FUELS

Any material that can be burned to release

thermal energy is called fuel

The engine converts heat energy which is

obtained from the chemical combination of the fuel with the oxygen, into mechanical energy

Since heat energy is derived from the fuel,

a fundamental knowledge of types of fuels and their characteristics is essential in order to understand the combustion phenomenon.
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

 Characteristics of fuel have considerable

influence on the design, efficiency, output and particularly reliability and durability of the engine

Fuels characteristics play a vital role in the

atmospheric pollution caused by the engines as well

Most familiar fuels consists primarily of hydrogen

and carbon. They are called hydrocarbon fuels and presented by CnHm
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

 Although liquid hydrocarbon fuels are mixtures

of many different hydrocarbon, they are usually considered to be a single hydrocarbon for the convenience (C8H18)

For example gasoline is treated as Octane Diesel is treated as dodecane (C12H26)

Gaseous hydrocarbon fuel such as natural gas is

mixture of methane and smaller amount of other gases is treated as methane (CH4)
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

TYPES OF FULES
Solid Liquid Gaseous

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

SOLID FULES
Find little application at present because
of the problem in handling Difficult to dispose off solid residue or ash after combustion Solid fuel in the form of finely powdered coal were attempted initially Quite difficult to handle, feed and store compared to gaseous and liquids fuels
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Gaseous fuels
Ideal fuels for IC engine Pose very few problems Being gaseous, they mix more

homogeneously with the air and eliminate the distribution and starting problems that are encountered by liquid fuels

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Liquid fuels
Derivatives from liquid petroleum Petrol, Diesel are liquid fuels Petroleum products form the main fuels
for IC engine

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Petroleum fuels
99% of the worlds IC engine use liquid
fuel derived from petroleum In some countries where natural petroleum is scarce, fuels having similar composition and characteristics are being produced by some processes

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Crude oil
Raw petroleum that come from oil wells Contains impurities such as water, solids A mixture of many HC (mainly Methane and

ethane) CO is separated from gasoline, kerosene, and others by the process of fractional distillation contains certain fraction of organic compounds (Sulfur , Nitrogen) exact composition differs widely according to sources

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

REFINING CRUDE PETROLIUM

Refining of crude oils starts with

distillation, cracking and polymerization In distillation, distillate is separated into various fractions according to volatility Cracking is defined as reducing the molecular size Polymerization is the reverse of cracking

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Natural gas
Gaseous HC associated with liquid
petroleum

Mixture of components consisting of

mainly methane (60-98%) with small amount of other HC fuel components

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Gasoline
Most petroleum fuels intended for use in
SI engine

SG ranges from 0.7-0.8 Chemical composition varies widely

depending on base crude oil and refining method

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Kerosene
Heavier than gasoline Used in lamps, heaters, stoves Excellent fuels for CI engines and aircrafts
engine

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Blend of many different hydrocarbons from crude oils

Predominately hydrogen (~14%) & carbon
(~86%) Diesel fuel can contain some sulfur (~1%) Alcohol fuels contain oxygen Methanol=methane with 1 H replaced by 1 OH Ethanol=ethane with 1 H replaced by 1 OH
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Fuel Types Alkyl Compounds

Paraffins -methane, ethane, propane, isooctane, n-octane. The n- means normal CnH2n+2 Losing one H atom (a radical) makes it methyl, ethyl, propyl, etc. Cycloparffins-cyclopropane, cylcobutane CnH2n Also known as napthenes Cycloparaffins are good gasoline components
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Fuel Types -More Alkyl Compounds

Olefins-propene (propylene), butene (butylene), etc. CnH2n Same formula as cycloparaffins, but they are put together differently Acetylenes-Acetylene, etc. CnH2n-2 Similar to olefins Olefins with more than one c-c double bonds are undesirable that lead to storage problem
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Fuel Types-Aromatics
Benzene (C6H6) is the building block Very stable hydrocarbon (does not go
away) CnH2n-6 Examples: Toluene C7H8 Xylene C8H10

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Fuel Types-Alcohols
One H is replaced with a hydroxyl radical CnH2n+1OH Methane (CH4) Methanol (CH3OH) Ethane (C2H6) Ethanol (C2H5OH)

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

IMPORTANT QUALITIES OF SI ENGINE FUELS

Volatility Starting and warm up Operating range performance Crankcase dilution Vapor lock characteristics Antiknock quality Gum deposits Sulphur content
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Volatility
Main characteristic properties of gasoline
which determines its suitability for use in SI engine Depends on fractional composition of fuels being mixture of different HC The characteristic points are the temperatures at which 10, 40, 50, and 90% of the volume evaporates

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Starting and warm up

A certain part of gasoline should vaporize
at room temperature for easy starting of the engine 0-10% boiled off relatively low boiling temperature Low distillation temperatures are desirable for best warm up

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Operating range performance

For good vaporization of gasoline, low
distillation temperatures are preferable Better vaporization tends to produce both more uniform distribution of fuel to the cylinders as well as better acceleration characteristics by reducing the quantity of liquid droplets in intake manifold

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Crankcase dilution
Liquid fuel in the cylinder causes loss of
lubricating oil This deteriorates the quantity of lubrication and tends to cause damage to the engine through increased friction Liquid gasoline may also dilute the lub oil and weaken the oil film between rubbing surfaces.

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Vapor lock characteristics

High rate of vaporization of gasoline can
upset the carburetor metering

Even stop the fuel flow to the engine by

setting up a vapor lock in the fuel passages

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Antiknock quality
Abnormal burning or detonation in SI
engine causes very high temperature and pressure This adversely affects thermal efficiency So, the fuel characteristics should be such that it can resist tendency to produce detonation or knock It depends on fuels chemical and molecular structure

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Gum deposits
Reactive HC and impurities in the fuel have a
tendency to oxidize upon storage and form liquid and solid gummy substances Gasoline with high gum content will cause operating difficulties such as: sticking valves piston rings carbon deposits gum deposit in the manifold clogging of carburetor jets enlarging of valve stem, cylinders, and pistons
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Sulphur content
HC fuels may contain free sulphur, hydrogen
sulphide, and other sulphur compounds Sulphur is corrosive Elements of the fuels that can corrode fuel lines, carburetors, and injection pumps It will unite with oxygen to form sulphur dioxide that in the presence of water at low temperatures may form sulphusous acid

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

CI ENGINE FUELS
Volatility Starting characteristics Smoking and odour Viscosity Corrosion and wear Handling ease Knock characteristics
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Volatility
The fuel should be
sufficiently volatile in the operating range of temperatures to produce good mixing and combustion

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Starting characteristics
The fuel should help in starting the engine
easily This requirement demands high enough volatility to form a combustible mixture readily

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Smoking and odour

The fuel should not promote either smoke
or odour in the engine exhaust

Generally, good volatility is the first

prerequisite to ensure good mixing and therefore complete combustion

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Viscosity
CI engine fuels should be able to flow
through the fuel system and the strainers under lowest operating temperatures

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Corrosion and wear

The fuel should not cause corrosion and
wear of the engine components before or after combustion.

These requirements are directly related to

the presence of sulphur, ash, and residue in the fuels

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Handling ease
The fuel should be liquid that will readily
flow under all conditions that are encountered in actual use

This requirement is measured by Pour,

Flash, fire point and viscosity of the fuel

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Pour, Flash, fire point

The pour point is the lowest temperature at

which a petroleum product will begin to flow. The flash point of a flammable liquid is the lowest temperature at which it can form an ignitable mixture with oxygen. At this temperature the vapor may cease to burn when the source of ignition is removed. A slightly higher temperature, the fire point, is defined at which the vapor continues to burn after being ignited.
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Knock Characteristics
It occurs because of ignition lag of fuel between
the time of injection and the time of actual burning As the ignition lag increases, the amount of fuel accumulated in the combustion chamber increases and when combustion actually takes place, abnormal amount of energy is released causing excessive rate of pressure rise Hence CI engine fuel should have a short ignition delay and will ignite more readily
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

PETROLEUM REFINING PROCESS

The crude petroleum contains gases
(mainly methane and ethane) and certain impurities such as: water, solids

The crude oil is separated into gasoline,

kerosene, fuel oil, by the processes of fractional distillation

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Crude oil
Raw petroleum that come from oil wells A mixture of many HC (mainly Methane and

ethane) CO is separated from gasoline, kerosene, and others by the process of fractional distillation contains certain fraction of organic compounds (Sulfur , Nitrogen) exact composition differs widely according to sources

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Gasoline Kerosene CRUDE OIL

Diesel fuel Fuel oil

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

REFINING CRUDE PETROLIUM

Refining of crude oils starts with

distillation, cracking and polymerization In distillation, distillate is separated into various fractions according to volatility Cracking is defined as reducing the molecular size Polymerization is the reverse of cracking

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

NOTE
Generally, the larger the molecular weight
of the components, higher is its boiling temperature

Low boiling temperature components

(smaller molecular weight) are used for fuels

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

PETROLEUM REFINING PROCESS

Distillation is a common technique used to

separate the components of a mixture. The components may be miscible liquids or a dissolved solid in a liquid. Distillation is the process of vaporizing a liquid in one vessel and condensing them into another vessel. Several types of distillation are common: simple distillation, fractional distillation, and vacuum distillation. The process by which a liquid changes to a gas is called vaporization.
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

PETROLEUM REFINING PROCESS

Some of the refinery processes are as below: Cracking:
Breaking down large and complex hydrocarbon molecules into simpler compounds. Cracking is done by thermal, catalytic cracking Hydrogenation: Addition of hydrogen atoms to certain HC under high T and P to produce more desirable compounds. It is often used to convert unstable compounds to stable ones Polymerization: Process of converting olefins, into heavier and stable compounds
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

PETROLEUM REFINING PROCESS

Alkylation:
Combines one olefin with an iso paraffin to produce a branched isoparaffin in the presence of a catalyst Isomerization: Changes the relative position of atoms Cyclization: Zoints together the ends of a straight chain molecule to form a ring compound Aromatization: Similar to cyclization except the product is an aromatic compound

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

Blending
Is a process of obtaining a product of
desired quality by mixing certain products in some suitable proportions

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

RATING OF FUELS
Normally fuels are rated for their
antiknock qualities

Rating is done by two parameters: Octane

number and cetane number

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

OCTANE NUMBER
Octane is a measurement of gasolines
capacity to burn smoothly and evenly. The higher the octane number of the gasoline the more it resistant in producing uneven combustion and the audible "knock" sound which, if allowed to continue can damage an engine.

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

HOW MEASURED
Octane number is a measure of the antiknock
quality of gasoline - the ability of the gasoline to resist knocking when it is burned in an engine. There are two laboratory tests to measure octane which are run in a single-cylinder engine operated under different conditions: Research Octane Number (RON) and Motor octane number (MON). The octane number posted on gasoline dispensers in service stations is the Antiknock Index (AKI) - the average of RON and MON [(RON + MON)/2, usually abbreviated (R + M)/2.
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

OCTANE NUMBER
Octane rating number is defined as a value used

to indicate the resistance of a motor fuel to knock. Octane numbers are based on a scale on which isooctane is 100 (minimal knock) and heptane is 0 (bad knock). A gasoline with an octane number of 92 has the same knock as a mixture of 92% isooctane and 8% heptane.
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

OCTANE NUMBER OF A MIXTURE

If several fuels of known ON are mixed,
ON can be obtained as below: ONmix= (%of A)(ONA)+(% of B)(ONB)+ (%of C)(ONC) FUEL SENSITIVITY (FS) = RON-MON

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

PROBLEM

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

ADDITIVES

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

CETANE NUMBER
The cetane number is one of the most

commonly cited indicators of diesel fuel quality. It measures the readiness of the fuel to autoignite when injected into the engine. It is generally dependent on the composition of the fuel and can impact the engines startability, noise level, and exhaust emissions.

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

CETANE NUMBER
Good ignition from high cetane assists in easy
starting, starting at low temperature, low ignition pressures, and smooth operation with lower knocking characteristics. Low cetane fuel with poor ignition qualities causes misfiring, engine deposits, rough operation and higher knocking. The cetane number requirement for an engine depends on the engine design, size, operational speed, load condition and atmospheric conditions.
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

CETANE NUMBER DETERMINATION

Like octane number rating, cetane numbers are
established by comparing the test fuel to standard reference fuels. The fuel component-cetane (hexadecane, C16H34) is given the cetane number value of 100, while heptamethylnonane (HMN) (C12H34) is given the value of 15. CN of fuel = (% of n-cetane) + (0.15)(% of HMN)
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

 A 65 cetane fuel would have ignition delay

performance equivalent to that of a blend of 65% n-cetane and 35% methylnaphthalene by volume

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

FUELS by Saidur Rahman

SG-A measure of the density of liquid fuels at 15.6 C as compared with water at the same temperature.
FUELS by Saidur Rahman

PROBLEM

FUELS by Saidur Rahman