Fuel and Combustion

By A Nirala
Assistant Professor
Galgotias University
niralaiitk@gmail.com

SYNTHETIC FUEL

Includes:
(A) Introduction
(B)Methods of producing
(a) Polymerisation
(b) Fischer Tropsch process
(c) Bergius Process

INTRODUCTION
Synthetic fuelorsynfuelisaliquidfuelobtainedfrom
coal,naturalgas,oilshale,orbiomass.
Itmayalsorefertofuelsderivedfromothersolidssuch
asplasticsorrubberwaste.Itmayalso(lessoften)refer
togaseousfuelsproducedinasimilarway.
Commonuseoftheterm"syntheticfuel"istodescribe
fuelsmanufacturedviaFischerTropschconversion,
methanoltogasolineconversion,ordirect
coalliquefaction
.

Methods of producing synthetic

petrol:

Polymerisation
Fischer- Tropsch
method
Bergius process

Polymerisation:

In this method, smaller molecules of

hydrocarbons are combined to form heavier
molecule resembling gasoline.
It is of two type:
(a)Thermal polymerisation
(b)Catalytic polymerisation

(a)THERMAL POLYMERISATION:

Thermal polymerisation is carried out

at temperature about500-600 oC and
pressure about 70-350 kg/cm.cm
(b)CATAIYTIC POLYMERISATION:
It is carried out at a lower temperature of 150200 C ,in a low pressure and in presence of
catalyst like posphoric acid. The rate of
reaction is increased. The gasoline obtained is
of improved quality and
possess high antiknock properties than the
gasoline obtained from thermal
polymerisation process.

Fischer- Tropsch
process

The Fischer Tropsch process (or Fischer Tropsch synthesis) is

a collection of chemical reactions that converts a mixture of
carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons. The
process, a key component of gas to liquids technology, produces
a synthetic lubrication oil and synthetic fuel, typically from coal,
natural gas, or biomass. The FT process has received intermittent
attention as a source of low-sulfur diesel fuel and to address the
supply or cost of petroleum-derived hydrocarbons.

Fischer- Tropsch
process

The water gas is varied with hydrogen and the combination

is purified by transitory from side to side Fe2O3 and then into
a mixture of Fe2O3+Na2CO3. The cleanse gas is dense to 5 to
25 atm and then led from side to side a converter, which is
preserve at a temperature of 200 300oC.
The converter is provided with a catalyst bed
consisting of a mixture of 100 parts cobalt, 5 parts thoria, 8
parts magnesia and 200 parts keiselghur earth.

The outcoming gaseous mixture is led to a condenser,

where the liquid crude oil is obtained. The crude oil is

fractionated to yield gasoline and heavy oil. The heavy oil is
used for cracking to get more gasoline.

Bergius process

One of the main methods of direct conversion of coal to

liquids by hydrogenation process is the Bergius process.
In this process, coal is liquefied by mixing it with hydrogen
gas and heating the system (hydrogenation). Dry coal is
mixed with heavy oil recycled from the process. Catalyst is
typically added to the mixture. The reaction occurs at
between 400 C (752 F) to 5,000 C (9,030 F)and 20 to 70
MPa hydrogen pressure. The reaction can be summarized as
follows:

Bergius Process - Synthetic Petrol:

Inthisprocess,thefinelypowderedcoaliscompletedkeenonapastethrough
heavyoilandacatalystpowder(tinornickeloleate)ismixedwithit.Thepasteis
pumpedalongwithhydrogengasintotheconverter,wherethesyntheticpasteisheated
to400-450Cunderapressureof200-250atm.
Duringthisprocesshydrogencombineswithcoaltoformsaturatedhigher
hydrocarbons,whichexperienceadditionaldecayatsuperiortemperaturetoacquiesce
combinationoflesserhydrocarbons.Themixisledtoacondenser,wherethecrudeoil
isattained.The crude oil is then fractionated to yield:
(a)Gasoline
(b)Middle oil (c)Heavy oil