YANBU TECHNICAL INSTITUTE

Mechanical Skills Department

Program: Diploma Certificate Instructor: Muhammad Rafique
Subject: MET 4402: Industrial Equipment Basics I Contact: rafiquem@rcyci.edu.sa
Handout Module 6: Fuels and Combustion Office : C2 B5 F3

MODULE SUMMARY

Fuels &
Combustion

Fuels Combustion

Types Requirements Requirements

Properties Types
FUELS
Fuel is defined as any material which when burnt will produce heat.

TYPES OF FUELS

Various fuels commonly used can be classified on the basis of availability and phase as follows:

Solid Fuels
Natural solid fuels include wood, peat, Iignite, biturninous coal and anthracite coal. The prepared
solid fuels are charcoal, coke and pulverized coal.

Liquid Fuels
Liquid fuels include petroleum nd its derivatives. Fractional distillation of crude petroleum helps
in separating it into its various varieties such as gasoline, kerosene oil, gas, light diesel fuels and
residual oil. During distillation of petroleum, gasoline is obtained between the range of 150-300C
and diesel oil is obtained between 200-320C.

Gaseous Fuels
The gaseous fuels can be classified as follows:

i. Natural - natural gas

ii. Prepared - coal gas, blast furnace gas, producer gas, water gas, etc.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF FUEL

Fuels should meet the following requirements:

i. Calorific value - the fuel selected should have higher calorific value.
ii. Price - it should be cheap.
iii. Effective Burning- The fuel should burn more effectively.
iv. Ash Residue- The fuel should produce minimum ash on burning.
v. Handling and storage cost should be minimum

HANDLING AND STORAGE

The properties of fuel which control safety and convenience in handling are flash point, fire point,
viscosity, cloud and pour points.

I. Viscosity
Viscosity of a fuel is a measure of its resistance to flow. Viscosity is important in lubrication and in
pumping flow and spraying of liquids.

II. Flash Point and Fire Point

a. Flash Point
The lowest temperature at which it can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air

b. Fire Point
The temperature at which the vapor continues to burn after being ignited

The flash and fire points indicate the temperature below which oil can be handled without danger
of fire.

III. Cloud Point and Pour Point

a. Cloud Point
The cloud point is the temperature at which wax crystals begin to form in a petroleum
product as it is cooled.

b. Pour Point
The pour point is the lowest temperature at which a petroleum product will begin to flow.
COMBUSTION

Combustion of fuel is accomplished by mixing fuel and air at elevated temperature. The
combustion process may be simply expressed as follows:

+ +

The oxygen contained in the air unites chemically with carbon, hydrogen and other elements in
fuel to produce heat.

The amount of heat liberated during the combustion process depends on the amount of oxidation
of the constituents of fuel and the nature of fuel (chemical composition of fuel).

ELEMENTS SUBSTANCES
PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION

+ +

C, H,S 78% N2 N2 : Nitrogen
1 m3 21% O2 CO: Carbon Monoxide
1% Other CO2: Carbon Dioxide
SO2: Sulfur Dioxide
H2O: Water Vapors

Complete Combustion
Excess air supplied causes complete combustion of fuel, which results in considerable unburnt
fuel being discharged from the furnace along with ash and slag. The absence of carbon monoxide
() in the combustion products indicates complete combustion.

The flue gases produced consist of CO2, SO2, water vapor (H2O), Oxygen (O2) and nitrogen (N2).

Incomplete Combustion
A deficiency in air supplied causes in complete combustion of fuel, which results in considerable
unburnt fuel being discharged from the furnace along with ash and slag. The presence of carbon
monoxide () in the combustion products indicates incomplete combustion.

When liquid or gaseous fuel is fired incomplete combustion is accompanied by soot formation.
CALORIFIC VALUE

It is defined as the heat liberated in kJ by complete combustion of 1 kg of fuel, solid or liquid. For
gaseous fuels, the normal practice is to express calorific value in kJ per cubic meter of gas at S.T.P.

+ +

Solid & Liquid Fuel 1 kg CV [J/kg]
Gas Fuel 1 m3 CV [J/m3]
Calorific value is classified as

1. Net or Lower Calorific Value (NCV, LCV)

2. Gross or Higher Calorific Value (GCV, HCV) and

Lower Calorific Value (LCV):

The lower calorific value is the net amount of heat produced when unit quantity of fuel is
completely burnt and the products of combustion are not cooled to room temperature but are
allowed to escape.

+ ( ) = +

Gross or Higher Calorific value (HCV):

It is the total amount of heat produced when unit quantity of fuel is burnt completely and product
of combustion have been cooled to room temperature generally 15C.

+ ( ) = +

Note:

1 At Constant Pressure = @=
2 At Constant Volume = @=
REQUIREMENTS OF EFFICIENT COMBUSTION

In order that the combustion of fuel may take place with high efficiency, the following conditions
must be fulfilled:

1. The amount of air supplied should be sufficient to burn the fuel completely. In case of
incomplete combustion, less heat is released since fuel is not burnt in total.
2. The air and fuel should be thoroughly mixed so that each combustible particle comes in
intimate contact with the oxygen contained in the air.
3. The fuel should remain in the furnace for sufficient time till it gets burnt completely.
4. The temperature in the furnaces should be high enough to ignite the incoming Air fuel
mixture.