Assignment Syllabus

Definition of fuels, classification of fuels, calorific value and its

determination by bomb calorimeter and Dulong’s formula

numerical problems.

5 numerical problem on Dulong’s Formula

 Fuel?

Fuel is a combustible substance which on proper burning gives large

amount of heat.

 which can be used economically for domestic and Industrial purposes.

 Examples are wood, coal, petrol

There are chemical fuels, nuclear fuels and fossil fuels.

Fuel + O2 Products + heat

These can be classified on the basis of their occurrence and physical state
(i) On the basis of occurrence they are of two types:

Primary Fuels: Fuels which occur in nature as such are called primary
fuels. E.g., wood, peat, coal, petroleum, and natural gas.

Secondary Fuels: The fuels which are derived from the primary fuels by
further chemical processing are called secondary fuels. E,g., coke,
charcoal, kerosene, coal gas, producer gas etc.

(ii) On the basis of physical state these may be classified as:

Solid Fuels
Liquid Fuels
Gaseous Fuels
Classification of fuels
 Peat Lignite

Natural gas Coke

Calorie: the amount of energy required to warm one gram of air-free

water from 15 to 16 °C at standard atmospheric pressure.

Experimental values of this calorie ranges from 4.1852 J to 4.1858 J.

Calorific value: It is defined as the total quantity of heat liberated

when a unit mass of a fuel is burnt completely.

Units of Calorific value:

Characteristics of Good Fuel:
 Suitability: The fuel selected should be most suitable for the process.
E.g., coke made out of bituminous coal is most suitable for blast
furnace.

 High Calorific value

 Ignition Temperature: A good fuel should have moderate ignition

temperature.

 Moisture content: Should be low

 Non combustible matter content

 Velocity of combustion: It should be moderate

 Nature of the products

 Cost of fuel, Smoke, Control of the process

Gross and net calorific Value
Gross Calorific Value: It is the total amount of heat generated when a
unit quantity of fuel is completely burnt in oxygen and the products
of combustion are cooled down to the room temperature.

As the products of combustion are cooled down to room temperature, the steam
gets condensed into water and latent heat is evolved. Thus in the determination of
gross calorific value, the latent heat also gets included in the measured heat.
Therefore, gross calorific value is also called the higher calorific value.

The calorific value which is determined by Bomb calorimeter gives the higher
calorific value (HCV)

CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + 2H2O

steam

Cooled to 15 ⁰C and more energy

is released in the process
Net Calorific Value: It is defined as the net heat produced when a unit
quantity of fuel is completely burnt and the products of combustion
are allowed to escape.

 The water vapour do not condense and escape with hot combustion
gases. Hence, lesser amount than gross calorific value is available. It is
also known as lower calorific value (LCV).

 Since 1 part by weight of hydrogen gives nine parts by weight of water

i.e.
H + 1O → H O
2 2 2 2
 Latent heat of steam at room temperature is 587kcal/Kg

CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + 2H2O

steam

LCV=HCV – Latent heat of water vapours formed

=HCV – mass of hydrogen x 9 x Latent heat of steam
Determination of Calorific value

Determination of calorific value of solid and non volatile liquid fuels: It

is determined by bomb calorimeter.

Principle: A known amount of the fuel is burnt in excess of oxygen and heat

liberated is transferred to a known amount of water. The calorific value of

the fuel is then determined by applying the principle of calorimetery i.e.

Heat gained = Heat lost

Calculations
Let weight of the fuel sample taken = x g
Weight of water in the calorimeter = W g
Water equivalent of the Calorimeter, stirrer, bomb, thermometer = w g
Initial temperature of water = t1oC
Final temperature of water = t2oC
Higher or gross calorific value = C cal/g
Heat gained by water = W x Dt x specific heat of water
= W (t2-t1) x 1 cal
Heat gained by Calorimeter = w (t2-t1) cal
Heat liberated by the fuel = x C cal
Heat liberated by the fuel = Heat gained by water and calorimeter
x C = (W+w) (t2-t1) cal

C=(W+W)(t2-t1) cal/g
Net Calorific value:
Let percentage of hydrogen in the fuel = H
Weight of water produced from 1 gm of the fuel = 9H/100 gm
Heat liberated during condensation of steam
= 0.09H × 587 cal
Net (Lower calorific value) = GCV-Latent heat of water formed
= C-0.09H × 587 cal/gm
Corrections: For accurate results the following corrections are also
incorporated:

(a) Fuse wire correction: As Mg wire is used for ignition, the heat
generated by burning of Mg wire is also included in the gross calorific
value. Hence this amount of heat has to be subtracted from the total
value.

(b) Acid Correction: During combustion, sulphur and nitrogen present in

the fuel are oxidized to their corresponding acids under high pressure
and temperature.

S + O → SO
2 2
2SO + O + 2H O → 2H SO ∆H = -144,000 Cal
2 2 2 2 4
2 N + 5O + 2H O → 4HNO ∆H = -57,160 Cal
2 2 2 3
 The corrections must be made for the heat liberated in the bomb by the

formation of H2SO4 and HNO3. The amount of H2SO4 and HNO3 is

analyzed by washings of the calorimeter.

 For each ml of 0.1 N H2SO4 formed, 3.6 calories should be subtracted.

 For each ml of 0.01 HNO3 formed, 1.43 calories must be subtracted.

(C) Cooling correction: As the temperature rises above the room

temperature, the loss of heat does occur due to radiation, and the highest

temperature recorded will be slightly less than that obtained. A

temperature correction is therefore necessary to get the correct rise in

temperature.
If the time taken for the water in the calorimeter to cool down from the

maximum temperature attained, to the room temperature is x minutes and

the rate of cooling is dt/min, then the cooling correction = x × dt. This

should be added to the observed rise in temperature.

Therefore, Gross calorific value

C=(W+w)(t2-t1+Cooling correction)-[Acid+ fuse corrections] / Mass of the fuel.

 Bomb Calorimeter (Summery)

(W+w)(t2-t1) cal/g
HCV or L=
x

LCV = L – 0.09H*587 cal/gm

Corrections
a) Fuse wire correction
b) Acid correction, tA
c) Cooling Correction, tC
d) Cotton thread correction, tT
(W+w)(t2-t1+tC)-[tA+tF+tT] cal/g
L=
x
 Bomb Calorimeter
Water Equivalent of Calorimeter:
In a reaction the quantity of
heat that raises the temperature of some substance/body by
some amount, the same quantity of heat can simultaneously
raise the same temperature of a certain mass of water. The
mass of water is then termed as water equivalent.
The amount of water which has the same heat capacity as
that of the body/substance.

t
t
q

body
Theoretical calculation of Calorific value of a Fuel:

The calorific value of a fuel can be calculated if the percentages of the

constituent elements are known.

Substrate Calorific value

Carbon 8080

Hydrogen 34500

Sulphur 2240
If oxygen is also present, it combines with hydrogen to form H2O. Thus the

hydrogen in the combined form is not available for combustion and is called

fixed hydrogen.

Amount of hydrogen available for combustion = Total mass of hydrogen-

hydrogen combined with oxygen.

1
H 2 + O2 → H 2O
2
1g 8g 9g
Fixed Hydrogen = Mass of oxygen in the fuel

Therefore, mass of hydrogen available for combustion = Total mass of

hydrogen-1/8 mass of oxygen in fuel

=H-O/8
Dulong’s formula for calculating the calorific value is given as:

Gross calorific Value (HCV)

1 O
= [8080C + 34,500( H − ) + 2,240 S ]kcal / kg
100 8

Net Calorific value (LCV)

9H
= [ HCV − × 587]kcal / kg
100
= [ HCV − 0.09 H × 587]kcal / kg
where C, H, O, S refer to % of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur
respectively.
Numerical 1
Calculate the gross and net calorific values of coal having the following
Compositions Carbon=85%, Hydrogen=8%, Nitrogen=2%, ash=4%,
Sulphur= 1%, Latent heat of steam=587cal/g

1 O
GCV or HCV = 8080*C + 34500(H - ) + 2240*S Kcal/kg
100 8

1 0
HCV = 8080*85 + 34500(8 - ) + 2240*1 Kcal/kg
100 8

HCV = 9650.4 kcal/kg

NCV = HCV- 0.09*H*587 kcal/kg

= 9650.4 - 0.09*8*587
= 9227.8 kcal/kg