INTRODUCTION
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).
TYPE OF FUELS
The fuel can be classified into three type’s mainly liquid, solid, and gaseous on the bases of their physical state.
1 LIQUID FUELS
Liquid fuels like furnace oil and LSHS (low sulphur heavy stock) are predominantly used in industrial applications.
2 SOLID FUEL (COAL)
3 GASEOUS FUEL
Gas fuels are the most convenient because they require the least amount of handling and are used in the simplest and most maintenance-free burner systems. Gas is delivered “on tap” via a distribution network and so is suited for areas with a high population or industrial density. However, large individual consumers do have gasholders and some produce their own gas.
