I.

Fuels- Principles and Characteristics

This section briefly describes the main features of fuels. Energy from the Sun is converted
into chemical energy by photosynthesis. But, as we know, when we burn dried plants or
wood, producing energy in the form of heat and light, we are releasing the Sun’s energy
originally stored in that plant or in that wood through photosynthesis. We know that, in
most of the world today, wood is not the main source of fuel. We generally use natural gas
or oil in our homes, and we use mainly oil and coal to heat the water to produce the steam
to drive the turbines for our huge power generation systems.

These fuels - coal, oil, and natural gas - are often referred to as fossil fuels. The various types
of fuels (like liquid, solid and gaseous fuels) that are available depend on various factors
such as costs, availability, storage, handling, pollution and landed boilers, furnaces and
other combustion equipments.

The knowledge of the fuel properties helps in selecting the right fuel for the right purpose
and for the efficient use of the fuel. Laboratory tests are generally used for assessing the
nature and quality of fuels.

Fuel when burnt produces heat. Thus, the substances classified as fuel must necessarily
contain one or several of the combustible elements: carbon, hydrogen, sulphur, etc. In the
process of combustion, the chemical energy of fuel is converted into heat energy. To utilize
the energy of fuel in most usable form, it is required to transform the fuel from its one state
to another, i.e. from solid to liquid or gaseous state, liquid to gaseous state, or from its
chemical energy to some other form of energy via single or many stages. In this way, the
energy of fuels can be utilized more effectively and efficiently for various purposes.

Fuel is any material that stores potential energy in a form that can be practicably released
and used as heat energy. The concept originally applied solely to those materials storing
energy in the form of chemical energy that could be released through combustion, but the
concept has since been also applied to other sources of heat energy such as nuclear energy
(via nuclear fission or nuclear fusion), as well as releases of chemical energy through non-
combustion oxidation (such as in cellular biology or in fuel cells). The heat energy released
by many fuels is harnessed into mechanical energy via an engine. Other times the heat itself
is valued for warmth, cooking, or industrial processes, as well as the illumination that comes
with combustion. Fuels are also used in the cells of organisms in a process known as cellular
respiration, where organic molecules are oxidized to release un-usable energy.
Hydrocarbons are by far the most common source of fuel used by humans, but other
substances, including radioactive metals, are also utilized. Fuels are contrasted with other
methods of storing potential energy, such as those that directly release electrical energy
(such as batteries and capacitors) or mechanical energy (such as flywheels, springs,
compressed air, or water in a reservoir
II. Classification of Fuels
Fuels are Classified into three main types. Liquid, Solid and Gas.