FUELS

Fuel + oxygen

Carbon dioxide + water + energy

Introduction
The substance which is burnt in order to release heat
energy
is called fuel.
Fossil fuels:
Coal, natural gas and petroleum are collectively
referred as fossil fuels.
The most commonly used fuels these days, such as
petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG are hydrocarbons,
which are compounds of carbon & hydrogen commonly.
These are obtained from under the earths crust as
petroleum and natural gas. Coal is another fuel
obtained from under the earths crust but it is not a
hydrocarbon- it is a primarily carbon. Hydrocarbon fuels
were formed from the remains of biodegradable wastes
buried under the earths crust over millions of years.

Petroleum refining
Petroleum is a mixture of
hydrocarbons, it is separated
into different components,
called fractions, by a process
called petroleum refining. It is
carried out by heating
petroleum in a tubular
furnace and passing the
vapours into a long
fractionating column. The
respective byproducts of
petroleum condense at their
boiling points at different
heights in the fractionating
column. The process is
continued till we get pure

Criteria for selection of fuels

1) Physical state: Fuels can be in solid, liquid, gaseous state.
Solid fuels are easy to store but difficult to use, gaseous
fuels are difficult to store; have to be compressed to high
pressures and stored in sealed cylinders and tankers. Most
liquid fuels can be stored easily and easy to use.
2) Calorific value: of a fuel is the amount of heat evolved, in
kJ, when oneFuel
gram of the fuel Calorific
is burnt completely
value (kJ g-to form
carbon dioxide and water.
1)
Hydrogen

150

CNG

55

LPG

50

Kerosene

47

Petrol

48

Diesel

46

Coal

30

3) Ignition temperature: is the minimum temperature at which

a fuel can catch fire.
Fuel

Ignition
temperature (K)

Hydrogen

773

CNG

853

LPG

773

Kerosene

568

Petrol

553

Diesel

483

Coal

>=1000

4) Cost: A fuel that is lower in cost should be good,

a cheaper fuel always has some other associated pr

5) Residue: When a fuel leaves a residue upon combustion,

it can be a problem because the safe disposal of the
residue is not easy. In thermal power plants, thousands of
tons of ash are produced every day as residue from the
burning of coal.

6) Emissions: The emissions from the burning of fuels cause

air pollution.
Carbon dioxide is inevitable emission from all fossil fuels. A
fuel that does not
produce emissions is a good fuel.

MOST Commonly used fuels

1)Hydrogen : is said to be the fuel of the future. It has
the highest calorific value among all the fuels. It leaves
no residue upon combustion and there are no harmful
emissions. The combustion gases consist of only water
vapour.
2H2 + O2
2H2O + heat energy

2)CNG : is the clean fuel used for running

buses, generating electricity, and

producing fertilizers and other
chemicals. It consists primarily of
methane with second highest calorific
value. It leaves no residue upon
combustion and emissions are free from

3)LPG: was the only clean fuel before CNG became

popular. It is used primarily as cooking gas. It is a
mixture of propane(C3H8) and butane(C4H10). The
calorific value of LPG is quite good though less than that
of CNG. It leaves behind no residue upon combustion
and the emissions are free from SPM and sulphur
dioxide.
C3H8+5O2
3CO2 + 4H2O + heat energy
2C4H10+13O2
8CO2 + 10H2O + heat
energy

4)Kerosene: is a versatile fuel that finds

applications from the kitchen stove to the
jet fuels used in modern aircrafts. Its
calorific value is moderately high and it
leaves behind no residue upon combustion.
The emissions may contain pollutants like
soot and carbon monoxide.
Kerosene + O2

CO2 + H2O + heat energy

5)Petrol: is used for running scooters,

motorcycles and cars. It has good calorific
value, though not as high as LPG or CNG,
upon combustion, it leaves behind no
residue though the emissions may contain
carbon monoxide.
Petrol + O2
3CO2 + 4H2O + heat
6)Diesel: is used for running cars, buses,
energy
trucks and generators. Its calorific value is
somewhat less than petrol. Upon combustion,
it leaves behind no residue. However, its
emissions may often contain pollutants like
SPM and
Diesel
+ O sulphur
3CO dioxide.
+ 4H O + SO + SPM + heat energy
2

7)Coal: is used as fuel in thermal power

plants and many industries . It has a low
calorific value. It consists primarily of
carbon. Upon combustion, it forms carbon
dioxide and leaves behind ash as residue,
which poses problem in disposal.

ULTIMATE VERDICT:
Which fuel is best..?
Fuel

Calorifi
c value

Resid
ue

Polluta
nts

Flash
point

Hydrog
en

highest

none

none

CNG

very
high

none

LPG

high

Transp
ort

Cost

very
low

difficu pipeline
lt

high

none

low

difficu pipeline
lt

low

none

none

low

easy

cylinder modera
s
te

Kerosen moderat
e
e

none

CO

modera
te

easy

tankers modera
te

Petrol

moderat
e

none

CO

low

difficu
lt

tankers\
pipeline

high

Diesel

moderat
e

none

SPM, SO2 modera

te

easy

tankers\
pipeline

high

low

ash

SPM, SO2

easy

difficult

low

Coal

high

Stora
ge

Conservation of fuels
Reduce the idle of the
vehicle.
Use a hybrid vehicles.
Turn off your vehicles at the
signals if the wait is for 25s or
more.
Replace your vehicle parts
regularly
& clean your air-filters.
Replace your bulbs with
energy efficient CFLs

Yet there is lot more to be

done..

Done by:Amogha varsha .P

EC-

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