Narnarayan Shastri

Institute of Technology
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
( 2161902 )
Presentation on

Internal Combustion Engine Fuels

Prepared By:
Prof. Ankit Gohel

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Introduction
• Fuels may be chemical or nuclear
• A chemical fuel is a substance which releases heat energy on combustion
• The principle combustible elements of each fuel are carbon and hydrogen.
• Sulphur is a combustible element but its presence is undesirable because Sulphur upon
combustion gives rise to Sulphur dioxide, which is a harmful gas and also a pollutant. Sulphur
dioxide is considered as a greenhouse gas and also results in acid rain

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 Properties of IC engine fuels
• High energy density (kJ/kg)
• Good combustion qualities
• High thermal stability
• Low toxicity
• Low pollution
• Easy transportation/transferability and storage
• Compatibility with engine hardware
• Low deposit forming tendency
• Economically viable in large quantities
• Easy mixing with oxygen and Low heat of evaporation
• No Chemical reaction with engine components
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Fuels for IC engine
Petroleum products Coal products Alternative fuels
• Natural gas • Powder coal • Alcohols
• LPG • Coal gas • Hydrogen
• Gasoline • Coke oven gas • Biogas
• • Water gas
Kerosene • Producer gas
• Biomass generated gas
• Distillate • LPG
• Light diesel oil • CNG
• Medium diesel oil • LNG
• Heavy diesel oil • Biofuels
• Fuel oil

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SI engine fuel
•Gasoline is major used in SI engines having boiling range 30° to 200° and specific gravity
between 0.7 to 0.78.
•The calorific value of typical gasoline is 44000 KJ/kg

 Requirement of an ideal gasoline

•Easily to mix with airflow
•Must have high heating value
•Must be knock resistance
•Must burn clean and produce no corrosion
•Must be easily pre-ignite
•Easy to handle
•Cheap and easily available

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Characteristics
•Volatility
•Sulphur content
•Cleanliness
•Detonation and pre-ignition
•Heat generation per unit mass and volume
•Gum content
•Aromatic content
•Chemical stability

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 Rating of SI Engine Fuel
1.  Octane Number (ON)
• It indicates the % by volume of iso-octane in a mixture of iso-octane and heptane which
exhibit the same characteristics of the fuel in a standard engine under a set of operating
conditions.
• Common octane numbers for gasoline fuels used in automobile range from 87 to 95, with
higher values for special high performance and racing cars.

2. Performance Number (PN)

• It is ratio of maximum power produced by an engine without knocking with test fuel used to
maximum power produced by an engine without knocking using iso-octane.
• PN=

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CI Engine fuel
•They are heavy oil engines and uses diesel as fuel
•In terms of combustion considerations, the major factors are viscosity and cetane number.

 Requirement of an ideal diesel

• Free from water
• Must be volatile at cylinder temperature
• Low self ignition temp
• Sulphur content lower than 0.5%
• Should have high heating value
• Must burn clean and produce no corrosion
• Easy to handle
• Cheap and easily available

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Characteristics
• Volatility
• Ignition quality
• Cetane number
• Specific gravity
• Heat of combustion
• Knock characteristics
• Viscosity
• Flash and fire point
• Cloud and pour point
• Sulphur content
• Cleanliness

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Rating of CI Engine Fuel
Cetane number
• It indicates the % by volume of normal cetane in a mixture of Cetane(C16H34) and methyl naphthalene
(C11H1 0) which exhibit the same ignition characteristics (ID) as the test fuel when combustion is carried
out under specified operating conditions.

Reference Fuels
• Cetane (C16H34) c 100 Cetane No.

• methyl naphthalene (C11H10) c Zero Cetane No.

Fuel with Cetane Number of 60 indicates

60 % C16H34
40 % C11H10

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE FUELS (130120119153,130120119156) 10

CNG (Compressed Natural Gas)
•CNG is made by compressing natural gas (which is mainly composed of methane [CH4]), to less
than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure
•It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of 200–248 bar (2900–3600 psi),
usually in cylindrical or spherical shapes
•The primary component present in CNG is methane. It is mainly derived from natural gas.
•Has very good anti-knock quality (ON=130), due to this quality it can be safely used in engines
with higher compression ratio.
•Pollution produced by CNG vehicles also less than petrol vehicles.
•Longer service life and lower maintenance costs.

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Advantages of CNG
•CNG produces less pollutants than petrol
•CNG is cheaper and cleaner than petrol
•The octane rating of CNG is high, hence the thermal efficiency is more.
•It does not evolve Sulphur and nitrogen gases.
•It mixes very easily with air than the other gaseous fuels.
•Noise level is much less than diesel
•CNG vehicle limit 40% less of nitrogen oxide, 90% less of hydrocarbons, 25% less of CO2

Disadvantages
• Purchase cost
• Loss of power
• CNG tank
• Availability

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LPG (LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM
GAS)
•It is obtained as a by-product during fractional distillation of crude petroleum oil or by cracking
of heavy oil. It consists of propane and butane. It can be readily liquefied under pressure,
so it can be economically stored and transported in cylinders.
•Its calorific value is about 25,000 kcal/m3
•Varieties of LPG bought and sold include mixes that are primarily propane (C3H8), primarily
butane (C4H10) and, most commonly, mixes including both propane and butane and isobutene
depending on the season — in winter more propane, in summer more butane[. Propylene and
butylene are usually also present in small concentration. A powerful odorant, ethanethiol, is
added so that leaks can be detected easily

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Advantages
•LPG consists of hydrocarbons, so it burns cleanly without leaving any residue.
•The LPG (hydrocarbons) has higher calorific value than the other gaseous fuels containing H2 or
CO. The calorific value is 7 times higher than coal gas and 3 times higher than natural gas.
• LPG is characterized by high thermal efficiency and heating rate.
• It is easy to manipulate.
•Comparatively it is less of health hazard, even in case of leakage.
•Needs little care for maintenance.
•It is free from CO, so it is less hazardous

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