Fuel Science

and
Combustion Technology

Completed Modules
1 Properties of Fuels
2 Petroleum Science
3 Refinery Processes
4 Major Refinery Products
5 Solid Fuels - Wood And Peat
6 Solid Fuels - Coal
7 Nuclear Energy - Nuclear Fission And Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear Energy - Nuclear Reactors
Lubrication Types, Functions, Tribology
Lubrication - Regimes, Additives, Properties, Production
9
Process
8

Lets Revise
1Properties of Fuels
2Petroleum Science
3Refinery Processes

Flash Point, Vapor

Pressure, Octane #,
Cetane
#, Density
How to Classify Crude
Oils?
How Crude
Oil & Natural Gas is Formed?
What is done
in a Refinery?
How a Refinery is configured?

4Major Refinery Products Whatare they?

Solid FuelsWood And
Where & how they are employed?
Peat
What is Coal Gasification
& Liquefaction?
Coal
6 Solid
Classes of Coal?
Fuels
Nuclear
Fission &
What
are these mechanisms?
7
Fusion
Energy
5

8 Nuclear
Energy
9 Lubricatio
n

Plants

How
are Nuclear Plants configured?
Function/s ofLubs
and their Types?
How are they Produced?

n C + (n + 1) H2 CnH2n + 2

Coal
Gasification

Binding Energy Curve

e
l
t
it
L
y
Bo
& an
M
t
a
F

Can You Find?

How much energy would be released if 1 gram of U235 were to
undergo fission?

Functions of a Lubricant
Cooling

Lub oil circulating through the engine will carry

away excess heat

Sealing

Lub oil provides an air-tight barrier between the

piston rings and cylinder wall. Maintaining this seal
will reduce engine wear and increase power
output.

Lubricatio Maintaining a film of oil between moving parts will:

n
Reduce wear on parts
Reduce heat generation due to friction
Flushing

Circulating engine oil will remove any

contaminants (Fuel deposits, Metal filings) from the
engine block.

Other Information
Regimes

Additives

Characterization

Hydrodynamic

Pour Point Depressants

Carbon Residue

Boundary

Viscosity Index
Improvers

Viscosity

Mixed

De-foamants

Density & Gravity

Oxidation Inhibitors

Flash and Fire

Points

Rust and Corrosion

Inhibitors

Neutralization
Number

Detergents and
Dispersants

Total Acid / Base

Nos.

Anti-wear Additives

Pour Point

Extreme Pressure

Color

Important !
However, the quality or the performance features
of a lubricant cannot be adequately described on
the basis of physical and chemical tests alone.
Thus, major purchasers of lubricating oils, such as
the military, equipment builders, and many
commercial consumers, include performance tests
as well as physical and chemical tests in their
purchase specifications.
E.g. Oxidation Tests, Thermal Stability, Rust
Protection Tests, Foam Tests, EP and Anti-wear
Tests, Emulsion and Demulsibility Tests

Types of Lubricants
Physical

Application wise

Liquid - Mineral oil or

synthetic oils

Engine oils

Solid - Graphite, MoS2

Gear Oils

Semi solid - Greases

Turbine Oils

Gases - Atomized 2 stroke

oils

Hydraulic Oils
Metal working oils - Cutting
oils, Forming Oils
Rust preventives

Lube Processing Scheme

Typical Lubricant
Applications

10

Chemical Formulae
Compositions
Calorific Values

Prof.
SASP

11

Combustion Equations
Combustion Characteristics of Fuels

Prof.
SASP

12

Selection and Application of Fuel Based on

Economics & Quality

TAD

13

Combustion Characteristics and other

Considerations
Environmental Pollution
Alternative Options for petroleum fuels

TAD

14

Calculation of Energy Production by

combustion of fuels
Design of Burners and Furnaces

TAD

Selection and Application of Fuel

Based on Economics & Quality
Case 1a:
You have a fixed amount of capital to buy a motor car.
Assuming that you have a fixed income at the moment
what considerations you would give in buying?
Case 1b:
Suddenly you receive a good job opportunity, which
involves considerable amount of travelling, where they
provide you with a vehicle of your choice and you have
to manage only fuel on your own. Now what will be
your concerns?

Selection and Application of Fuel

Based on Economics & Quality
Case 2:
Assume that you are in the planning
stage of Utilities for a large industrial
complex close to a residential area.
What are your considerations in
selecting power plant for the facility?

Selection and Application of Fuel

Based on Economics & Quality
Case 3:
A process plant uses high pressure steam to drive its turbines and
medium pressure steam for process heating. Low pressure steam
is also employed in stripping columns.
All steam requirements are fulfilled via Superheated HP Steam
Boilers. Medium pressure steam taken from steam turbine while
low pressure steam is taken by throttling MP steam.
Power is produced via steam turbines, Diesel Generator which
uses low Sulphur diesel and also from National grid.
How to we determine the best mix of heat and power sources?

Selection and Application of Fuel

Based on Economics & Quality
In almost every case, the costs which
occur over the life of a capital investment
can be classified into one of the following
categories:
Initial Cost,
Annual Expenses and Revenues,
Periodic Replacement and Maintenance, or
Salvage Value

The fuel cost will be a part of regular

expense

Selection and Application of Fuel

Based on Economics & Quality
The amount of Power Generated by different fuels
are almost same per unit mass in many cases.
But the apparent cost of a fuel will be a sum of
many cost components imposed by governments
depending on their fiscal policies.
The maintenance costs with each type of engines,
technology, availability of spares, availability of
vender services will then determine the
comparing parameters of options.
Cash flow diagrams is a good tool in analyzing
selection of fuel / technology

Diesel Vs Gasoline

Categories of costs for power

generating technologies

Exhibit - 1

CIF Price

Landed Cost

Taxed Cost
Wholesale Cost
Retail Cost

FOB Price
Competitor Discount/ Premium
Freight
Insurance
Losses During Freight
Jetty / Pipeline Prices
Port Development Taxes
Bank Charges
LC Charges
Customs Duty
Excise Duty
Social Responsibility Levy
Cost of Working Capital
Storage Terminal Charges
Profit Margin
Marketing & Distribution Costs
Provincial Council Tax on Imported
Fuel

Retail Price before

Provincial Council Turnover Tax
VAT
Retail Price After VAT VAT
Maximum Consumer
Dealer Discount
Price

CIF price
Port charges
Taxes
Distribution
Charges
Importer Costs
Importer Margin
Dealer margin

Exhibit - 1

Fuel Based Characteristic

Performance Parameters of an Engine
Air / fuel ratios (Mass Basis)
The normal operating range for a conventional SI
engine using gasoline fuel is 12 A/F 18 while for
CI engines with diesel fuel, it is 18 A/F 70

Volumetric Efficiency
Volumetric efficiency is only used with four-stroke
cycle engines which have a distinct induction process.
It is defined as the volume flow rate of air into the
intake system divided by the rate at which volume is
displaced by the piston:

Specific Fuel Consumption

Fuel flow rate per unit power output

Important Features of Internal

Combustion Engines

Vc Clearance
Volume
Vd Displaced
volume
Vt= Vc+ Vd
Tc Top (Dead)
Center
Bc Bottom (Dead)
Center

Fuel Injector in a Diesel

Engine

Q.
A hydrocarbon fuel of composition 84.1
percent by mass C and 15.9 percent by
mass H has a molecular weight of 114.15.
Determine the number of moles of air
required for stoichiometric combustion and
the number of moles of products produced
per mole of fuel.
Calculate A / F ratio and the molecular
weights of the reactants and the products.
C= 12.011 / H=1.008

 The molecular weight relation gives

114.15 = 12.011a + 1.008b

The gravimetric analysis of the fuel

gives

Thus a=8 b=18

C8H18 + 12.5(02 + 3.773N2) = 8C02 + 9H20 + 47.16N2

In moles:
In Mass:

1 + 12.5(1 + 3.773) = 8 + 9 + 47.16

114.15 + 59.66 x 28.96 = 8 x 44.01 + 9 x 18.02 +

47.16 x 28.16
1: 15.6

&
Since the composition of the combustion
products is significantly different for fuel-lean
and fuel-rich mixtures, and because the
stoichiometric fuel / air ratio depends on fuel
composition, the ratio of the actual fuel/air
ratio to the stoichiometric ratio (or its inverse)
is a more informative parameter for defining
mixture composition: hence
fuel/air equivalence ratio = (A/F) Actual /
(A/F)Stoichiometric =
And the inverse is known as