Fuel Engineering
Introduction to Fuels
By
Dr. M. Salman Haider
Associate Professor
SCME, NUST
Text Books
Turns, S R. “An Introduction to Combustion” 2nd Edition McGraw
Hill. 2000.
Griffiths, J.F. & Barnard, J.A. “Flame and Combustion”, 3rd Edition,
Blackie Academic & Professional. 1995.
Harked J.H., Backhurst J.R. “Fuel and Energy” , 1981, Academic
Press”
Probstein, “Synthetic Fuels”, McGraw Hill.
Marion Smith, “Fuels and Combustion”, McGraw Hill.
Fuel and its classification
Any material (oil, gas, coal etc.) that produce heat or power (by
burning) is called “Fuel”.
(All are Fossil Fuels)
3
Available Energy Sources and Consumptions (Worldwide)
Available Energy Sources and Consumptions (Pakistan)
Energy Mix 2020
Renewable Sources
[Link]
Imported Oil like
furnace oil used
by IPPs
(Independent
power producers)
Available Energy Sources and Consumptions (Pakistan)
Energy Mix 2020
Renewable Sources
Imported Oil like
furnace oil used
by IPPs
(Independent
power producers)
[Link]
Available Energy Sources and Consumptions (Pakistan)
Selection Criteria of a Fuel
Specific applications
Calorific value (heating value) of the Fuel
The type of process whether a continuous or intermittent
(irregular) operation is involved.
The availability and reliability of the supply of fuels.
The price of the fuel delivered to the place where it is
required, as some fuels need storage and feeding
equipment.
The efficiency of the heating operation with selected
fuels.
Impurities related to the fuel operation e.g., low-rank
coal produce NOx and SOx by burning
8
Basic definition and Analysis related to Fuel (heating values,
proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, density, ignition
temperature, flash point, pour point, cloud point)
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Heating Value (Calorific Value) of Fuel
The heat produced by a fuel (per unit of lb, kg, g) for its complete combustion
Heating value of Different Fuels
Usually, gas fuel heating values
are represented in MJ/Nm3
where N stands for Normal
temperature and Pressure (NTP,
I bar and 0℃) or MJ/m3 at gas
conditions (any temp and
pressure other than NTP)
Fuel Analysis
Proximate analysis of a fuel provides the percentage of the material that
burns in a gaseous state (volatile matter), in the solid state (fixed carbon),
and the percentage of inorganic waste material (ash)
Other definitions related to Fuel
Ignition temperature
• Minimum temperature at which the fuel ignites (catch fire or
combusted) in an oxidizing environment.
Flash Point
• Lowest temperature at which a chemical can vaporize to form
an ignitable mixture in air.
• A lower flash point indicates higher flammability. At the
flash point, the vapor may cease to burn when the ignition
source is removed
Example of Flash and Ignition temperature
Other definitions related to Fuel
Pouring point
• The lowest temperature at which an oil can pour or flow. It is
important to use liquid fuel in during cold water and at high
altitude.
Flue gas: Gaseous product of a combustion of fuel
Fuel gas: All gaseous fuels that burn and produce flue gas like
CH4 burns produce CO etc.
Other definitions related to Fuel
Dry basis: To eliminate the effect of moisture on reporting data and can
be written as “dry”.
Dry-ash free basis (e.g. coal): Eliminating the effect of moisture and
ash by reporting the data as dry-free ash. Good for comparing coal
samples with low ash and moisture content.
As received basis: These basis are used whatever received by the users
directly from the market or from the site. The reporting data includes all
constituents of the fuel (organic, inorganic, volatiles, total carbon etc.)
