixture of
carbon monoxide and nitrogen. Producer gas is produced by passing
air over red hot coke. Coke is also used to manufacture water gas.

Coke and its Characteristics

21

It is obtained from destructive distillation of coal, being left in the

shape of solid residue. Coke can be classified into two categories: soft
coke and hard coke. Soft coke is obtained as the solid residue from the
destructive distillation of coal in the temperature range of 600-650oC.
It contains 5 to 10% volatile matter. It burns without smoke. It is
extensively used as domestic fuel. Hard coke is obtained as solid
residue from the destructive distillation of coal in the temperature
range of 1200-1400oC. It burns with smoke and is a useful fuel for
metallurgical process.
Briquettes
A briquette (or briquet) is a compressed block of coal dust or
other combustible biomass material such as charcoal, sawdust, wood
chips, peat, or paper used for fuel and kindling to start a fire. The term
comes from the French language and is related to brick.

Briquettes and their Characteristics

The term briquettes is used in respect of the dust, culm, slack
and other small size waste remains of lignite, peat, coke, etc.
compressed into different shapes of regular form, with or without
binder. Dust and rubble result in considerable percentage during
mining, transportation, etc. and the briquetting industry is, therefore,
an important step towards the saving of fuel economy.
Good briquettes should be quite hard and as little friable as
possible. They must withstand the hazards of weather, and must be
suitable for storing and general handling in use. These properties are
impart to briquettes by a correctly selected binder, or suitable
processing such as pre-heating, pressing, etc. Amongst the binders,
asphalt, pitch are most commonly used, giving fine results. The general
22

conclusion is that 5-8% binder should be used to produce high quality

briquettes.

Bagasse
Bagasse is the fibrous matter that remains after sugarcane or
sorghum stalks are crushed to extract their juice. It is used as a biofuel
and in the manufacture of pulp and building materials.
Agave bagasse is a similar material that consists of the tissue of
the blue agave after extraction of the sap.
Bagasse and its Characteristics
Bagasse is the residue of sugarcane, left as waste in the sugar
mill after extraction sugar juice. In weight, it is about 20% of virgin
cane. By nature, it is fibrous fuel which can be compared to wood. It
contains 35-45% fibre, 7-10% sucrose and other combustible, and 4555% moisture, and possesses an average calorific value of 2200 cal/kg.
On moisture-fibre basis the average composition is:
C = 45%, H2 = 6%, O2 = 46% and Ash = 3%
Bagasse is the main fuel satisfying the needs of sugar industries
and efforts are being made for decreasing the percent moisture of
bagasse with the help of flue-gas waste heat dryers. Bagasse is a quick
burning fuel with good efficiency.

LIQUID FUELS
Liquid fuels are combustible or energy-generating molecules that
can be harnessed to create mechanical energy, usually producing
kinetic energy; they also must take the shape of their container. It is
the fumes of liquid fuels that are flammable instead of the fluid. Most
23

liquid fuels in widespread use are derived from fossil fuels; however,
there are several types, such as hydrogen fuel (for automotive uses),
ethanol, jet fuel (which, scientists say, can't produce enough heat to
liquidize alloys such as steel, primarily in the form of steel beams), and
biodiesel, which are also categorized as a liquid fuel. Many liquid fuels
play a primary role in transportation and the economy.

Some common properties of liquid fuels are that they are easy to
transport, and can be handled with relative ease. Also they are
relatively easy to use for all engineering applications, and home use.
(Fuels like Kerosene are rationed and available in government
subsidized shops in India for home use.) Liquid fuels are also used
most popularly in Internal combustion engines. Most liquid fuels used
currently are produced from petroleum. The most notable of these is
gasoline. Scientists generally accept that petroleum formed from the
fossilized remains of dead plants and animals by exposure to heat and
pressure in the Earth's crust.
Conventional diesel is similar to gasoline in that it is a mixture of
aliphatic hydrocarbons extracted from petroleum. Kerosene is used in
kerosene lamps and as a fuel for cooking, heating, and small engines.
Natural gas, composed chiefly of methane, can be compressed to a
liquid and used as a substitute for other traditional liquid fuels. LP gas
is a mixture of propane and butane, both of which are easily
compressible gases under standard atmospheric conditions.
It offers many of the advantages of compressed natural gas
(CNG), but is denser than air, does not burn as cleanly, and is much
more easily compressed. Commonly used for cooking and space
heating, LP gas and compressed propane are seeing increased use in

24

motorized vehicles; propane is the third most commonly used motor

fuel globally.

LIQUID FUELS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

The liquid fuels can be classified as follows:
(a) Natural or crude oil, and
(b) Artificial or manufactured oils.
From the foregoing it becomes evident that there are certain
advantages which oil fuel has over coal when burned under boilers.
These may be enumerated as follows:

It is often found that it is desirable to push boilers far beyond

their normal rating for a shorter or longer period of time. Tests
that have been made by the United States Navy Department
with fuel oil show that the heat absorptive powers of boilers is
very great, and that this pushing can be accomplished with only
a small drop in efficiency. In their tests with fuel oil the
evaporation per square foot of heat surface has been increased
from three pounds of water from and at 212 degrees F. to fifteen
pounds of water. During this increase in rating, which is 500 per
cent of the normal rating, there was a loss in efficiency of only
two per cent. Boilers can be, pushed twice as rapidly with oil as

they can with coal.

The loss of heat up the stack is diminished owing to the smaller
amount of air necessary for the complete combustion of oil over

its equivalent in coal.

A more equal heat distribution in the combustion chamber is
possible inasmuch as the fire box doors do not have to be open
for firing and as a consequence there is higher efficiency.

25

The cost of handling fuel is reduced because it is done

mechanically by pumps when fuel oil is used and the reduction in

the number of firemen is in the proportion of five or six to one.

A large increase in steam capacity is possible. The grate area
absolutely limits the amount of coal that can be burned
efficiently, whereas the amount of oil that can be burned
efficiently is not affected by the grate size. The output of boilers
can be augmented by 30 to 50 per cent by substituting oil for

coal.
Fires can be started and stopped instantly as required, avoiding
standby losses, and this required head of steam can be rapidly
obtained from a cold boiler and can be maintained with the

utmost regularity. No fuel is lost through banking.

The storage tanks for fuel oil can be located where desired, while

coal bins must be near the boilers.

The life of the boilers is prolonged because, in hand fired coal
furnaces a combination of stresses on the furnace plates occurs

when the furnace doors are frequently. opened.

Fuel oil can be burned to smokeless combustion without sparks.

While fuel oil will undoubtedly effect the economies claimed. For it,
there are several disadvantages attendant on its use. These may be
enumerated as follows:

Fire risk is increased and city ordinances, while becoming less

stringent, still look with disfavor on its use.

Under certain conditions-the vapor from fuel oil forms an

explosive mixture with air.

Nearly all fuel oil burners make an objectionable roar ing sound.
Auxiliary apparatus is necessary to start an oil fire or to maintain

it, or both.
Fuel oil has a tendency to leak through valves and joints in the
system.

26

The advantages and disadvantages of liquid fuels can be summarized

as follows:
Advantages:
(a) They possess 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:
(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 five hazards, particularly, in case of
highly inflammable and volatile liquid fuels.
(d) They give bad odour.

27

(e) For efficient burning of liquid fuels, specially constructed

burners and spraying apparatus are required.

Petroleum and its Characteristics

Petroleum is a basic natural fuel. It is a dark greenish brown,
viscous mineral oil, found deep in earths 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%.
Petroleums are graded according to the following phsio-chemical
properties:
(a) Specific gravity,
(b) Calorific value,
(c) Fish point or ignition point,
(d) Viscosity,
(e) Sulphur contents,
(f) Moisture and sediment content, and
(g) Specific heat and coefficient of expansion.

Classification of Petroleum:
The chemical nature of crude petroleum varies with the part of
the world in which it is found. They appear, however, to be three
principal verities.
28

Paraffinic Base Type Crude Petroleum

This type of petroleum is mainly composed of the saturated
hydrocarbons from CH4 to C35 H72 and a little of the napthenes and
aromatics. The hydrocarbons from C18 H38 to C35 H72 are sometimes
called waxes.

Asphalitc Base Type Crude Petroleum

It contains mainly cyclo paraffins or napthenes with smaller
amount of paraffins and aromatic hydrocarbons.
Mixed Base Type Crude Petroleum
It contains both paraffinic and asphaltic hydrocarbons and are
generally rich in semi-solid waxes.

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
Gasoline, also known as petrol outside of North America, is a
transparent, petroleum-derived liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in
internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds
obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a
variety of additives. A 42-gallon barrel of crude oil yields about 19
gallons of gasoline, when processed in an oil refinery.
29

The characteristic of a particular gasoline blend to resist igniting

too

early

(which

causes

knocking

and

reduces

efficiency

in

reciprocating engines) is measured by its octane rating. Gasoline is

produced in several grades of octane rating. Tetraethyl lead and other
lead compounds are no longer used in most areas to regulate and
increase octane-rating, but many other additives are put into gasoline
to improve its chemical stability, control corrosiveness and provide fuel
system 'cleaning,' and determine performance characteristics under
intended use. Sometimes, gasoline also contains ethanol as an
alternative fuel, for economic or environmental reasons.

Gasoline, as used worldwide in the vast number of internal combustion

engines used in transport and industry, has a significant impact on the
environment, both in local effects (e.g., smog) and in global effects
(e.g., effect on the climate).
Gasoline may also enter the environment uncombusted, as liquid
and as vapors, from leakage and handling during production, transport
and delivery, from storage tanks, from spills, etc. As an example of
efforts to control such leakage, many (underground) storage tanks are
required to have extensive measures in place to detect and prevent
such leaks.

Gasoline or Petrol and its Characteristics

The straight run gasoline is obtained either from distillation of
crude petroleum or by synthesis. It contains some undesirable
unsaturated straight chain hydrocarbons and sulphur compounds. It
has boiling range of 40-120oC.

30

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.
The sulphur compounds from gasoline are generally removed by
treating it with an alkaline solution sodium plumbite. Olefins and
colouring matter of gasoline are usually removed by percolating
through Fullers earth which absorbs preferentially only the colours
and olefine. It is used in air-crafts. It is also used as motor fuel, in drycleaning and as a solvent.
Some of the characteristics of an ideal gasoline are the following:
(a) It must be cheap and readily available.
(b) It must burn clean and produce no corrosion, etc. on
combustion.
(c) It should mix readily with air and afford uniform manifold
distribution, i.e. should easily vaporize.
(d) It must be knock resistant.
(e) It should be pre-ignite easily.
(f) It must have a high calorific value.

Diesel Fuel
Diesel fuel in general is any liquid fuel used in diesel engines,
whose fuel ignition takes place, without spark, as a result of
compression of the inlet air mixture and then injection of fuel. (Glow
plugs, grid heaters and heater blocks help achieve high temperatures
for combustion during engine startup in cold weather.) Diesel engines
31

have found broad use as a result of higher thermodynamic and thus

fuel efficiencies. This is particularly noted where diesel engines are run
at part-load; as their air supply is not throttled as in a petrol engine,
their efficiency still remains high.
The most common type of diesel fuel is a specific fractional
distillate of petroleum fuel oil, but alternatives that are not derived
from petroleum, such as biodiesel, biomass to liquid (BTL) or gas to
liquid (GTL) diesel, are increasingly being developed and adopted. To
distinguish these types, petroleum-derived diesel is increasingly called
petrodiesel. Ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) is a standard for defining
diesel fuel with substantially lowered sulfur contents.
As of 2006, almost all of the petroleum-based diesel fuel
available in UK, Europe and North America is of a ULSD type. In the UK,
diesel fuel for on-road use is commonly abbreviated DERV, standing for
diesel-engined road vehicle, which carries a tax premium over
equivalent fuel for non-road use (see Taxation). In Australia diesel fuel
is also known as 'distillate'.

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
32

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.

Kerosene Oil
Kerosene is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid widely used as a
fuel in industry and households. Its name derives from Greek: (keros)
meaning wax, and was registered as a trademark by Abraham Gesner
in 1854 before evolving into a genericized trademark. It is sometimes
spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage. The term "kerosene"
is common in much of India, Canada, the United States, Australia and
New Zealand.
Kerosene is usually called paraffin in the UK, Southeast Asia and
South Africa. A more viscous paraffin oil is used as a laxative. A waxy
solid extracted from petroleum is called paraffin wax.
Kerosene is widely used to power jet engines of aircraft (jet fuel)
and some rocket engines, and is also commonly used as a cooking and
lighting fuel and for fire toys such as poi. In parts of Asia, where the
price of kerosene is subsidized, it fuels outboard motors on small
fishing boats. Kerosene lamps are widely used for lighting in rural areas
of Asia and Africa where electrical distribution is not available or too
costly for widespread use. World total kerosene consumption for all
purposes is equivalent to about 1.2 million barrels per day.
To prevent confusion between kerosene and the much more
flammable gasoline, some jurisdictions regulate markings or colorings
for containers used to store or dispense kerosene. For example, in the
United States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires that
33

portable containers used at retail service stations be colored blue, as

opposed to red (for gasoline) or yellow (for diesel fuel).

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.

Heavy Oil
Heavy oil or extra heavy oil is oil that is highly viscous, and
cannot easily flow to production wells under normal reservoir
conditions. (Mai) It is referred to as "heavy" because its density or
specific gravity is higher than that of light crude oil. Heavy crude oil
has been defined as any liquid petroleum with an API gravity less than
20. (Dusseault 2001) Physical properties that differ between heavy
crude oils and lighter grades include higher viscosity and specific
gravity, as well as heavier molecular composition. In 2010, the World
Energy Council defined extra heavy oil as crude oil having a gravity of
less than 10 and a reservoir viscosity of no more than 10 000
centipoises.
When reservoir viscosity measurements are not available, extraheavy oil is considered by the WEC to have a lower limit of 4 API.
(WEC 2007) (i.e. with density greater than 1000 kg/m3 or, equivalently,
a specific gravity greater than 1 and a reservoir viscosity of no more
34

than 10,000 centipoises. Heavy oils and asphalt are dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs). They have a "low solubility and are
with viscosity lower and density higher than water. (2003 & Llamas
118) "Large spills of DNAPL will quickly penetrate the full depth of the
aquifer and accumulate on its bottom."(2008 & Vrba 23)
Heavy crude oil is closely related to natural bitumen from oil
sands. Petroleum geologists categorize bitumen from oil sands as
extra-heavy oil due to its density of less than 10 API. Bitumen is the
heaviest, thickest form of petroleum. According to the U.S. Geological
Survey, bitumen is further distinguished as extra-heavy oil with a
higher viscosity (i.e., resistance to flow): Natural bitumen, also called
tar sands or oil sands, shares the attributes of heavy oil but is yet more
dense and viscous. Natural bitumen is oil having a viscosity greater
than 10,000 cp. Natural bitumen (often called tar sands or oil sands)
and heavy oil differ from light oils by their high viscosity (resistance to
flow) at reservoir temperatures, high density (low API gravity), and
significant contents of nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur compounds and
heavy-metal contaminants.
They resemble the residuum from the refining of light oil. Most
heavy oil is found at the margins of geologic basins and is thought to
be the residue of formerly light oil that has lost its light-molecularweight components through degradation by bacteria, water-washing,
and evaporation. Conventional heavy oil and bitumens differ in the
degree by which they have been degraded from the original crude oil
by bacteria and erosion. (Meyer & 2003 1) Often, bitumen is more
viscous than cold molasses and does not flow at ambient conditions.
According

to

World

Resources

Institute,

concentrations

of

remarkable quantities of heavy oil and oil sands are found in Canada
and Venezuela. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
reported in 2001 that the largest reserves of heavy crude oil in the
35

world were located north of the Orinoco river 270-mile long by 40-mile
wide Orinoco Belt in eastern Venezuela. At that time Venezuela began
authorizing

"joint

ventures

to

upgrade

the

extra-heavy

crude

resources." Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) at that time

estimated that there were 270 billion barrels of recoverable reserves in
the area, the same amount as the conventional oil reserves of Saudi
Arabia.
The Orinoco Belt in Venezuela is sometimes described as oil
sands, but these deposits are non-bituminous, falling instead into the
category of heavy or extra-heavy oil due to their lower viscosity.
Natural bitumen and extra-heavy oil differ in the degree by which they
have been degraded from the original conventional oils by bacteria.
According to the WEC, extra-heavy oil has "a gravity of less than 10
API and a reservoir viscosity of no more than 10,000 centipoise".
Thirty or more countries are known to have reserves.
Production, transportation, and refining of heavy crude oil
present special challenges compared to light crude oil. Generally, a
diluent is added at regular distances in a pipeline carrying heavy crude
to facilitate its flow. Dilbit (diluted bitumen) is a means of transporting
highly viscous hydrocarbon. Per the Alberta Oil Sands Bitumen
Valuation Methodology, "Dilbit Blends" means "Blends made from
heavy crudes and/or bitumens and a diluent usually condensate, for
the purpose of meeting pipeline viscosity and density specifications,
where the density of the diluent included in the blend is less than 800
kg/m3."

Heavy Oil and its Characteristics:

It is a fraction obtained between 320-400oC during fractional
distillation of crude petroleum. This oil on refractionation gives:
36

(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.

GASEOUS FUELS
Fuel gas is any one of a number of fuels that under ordinary
conditions

are

gaseous.

Many

fuel

gases

are

composed

of

hydrocarbons (such as methane or propane), hydrogen, carbon

monoxide, or mixtures thereof. Such gases are sources of potential
heat energy or light energy that can be readily transmitted and
distributed through pipes from the point of origin directly to the place
of consumption.
Fuel gas is contrasted with liquid fuels and from solid fuels,
though some fuel gases are liquefied for storage or transport. While
their gaseous nature can be advantageous, avoiding the difficulty of
transporting solid fuel and the dangers of spillage inherent in liquid
fuels, it can also be dangerous. It is possible for a fuel gas to be
undetected and collect in certain areas, leading to the risk of a gas
explosion. For this reason, odorizers are added to most fuel gases so
that they may be detected by a distinct smell. The most common type
of fuel gas in current use is natural gas.

GASEOUS FUELS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

37

Gaseous fuels occur in nature, besides being manufactured from

solid and liquid fuels.
The advantages and disadvantages of gaseous fuels are given below:
Advantages:
Gaseous fuels due to erase and flexibility of their applications, possess
the following advantages over solid or liquid fuels:
(a) They can be conveyed easily through pipelines to the actual
place of need, thereby eliminating manual labour in transportation.
(b) They can be lighted at ease.
(c) They have high heat contents and hence help us in having
higher temperatures.
(d) They can be pre-heated by the heat of hot waste gases,
thereby affecting economy in heat.
(e) Their combustion can readily by controlled for change in
demand

like

oxidizing

or

reducing

atmosphere,

length

flame,

temperature, etc.
(f) They are clean in use.
(g) They do not require any special burner.
(h) They burn without any shoot, or smoke and ashes.
(i) They are free from impurities found in solid and liquid fuels.

Disadvantages:
(a) Very large storage tanks are needed.
(b) They are highly inflammable, so chances of fire hazards in
their use is high.
38

Natural Gas
Natural gas is a fossil fuel formed when layers of buried plants
and gases are exposed to intense heat and pressure over thousands of
years. The energy that the plants originally obtained from the sun is
stored in the form of chemical bonds in natural gas. Natural gas is a
nonrenewable resource because it cannot be replenished on a human
time frame. Natural gas is a hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting
primarily of methane, but commonly includes varying amounts of other
higher alkanes and sometimes a usually lesser percentage of carbon
dioxide, nitrogen, and/or hydrogen sulfide.
Natural gas is an energy source often used for heating, cooking,
and electricity generation. It is also used as fuel for vehicles and as a
chemical

feedstock

in

the

manufacture

of

plastics

and

other

commercially important organic chemicals.

Natural gas is found in deep underground rock formations or
associated with other hydrocarbon reservoirs in coal beds and as
methane clathrates. Petroleum is another resource and fossil fuel found
in close proximity to, and with natural gas. Most natural gas was
created over time by two mechanisms: biogenic and thermogenic.
Biogenic gas is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs,
landfills, and shallow sediments. Deeper in the earth, at greater
temperature and pressure, thermogenic gas is created from buried
organic material.
Before natural gas can be used as a fuel, it must be processed to
remove impurities, including water, to meet the specifications of
marketable natural gas. The by-products of this processing include:
ethane, propane, butanes, pentanes, and higher molecular weight
hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulfide (which may be converted into pure
39

sulfur), carbon dioxide, water vapor, and sometimes helium and

nitrogen.
Natural gas is often informally referred to simply as "gas",
especially when compared to other energy sources such as oil or coal.
However, it is not to be confused with gasoline, especially in North
America, where the term gasoline is often shortened in colloquial
usage to gas. Natural gas was used by the Chinese in about 500 BC.
They discovered a way to transport gas seeping from the ground in
crude pipelines of bamboo to where it was used to boil salt water to
extract the salt, in the Ziliujing District of Sichuan. The world's first
industrial extraction of natural gas started at Fredonia, New York, USA
in 1825.
By 2009, 66 trillion cubic meters (or 8%) had been used out of
the total 850 trillion cubic meters of estimated remaining recoverable
reserves

of

natural

gas.

Based

on

an

estimated

2015

world

consumption rate of about 3.4 trillion cubic meters of gas per year, the
total estimated remaining economically recoverable reserves of natural
gas would last 250 years at current consumption rates. An annual
increase in usage of 23% could result in currently recoverable
reserves lasting significantly less, perhaps as few as 80 to 100 years.

Natural Gas and its Characteristics:

Natural gas is generally associated with petroleum deposits and
is obtained from wells dug in the oil-bearing regions. The approximate
composition of natural gas is:
CH4 = 70.9%, C2H6 = 5.10%, H2 = 3%, CO + CO2 = 22%
The calorific value varies from 12,000 to 14,000 kcal/m3. It is an
excellent domestic fuel and is conveyed in pipelines over very large
40

distances. In America, it is available to a great extent, and so, is quite

popular as a domestic fuel. It is now used in manufacture of chemicals
by synthetic process. It is a colourless gas and is non-poisonous.
Its specific gravity is usually between 0.57 to 0.7.

Manufactured Gases and their Characteristics:

Manufactured gases are obtained from solid and liquid fuels.
Some

of

the

important

manufactured

gaseous

fuels

whose

characteristics are discussed in the following sections are coal gas,

blast furnace gas, water gas, producer gas and oil gas.
The history of manufactured gas, important for lighting, heating,
and cooking purposes throughout most of the nineteenth century and
the first half of the 20th century, began with the development of
analytical and pneumatic chemistry in the eighteenth century. The
manufacturing process for "synthetic fuel gases" (also known as
"manufactured fuel gas", "manufactured gas" or simply "gas") typically
consisted of the gasification of combustible materials, usually coal, but
also wood and oil. The coal was gasified by heating the coal in
enclosed ovens with an oxygen-poor atmosphere.
The fuel gases generated were mixtures of many chemical
substances, including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide and
ethylene, and could be burnt for heating and lighting purposes. Coal
gas, for example, also contains significant quantities of unwanted
sulfur andammonia compounds, as well as heavy hydrocarbons, and so
the manufactured fuel gases needed to be purified before they could
be used.
The first attempts to manufacture fuel gas in a commercial way
were made in the period 17951805 in France by Philippe Lebon, and in
41

England by William Murdoch. Although precursors can be found, it was

these two engineers who elaborated the technology with commercial
applications in mind. Frederick Winsor was the key player behind the
creation of the first gas utility, the London-based Gas Light and Coke
Company, incorporated by royal charter in April 1812.
Many other manufactured fuel gas utilities were founded first in
England, and then in the rest of Europe and North America in the
1820s.

The

technology

increased

in

scale.

After

period

of

competition, the business model of the gas industry matured in

monopolies, where a single company provided gas in a given zone. The
ownership of the companies varied from outright municipal ownership,
such as in Manchester, to completely private corporations, such as in
London and most North American cities. Gas companies thrived during
most of the nineteenth century, usually returning good profits to their
shareholders, but were also the subject of many complaints over price.
In the second half of the 19th century, the manufactured fuel gas
industry diversified out of lighting and into heat and cooking. The
threat from electrical light in the later 1870s and 1880s drove this
trend strongly. The gas industry did not cede the gas lighting market to
electricity immediately, as the invention of the Welsbach mantle in the
late 1880s dramatically increased the luminosity of gas flames, and
gas remained competitive with electricity. Acetylene was also used
from about 1898 for gas cooking and gas lighting (seeCarbide lamp) on
a smaller scale, although its use too declined with the advent of
electric

lighting,

and

LPG

for

cooking.[1]

Other

technological

developments in the late nineteenth century include the use of water

gas and machine stoking, although these were not universally adopted.
In the 1890s, pipelines from natural gas fields in Texas and
Oklahoma were built to Chicago and other cities, and natural gas was
used to supplement manufactured fuel gas supplies, eventually
42

completely displacing it. Gas ceased to be manufactured in North

America by 1966 (with the exception of Indianapolis and Honolulu),
while it continued in Europe until the 1980s. "Manufactured gas" is
again being evaluated as a fuel source, as energy utilities look towards
coal gasification once again as a potentially cleaner way of generating
power from coal, although nowadays such gases are likely to be called
"synthetic natural gas".
Manufactured fuel gases are those produced through an artificial
process, usually gasification, at a location known as a gasworks which
means it is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas.
Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by
the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space.

Manufactured fuel gases include:

Coal gas
Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and

supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. Town gas is a more
general term referring to manufactured gaseous fuels produced for
sale to consumers and municipalities. Coal gas contains a variety of
calorific gases including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and
volatile hydrocarbons together with small quantities of non-calorific
gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Prior to the development of
natural gas supplies and transmission systems (during the 1940s and
1950s in the US and the late 1960s and 1970s in the UK), virtually all
fuel and lighting gas used in both the United States and Great Britain
was manufactured from coal. Gas was often supplied to households via
a municipally owned piped distribution system.

43

Originally created as a by-product of the coking process, its use

developed during the 19th and early 20th centuries tracking the
industrial revolution and urbanization. By-products from the production
process included coal tars and ammonia, which were important
chemical feedstock for the dye and chemical industry with a wide
range of artificial dyes being made from coal gas and coal tar. Facilities
where the gas was produced were often known as a manufactured gas
plant (MGP) or a gasworks.

Coal Gas its Characteristics:

Coal gas is obtained when it is carbonized or heated in absence
of air at about 1300oC in either coke ovens or gas-making retorts. In
gas making retort process coal is fed in closed silica retorts, which are
then heated to about 1300oC by burning producer gas and air mixture.
C + ()O2 CO + 29.5 kcal
Coal gas is a colourless gas having a characteristic odour. It is
lighter than air and burns with a long smoky flame. Its average
composition is: H2 = 47%, CH4 = 32%, CO = 7%, C2H2 = 2%, C2H4 =
3%, N2 = 4%, CO2 = 1% and rest = 4%. Its calorific value is about
4,900 kcal/m3. It is used as (a) illuminant in cities and town, (b) a fuel,
and (c) in metallurgical operations for providing reducing atmosphere.

Blast furnace gas

Blast furnace gas (BFG) is a by-product of blast furnaces that is

generated when the iron ore is reduced with coke to metallic iron. It
has a very low heating value, about 93 BTU/cubic foot, because it
consists of about 60 percent nitrogen, 18-20% carbon dioxide and
some oxygen, which are not flammable. The rest is mostly carbon
44

monoxide, which has a fairly low heating value already. It is commonly

used as a fuel within the steel works, but it can be used in boilers and
power plants equipped to burn it. It may be combined with natural gas
or coke oven gas before combustion or a flame support with richer gas
or oil is provided to sustain combustion. Particulate matter is removed
so that it can be burned more cleanly. Blast furnace gas is sometimes
flared without generating heat or electricity.
Blast Furnace Gas is generated at higher pressure and at about
100 C (212 F)-150 C (302 F) in a modern Blast Furnace. This
pressure is utilized to operate a generator (Top-gas-pressure Recovery
Turbine - i.e. TRT in short), which can generate electrical energy up to
35 kwh/t of pig iron without burning any fuel. Dry type TRTs can
generate more power than wet type TRT.
Auto ignition point of blast furnace gas is approximate 630 C
(1,166 F)-650 C (1,202 F) and it has LEL (Lower Explosive Limit) of
27% & UEL (Upper Explosive Limit) of 75% in an air-gas mixture at
normal temperature and pressure. The high concentration of carbon
monoxide makes the gas hazardous.

Blast Furnace Gas and its Characteristics:

It is a by-product flue gas obtained during the reduction of ion
ore by coke in the blast furnace. Its calorific value is about 1,000
kcal/m3. It contains about 20-25% carbon monoxide along with CO2,
N2, etc. About 1/3 of this gas is used for preheating air used in blast
furnace itself; while the remaining 2/3rd is available for use in boilers
or after cleaning in gas engines. It is also used for burning in a special
type of stoves (called Cowpers stove) where the furnace is preheated.

45

This gas contains much dust and is usually cleaned before use by
dust settlers, cyclones or electrolytic precipitators.

Water gas
Water gas is a synthesis gas, containing carbon monoxide and

hydrogen. It is a useful product but requires careful handling due to its

flammability and the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Water gas is essentially a mixture of combustible gases CO and
H2 with a little fraction of non-combustible gases. It is made by passing
alternatively steam and little air through a bed of red hot coal or coke
maintained at about 900 to 1000oC in a rector, which consists of a
steel vessel about 3 m wide and 4 m in height. It is lined inside with
fire-bricks. It has a cup and cone feeder at the top and an opening at
the top for the exit of water gas. At the base, it is provided with inlet
pipes for passing air and steam.

Water Gas and its Characteristics:

Water gas is essentially a mixture of combustible gases CO and
H2 with a little fraction of non-combustible gases. It is made by passing
alternatively steam and little air through a bed of red hot coal or coke
maintained at about 900 to 1000oC in a rector, which consists of a
steel vessel about 3 m wide and 4 m in height. It is lined inside with
fire-bricks. It has a cup and cone feeder at the top and an opening at
the top for the exit of water gas. At the base, it is provided with inlet
pipes for passing air and steam.

Reactions

46

Supplied steam reacts with red hot coke (or coal) at 900-1000oC to
form CO and H2.
C + H2O CO + H2 29 kcal
C + O2 CO2 + 97 kcal
Composition
The average composition of water gas is: H2 = 51%; CO = 41%; N2 =
4%; CO2 = 4%. Its calorific value is about 2,800 kcal/m3.
Uses
It is used as (a) a source of hydrogen gas, (b) an illuminating gas, and
(c) a fuel gas.

Syngas
Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a fuel gas mixture consisting

primarily of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and very often some carbon

dioxide. The name comes from its use as intermediates in creating
synthetic natural gas (SNG), and for producing ammonia or methanol.
Syngas is usually a product of gasification and the main application is
electricity generation.
Syngas can be produced from many sources, including natural
gas, coal, biomass, or virtually any hydrocarbon feedstock, by reaction
with steam or oxygen. Syngas is a crucial intermediate resource for
production

of

hydrogen,

ammonia,

methanol,

and

synthetic

hydrocarbon fuels. Syngas is also used as an intermediate in producing

petroleum for use as a fuel or lubricant via the FischerTropsch process
and previously the Mobil methanol to gasoline process. Syngas is
combustible and often used as a fuel of internal combustion engines. It
has less than half the energy density of natural gas.
47

Production methods include steam reforming of natural gas or

liquid hydrocarbons to produce hydrogen, the gasification of coal,
biomass, and in some types of waste-to-energy gasification facilities.

Syngas and its Characteristics:

Syngas
carbonaceous

is

created

materials.

by

the

gasification

Gasification

involves

or

pyrolysis

subjecting

of

these

materials to high temperatures, in the controlled presence of oxygen

with only limited combustion to provide thermal energy to sustain the
reaction. Gasification can occur in man-made vessels, or alternatively
could be conducted in-situ as in underground coal gasification (UCG).
Where the fuel to the gasifier is of recent biological origin, such as
wood or organic waste, the gas produced by the gasifier is considered
to be a renewable fuel and the power produced by its combustion is
renewable. When the fuel to the gasifier is a waste stream, its
conversion to power in this manner has the combined benefit of the
conversion of this waste into useful products.

Wood gas
Wood gas is a syngas fuel which can be used as a fuel for

furnaces, stoves and vehicles in place of gasoline, diesel or other fuels.

During the production process biomass or other carbon-containing
materials are gasified within the oxygen-limited environment of a wood
gas generator to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
These gases can then be burnt as a fuel within an oxygen rich
environment to produce carbon dioxide, water and heat. In some
gasifiers this process is preceded by pyrolysis, where the biomass or

48

coal is first converted to char, releasing methane and tar rich in

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Biogas
Biogas typically refers to a mixture of different gases produced

by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas

can be produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste,
manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste or food.
It is a renewable energy source and in many cases exerts a very small
carbon footprint.
Biogas can be produced by anaerobic digestion with anaerobic
bacteria, which digest material inside a closed system, or fermentation
of biodegradable materials.
Biogas is primarily methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and
may have small amounts of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), moisture and
siloxanes. The gases methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide (CO)
can be combusted or oxidized with oxygen. This energy release allows
biogas to be used as a fuel; it can be used for any heating purpose,
such as cooking. It can also be used in a gas engine to convert the
energy in the gas into electricity and heat.
Biogas can be compressed, the same way natural gas is
compressed to CNG, and used to power motor vehicles. In the UK, for
example, biogas is estimated to have the potential to replace around
17% of vehicle fuel. It qualifies for renewable energy subsidies in some
parts of the world. Biogas can be cleaned and upgraded to natural gas
standards, when it becomes bio methane.
Biogas and its Characteristics:

49

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.
Biofuels are energy sources made from living things, or the waste
that living things produce. Supporters of biofuels argue that their use
50

could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions; while burning the

fuels produces carbon dioxide, growing the plants or biomass removes
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Detractors claim that biofuel
production poses a major threat to global food systems and the natural
environment.
Biofuels can come from a wide variety of sources and can be roughly
divided into four categories or "generations:"
First generation biofuels are made from sugars, starches, oil, and
animal fats that are converted into fuel using already-known
processes or technologies. These fuels include biodiesel, bioalcohols, ethanol, and bio-gasses, like methane captured from
landfill decomposition.
Second generation biofuels are made from non-food crops or
agricultural waste, especially ligno-cellulosic biomass like switchgrass, willow, or wood chips.
Third generation biofuels are made from algae or other quickly
growing biomass sources.
Fourth generation biofuels are made from specially engineered
plants or biomass that may have higher energy yields or lower
barriers to cellulosic breakdown or are able to be grown on nonagricultural land or bodies of water.

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

51

biological sources, such as tar sands. These latter sources are properly
known as mineral fuels.
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as
anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the
organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years,
and sometimes exceeds 650 million years. Fossil fuels contain high
percentages of carbon and include coal, petroleum and natural gas.
Other more commonly used derivatives of fossil fuels include kerosene
and propane. They range from volatile materials with low carbon:
hydrogen ratios like methane, to liquid petroleum to nonvolatile
materials composed of almost pure carbon, like anthracite coal.
Methane can be found in hydrocarbon fields, alone, associated
with oil, or in the form of methane clathrates. The theory that fossil
fuels formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants by exposure to
heat and pressure in the Earth's crust over millions of years (see
biogenic theory) was first introduced by Georg Agricola in 1556 and
later by Mikhail Lomonosov in the 18th century.
The Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2007
the primary sources of energy consisted of petroleum 36.0%, coal
27.4%, Natural Gas 23.0%, amounting to an 86.4% share for fossil
fuels in primary energy consumption in the world. Non-fossil sources in
2006

included

hydroelectric

6.3%,

nuclear

8.5%,

and

others

(geothermal, solar, tidal, wind, wood, waste) amounting to 0.9%. World

energy consumption was growing about 2.3% per year.
Although fossil fuels are continually being formed via natural
processes, they are generally considered

to be non-renewable

resources because they take millions of years to form and the known
viable reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are
being made.
52

The use of fossil fuels raises serious environmental concerns. The

burning

of

fossil

fuels

produces

around

21.3

billion

tonnes

(21.3gigatonnes) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, but it is estimated

that natural processes can only absorb about half of that amount, so
there is a net increase of 10.65 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon
dioxide per year (one tonne of atmospheric carbon is equivalent to
44/12 or 3.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide). Carbon dioxide is one of the
greenhouse gases that enhances radiative forcing and contributes to
global warming, causing the average surface temperature of the Earth
to rise in response, which the vast majority of climate scientists agree
will cause major adverse effects. A global movement towards the
generation of renewable energy is therefore under way to help reduce
global greenhouse gas emissions.

Fossil Fuels and its characteristics:

Fossil

fuel

also

includes

hydrocarbon-containing

natural

resources that are not derived from animal or plant sources.

These are sometimes known instead as mineral fuels.
The utilization of fossil fuels has enabled large-scale industrial
development and largely supplanted water-driven mills, as well as the
combustion of wood or peat for heat.
Fossil fuel is a general term for buried combustible geologic
deposits of organic materials, formed from decayed plants and animals
that have been converted to crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils
by exposure to heat and pressure in the earth's crust over hundreds of
millions of years.

53

The burning of fossil fuels by humans is the largest source of

emissions of carbon dioxide, which is one of the greenhouse gases that
allows radiative forcing and contributes to global warming.
A small portion of hydrocarbon-based fuels are biofuels derived from
atmospheric carbon dioxide, and thus do not increase the net amount
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Nuclear Fuels
Nuclear fuel is any material that is consumed to derive nuclear

energy. Technically speaking, all matter can be a nuclear fuel because

any element under the right conditions will release nuclear energy, but
the materials commonly referred to as nuclear fuels are those that will
produce energy without being placed under extreme duress. Nuclear
fuel is a material that can be 'burned' by fission or fusion to derive
nuclear energy. Nuclear fuel can refer to the fuel itself, or to physical
objects (for example bundles composed of fuel rods) composed of the
fuel material, mixed with structural, neutron moderating, or neutron
reflecting materials.
Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'burned' by nuclear fission
or fusion to derive nuclear energy. Nuclear fuel can refer to the fuel
itself, or to physical objects (for example bundles composed of fuel
rods) composed of the fuel material, mixed with structural, neutronmoderating, or neutron-reflecting materials.
Most nuclear fuels contain heavy fissile elements that are
capable of nuclear fission. When these fuels are struck by neutrons,
they are in turn capable of emitting neutrons when they break apart.
This makes possible a self-sustaining chain reaction that releases

54

energy with a controlled rate in a nuclear reactor or with a very rapid

uncontrolled rate in a nuclear weapon.
The most common fissile nuclear fuels are uranium-235 (235U)
and plutonium-239 (239Pu). The actions of mining, refining, purifying,
using, and ultimately disposing of nuclear fuel together make up the
nuclear fuel cycle.
Not all types of nuclear fuels create power from nuclear fission.
Plutonium-238 and some other elements are used to produce small
amounts of nuclear power by radioactive decay in radioisotope
thermoelectric generators and other types of atomic batteries. Also,
light nuclides such as tritium (3H) can be used as fuel for nuclear.

Producer Gas
Producer Gas,

mixture of flammable gases (principally carbon

monoxide and hydrogen) and nonflammable gases (mainly nitrogen

and carbon dioxide) made by the partial combustion of carbonaceous
substances, usually coal, in an atmosphere of air and steam. Producer
gas has lower heating value than other gaseous fuels, but it can be
manufactured with relatively simple equipment; it is used mainly as a
fuel in large industrial furnaces.

Producer Gas and its Characteristics:

Producer gas is essentially a mixture of combustible gases
carbon monoxide and hydrogen associated with non-combustible gases
N2, CO2, etc. It is prepared by passing air mixed with little steam
(about 0.35 kg/kg of coal) over a red hot coal or coke bed maintained
at about 1100oC in a special reactor called gas producer. It consists of
a steel vessel about 3 m in diameter and 4 m in height. The vessel is
55

lined inside with fire bricks. It is provided with a cup and cone feeder at
the top and a side opening for the exit of producer gas. At the base it
has an inlet for passing air and steam. The producer at the base is also
provided with an exit for the ash formed.
Reactions
The gas production reactions can be divided into four zones as follows:

Ash Zone
The lowest zone consists of mainly of ash, and therefore, it is
known as ash zone.

Combustion Zone
The zone next to the ash zone is known as oxidation or
combustion zone. Here the carbon burns and forms CO and CO2.
The temperature of this zone is about 1100oC. The following
reactions take place.
C + O2 CO2 + 94 kcal
C + ()O2 CO + 29.5 kcal

Reduction Zone
Here carbon dioxide and steam combines with red hot carbon
and liberates free hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The reactions
are:
CO2 + C 2CO 94 kcal
C + H2O CO + H2 29 kcal
C + 2H2O CO2 + 2H2 19 kcal
56

All

these

reduction

reactions

are

endothermic,

so,

the

temperature in the reduction zone falls to 1000oC.

Distillation Zone
In this zone (400 800oC) the incoming coal is heated by
outgoing gases by giving sensible heat to the coal. The heat
given by the gases and heat radiated from the reduction zone
helps to distillate the fuel thereby volatile matter of coal is added
to the outgoing gas.

Composition
The average composition of producer gas is CO = 22.3%, H2 =
8.12%;
N2 = 52.55%; CO2 = 3%. Its calorific value is about 1,300
kcal/m3.
Uses
It is cheap, clean and easily preparable gas and is used (i) for
heating open-hearth furnaces (in steel and glass manufacture),
muffle furnaces, retorts (used in coke and coal gas manufacture),
etc. and (iii) as a reducing agent in metallurgical operations.

Oil Gas
An Oil Gas is a fuel oil obtained in the distillation of petroleum,

intermediate in viscosity and boiling point between paraffin and

lubricating oils. It boils above about 250C

57

Oil Gas and its Characteristics:

Oil gas is obtained by cracking kerosene oil. Oil in a thin steam is
allowed to fall on a stout red hot cast iron retort, which is heated in
coal fired furnace. The resulting gaseous mixture passes out through a
bonet cover to a hydraulic main, a tank containing water. Here tar gets
condensed. Then at the testing cap, the proper cracking of oil is
estimated from the colour of the gas produced. A good oil gas should
have a golden colour. By proper adjusting the supply of air, gas of
required colour can be obtained. The gas is finally stored over water in
gas holders.
Composition
The average composition of oil gas is: CH4 = 25.30%; H2 = 5055%; CO =

10.12%; CO2 = 3%. Its calorific value is about 6,600

kcal/m3.
Uses
It is used as laboratory gas.

Types of Furnaces:
First, what is a Furnace?
A furnace is a device used for high-temperature heating. The
name derives from Greek word fornax, which means oven.
In American English and Canadian English usage, the term
furnace on its own refers to the household heating systems based on a
central furnace (known either as a boiler, or a heater in British English),
and sometimes as a synonym for kiln, a device used in the production
of ceramics. In British English, a furnace is an industrial furnace used
for many things, such as the extraction of metal from ore (smelting) or
58

in oil refineries and other chemical plants, for example as the heat
source for fractional distillation columns.
The term furnace can also refer to a direct fired heater, used in
boiler applications in chemical industries or for providing heat to
chemical reactions for processes like cracking, and is part of the
Standard English names for many metallurgical furnaces worldwide.
The heat energy to fuel a furnace may be supplied directly by fuel
combustion, by electricity such as the electric arc furnace, or through
induction heating in induction furnaces.
Types and Classification of Different Furnaces
Based on the method of generating heat, furnaces are broadly
classified into two types namely combustion type (using fuels) and
electric type. In case of combustion type furnace, depending upon the
kind of combustion, it can be broadly classified as oil fired, coal fired or
gas fired.

Based on the mode of charging of material furnaces can be

classified as (a) Intermittent or

Batch type furnace or Periodical furnace and (b) Continuous

furnace.
Based on mode of waste heat recovery as recuperative and

regenerative furnaces.
Another type of furnace classification is made based on mode of
heat transfer, mode of charging and mode of heat recovery as
shown in the Figure 4.1 below.

59

Figure 4.1: Furnace Classification

Characteristics of an Efficient Furnace

Furnace should be designed so that in a given time, as much of
material as possible can be heated to a uniform temperature as
possible with the least possible fuel and labour. To achieve this end, the
following parameters can be considered.

Determination of the quantity of heat to be imparted to the

material or charge.
Liberation of sufficient heat within the furnace to heat the stock

and overcome all heat losses.

Transfer of available part of that heat from the furnace gases to

the surface of the heating stock.

Equalization of the temperature within the stock.
Reduction of heat losses from the furnace to the minimum
possible extent.

60

Furnace Energy Supply

Since the products of flue gases directly contact the stock, type
of fuel chosen is of importance.
For example, some materials will not tolerate sulphur in the fuel.
Also use of solid fuels will generate particulate matter, which will
interfere the stock place inside the furnace. Hence, vast majority of the
furnaces use liquid fuel, gaseous fuel or electricity as energy input.
Melting furnaces for steel, cast iron use electricity in induction and arc
furnaces. Non-ferrous melting utilizes oil as fuel.

Oil Fired Furnace

Furnace oil is the major fuel used in oil fired furnaces, especially
for reheating and heat treatment of materials. LDO is used in furnaces
where presence of sulphur is undesirable. The key to efficient furnace
operation lies in complete combustion of fuel with minimum excess air.
Furnaces operate with efficiencies as low as 7% as against upto
90% achievable in other combustion equipment such as boiler. This is
because of the high temperature at which the furnaces have to operate
to meet the required demand. For example, a furnace heating the
stock to 1200C will have its exhaust gases leaving at least at 1200C
resulting in a huge heat loss through the stack.
However, improvements in efficiencies have been brought about
by methods such as preheating of stock, preheating of combustion air
and other waste heat recovery systems.

61

Typical Furnace System

Forging Furnaces
The forging furnace is used for preheating billets and ingots to
attain a forge temperature.
The furnace temperature is maintained at around 1200 to
1250C. Forging furnaces, use an open fireplace system and most of
the heat is transmitted by radiation. The typical loading in a forging
furnace is 5 to 6 tonnes with the furnace operating for 16 to 18 hours
daily. The total operating cycle can be divided into (a) heat-up time
(b) soaking time and (c) forging time.
Specific fuel consumption depends upon the type of material and
number of reheats required.
Rerolling Mill Furnace
a) Batch type:
A box type furnace is employed for batch type rerolling mill. The
furnace is basically used for heating up scrap, small ingots and billets
weighing 2 to 20 kg. for rerolling. The charging and discharging of the
material is done manually and the final product is in the form of rods,
strips etc. The operating temperature is about 1200 oC. The total cycle
time can be further categorized into heat-up time and rerolling time.
During heat-up time the material gets heated up to the required
temperature and is removed manually for rerolling. The average output
from these furnaces varies from 10 to 15 tonnes / day and the specific
fuel consumption varies from 180 to 280 kg. of coal / tonne of heated
material.

b) Continuous Pusher Type:

62

The process flow and operating cycles of a continuous pusher

type is the same as that of the batch furnace. The operating
temperature is about 1250 C. Generally, these furnaces operate 8 to
10 hours with an output of 20 to 25 tonnes per day. The material or
stock recovers a part of the heat in flue gases as it moves down the
length of the furnace. Heat absorption by the material in the furnace is
slow, steady and uniform throughout the cross-section compared with
batch type.

c) Continuous Steel Reheating Furnaces:

The main function of a reheating furnace is to raise the
temperature of a piece of steel, typically to between 900C and
1250oC, until it is plastic enough to be pressed or rolled to the desired
section,

size

or

shape.

The

furnace

must

also

meet

specific

requirements and objectives in terms of stock heating rates for

metallurgical and productivity reasons. In continuous reheating, the
steel stock forms a continuous flow of material and is heated to the
desired temperature as it travels through the furnace.

All furnaces possess the features shown in Figure 4.2

63

Figure 4.2: Furnace Feature

A refractory chamber constructed of insulating materials for

retaining heat at the high operating temperatures.

A hearth to support or carry the steel. This can consist of
refractory materials or an arrangement of metallic supports that

may be water-cooled.
Burners that use liquid or gaseous fuels to raise and maintain the
temperature in the chamber. Coal or electricity can be used for
reheating. A method of removing the combustion exhaust gases
from the chamber A method of introducing and removing the

steel from the chamber.

These facilities depend on the size and type of furnace, the
shape and size of the steel being processed, and the general

layout of the rolling mill.

Common systems include roller tables, conveyors, charging
machines and furnace pushers.

Heat Transfer in Furnaces:

64

The main ways in which heat is transferred to the steel in a

reheating furnace are shown in
Figure 4.3. In simple terms, heat is transferred to the stock by:

Radiation from the flame, hot combustion products and the

furnace walls and roof.

Convection due to the movement of hot gases over the stock
surface
At the high temperatures employed in reheating furnaces, the

dominant mode of heat transfer is wall radiation. Heat transfer by gas

radiation is dependent on the gas composition (mainly the carbon
dioxide and water vapour concentrations), the temperature and the
geometry of the furnace.

Figure 4.3 Heat Transfer in Furnace

Types of Continuous Reheating Furnace:
Continuous reheating furnaces are primarily categorized by the
method by which stock is transported through the furnace. There are
two basic methods:

65

Stock is butted together to form a stream of material that is

pushed through the furnace. Such furnaces are called pusher

type furnaces.
Stock is placed on a moving hearth or supporting structure which
transports the steel through the furnace. Such types include
walking beam, walking hearth, rotary hearth and continuous
recirculating bogie furnaces.

The major consideration with respect to furnace energy use is

that the inlet and outlet apertures should be minimal in size and
designed to avoid air infiltration.

d) Pusher Type Furnaces:

The pusher type furnace is popular in steel industry. It has
relatively low installation and maintenance costs compared to moving
hearth furnaces. The furnace may have a solid hearth, but it is also
possible to push the stock along skids with water-cooled supports that
allow both the top and bottom faces of the stock to be heated. The
design of a typical pusher furnace design is shown schematically in
Figure 4.4.

66

Figure 4.4 Pusher Type Furnaces

Pusher

type

furnaces,

however,

do

have

some

disadvantages,

including:

Frequent damage of refractory hearth and skid marks on material

Water cooling energy losses from the skids and stock supporting

structure in top and

bottom fired furnaces have a detrimental effect on energy use;
Discharge must be accompanied by charge:
Stock sizes and weights and furnace length are limited by friction

and the possibility of stock pile-ups.

All round heating of the stock is not possible.

e) Walking Hearth Furnaces:

The walking hearth furnace (Figure.4.5) allows the stock to be
transported through the furnace in discrete steps. Such furnaces have
several attractive features, including: simplicity of design, ease of
construction, ability to cater for different stock sizes (within limits),
negligible water cooling energy losses and minimal physical marking of
the stock.
67

The main disadvantage of walking hearth furnaces is that the

bottom face of the stock cannot be heated. This can be alleviated to
some extent by maintaining large spaces between pieces of stock.
Small spaces between the individual stock pieces limits the heating of
the

side

faces

and

increases

the

potential

for

unacceptable

temperature differences within the stock at discharge.

Consequently, the stock residence time may be long, possibly
several hours; this may have an adverse effect on furnace flexibility
and the yield may be affected by scaling.

Figure 4.5 Walking Hearth Type Furnace

f) Rotary Hearth Furnace:

The rotary hearth furnace (Figure 4.6) has tended to supersede
the recirculating bogie type.
The heating and cooling effects introduced by the bogies are
eliminated, so heat storage losses are less. The rotary hearth has,
however a more complex design with an annular shape and revolving
hearth.
68

Figure 4.6 Rotary Hearth Type Furnace

g) Continuous Recirculating Bogie type Furnaces:

These types of moving hearth type furnaces tend to be used for
compact stock of variable size and geometry. In bogie furnaces (Figure
4.7), the stock is placed on a bogie with a refractory hearth, which
travels through the furnace with others in the form of a train. The
entire furnace length is always occupied by bogies.
Bogie furnaces tend to be long and narrow and to suffer from
problems arising from inadequate sealing of the gap between the
bogies and furnace shell, difficulties in removing scale, and difficulties
in firing across a narrow hearth width.

69

Figure 4.7 Continuous circulating bogie type furnace

h) Walking Beam Furnaces:

The walking beam furnace overcomes many of the problems of
pusher furnaces and permits heating of the bottom face of the stock.
This allows shorter stock heating times and furnace lengths and thus
better control of heating rates, uniform stock discharge temperatures
and operational flexibility.
In common with top and bottom fired pusher furnaces, however,
much of the furnace is below the level of the mill; this may be a
constraint in some applications. (Figure 4.8)

70

Figure 4.8 Walking Beam Furnaces

Performance Evaluation of a Typical Furnace

Thermal efficiency of process heating equipment, such as
furnaces, ovens, heaters, and kilns is the ratio of heat delivered to a
material and heat supplied to the heating equipment.
The purpose of a heating process is to introduce a certain
amount of thermal energy into a product, raising it to a certain
temperature to prepare it for additional processing or change its
properties. To carry this out, the product is heated in a furnace.
This results in energy losses in different areas and forms as
shown in sankey diagram figure 4.9. For most heating equipment, a
large amount of the heat supplied is wasted in the form of exhaust
gases.

71

Figure 4.9 Heat Losses in Industrial Heating Furnaces

These furnace losses include:

Heat storage in the furnace structure

Losses from the furnace outside walls or structure
Heat transported out of the furnace by the load conveyors,

fixtures, trays, etc.

Radiation losses from openings, hot exposed parts, etc.
Heat carried by the cold air infiltration into the furnace
Heat carried by the excess air used in the burners.

Stored Heat Loss:

First, the metal structure and insulation of the furnace must be
heated so their interior surfaces are about the same temperature as
the product they contain. This stored heat is held in the structure until
the furnace shuts down, then it leaks out into the surrounding area.

72

The more frequently the furnace is cycled from cold to hot and back to
cold again, the more frequently this stored heat must be replaced. Fuel
is consumed with no useful output.

Wall losses:
Additional heat losses take place while the furnace is in
production. Wall or transmission losses are caused by the conduction of
heat through the walls, roof, and floor of the heating device. Once that
heat reaches the outer skin of the furnace and radiates to the
surrounding area or is carried away by air currents, it must be replaced
by an equal amount taken from the combustion gases. This process
continues as long as the furnace is at an elevated temperature.

Material Handling Losses:

Many furnaces use equipment to convey the work into and out of
the heating chamber, and this can also lead to heat losses. Conveyor
belts or product hangers that enter the heating chamber cold and
leave it at higher temperatures drain energy from the combustion
gases. In car bottom furnaces, the hot car structure gives off heat to
the room each time it rolls out of the furnace to load or remove work.
This lost energy must be replaced when the car is returned to the
furnace.

Cooling Media Losses:

Water or air cooling protects rolls, bearings, and doors in hot
furnace

environments,

but

at

the

cost

of

lost

energy.

These

components and their cooling media (water, air, etc.) become the
73

conduit for additional heat losses from the furnace. Maintaining an

adequate flow of cooling media is essential, but it might be possible to
insulate the furnace and load from some of these losses.

Radiation (Opening) Losses:

Furnaces and ovens operating at temperatures above 540C
might have significant radiation losses. Hot surfaces radiate energy to
nearby colder surfaces, and the rate of heat transfer increases with the
fourth power of the surface's absolute temperature.
Anywhere or anytime there is an opening in the furnace
enclosure, heat is lost by radiation, often at a rapid rate.

Waste-gas Losses:
Waste-gas loss, also known as flue gas or stack loss, is made up
of the heat that cannot be removed from the combustion gases inside
the furnace. The reason is heat flows from the higher temperature
source to the lower temperature heat receiver.

Air Infiltration:
Excess air does not necessarily enter the furnace as part of the
combustion air supply. It can also infiltrate from the surrounding room
if there is a negative pressure in the furnace. Because of the draft
effect of hot furnace stacks, negative pressures are fairly common, and
cold air slips past leaky door seals, cracks and other openings in the
furnace. Economy in fuel can be achieved if the total heat that can be
passed on to the stock is as large as possible.
Direct method
74

The efficiency of furnace can be judged by measuring the

amount of fuel needed per unit weight of material.

Thermal efficiency of the furnace = Heat in the stock / Heat in the

fuel

consumed for heating the stock

The quantity of heat to be imparted (Q) to the stock can be found from
Q = m Cp (t1 t2)

Where
Q = Quantity of heat of stock in kCal
m = Weight of the stock in kg
Cp = Mean specific heat of stock in kCal/kgC
t1 = Final temperature of stock desired, C
t2 = Initial temperature of the stock before it enters the
furnace

Indirect Method
Similar to the method of evaluating boiler efficiency by direct
method, furnace efficiency can also be calculated by indirect methods.
Furnace efficiency is calculated after subtracting sensible heat loss in
flue gas, loss due to moisture in flue gas, heat loss due to openings in
furnace, heat loss through furnace skin and other unaccounted losses.
In order to find out furnace efficiency using indirect method,
various

parameters

that

are

required

are

hourly

furnace

oil
75

consumption, material output, excess air quantity, temperature of flue

gas, temperature of furnace at various zones, skin temperature and
hot combustion air temperature.
Instruments like infrared thermometer, fuel efficiency monitor,
surface thermocouple and other measuring devices are required to
measure the above parameters.

Typical thermal efficiencies for common industrial furnaces are

given in Table: 4.1
Furnace Type

Typical thermal efficiencies

(%)

1) Low Temperature
furnaces
a) 540980 o
C (Batch type)
b) 540980 o

2030
1525

C (Continous type)
c) Coil Anneal (Bell)

57

radiant type
d) Strip Anneal Muffle

712

2) High temperature
furnaces
a) Pusher, Rotary

715

b) Batch forge

510

3) Continuous Kiln
a) Hoffman

2590

b) Tunnel

2080

76

4) Ovens
a) Indirect fired ovens

3540

(20C370C)
b) Direct fired ovens

3540

(20C370C)

The instruments required for carrying out performance evaluation in a

furnace is given in the Table 4.2.

TABLE 4.2 FURNACE INSTRUMENTATION

Sl.

Parameters

Location of

Instrument

Required

No.

to be

Measureme

Required

Value

1.

Measured
Furnace

nt
Soaking zone

Pt/Pt-Rh

12001300C

soaking zone

side wall

thermocouple

Flue gas exit

Chromel

from furnace

Alummel

and entry to

Thermocouple

re-cuperator
After

with indicator
Hg in steel

recuperator

thermometer

Furnace

Near

Low pressure

+0.1 mm. of

hearth

charging end

ring gauge

Wg

pressure in

side wall over

the heating

hearth level

temperature
(reheating
2.

3.
4.

furnaces)
Flue gas

Flue gas

700C max

300C (max)

zone
77

5.

6.

Flue gas

Near

Fuel efficiency

02% = 5

analyser

charging end

for oxygen and

t = 700C

side wall end

temperature

(max)

side
Portable

Infrared

Billet
temperature

Pyrometer or
optical

----

Pyrometer
General Fuel Economy Measures in Furnaces
Typical energy efficiency measures for an industry with furnace are:
1) Complete combustion with minimum excess air
2) Correct heat distribution
3) Operating at the desired temperature
4) Reducing heat losses from furnace openings
5) Maintaining correct amount of furnace draught
6) Optimum capacity utilization
7) Waste heat recovery from the flue gases
8) Minimum refractory losses
9) Use of Ceramic Coatings

1. Complete Combustion with Minimum Excess Air:

The amount of heat lost in the flue gases (stack losses) depends
upon amount of excess air.
In the case of a furnace carrying away flue gases at 900C, % heat lost
is shown in table 4.3:
78

TABLE 4.3 HEAT LOSS IN FLUE GAS BASED ON EXCESS

AIR LEVEL
Excess

% of total heat in the fuel carried away by waste

Air

gases

25

(flue gas temp. 900C)

48

50

55

75

63

100

71

To obtain complete combustion of fuel with the minimum amount

of air, it is necessary to control air infiltration, maintain pressure of
combustion air, fuel quality and excess air monitoring
Higher excess air will reduce flame temperature, furnace
temperature and heating rate. On the other hand, if the excess air is
less, then unburnt components in flue gases will increase and would be
carried away in the flue gases through stack.
The optimization of combustion air is the most attractive and
economical measure for energy conservation. The impact of this
measure is higher when the temperature of furnace is high. Air ratio is
the value that is given by dividing the actual air amount by the
theoretical combustion air amount, and it represents the extent of
excess of air.
If a reheating furnace is not equipped with an automatic air/fuel
ratio controller, it is necessary to periodically sample gas in the furnace
and measure its oxygen contents by a gas analyzer.

79

2. Proper Heat Distribution:

Furnace design should be such that in a given time, as much of
the stock could be heated uniformly to a desired temperature with
minimum fuel firing rate.

Following care should be taken when using burners, for proper heat
distribution:
a.) The flame should not touch any solid object and should
propagate

clear of any solid object. Any obstruction will de-

atomize the fuel particles thus affecting combustion and create

black smoke. If flame impinges on the stock, there would be
increase in scale losses (Refer Figures 4.17 and 4.18).

Figure 4.17 Heat Distribution in Furnace and Figure 4.18

Alignment of Burners in Furnace
b.) If the flames impinge on refractories, the incomplete combustion
products can settle and react with the refractory constituents at
high flame temperatures.

80

c.) The flames of different burners in the furnace should stay clear of
each other. If they intersect, inefficient combustion would occur.
It is desirable to stagger the burners on the opposite sides.
d.) The burner flame has a tendency to travel freely in the
combustion space just above the material. In small furnaces, the
axis of the burner is never placed parallel to the hearth but
always at an upward angle. Flame should not hit the roof.
e.) The larger burners produce a long flame, which may be difficult
to contain within the furnace walls. More burners of less capacity
give better heat distribution in the furnace and also increase
furnace life.
f.) For small furnaces, it is desirable to have a long flame with
golden yellow colour while firing furnace oil for uniform heating.
The flame should not be too long that it enters the chimney or
comes out through the furnace top or through doors. In such
cases, major portion of additional fuel is carried away from the
furnace.

3. Maintaining Optimum Operating Temperature of Furnace:

It is important to operate the furnace at optimum temperature.
The operating temperatures of various furnaces are given in Table 4.4.
Slab Reheating furnaces

1200C

Rolling Mill furnaces

1200C

Bar furnace for Sheet Mill

800C

Bogey type annealing furnaces

650C750C

TABLE 4.4 OPERATING TEMPERATURE OF VARIOUS

FURNACES

81

Operating at too high temperatures than optimum causes heat

loss, excessive oxidation, decarbonization as well as over-stressing of
the refractories. These controls are normally left to operator judgment,
which is not desirable. To avoid human error, on/off controls should be
provided.

4. Prevention of Heat Loss through Openings:

Heat loss through openings consists of the heat loss by direct
radiation through openings and the heat loss caused by combustion
gas that leaks through openings.

5. Control of furnace draft:

If negative pressures exist in the furnace, air infiltration is liable
to occur through the cracks and openings thereby affecting air-fuel
ratio control. Tests conducted on apparently airtight furnaces have
shown air infiltration up to the extent of 40%. Neglecting furnaces
pressure could mean problems of cold metal and non-uniform metal
temperatures, which could affect subsequent operations like forging
and rolling and result in increased fuel consumption. Some of the
associated problems with ex filtration are leaping out of flames,
overheating of the furnace refractories leading to reduced brick life,
increased furnace maintenance, burning out of ducts and equipments
attached to the furnace, etc.
In addition to the proper control on furnace pressure, it is
important to keep the openings as small as possible and to seal them
in order to prevent the release of high temperature gas and intrusion of
outside air through openings such as the charging inlet, extracting
outlet and peephole on furnace walls or the ceiling.
82

6. Optimum Capacity Utilization:

One of the most vital factors affecting efficiency is loading. There
is a particular loading at which the furnace will operate at maximum
thermal efficiency. If the furnace is under loaded a smaller fraction of
the available heat in the working chamber will be taken up by the load
and therefore efficiency will be low.
The best method of loading is generally obtained by trial-noting
the weight of material put in at each charge, the time it takes to reach
temperature and the amount of fuel used. Every endeavour should be
made to load a furnace at the rate associated with optimum efficiency
although it must be realized that limitations to achieving this are
sometimes imposed by work availability or other factors beyond
control.
The loading of the charge on the furnace hearth should be arranged so
that

It receives the maximum amount of radiation from the hot

surfaces of the heating chambers and the flames produced.

The hot gases are efficiently circulated around the heat receiving
surfaces
Stock should not be placed in the following position

In the direct path of the burners or where flame impingement is

likely to occur.
In an area which is likely to cause a blockage or restriction of the

flue system of the furnace.

Close to any door openings where cold spots are likely to
develop.

83

The other reason for not operating the furnace at optimum

loading is the mismatching of furnace dimension with respect to
charge and production schedule.
In the interests of economy and work quality the materials
comprising the load should only remain in the furnace for the minimum
time to obtain the required physical and metallurgical requirements.
When the materials attain these properties they should be removed
from the furnace to avoid damage and fuel wastage. The higher the
working temperature, higher is the loss per unit time.
The effect on the materials by excessive residence time will be
an increase in surface defects due to oxidation. The rate of oxidation is
dependent upon time, temperature, as well as free oxygen content.
The possible increase in surface defects can lead to rejection of the
product. It is therefore essential that coordination between the furnace
operator, production and planning personnel be maintained.
Optimum utilization of furnace can be planned at design stage.
Correct furnace for the jobs should be selected considering whether
continuous or batch type furnace would be more suitable. For a
continuous type furnace, the overall efficiency will increase with heat
recuperation from the waste gas stream. If only batch type furnace is
used, careful planning of the loads is important. Furnace should be
recharged as soon as possible to enable use of residual furnace heat.

7. Waste Heat Recovery from Furnace Flue Gases:

In any industrial furnace the products of combustion leave the
furnace at a temperature higher than the stock temperature.
Sensible heat losses in the flue gases, while leaving the chimney, carry
35 to 55 percent of the heat input to the furnace.
84

The higher the quantum of excess air and flue gas temperature, the
higher would be the waste heat availability.
Waste heat recovery should be considered after all other energy
conservation measures have been taken. Minimizing the generation of
waste heat should be the primary objective. The sensible heat in flue
gases can be generally recovered by the following methods.

Charge (stock) preheating,

Preheating of combustion air,
Utilizing waste heat for other process (to generate steam or hot
water by a waste heat boiler)

Charge Pre-heating
When raw materials are preheated by exhaust gases before
being placed in a heating furnace, the amount of fuel necessary to
heat them in the furnace is reduced. Since raw materials are usually at
room temperature, they can be heated sufficiently using hightemperature gas to reduce fuel consumption rate.

Preheating of Combustion Air

For a long time, the preheating of combustion air using heat from
exhaust gas was not used except for large boilers, metal-heating
furnaces and high-temperature kilns. This method is now being
employed in compact boilers and compact industrial furnaces as well.
The energy contained in the exhaust gases can be recycled by
using it to pre-heat the combustion air. A variety of equipment is
available; external recuperators are common, but other techniques are
now available such as self-recuperative burners. For example, with a
furnace exhaust gas temperature of 1,000C, a modern recuperator
85

can pre-heat the combustion air to over 500C, giving energy savings
compared with cold air of up to 30%.

External Recuperators
There are two main types of external recuperators:

radiation recuperators;
convection recuperators

Radiation Recuperators
Generally take the form of concentric cylinders, in which the
combustion air passes through the annulus and the exhaust gases
from the furnace pass through the center.
The simple construction means that such recuperators are suitable for
use with dirty gases, have a negligible resistance to flow, and can
replace the flue or chimney if space is limited.
The annulus can be replaced by a ring of vertical tubes, but this
design is more difficult to install and maintain. Radiation recuperators
rely on radiation from high temperature exhaust gases and should not
he employed with exhaust gases at less than about 800C.

Convection Recuperators
Consist essentially of bundles of drawn or cast tubes.
Internal and/or external fins can be added to assist heat transfer.
The combustion air normally passes through the tubes and the exhaust
gases outside the tubes, but there are some applications where this is
reversed.
86

For example, with dirty gases, it is easier to keep the tubes clean
if the air flows on the outside. Design variations include 'U' tube and
double pass systems. Convection recuperators are more suitable for
exhaust gas temperatures of less than about 900C.

Self-Recuperative Burners
Self-recuperative burners (SRBs) are based on traditional heat
recovery techniques in that the products of combustion are drawn
through a concentric tube recuperator around the burner body and
used to pre-heat the combustion air (Figure 4.23.)

Figure 4.23 Self-Recuperative Burners

A major advantage of this type of system is that it can be retrofitted to an existing furnace structure to increase production capability
without having to alter the existing exhaust gas ducting arrangements.
87

SRBs are generally more suited to heat treatment furnaces where

exhaust

gas

temperatures

are

lower

and

there

are

no

stock

recuperation facilities.

Estimation of fuel savings

By using preheated air for combustion, fuel can be saved. The fuel
saving rate is given by the following formula:
S = P / F+ P-Q x 100(%)
Where
S: fuel saving rate, %
F: Calorific value of fuel (kCal/kg fuel)
P: quantity of heat brought in by preheated air (kCal/kg fuel)
Q: quantity of heat taken away by exhaust gas (kCal/kg fuel)

By this formula, fuel saving rates for heavy oil and natural gas were
calculated for various temperatures of exhaust gas and preheated air.
For example, when combustion air for heavy oil is preheated to
400C by a heat exchanger with an inlet temperature of 800 C, the
fuel conservation rate is estimated to be about 20 percent. When
installing a recuperator in a continuous steel reheating furnace, it is
important to choose a preheated air temperature that will balance the
fuel saving effect and the invested cost for the equipment.
Also, the following points should be checked:

88

Draft of exhaust gas: When exhaust gas goes through a

recuperator, its draft resistance usually causes a pressure loss of

510 mm H2O. Thus, the draft of stack should be checked.

Air blower for combustion air: While the air for combustion goes
through a recuperator, usually 100200 mm H2O pressure is lost.
Thus, the discharge pressure of air blower should be checked,
and the necessary pressure should be provided by burners.

Since the volume of air is increased owing to its preheating, it is

necessary to be careful about the modification of air-duct diameters
and blowers. As for the use of combustion gases resulting from highdensity oils with a high sulphur content, care must be taken to avoid
problems such as clogging with dust or sulphides, corrosion or
increases in nitrogen oxides.

Utilizing Waste Heat as a Heat Source for Other Processes

The temperature of heating-furnace exhaust gas can be as high
as 400600 C, even after heat has been recovered from it.
When a large amount of steam or hot water is needed in a plant,
installing a waste heat boiler to produce the steam or hot water using
the exhaust gas heat is preferred. If the exhaust gas heat is suitable for
equipment in terms of heat quantity, temperature range, operation
time etc., the fuel consumption can be greatly reduced.
In one case, exhaust gas from a quenching furnace was used as
a heat source in a tempering furnace so as to obviate the need to use
fuel for the tempering furnace itself.

89

8. Minimizing Wall Losses:

About 3040% of the fuel input to the furnace generally goes to
make up for heat losses in intermittent or continuous furnaces. The
appropriate choice of refractory and insulation materials goes a long
way in achieving fairly high fuel savings in industrial furnaces.
The heat losses from furnace walls affect the fuel economy
considerably. The extent of wall losses depend on:

Emissivity of wall
Thermal conductivity of refractories
Wall thickness
Whether furnace is operated continuously or intermittently
Heat losses can be reduced by increasing the wall thickness, or

through the application of insulating bricks. Outside wall temperatures

and heat losses of a composite wall of a certain thickness of firebrick
and insulation brick are much lower, due to lesser conductivity of
insulating brick as compared to a refractory brick of similar thickness.
In the actual operation in most of the small furnaces the operating
periods alternate with the idle periods.
During the off period, the heat stored in the refractories during
the on period is gradually dissipated, mainly through radiation and
convection from the cold face. In addition, some heat is abstracted by
air flowing through the furnace. Dissipation of stored heat is a loss,
because the lost heat is again imparted to the refractories during the
heat "on" period, thus consuming extra fuel to generate that heat. If a
furnace is operated 24 hours, every third day, practically all the heat
stored in the refractories is lost. But if the furnace is operated 8 hours
per day all the heat stored in the refractories is not dissipated.
For a furnace with a firebrick wall of 350 mm thickness, it is
estimated that 55 percent of the heat stored in the refractories is
90

dissipated from the cold surface during the 16 hours idle period.
Furnace walls built of insulating refractories and cased in a shell reduce
the flow of heat to the surroundings.

Prevention of Radiation Heat Loss from Surface of Furnace

The quantity of heat release from surface of furnace body is the
sum of natural convection and thermal radiation. This quantity can be
calculated from surface temperatures of furnace. The temperatures on
furnace surface should be measured at as many points as possible, and
their average should be used. If the number of measuring points is too
small, the error becomes large.

Use of Ceramic Fibre

Ceramic fibre is a low thermal mass refractory used in the hot
face of the furnace and fastened to the refractory walls. Due to its low
thermal mass the storage losses are minimized. This results in faster
heating up of furnace and also faster cooling. Energy savings by this
application is possible only in intermittent furnaces. More details about
ceramic fibre are given in the chapter on insulation and refractories.

9. Use of Ceramic Coatings:

Ceramic coatings in furnace chamber promote rapid and efficient
transfer of heat, uniform heating and extended life of refractories. The
emissivity of conventional refractories decreases with increase in
temperature

whereas

for

ceramic

coatings

it

increases.

This

outstanding property has been exploited for use in hot face insulation.

91

Ceramic coatings are also high emissivity coatings which when

applied has a long life at temperatures up to 1350C. The coatings fall
into two general categories-those used for coating metal substrates,
and those used for coating refractory substrates. The coatings are nontoxic, non-flammable and water based. Applied at room temperatures,
they are sprayed and air dried in less than five minutes. The coatings
allow the substrate to maintain its designed metallurgical properties
and mechanical strength. Installation is quick and can be completed
during shut down. Energy savings of the order of 820% have been
reported depending on the type of furnace and operating conditions.

Types of Firing:
Firstly, for a Firing system:
This can be broadly classified into direct firing system and indirect
firing or intermediate bunker system.
Both the systems can use any type of mill. Either hot gas or air can be
used for drying and transporting the coal.

Direct Firing System:

In this type of firing system, coal is fed to the mill at controlled
quantity. Hot air whose temperature can be controlled with the help of
cold air is permitted to flow through the mill. The air dries the coal and
picks up the milled product and flows through the classifier where
higher size particle is rejected back to the mill.
The fine coal is carried by the air through the coal burner to the
combustion chamber. The flow through the system is carried out by
92

primary air fan or by exhauster. In case of hammer mills forced draft

itself can do the purpose of primary air fan.
This system is simple involving minimum equipment hence
minimum initial cost and maintenance cost. As there is no fine coal
storage the mill load is varied according to the boiler load.
Hence part load operation of mill is essential and this means
increase in power consumption and maintenance per tonne of coal.
Mill outage will result in reduction of boiler output if spare mills
are not provided or available. This is best suited to use with high speed
and medium speed mills as the mill power consumption varies in direct
proportion to the mill load. Tube ball mills with this system is also used
but to a limited extent.

Indirect Firing System:

In this system, mills are operated independent of boiler loading
and pulverized coal is stored in the intermediate bunker.
From the bunker it is taken to combustion chamber with the help
of primary air fan. Boiler loading is controlled by the amount of

93

pulverised fuel fed to boiler. Hot air or gas is used for drying and
transporting.
Cyclone type separators are used to separate the fine coal from
coal, air/gas mixture for storing in fine coal bunker. As fine coal dust
cannot be completely removed by cyclone type separators, a certain
portion of very fine particle is carried along by air/vapour. This
necessitates admissions of vapour/air into the combustion chamber to
utilize the heating value of fine coal dust carried along with vapour/air.
This can be done by providing separate vapour burners or the air can
be used as primary air for carrying the fine coal.
This system using gas as drying medium requires one additional
can called vapour fan for each mill. If air is used for drying, one fan
called mill fan can be designed to carry out both the functions of
primary air fan and vapour fan.

This system favours the following advantages:

Mill can be operated always at full load, thus saving in power,

maintenance cost per tonne of coal for the selected mill. Hence

this system is adopted normally for tube ball mill.

Separate spare mill is not necessary for carrying out the
maintenance. Certain percentage as spare capacity on total basis

is normally enough.
Mills can be operated during off peak hours only and hence
higher power out during the peak period.

94

Methods of Fuel Firing:

There are many ways of firing the coal in furnace.
They are:
a) Vertical firing
b) Horizontal firing
c) Impact firing
d) Corner or tangential firing

Vertical Firing
Although an early method, still is used extensively, but with all
secondary air admitted around the burner nozzle so that it mixes
quickly with the coal primary air mixture from the burner nozzle.
Occasionally, the admission of the secondary along the front walls is
used with considerable success, particularly in connection with very
low-volatile coals, which require long flame travel or in high, narrow
furnaces.
95

In vertical firing, a number of rectangular fan shaped nozzles are

set across the width of the furnace in an arc immediately under the
boiler setting.
The pulverized fuel mixture ignites under the arc and is directed
vertically downwards to the bottom of the furnace where the gases are
made to turn upwards to pass through the combustion chamber this
gives a long path to the flame and is particularly suitable for coals of
low volatile content.

Horizontal Firing (Front Firing)

Employs a turbulent burner, which consists of a circular nozzle
within a housing provided with adjustable valves, the unit being
located in the front or rear wall.
Horizontal firing with the turbulent type of burner is set up
usually in the front (front wall fired) or rear walls of the furnace.
This burner consists of an inner cone for primary air and fuel
which is given a rotary motion as it passes through the burner. This
mixes with a stream of rotating secondary air before burning.

Impact Firing
A form of vertical firing, consists of burners located in an arch
low in the furnace or in the side walls and directed toward the furnace
door, with high velocities of both primary and secondary air. This type
of firing is used exclusively in wet-bottom or slagging type furnaces.
This is the arrangement with the type of burner used with slag
tap furnaces where the ash is kept in a molten state on the furnace
floor and tapped off as and when necessary.
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Corner or Tangential Firing

Is characterized by burners located in each corner of the furnace
and directed tangent to a horizontal, imaginary circle in the middle of
the furnace, thereby making the furnace the burner in effect, since
turbulence and intensive mixing occur where the streams meet.
Tangential firing is a method of firing a fuel to heat air, which is
the most common one in thermal power stations.
The flame envelope rotates ensuring thorough mixing within the
furnace, providing complete combustion and uniform heat distribution.
The most effective method for producing intense turbulence is by
the impingement of one flame on another. This action is secured
through the use of burners located in each of the four corners of the
furnace, close to the floor or the water-screen. The burner nozzles are
so directed that the streams of coal and air are projected along a line
tangent to a small circle, lying in a horizontal plane, at the center of
the furnace. Intensive mixing occurs where these streams meet. A
scrubbing action is present which assures contact between the
combustible and oxygen, thus promoting rapid combustion and
reducing carbon loss. A relative motion, similar to that of a cyclone, is
imparted to the flame body, which spreads out and fills the furnace
area. The ignition at each burner is aided by the flame from the
preceding one.
With tangential firing the furnace is essentially the burner,
consequently

air

and

coal

quantities

need

not

be

accurately

proportional to the individual fuel nozzle assemblies. Turbulence

produced in the furnace cavity is sufficient to combine all the fuel and
air. This continuously insures uniform and complete combustion so that
test performance can be maintained throughout daily operation. With

97

other types of firing the fuel and air must be accurately proportioned to
individual burners making it difficult to always equal test results.
With this type of firing, combustion is extremely rapid and short
flame length results. The mixing is so intense that combustion rates
exceeding 35,000 Btu/ (ft3h) or 360 kW/m3 are practical under certain
conditions. However, since there is considerable impingement of flame
over the furnace walls it is absolutely necessary that they be fully
water cooled.
This sweeping of the water-cooled surfaces, in the furnace, by
the gas increases the evaporation rate. Thus, in addition to absorption
by radiation from the flame envelope, there is transfer by convection,
and the resulting furnace temperatures are lower than with other types
of burners, even though the heat liberation rates may be somewhat
higher.
Tangentially-fired furnaces are usually clean in the upper zone
and, as a result, both the furnace and the boiler are comparatively free
from objectionable slag deposits.

Brief Explanation of Tangential Fuel Firing System

In this system, burners are set at each corner of the furnace and
are directed to strike the outside of an imaginary circle in the centre of
the furnace.
Because the streams of fuel so strike each other, extremely good
mixing is obtained.
Since the body of the flame produced is given a rotary motion it
leads to a longer flame travel and the gases spread out-and flows
through combustion chamber.

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Burners and Burner Arrangement

Coal burners mainly comprise of coal nozzle, steel tip, seal plate
and tilting link mechanism. These are housed in coal compartment in
all four corners of the furnace and connected with coal pipes. Coal
nozzle's one end (outlet) is rectangular and another end is cylindrical.
The rectangular end which forms the nozzle is connected with
nozzle tip by pivot pin. The tip can be tilted on this pivot. The nozzle tip
is divided into several sectors to form separate coal and air passages.
Again coal and air passages are divided into several parts for
uniform distribution of flow. To seal the air and coal passage a seal
plate is provided.

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Typical Corner Arrangement for a

Tangentially Fired System

S.NO

CORNER -1, 2, 3, 4

MILLS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

H H
H
G H
G
F G
F
E F
E
D E
D
C D
C
B C
B
A B
A
A A

AIR
COAL
OIL
COAL
AIR
COAL
OIL
COAL
AIR
COAL
OIL
COAL
AIR
COAL
OIL
COAL
AIR

G H

E F

C D

A B

REFERENCES:

100

www.ignou.ac.in/upload/unit-3.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furnace
http://beeindia.in/energy_managers_auditors/documents/guide_books/2
Ch4.pdf
file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/IJACE9190.pdf
http://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/fossil_fuel.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Producer_gas
http://www.britannica.com/science/producer-gas
https://www.clarke-energy.com/synthesis-gas-syngas/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syngas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_crude_oil
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_fuel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briquette
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coke_(fuel)

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