Unit-4: Fuels & Combustion

Mr. Santosh Damkondwar

Monday, January 20, 2014
Introduction

• Fuels

• Non-renewable Conventional Sources

• In Mechanical, Electrical & Chemical operations.

Characteristics of Good Fuels:

• High Calorific Values

• Moderate Ignition Temperature
• Low Moisture Content
• Low Ash Content
• Moderate Velocity of Combustion
• Should not produce harmful products
• Low Cost
• Easy Storage & Transportation
• Easily Controllable
Classification

• Natural or Primary Fuels

Liquid
e.g.
Solid
Crude Oil,
e.g.
Vegetable Oil
Wood, Peat, Gaseous
Lignite, e.g.
Bituminous Natural Gas
Coal, Dung
Classification

Liquid
e.g.
Tar, Gaseous
Solid Kerosene,
e.g.
e.g. Diesel,
Petrol, Coal Gas,
Coke, Water Gas,
Charcoal, Bio-Gas
Calorific Values:

• Calorific Value of fuel is the total quantity of heat

liberated by complete combustion of a unit mass
(or volume) of the fuel.

• It can be expressed for Solid Fuels in terms of :

Cal/gm (CGS Unit)
Kcal/Kg (MKS Unit)
J/Kg (SI Unit)
B.Th.U. / lb (British Thermal Unit)
Calorific Values
Calorific Values:

• Calorific Value of fuel is the total quantity of heat

liberated by complete combustion of a unit mass
(or volume) of the fuel.

• It can be expressed for Gaseous Fuels in terms of :

Cal/lit (CGS Unit)
Kcal/m3 (MKS Unit)
J/m3 (SI Unit)
B.Th.U. / Ft3 (British Thermal Unit)
Calorific Values
Calorific Values
Calorific Values
Higher Calorific Values:

• It is the total amount of heat liberated, when unit

mass / volume of the fuel is burnt completely and
the products of combustion have been cooled to
room temperature (i.e. 15oC).
Lower Calorific Values:

• It is the net amount of heat liberated, when unit

mass / volume of the fuel is burnt completely and
the products of combustion are allowed to escape.
Relation between GCV & LCV:

• These can be related as:

NCV = GCV – Latent heat of water vapor formed

or
= GCV – (Mass of Hydrogen × Latent heat of steam)
= GCV – [(9 × Mass of hydrogen) × Latent heat of
steam]

If mass of hydrogen is expressed as % of H, then

NCV = GCV – [9× H/100 × 587] cal/gm
Determination of Calorific Value:

• Calorific Value of the fuel is determined by

heating known amount of fuel, in presence of
oxygen in calorimeter.

• Principle
o Total heat liberated by complete combustion of
known amount of fuel is absorbed by the known
mass of water in calorimeter. From the rise in
temperature of water, the calorific value of fuel is
determined.