FOODS AND FUELS

FOODS AND FUELS

• Fuel value = energy released when 1 g of substance is burned.

• The fuel value of any food or fuel is a positive value that must be
measured by calorimetry.

Prentice Hall © 2003 Chapter 5

Foods
Fuel value in food is usually measured in Calories
1 nutritional Calorie, 1 Cal = 1000 cal = 1 kcal.

• Most energy in our bodies comes from the oxidation of carbohydrates and
fats.
• In the intestines carbohydrates are converted into glucose, C6H12O6, or
blood sugar.
• In the cells (intestine) glucose reacts with O2 in a series of steps which
ultimately produce CO2, H2O, and energy.
C6H12O6(s) + 6O2(g) → 6CO2(g) + 6H2O(l) DH = –2803 kJ.
Foods
Fats, tristearin, react with O2 and breakdown as follows:
2 C57H110O6(s) + 163 O2(g) → 114 CO2(g) + 110 H2O(l)
DH = –75,250 kJ.
• Fats contain more energy than carbohydrates. Fats are not water
soluble.

• Therefore, fats are good for energy storage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI2vRwFKnHQ
How much energy does a food contain?
• Food that we eat gives us energy to go through our day.
• It gives us energy by providing energy to the cells inside our body.
Essential nutrients in food that provides energy to our body:
• Carbohydrates in food are used first.
• Fats, and
• Proteins
Measurement of nutrients in food
• Kilocalories (kcal) or Calories (C).
• kilojoule (kJ) is in widespread use internationally.
The conversion factors for calories, kilocalories, joules, kilojoules, and Calories are as
follows:
Energy Values used in Nutrition
1000cal = 1 kcal = 1 Cal
4184 J = 4.184 kJ = 1 Cal
How much energy does a food contain?
Nutrition labels/nutrition facts are currently a requirement on most packaged foods sold in
the United States and internationally.

• usually include how many calories are in the food, how much carbohydrates, fat and
proteins are present as well as the Calories per gram of each type of energy source.

In order to determine the energy in the food, the food is burned in a calorimeter (described in
more detail in the next lesson) in the laboratory to obtain the energy value in units of kJ/g or
kcal/g.

• A food sample is put into a steel container containing oxygen and in the surrounding
chamber, a measured amount of water.

• The energy value is determined based on the mass of the food and water and the increase
in temperature.
 How much energy does a food contain?
Sample Problem: Calculating energy of the nutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fats)

• Use the information in this nutrition facts label to determine the amount of Calories (Cal = kcal) and
kilojoules (kJ) from fat, carbohydrates and protein in the labelled food in terms of grams.

Energy conversion:
Fat = 9.3 kcal/g (Cal/g);
Carbohydrate = 4.1 kcal/g (Cal/g);
Protein = 4.7 kcal/g (Cal/g)
1000cal = 1 kcal = 1 Cal
4184 J = 4.184 kJ = 1 Cal
How much
energy
does a food
contain?

Sample of food with

nutritional label/facts
 How much energy does a food contain?
From the given nutrition facts of the food, arrange the energy in kJ of the nutrients and descending
order. Refer to the label.
Energy from Fat:
• 16 g x 9.3 kcal/g = 148.8 kcal = 148.8 Cal
• Convert to kJ
• 148.8 Cal x 4.184kJ/Cal = 622.5792 kJ
Energy from Carbohydrate:
• 1 g x 4.1 kcal/g = 4.1 kcal = 4.1 Cal
• Convert to kJ
• 4.1 Cal x 4.184kJ/Cal = 17.1544 kJ
Energy from Protein:
• 7 g x 4.7 kcal/g = 32.9 kcal = 32.9 Cal
• Convert to kJ
• 32.9 Cal x 4.184kJ/Cal = 137.6536 kJ
How much energy does a food contain?

Think about your result and explain the nutrition of the food, if it is
healthy or unhealthy.
• For the food in this example, most of the energy is coming from fat
first, then from protein and finally from carbohydrates when these
three sources of energy are considered.
Fuels
• Approximately a country use about 1.03 x 10 17 kJ/year
(1.0 x 10 6 kJ of fuel per person per day).
• Most of this energy comes from petroleum and natural gas.
• Other comes from coal, nuclear and hydroelectric sources.

Types of energy sources:

• Fossil fuels (non renewable)
• Renewable Energy
Fuels
Fossil fuels (non renewable):
• Natural gas consists largely of carbon and hydrogen. Compounds such as CH 4, C2H6,
C3H8 and C4H10 are typical constituents.
• Petroleum is a liquid consisting of hundreds of compounds. Impurities include S, N
and O compounds.
• Coal contains high molecular weight compounds of C and H. In addition compounds
containing S, O and N are present as impurities that form air pollutants when
burned in air.
• Syngas (synthesis gas): a gaseous mixture of hydrocarbons produced from coal by coal
gasification.
• Nuclear energy: energy released in splitting or fusion of nuclei of atoms

Produce air pollutants

Fuels:
Renewable energy sources include:
• Solar energy:
• Wind energy
• Geothermal energy
• Hydroelectric energy
• Biomass energy

These are virtually inexhaustible and will be come increasingly important as fossil fuels are depleted.

Less air pollutants

Example Fuels:
• Hydrogen has great potential as a fuel with a fuel value of 142 kJ/g.
Prentice Hall © 2003 Chapter 5