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Fuels are any materials that store potential energy in forms that can be practicably released and

used for work or 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,[1] but the
concept has since been also applied to other sources of heat energy such as nuclear energy (via
nuclear fission or
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).

Contents

1 History
2 Chemical
o

2.1 Solid fuel

2.2 Liquid fuel

2.3 Gaseous fuels

2.4 Biofuels

2.5 Fossil fuels

3 Nuclear
o

3.1 Fission

3.2 Fusion

4 World trade

5 See also

6 Footnotes

7 References

8 Further reading

History

The first known use of fuel was the combustion of wood or sticks by Homo erectus near
2,000,000 (two million) years ago.[2][page needed] Throughout most of human history fuels derived
from plants or animal fat were the only ones humans used. Charcoal, a wood derivative, has been
used since at least 6,000 BCE for melting metals. It was only supplanted by coke, derived from
coal, as European forests started to become depleted around the 18th century. Charcoal briquettes
are now commonly used as a fuel for barbecue cooking.[3]
Coal was first used as a fuel around 1000 BCE in China. With the development of the steam
engine in the United Kingdom in 1769, coal came into more common use as a power source.
Coal was later used to drive ships and locomotives. By the 19th century, gas extracted from coal
was being used for street lighting in London. In the 20th century, the primary use of coal is to
generate electricity, providing 40% of the world's electrical power supply in 2005.[4]
Fossil fuels were rapidly adopted during the industrial revolution, because they were more
concentrated and flexible than traditional energy sources, such as water power. They have
become a pivotal part of our contemporary society, with most countries in the world burning
fossil fuels in order to produce power.
Currently the trend has been towards renewable fuels, such as biofuels like alcohols.

Chemical
Chemical fuels are substances that release energy by reacting with substances around them, most
notably by the process of oxidation.
Chemical fuels are divided in two ways. First, by their physical properties, as a solid, liquid or
gas. Secondly, on the basis of their occurrence: primary (natural fuel) and secondary (artificial
fuel). Thus, a general classification of chemical fuels is:
General types of chemical fuels
Primary (natural)

Solid fuels

wood, coal, peat,


dung, etc.

Liquid fuels petroleum


Gaseous
fuels

natural gas

Secondary (artificial)

coke, charcoal

diesel, gasoline, kerosene, LPG, coal tar, naptha, ethanol


hydrogen, propane, coal gas, water gas, blast furnace gas,
coke oven gas, CNG

Solid fuel
Main article: Solid fuel

Coal is an important solid fuel.


Solid fuel refers to various types of solid material that are used as fuel to produce energy and
provide heating, usually released through combustion. Solid fuels include wood (see wood fuel),
charcoal, peat, coal, Hexamine fuel tablets, and pellets made from wood (see wood pellets), corn,
wheat, rye and other grains. Solid-fuel rocket technology also uses solid fuel (see solid
propellants). Solid fuels have been used by humanity for many years to create fire. Coal was the
fuel source which enabled the industrial revolution, from firing furnaces, to running steam
engines. Wood was also extensively used to run steam locomotives. Both peat and coal are still
used in electricity generation today. The use of some solid fuels (e.g. coal) is restricted or
prohibited in some urban areas, due to unsafe levels of toxic emissions. The use of other solid
fuels such as wood is decreasing as heating technology and the availability of good quality fuel
improves. In some areas, smokeless coal is often the only solid fuel used. In Ireland, peat
briquettes are used as smokeless fuel. They are also used to start a coal fire.

Liquid fuel
Main article: Liquid fuel

A gasoline station.

Liquid fuels are combustible or energy-generating molecules that can be harnessed to create
mechanical energy, usually producing kinetic energy; they also must take the shape of their
container. It is the fumes of liquid fuels that are flammable instead of the fluid. Most liquid fuels
in widespread use are derived from fossil fuels; however, there are several types, such as
hydrogen fuel (for automotive uses), ethanol, and biodiesel, which are also categorized as a
liquid fuel. Many liquid fuels play a primary role in transportation and the economy.
Some common properties of liquid fuels are that they are easy to transport, and can be handled
with relative ease. Also they are relatively easy to use for all engineering applications, and home
use. (Fuels like Kerosene are rationed and available in government subsidized shops in India for
home use.) Liquid fuels are also used most popularly in Internal combustion engines. Most liquid
fuels used currently are produced from petroleum. The most notable of these is gasoline.
Scientists generally accept that petroleum formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants and
animals by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust.
Conventional diesel is similar to gasoline in that it is a mixture of aliphatic hydrocarbons
extracted from petroleum. Kerosene is used in kerosene lamps and as a fuel for cooking, heating,
and small engines. Natural gas, composed chiefly of methane, can be compressed to a liquid and
used as a substitute for other traditional liquid fuels. LP gas is a mixture of propane and butane,
both of which are easily-compressible gases under standard atmospheric conditions. It offers
many of the advantages of compressed natural gas (CNG), but is denser than air, does not burn as
cleanly, and is much more easily compressed. Commonly used for cooking and space heating, LP
gas and compressed propane are seeing increased use in motorized vehicles; propane is the third
most commonly used motor fuel globally.

Gaseous fuels
Main article: Fuel gas

A 20 pound (9.1 kg) propane cylinder.


Fuel gas is any one of a number of fuels that under ordinary conditions are gaseous. Many fuel
gases are composed of hydrocarbons (such as methane or propane), hydrogen, carbon monoxide,
or mixtures thereof. Such gases are sources of potential heat energy or light energy that can be

readily transmitted and distributed through pipes from the point of origin directly to the place of
consumption. Fuel gas is contrasted with liquid fuels and from solid fuels, though some fuel
gases are liquefied for storage or transport. While their gaseous nature can be advantageous,
avoiding the difficulty of transporting solid fuel and the dangers of spillage inherent in liquid
fuels, it can also be dangerous. It is possible for a fuel gas to be undetected and collect in certain
areas, leading to the risk of a gas explosion. For this reason, odorizers are added to most fuel
gases so that they may be detected by a distinct smell. The most common type of fuel gas in
current use is natural gas.

Biofuels
Main article: Biofuel
Biofuel can be broadly defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or derived from
biomass. Biomass can also be used directly for heating or powerknown as biomass fuel.
Biofuel can be produced from any carbon source that can be replenished rapidly e.g. plants.
Many different plants and plant-derived materials are used for biofuel manufacture.
Perhaps the earliest fuel employed by humans is wood. Evidence shows controlled fire was used
up to 1.5 million years ago at Swartkrans, South Africa. It is unknown which hominid species
first used fire, as both Australopithecus and an early species of Homo were present at the sites.[5]
As a fuel, wood has remained in use up until the present day, although it has been superseded for
many purposes by other sources. Wood has an energy density of 1020 MJ/kg.[6]
Recently biofuels have been developed for use in automotive transport (for example Bioethanol
and Biodiesel), but there is widespread public debate about how carbon efficient these fuels are.

Fossil fuels
Main article: Fossil fuel

Extraction of petroleum
Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal and petroleum (liquid petroleum or natural gas),
formed from the fossilized remains of ancient plants and animals[7] by exposure to high heat and
pressure in the absence of oxygen in the Earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years.[8]
Commonly, the term fossil fuel also includes hydrocarbon-containing natural resources that are

not derived entirely from biological sources, such as tar sands. These latter sources are properly
known as mineral fuels.
Fossil fuels contain high percentages of carbon and include coal, petroleum, and natural gas.[9]
They range from volatile materials with low carbon:hydrogen ratios like methane, to liquid
petroleum to nonvolatile materials composed of almost pure carbon, like anthracite coal.
Methane can be found in hydrocarbon fields, alone, associated with oil, or in the form of
methane clathrates. Fossil fuels formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants[7] by exposure
to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust over millions of years.[10] This biogenic theory was first
introduced by German scholar Georg Agricola in 1556 and later by Mikhail Lomonosov in the
18th century.
It was estimated by the Energy Information Administration that in 2007 primary sources of
energy consisted of petroleum 36.0%, coal 27.4%, natural gas 23.0%, amounting to an 86.4%
share for fossil fuels in primary energy consumption in the world.[11] Non-fossil sources in 2006
included hydroelectric 6.3%, nuclear 8.5%, and others (geothermal, solar, tidal, wind, wood,
waste) amounting to 0.9%.[12] World energy consumption was growing about 2.3% per year.
Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources because they take millions of years to form, and
reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being made, So we must conserve
these fuels and use it judiciously.The production and use of fossil fuels raise environmental
concerns. A global movement toward the generation of renewable energy is therefore under way
to help meet increased energy needs. The burning of fossil fuels produces around 21.3 billion
tonnes (21.3 gigatonnes) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, but it is estimated that natural
processes can only absorb about half of that amount, so there is a net increase of 10.65 billion
tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year (one tonne of atmospheric carbon is equivalent to
44/12 or 3.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide).[13] Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases that
enhances radiative forcing and contributes to global warming, causing the average surface
temperature of the Earth to rise in response, which the vast majority of climate scientists agree
will cause major adverse effects. Fuels are a source of energy.

Nuclear
Main article: Nuclear fuel

CANDU fuel bundles Two CANDU ("CANada Deuterium Uranium") fuel bundles, each about
50 cm long, 10 cm in diameter. Photo courtesy of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.

Nuclear fuel is any material that is consumed to derive nuclear energy. Technically speaking this
definition includes all matter because any element under the right conditions will release nuclear
energy, the only materials that are commonly referred to as nuclear fuels though are those that
will produce energy without being placed under extreme duress. Nuclear fuel is a material that
can be 'burned' by nuclear fission or fusion to derive nuclear energy. Nuclear fuel can refer to the
fuel itself, or to physical objects (for example bundles composed of fuel rods) composed of the
fuel material, mixed with structural, neutron moderating, or neutron reflecting materials.
Most nuclear fuels contain heavy fissile elements that are capable of nuclear fission. When these
fuels are struck by neutrons, they are in turn capable of emitting neutrons when they break apart.
This makes possible a self-sustaining chain reaction that releases energy with a controlled rate in
a nuclear reactor or with a very rapid uncontrolled rate in a nuclear weapon.
The most common fissile nuclear fuels are uranium-235 (235U) and plutonium-239 (239Pu). The
actions of mining, refining, purifying, using, and ultimately disposing of nuclear fuel together
make up the nuclear fuel cycle. Not all types of nuclear fuels create power from nuclear fission.
Plutonium-238 and some other elements are used to produce small amounts of nuclear power by
radioactive decay in radioisotope thermoelectric generators and other types of atomic batteries.
Also, light nuclides such as tritium (3H) can be used as fuel for nuclear fusion. Nuclear fuel has
the highest energy density of all practical fuel sources.

Fission

Nuclear fuel pellets are used to create nuclear energy.


The most common type of nuclear fuel used by humans is heavy fissile elements that can be
made to undergo nuclear fission chain reactions in a nuclear fission reactor; nuclear fuel can
refer to the material or to physical objects (for example fuel bundles composed of fuel rods)
composed of the fuel material, perhaps mixed with structural, neutron moderating, or neutron
reflecting materials. The most common fissile nuclear fuels are 235U and 239Pu, and the actions of
mining, refining, purifying, using, and ultimately disposing of these elements together make up
the nuclear fuel cycle, which is important for its relevance to nuclear power generation and
nuclear weapons.

Fusion
Fuels that produce energy by the process of nuclear fusion are currently not utilized by man but
are the main source of fuel for stars. Fusion fuels tend to be light elements such as hydrogen
which will combine easily. Energy is required to start fusion by raising temperature so high all
materials would turn into plasma, and allow nuclei to collide and stick together with each other
before repelling due to electric charge. This process is called fusion and it can give out energy.
In stars that undergo nuclear fusion, fuel consists of atomic nuclei that can release energy by the
absorption of a proton or neutron. In most stars the fuel is provided by hydrogen, which can
combine together to form helium through the proton-proton chain reaction or by the CNO cycle.
When the hydrogen fuel is exhausted, nuclear fusion can continue with progressively heavier
elements, although the net energy released is lower because of the smaller difference in nuclear
binding energy. Once iron-56 or nickel-56 nuclei are produced, no further energy can be obtained
by nuclear fusion as these have the highest nuclear binding energies. The elements then on use
up energy instead of giving out when fused, and therefore fusion stops and the stars die. In
attempts by humans, fusion is only carried out with hydrogen (isotope of 2 and 3) to form
helium-4 as this reaction gives out the most net energy. Electric confinement (ITER), inertial
confinement(heating by laser) and heating by strong electric currents are the popular methods
used. The power given out is enormous as each kilogram of hydrogen can give out 0.41PJ. This
means that burning 0.7 tonne of hydrogen per second can power the world, replacing the millions
of tonnes of fossil fuels burnt and emission made by us each second. Unfortunately this clean
energy whose product would dissipate harmlessly as helium if leak happens, and also does not
emit any radiation or pollution, is not expected to contribute electricity to electricity networks
until 2040.[14]

World trade

Fuel imports in 2005


World Bank reported that the USA was the top fuel importer in 2005 followed by the EU and
Japan.[citation needed]
Solid fuel refers to various types of solid material that are used as fuel to produce energy and
provide heating, usually released through combustion. Solid fuels include wood (see wood fuel),
charcoal, peat, coal, Hexamine fuel tablets, and pellets made from wood (see wood pellets), corn,
wheat, rye and other grains. Solid-fuel rocket technology also uses solid fuel (see solid
propellants).

Solid fuels have been used by humanity for many years to create fire. Coal was the fuel source
which enabled the industrial revolution, from firing furnaces, to running steam engines. Wood
was also extensively used to run steam locomotives. Both peat and coal are still used in
electricity generation today.
The use of some solid fuels (e.g. coal) is restricted or prohibited in some urban areas, due to
unsafe levels of toxic emissions. The use of other solid fuels such as wood is increasing as
heating technology and the availability of good quality fuel improves. In some areas, smokeless
coal is often the only solid fuel used. In Ireland, peat briquettes are used as smokeless fuel. They
are also used to start a coal fire.
Solid fuels are contrasted with liquid fuels and gaseous fuels.

Contents

1 Coal Reserves
2 Biomass and Ethanol Reserves

3 Nuclear Power

4 Municipal Waste

5 Uranium235

6 Waste

7 Resources

8 Types of Solid Fuels


o

8.1 Wood

8.2 Biomass

8.3 Peat

8.4 Lignite

8.5 Bituminous Coal

8.6 Anthracite

8.7 Coke

8.8 Briquettes

9 Benefits

10 Disadvantages

11 See also

12 References
o

12.1 References

13 External links

Coal Reserves
The amount of coal worldwide is approximately 1 trillion metric tons while more are still left
over in unknown areas. United States currently holds the majority of coal and bituminous
reserves while Russia comes in second, and China follows behind in third. The United States
currently holds around 400 years of coal in now established reserves, which are currently in use.
[1]
True totals of coal reserves can conceivably be higher if using accessible mining methods and
could even be higher if new methods are presented.[1] Canada is also a contender in this list, but it
is left unexploited in the region east of the Alberta oil sands deposits. Coal, because of its
comparatively low cost comes out to be the most likely to fuel the worlds energy needs.
Problems do appear from coal consumption though, from its high carbon content. Solutions to
this problem can be solved from removing carbon before the burning of it but because of how
carbon contributes to most of the thermal energy from coal, it would be useless in doing so.[1]
There has been a lack of natural gas as of lately; this could result in the United States to look for
alternative sources of fuel besides from coal.

Biomass and Ethanol Reserves


Biomass is collected from large volumes of plant origin, which include corn or wood waste.
Biomass does not just include these two substances though; it can range from leftover grass to
surplus pulp.[1] John R. Wilson and Griffin Burgh say although the needed machinery is not
currently available but that a variation of feedstock are readily available for use in producing
ethanol from cellulosic biomass.[1] They continue saying that even more materials are being
considered such as agricultural waste, forest residue, and municipal solid waste if of dependable
makeup and worth, and energy crops such as fast-growing poplar.[1] The big issue from ethanol
conversion comes from the cost issue of the selection of such feedstock, as well as environmental
issues. An example of such feedstock include forest thinnings. The problem of forest thinnings
do not come in large amounts but can be collected at a low cost, the set back is that collection
costs rises as the amount increases.[1]

Nuclear Power
Another type of solid fuel includes nuclear power, which uses uranium ore. The use of fossil
fuels has been declining throughout the decades; this brings the issue of creating a source that
has zero-carbon.[1] An option for this source that has zero-carbon includes nuclear power. Nature
does not provide nuclear power from its origin form so it is extracted from uranium ore. A rock
that has a content of more than 0.1% is considered to be workable.[1] A problem with mining
uranium ore is that it creates large amounts of waste that contains a lot of radioactive residues

and additionally some non-toxic substances. Another problem with using uranium ore is that the
earth only has a limited amount of it and if the earth were to switch entirely onto nuclear power,
the source would be depleted in a relatively short amount of time.[1] France currently uses nuclear
power for the majority of their electricity supply, while countries like Australia, Austria,
Denmark, Norway, and Portugal does not use any nuclear power at all.[1]

Municipal Waste
Municipal waste has been considered a candidate for a reliable and economical energy source.
Some thought has been to include municipal waste when being co-fired with other supporting
fuel in cement kilns to provide extra BTUs but this has proved to be expensive due to pollution
controls and process-equipment fouling.[1]

Uranium235
Uranium-235 (235 U) is a solid fuel used in the production of energy. Fission of the Uranium235 is caused by bombarding it with neutrons. 1 In doing so the fission proses creates new free
neutrons that will continue the fission proses. The proses causes the mass of the uranium atom to
be reduced from its original size. 1 The reduction in size is converted to energy in the form of
heat.[2] The heat produced creates steam that is used to in steam turbines to create electricity.

Waste
Spent uranium fuel rods are reprocessed after use to recover fissile materials for use in nuclear
power plants. This reprocessing gains 25% to 30% more energy from the original fuel.
Reprocessing also reduces the amount of spent fuel to be disposed of too about on fifth. The
reprocessed fuels radioactivity has a decay rate that falls much faster than that of the nonreprocessed fuel.

Resources
World uranium resources are divided into two main categories by the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development, Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy
Agency; reasonably assured resources and inferred resources. These categories are further split
into categories by the cost of recovery and processing. Reasonably assured resources are those
that occur in known mineral deposits that can be recovered with the current production cost
associated with mining and production technology currently in use. Inferred resources refer to
the uranium that is inferred to occur based on geological evidence.[3] Of the reasonably assured
resources in the world there is estimated to be 10,342,900 tons. Of the inferred resources that can
be mined there is an estimated 5,840,300 ton bringing the total to 16,187,200 tons.[3] In addition
to these resources uranium can also be extracted from seawater. The concentration of uranium in
seawater is about 3.2 parts per billion adding up to about 4 billion tons of uranium. The energy
content of seawater recovered uranium is very diluted.[4] The cost of extracting uranium from
seawater is considerably higher than that of land based resources. Of all the worlds identified

uranium resources Australia tops all countries with 31% of the low cost uranium (<$130 per kg)
and 25% of the high the high cost uranium (<$260 per kg). Kazakhstan comes in second with
12% in both categories and all other countries fall far behind.[3]
topic: Solid fuel

Types of Solid Fuels


Wood

Wood is one of the most commonly used solid fuels.


[5]

Wood is a unique fuel source in that it is a renewable resource. It is also greenhouse gas
neutral which means that the log being burned cannot produce any more carbon than was used by
it during its life. When burning wood, it is important to allow at least one years time for it to dry
out completely. If burnt with water still inside it, or while it is green, heat will be wasted
turning that water into steam and will produce acidic tars that can damage your heating
appliances.

Biomass
[5]

Biomass is plant material taken to be used as fuel. While wood is a type of biomass, other
plants commonly used for fuel include wheat, straw, nut shells, or any fibrous material.

Peat
[5]

Peat is a form of coal. In the life cycle of coal, biomass decomposes over thousands of years
and becomes peat and then after thousands more years, becomes lignite, and then coal. Once it is
dried, peat becomes extremely volatile. One of its benefits is that it is almost completely smoke
free.

Lignite
[5]

Lignite is another stage in the coal making process. This fuel burns relatively easily. A
disadvantage is that it will produce large amounts of ash.

Bituminous Coal
[5]

Bituminous Coal is made from wood compressed by the earths crust and aged about one
hundred million years. The coal is economically efficient and the flame produced is highly
desirable with low ash output. However, The smoke produced by this fuel is dark and contains
flammable gasses that if not properly contained, can produce a dangerous environment

Anthracite
[5]

Anthracite is a smokeless coal that was formed over the course of over three hundred million
years. Its density allows it to burn for long periods of time without producing very much smoke.
Also due to its density, it is very difficult to light and often requires the use of a second, easier
burning fuel to help in the process.

Coke
[5]

Coke is a coal-like fuel source that are produced by heating natural coal in specialized
containers to burn only the oily surface off of the coal. The result is a hard brick that while
difficult to light, can last extremely long.

Briquettes
[5]

Briquettes are generally non-organic blocks of fuel that are made of compressed minerals.
Their flames will last long periods of time.

Benefits
Solid fuels, compared to liquid fuels or gaseous fuels, are more readily available. Coal in
particularly is utilized in the generation of 38.1% of the worlds electricity because it is less
expensive and more powerful than its liquid and gas counterparts. In homes, wood can be used
for heating and cooking and depending on ones location,[6] it can be much cheaper than other
fuels.[7]

Disadvantages
In an industrial situation, especially in the maritime industry, solid fuels become increasingly
difficult to work with. Compared to liquid and gas fuels, solid fuels require a much larger area to
store [6] because both liquids and gases will expand and contract more easily with pressure and
temperature variants making them more easily compressible. The solid fuel also tends to have a
higher Nitrate and Sulfate emission rate. From 2009 to 2013, nearly 36% of the United States
CO2 emissions were due to the burning of solid fuels.

Liquid fuel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A flaming cocktail works by burning ethanol (grain alcohol), a type of liquid fuel also
found in all alcoholic drinks

Liquid fuels are combustible or energy-generating molecules that can be harnessed to create
mechanical energy, usually producing kinetic energy; they also must take the shape of their
container. It is the fumes of liquid fuels that are flammable instead of the fluid.
Most liquid fuels in widespread use are derived from fossil fuels; however, there are several
types, such as hydrogen fuel (for automotive uses), ethanol, and biodiesel, which are also
categorized as a liquid fuel. Many liquid fuels play a primary role in transportation and the
economy.
Liquid fuels are contrasted with solid fuels and gaseous fuels.

Contents

1 General properties
2 Petroleum
o

2.1 Gasoline

2.2 Diesel

2.3 Kerosene

3 Natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas


o

3.1 Compressed natural gas

3.2 Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)

4 Non-petroleum fossil fuels

5 Biodiesel

6 Alcohols

6.1 Methanol

6.2 Ethanol

6.3 Butanol

7 Hydrogen

8 Ammonia

9 References

General properties
Some common properties of liquid fuels are that they are easy to transport, and can be handled
with relative ease. Also they are relatively easy to use for all engineering applications, and home
use. (Fuels like Kerosene are rationed and available in government subsidized shops in India for
home use.) Liquid fuels are also used most popularly in Internal combustion engines.
Some technically important properties include: flash point, fire point, cloud point, and pour
point.

Petroleum
Main article: Petroleum

Most liquid fuels used currently are produced from petroleum. The most notable of these is
gasoline. Scientists generally accept that petroleum formed from the fossilized remains of dead
plants and animals by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust.

Gasoline
Main article: Gasoline

Gasoline is the most widely used liquid fuel. Gasoline, as it is known in United States and
Canada, or petrol virtually everywhere else, is made of hydrocarbon molecules forming aliphatic
compounds, or chains of carbons with hydrogen atoms attached. However, many aromatic
compounds (carbon chains forming rings) such as benzene are found naturally in gasoline and
cause the health risks associated with prolonged exposure to the fuel.
Production of gasoline is achieved by distillation of crude oil. The desirable liquid is separated
from the crude oil in refineries. Crude oil is extracted from the ground in several processes, the
most commonly seen may be beam pumps. To create gasoline, petroleum must first be removed
from crude oil.
Liquid gasoline itself is not actually burned, but its fumes ignite, causing the remaining liquid to
evaporate and then burn. Gasoline is extremely volatile and easily combusts, making any leakage

potentially extremely dangerous. Gasoline sold in most countries carries a published octane
rating. The octane number is an empirical measure of the resistance of gasoline to combusting
prematurely, known as knocking. The higher the octane rating, the more resistant the fuel is to
autoignition under high pressures, which allows for a higher compression ratio. Engines with a
higher compression ratio, commonly used in race cars and high-performance regular-production
automobiles, can produce more power; however, such engines require a higher octane fuel.
Increasing the octane rating has, in the past, been achieved by adding 'anti-knock' additives such
as lead-tetra-ethyl. Because of the environmental impact of lead additives, the octane rating is
increased today by refining out the impurities that cause knocking.

Diesel
Main article: Diesel fuel

Conventional diesel is similar to gasoline in that it is a mixture of aliphatic hydrocarbons


extracted from petroleum. Diesel may cost more or less than gasoline, but generally costs less to
produce because the extraction processes used are simpler. Some countries (particularly Canada)
also have lower tax rates on diesel fuels.
After distillation, the diesel fraction is normally processed to reduce the amount of sulfur in the
fuel. Sulphur causes corrosion in vehicles, acid rain and higher emissions of soot from the tail
pipe (exhaust pipe). Historically, in Europe lower sulfur levels than in the United States were
legally required. However, recent US legislation reduced the maximum sulphur content of diesel
from 3,000 ppm to 500 ppm in 2007, and 15 ppm by 2010. Similar changes are also underway in
Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several Asian countries. See also Ultra-low-sulfur diesel.
A diesel engine is a type of internal combustion engine which ignites fuel by injecting it into a
combustion chamber previously compressed with air (which in turn raises the temperature) as
opposed to using an outside ignition source, such as a spark plug.

Kerosene
Main article: Kerosene

Kerosene is used in kerosene lamps and as a fuel for cooking, heating, and small engines. It
displaced whale oil from lighting use. Jet fuel for jet engines is made in several grades (Avtur, Jet
A, Jet A-1, Jet B, JP-4, JP-5, JP-7 or JP-8) that are kerosene-type mixtures. One form of the fuel
known as RP-1 is burned with liquid oxygen as rocket fuel. These fuel grade kerosenes meet
specifications for smoke points and freeze points.
In the mid-20th century, kerosene or "TVO" (Tractor Vaporising Oil) was used as a cheap fuel
for tractors. The engine would start on gasoline, then switch over to kerosene once the engine
warmed up. A "heat valve" on the manifold would route the exhaust gases around the intake pipe,
heating the kerosene to the point where it can be ignited by an electric spark.

Kerosene is sometimes used as an additive in diesel fuel to prevent gelling or waxing in cold
temperatures. However, this is not advisable in some recent vehicle diesel engines, as doing so
may interfere with the engine's emissions regulation equipment.

Natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas


Compressed natural gas
Main article: Compressed natural gas

Natural gas, composed chiefly of methane, can be compressed to a liquid and used as a substitute
for other traditional liquid fuels. Its combustion is very clean compared to other hydrocarbon
fuels, but the fuel's low boiling point requires the fuel to be kept at high pressures to keep it in
the liquid state. Though it has a much lower flash point than fuels such as gasoline, it is in many
ways safer due to its higher autoignition temperature and its low density, which causes it to
dissipate when released in air.

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)


Main article: Liquefied petroleum gas

LP gas is a mixture of propane and butane, both of which are easily-compressible gases under
standard atmospheric conditions. It offers many of the advantages of compressed natural gas
(CNG), but is denser than air, does not burn as cleanly, and is much more easily compressed.
Commonly used for cooking and space heating, LP gas and compressed propane are seeing
increased use in motorized vehicles; propane is the third most commonly used motor fuel
globally.

Non-petroleum fossil fuels


Main article: Synthetic fuel

When petroleum is not easily available, chemical processes such as the Fischer-Tropsch process
can be used to produce liquid fuels from coal or natural gas. Synthetic fuels from coal were
strategically important during World War II for the German military. Today sythetic fuels
produced from natural gas are manufactured, to take advantage of the higher value of liquid fuels
in transportation.

Biodiesel
Main article: Biodiesel

Biodiesel is similar to diesel, but has differences akin to those between petrol and ethanol. For
instance, biodiesel has a higher cetane rating (45-60 compared to 45-50 for crude-oil-derived

diesel) and it acts as a cleaning agent to get rid of dirt and deposits. It has been argued that it only
becomes economically feasible above oil prices of $80 (40 or 60 as of late February, 2007) per
barrel. This does however depend on locality, economic situation, government stance on
biodiesel and a host of other factors- and it has been proven to be viable at much lower costs in
some countries. Also, it yields about 10% less energy than ordinary diesel. Analogous to the use
of higher compression ratios used for engines burning higher octane alcohols and petrol in sparkignition engines, taking advantage of biodiesel's high cetane rating can potentially overcome the
energy deficit compared to ordinary Number 2 diesel.

Alcohols
Main article: Alcohol fuel

Generally, the term alcohol refers to ethanol, the first organic chemical produced by humans,[1]
but any alcohol can be burned as a fuel. Ethanol and methanol are the most common, being
sufficiently inexpensive to be useful.

Methanol
Main article: Methanol fuel

Methanol is the lightest and simplest alcohol, produced from the natural gas component
methane. Its application is limited primarily due to its toxicity (similar to gasoline), but also due
to its high corrosivity and miscibility with water. Small amounts are used in some gasolines to
increase the octane rating. Methanol-based fuels are used in some race cars and model airplanes.
Methanol is also called methyl alcohol or wood alcohol, the latter because it was formerly
produced from the distillation of wood. It is also known by the name methyl hydrate.

Ethanol
Main article: Ethanol fuel

Ethanol, also known as grain alcohol or ethyl alcohol, is most commonly used in alcoholic
beverages. However, it may also be used as a fuel, most often in combination with gasoline. For
the most part, it is used in a 9:1 ratio of gasoline to ethanol to reduce the negative environmental
effects of gasoline.[citation needed]
There is increasing interest in the use of a blend of 85% fuel ethanol blended with 15% gasoline.
This fuel blend called E85, has a higher fuel octane than most premium gasolines. When used in
a modern Flexible fuel vehicle, it delivers more performance to the gasoline it replaces at the
expense of higher fuel consumption due to ethanol's lesser specific energy content.[2]

Ethanol for use in gasoline and industrial purposes may be considered a fossil fuel because it is
often synthesized from the petroleum product ethylene, which is cheaper than production from
fermentation of grains or sugarcane.

Butanol
Main article: Butanol
See also: Clostridium acetobutylicum

Butanol is an alcohol which can be used as a fuel in most gasoline internal combustion engines
without engine modification. It is typically a product of the fermentation of biomass by the
bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum (also known as the Weizmann organism). This process
was first delineated by Chaim Weizmann in 1916 for the production of acetone from starch for
making cordite, a smokeless gunpowder.
The advantages of butanol are its high octane rating (over 100) and high energy content, only
about 10% lower than gasoline, and subsequently about 50% more energy-dense than ethanol,
100% more so than methanol. Butanol's only major disadvantages are its high flashpoint (35 C
or 95 F), toxicity (note that toxicity levels exist but are not precisely confirmed), and the fact
that the fermentation process for renewable butanol emits a foul odour. The Weizmann organism
can only tolerate butanol levels up to 2% or so, compared to 14% for ethanol and yeast. Making
butanol from oil produces no such odour, but the limited supply and environmental impact of oil
usage defeats the purpose of alternative fuels. The cost of butanol is about $1.25$1.32 per
kilogram ($0.57-$0.58 per pound or $4 approx. per US gallon). Butanol is much more expensive
than ethanol (approx. $.40 per liter or 1.50 per gallon) and methanol.
On June 20, 2006, DuPont and BP announced that they were converting an existing ethanol plant
to produce 9 million gallons (34 000 cubic meters) of butanol per year from sugar beets. DuPont
stated a goal of being competitive with oil at $30$40 per barrel ($0.19-$0.25 per liter) without
subsidies, so the price gap with ethanol is narrowing.

Hydrogen
Main article: Liquid hydrogen
See also: Hydrogen economy
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help
improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced
material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

Liquefied hydrogen is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. It is a common liquid rocket fuel
for rocket applications and can be used as a fuel in an internal combustion engine or fuel cell.
Various concept hydrogen vehicles have been lower volumetric energy, the hydrogen volumes

needed for combustion are large. Hydrogen was liquefied for the first time by James Dewar in
1898.

Ammonia
Ammonia (NH3) has been used as a fuel before at times when gasoline is unavailable (e.g. for
buses in Belgium during WWII). It has a volumetric energy density of 17 Megajoules per liter
(compared to 10 for hydrogen, 18 for methanol, 21 for dimethyl ether and 34 for gasoline). It
must be compressed or cooled to be a liquid fuel, although it does not require cryogenic cooling
as hydrogen does to be liquefied.[3]

Fuel gas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with gasoline.

Blue flame of a fuel gas burners

Fuel gas is any one of a number of fuels that under ordinary conditions are gaseous. Many fuel
gases are composed of hydrocarbons (such as methane or propane), hydrogen, carbon monoxide,
or mixtures thereof. Such gases are sources of potential heat energy or light energy that can be
readily transmitted and distributed through pipes from the point of origin directly to the place of
consumption.
Fuel gas is contrasted with liquid fuels and from solid fuels, though some fuel gases are liquefied
for storage or transport. While their gaseous nature has advantageous, avoiding the difficulty of
transporting solid fuel and the dangers of spillage inherent in liquid fuels, it also has limitation. It
is possible for a fuel gas to be undetected and collect in certain areas, leading to the risk of a gas
explosion. For this reason, odorizers are added to most fuel gases so that they may be detected by
a distinct smell.
The most common type of fuel gas in current use is natural gas.

Contents

1 Types
o 1.1 Manufactured fuel gas
o

1.2 Natural gas and petroleum gases

2 Uses

Types

19th-century style gas lights in New Orleans

There are two broad classes of fuel gases, based not on their chemical composition, but their
source and the way they are produced: those found naturally, and those manufactured from other
materials.

Manufactured fuel gas


See also: history of manufactured gas

Manufactured fuel gases are those produced through an artificial process, usually gasification, at
a location known as a gasworks.
Manufactured fuel gases include:

Coal gas
Water gas

Producer gas

Syngas

Wood gas

Uncompressed Hydrogen or compressed hydrogen may be used as a fuel gas.

Biogas

Blast furnace gas

Natural gas and petroleum gases


In the 20th century, natural gas, composed primarily of methane, became the dominant source of
fuel gas, as instead of having to be manufactured in various processes, it could be extracted from
deposits in the earth. Natural gas may be combined with hydrogen to form a mixture known as
HCNG.
Additional fuel gases can result as a process of refining natural gas or petroleum:

Propane
Butane

Regasified liquefied petroleum gas

Uses
Fuel gases have been used in numerous applications. One of the earliest was gas lighting, which
enabled the widespread adoption of streetlamps and the illumination of buildings in towns with a
municipal gas supply. Fuel gas is also used in gas burners, in particular the Bunsen burner used
in laboratory settings. It may also be used gas heaters, camping stoves, and even to power
vehicles.
[hide]

v
t

Fuel gas

Types

Manufact
ured fuel
gas
(History)

Coal gas (Coal gasification)

Producer gas

Wood gas

Natural
gas

LPG

Infrastruc
ture

Water gas

Mond gas

Pintsch gas

Syngas

Blau gas

Biogas

Gasification

Regasification

Landfill gas

Blast furnace gas

APG

CBM

CNG

LNG

HCNG

NGC

SNG

Bio-SNG

Propane

Butane

Autogas

Compressor station

Gas carrier

Gas holder

Gas meter

Gas works

Uses

Natural-gas processing

Natural gas storage

Odorizer

Pipeline transport

Gas lighting (Gas mantle)

Gas stove

Gas heater

Gas burner

Gas engine

Gas turbine

Bunsen burner

Pilot light

Biofuel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A bus fueled by biodiesel

Information on pump regarding ethanol fuel blend up to 10%, California

Renewable
energy

Biofuel

Biomass

Geothermal

Hydropower

Solar energy

Tidal power

Wave power

Wind power

Topics by country

A biofuel is a fuel that contains energy from geologically recent carbon fixation. These fuels are
produced from living organisms. Examples of this carbon fixation occur in plants and
microalgae. These fuels are made by a biomass conversion (biomass refers to recently living
organisms, most often referring to plants or plant-derived materials). This biomass can be
converted to convenient energy containing substances in three different ways: thermal
conversion, chemical conversion, and biochemical conversion. This biomass conversion can

result in fuel in solid, liquid, or gas form. This new biomass can be used for biofuels. Biofuels
have increased in popularity because of rising oil prices and the need for energy security.
Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermentation, mostly from carbohydrates produced in sugar or
starch crops such as corn, sugarcane, or sweet sorghum. Cellulosic biomass, derived from nonfood sources, such as trees and grasses, is also being developed as a feedstock for ethanol
production. Ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a
gasoline additive to increase octane and improve vehicle emissions. Bioethanol is widely used in
the USA and in Brazil. Current plant design does not provide for converting the lignin portion of
plant raw materials to fuel components by fermentation.
Biodiesel can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a diesel
additive to reduce levels of particulates, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons from dieselpowered vehicles. Biodiesel is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is the most
common biofuel in Europe.
In 2010, worldwide biofuel production reached 105 billion liters (28 billion gallons US), up 17%
from 2009,[1] and biofuels provided 2.7% of the world's fuels for road transport, a contribution
largely made up of ethanol and biodiesel.[citation needed] Global ethanol fuel production reached 86
billion liters (23 billion gallons US) in 2010, with the United States and Brazil as the world's top
producers, accounting together for 90% of global production. The world's largest biodiesel
producer is the European Union, accounting for 53% of all biodiesel production in 2010.[1] As of
2011, mandates for blending biofuels exist in 31 countries at the national level and in 29 states or
provinces.[2] The International Energy Agency has a goal for biofuels to meet more than a quarter
of world demand for transportation fuels by 2050 to reduce dependence on petroleum and coal.[3]
There are various social, economic, environmental and technical issues relating to biofuels
production and use, which have been debated in the popular media and scientific journals. These
include: the effect of moderating oil prices, the "food vs fuel" debate, poverty reduction
potential, carbon emissions levels, sustainable biofuel production, deforestation and soil erosion,
loss of biodiversity, and impact on water resources.

Contents

1 Liquid fuels for transportation


o 1.1 First-generation biofuels

1.1.1 Ethanol

1.1.2 Biodiesel

1.1.3 Other bioalcohols

1.1.4 Green diesel

1.1.5 Biofuel gasoline

1.1.6 Vegetable oil

1.1.7 Bioethers

1.1.8 Biogas

1.1.9 Syngas

1.1.10 Solid biofuels

1.2 Second-generation (advanced) biofuels

1.3 Sustainable biofuels

2 Biofuels by region

3 Debates regarding the production and use of biofuel

4 Current research
o

4.1 Ethanol biofuels

4.2 Algae biofuels

4.3 Jatropha

4.4 Fungi

4.5 Animal Gut Bacteria

4.6 Greenhouse gas emissions

5 See also

6 References

7 Further reading

8 External links

Liquid fuels for transportation


Most transportation fuels are liquids, because vehicles usually require high energy density This
occurs naturally in liquids and solids. High energy density can also be provided by an internal
combustion engine. These engines require clean-burning fuels. The fuels that are easiest to burn
cleanly are typically liquids and gases. Thus, liquids meet the requirements of being both energydense and clean-burning. In addition, liquids (and gases) can be pumped, which means handling
is easily mechanized, and thus less laborious.

First-generation biofuels

'First-generation' or conventional biofuels are made from sugar, starch, or vegetable oil.
Ethanol
Main article: Ethanol fuel

Neat ethanol on the left (A), gasoline on the right (G) at a filling station in Brazil

Biologically produced alcohols, most commonly ethanol, and less commonly propanol and
butanol, are produced by the action of microorganisms and enzymes through the fermentation of
sugars or starches (easiest), or cellulose (which is more difficult). Biobutanol (also called
biogasoline) is often claimed to provide a direct replacement for gasoline, because it can be used
directly in a gasoline engine (in a similar way to biodiesel in diesel engines).
Ethanol fuel is the most common biofuel worldwide, particularly in Brazil. Alcohol fuels are
produced by fermentation of sugars derived from wheat, corn, sugar beets, sugar cane, molasses
and any sugar or starch from which alcoholic beverages such as whiskey, can be made (such as
potato and fruit waste, etc.). The ethanol production methods used are enzyme digestion (to
release sugars from stored starches), fermentation of the sugars, distillation and drying. The
distillation process requires significant energy input for heat (sometimes unsustainable natural
gas fossil fuel, but cellulosic biomass such as bagasse, the waste left after sugar cane is pressed
to extract its juice, is the most common fuel in Brazil, while pellets, wood chips and also waste
heat are more common i Europe Waste steam fuels ethanol factory- where waste heat from the
factories also is used in the district heating grid.
Ethanol can be used in petrol engines as a replacement for gasoline; it can be mixed with
gasoline to any percentage. Most existing car petrol engines can run on blends of up to 15%
bioethanol with petroleum/gasoline. Ethanol has a smaller energy density than that of gasoline;
this means it takes more fuel (volume and mass) to produce the same amount of work. An
advantage of ethanol (CH
3CH
2OH) is that it has a higher octane rating than ethanol-free gasoline available at roadside gas
stations, which allows an increase of an engine's compression ratio for increased thermal
efficiency. In high-altitude (thin air) locations, some states mandate a mix of gasoline and
ethanol as a winter oxidizer to reduce atmospheric pollution emissions.

Ethanol is also used to fuel bioethanol fireplaces. As they do not require a chimney and are
"flueless", bioethanol fires[4] are extremely useful for newly built homes and apartments without
a flue. The downsides to these fireplaces is that their heat output is slightly less than electric heat
or gas fires, and precautions must be taken to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
In the current corn-to-ethanol production model in the United States, considering the total energy
consumed by farm equipment, cultivation, planting, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and
fungicides made from petroleum, irrigation systems, harvesting, transport of feedstock to
processing plants, fermentation, distillation, drying, transport to fuel terminals and retail pumps,
the net energy content value added and delivered to consumers is about 1,3 - 2 times higher than
the total energy input. The net climate benefit (all things considered) was in the early 2000
between 15 and 30 % net savings [5], but have since improved and is now approaching the
European wheat and corn-based ethanol with typical values of 65-67 % reduction of climate
gasses. The best European production lines are however reducing climate emissions with 9095 % [6].
Corn-to-ethanol and other food stocks has led to the development of cellulosic ethanol.
According to a joint research agenda conducted through the US Department of Energy,[7] the
fossil energy ratios (FER) for cellulosic ethanol, corn ethanol, and gasoline are 10.3, 1.36, and
0.81, respectively.[8][9][10]
Ethanol has roughly one-third lower energy content per unit of volume compared to gasoline.
This is partly counteracted by the better efficiency when using ethanol (in a long-term test of
more than 2,1 million km, the BEST project found FFV vehicles to be 1-26 % more energy
efficient than petrol cars The BEST project), but the volumetric consumption increases by
approximatelly 30 %, so more fuel stops are required. For practical terms this has no big
implications as the typical driver does not use up a full tank in one trip. (E.g. European citizens
drive on average less than 20 km/day).
With current subsidies, ethanol fuel is slightly cheaper per distance traveled in the United States.
[11]

Biodiesel
Main articles: Biodiesel and Biodiesel around the world

In some countries, biodiesel is less expensive than conventional diesel.

Biodiesel is the most common biofuel in Europe. It is produced from oils or fats using
transesterification and is a liquid similar in composition to fossil/mineral diesel. Chemically, it
consists mostly of fatty acid methyl (or ethyl) esters (FAMEs). Feedstocks for biodiesel include
animal fats, vegetable oils, soy, rapeseed, jatropha, mahua, mustard, flax, sunflower, palm oil,
hemp, field pennycress, Pongamia pinnata and algae. Pure biodiesel (B100) currently reduces
emissions with up to 60 % compared to dieselSecond generation B100.
Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine when mixed with mineral diesel. In some countries,
manufacturers cover their diesel engines under warranty for B100 use, although Volkswagen of
Germany, for example, asks drivers to check by telephone with the VW environmental services
department before switching to B100. B100 may become more viscous at lower temperatures,
depending on the feedstock used. In most cases, biodiesel is compatible with diesel engines from
1994 onwards, which use 'Viton' (by DuPont) synthetic rubber in their mechanical fuel injection
systems. Note however, that no vehicles are certified for using neat biodiesel before 2014, as
there was no emission control protocol available for biodiesel before this date.
Electronically controlled 'common rail' and 'unit injector' type systems from the late 1990s
onwards may only use biodiesel blended with conventional diesel fuel. These engines have finely
metered and atomized multiple-stage injection systems that are very sensitive to the viscosity of
the fuel. Many current-generation diesel engines are made so that they can run on B100 without
altering the engine itself, although this depends on the fuel rail design. Since biodiesel is an
effective solvent and cleans residues deposited by mineral diesel, engine filters may need to be
replaced more often, as the biofuel dissolves old deposits in the fuel tank and pipes. It also

effectively cleans the engine combustion chamber of carbon deposits, helping to maintain
efficiency. In many European countries, a 5% biodiesel blend is widely used and is available at
thousands of gas stations.[12][13] Biodiesel is also an oxygenated fuel, meaning it contains a
reduced amount of carbon and higher hydrogen and oxygen content than fossil diesel. This
improves the combustion of biodiesel and reduces the particulate emissions from unburnt carbon.
However, using neat biodiesel may increase NOx-emissions Nylund.N-O & Koponen.K. 2013.
Fuel and Technology Alternatives for Buses. Overall Energy Efficiency and Emission
Performance. IEA Bioenergy Task 46. Possibly the new emission standards Euro VI/EPA 10 will
lead to reduced NOx-levels also when using B100.
Biodiesel is also safe to handle and transport because it is non-toxic andbiodegradable, and has a
high flash point of about 300F (148C) compared to petroleum diesel fuel, which has a flash
point of 125F (52C).[14]
In the USA, more than 80% of commercial trucks and city buses run on diesel. The emerging US
biodiesel market is estimated to have grown 200% from 2004 to 2005. "By the end of 2006
biodiesel production was estimated to increase fourfold [from 2004] to more than" 1 billion US
gallons (3,800,000 m3).[15]
Other bioalcohols

Methanol is currently produced from natural gas, a nonrenewable fossil fuel. In the future it is
hoped to be produced from biomass as biomethanol. This is technically feasible, but the
economic viability is still pending [16] The methanol economy is an alternative to the hydrogen
economy, compared to today's hydrogen production from natural gas.
Butanol (C
4H
9OH) is formed by ABE fermentation (acetone, butanol, ethanol) and experimental modifications
of the process show potentially high net energy gains with butanol as the only liquid product.
Butanol will produce more energy and allegedly can be burned "straight" in existing gasoline
engines (without modification to the engine or car),[17] and is less corrosive and less watersoluble than ethanol, and could be distributed via existing infrastructures. DuPont and BP are
working together to help develop butanol. E. coli strains have also been successfully engineered
to produce butanol by modifying their amino acid metabolism.[18]
Green diesel
Main article: Vegetable oil refining

Green diesel is produced through hydrocracking biological oil feedstocks, such as vegetable oils
and animal fats.[19][20] Hydrocracking is a refinery method that uses elevated temperatures and
pressure in the presence of a catalyst to break down larger molecules, such as those found in
vegetable oils, into shorter hydrocarbon chains used in diesel engines.[21] It may also be called
renewable diesel, hydrotreated vegetable oil[21] or hydrogen-derived renewable diesel.[20] Green
diesel has the same chemical properties as petroleum-based diesel.[21] It does not require new
engines, pipelines or infrastructure to distribute and use, but has not been produced at a cost that

is competitive with petroleum.[20] Gasoline versions are also being developed.[22] Green diesel is
being developed in Louisiana and Singapore by ConocoPhillips, Neste Oil, Valero, Dynamic
Fuels, and Honeywell UOP.[20][23] and also by Preem in Gothenburg, Sweden Evolution Diesel
Biofuel gasoline

In 2013 UK researchers developed a genetically modified strain of Escherichia coli which could
transform glucose into biofuel gasoline that does not need to be blended.[24] Later in 2013 UCLA
researchers engineered a new metabolic pathway to bypass glycolysis and increase the rate of
conversion of sugars into biofuel,[25] while KAIST researchers developed a strain capable of
producing short-chain alkanes, free fatty acids, fatty esters and fatty alcohols through the fatty
acyl (acyl carrier protein (ACP)) to fatty acid to fatty acyl-CoA pathway in vivo.[26] It is believed
that in the future it will be possible to "tweak" the genes to make gasoline from straw or animal
manure.
Vegetable oil

Filtered waste vegetable oil

Walmart's truck fleet logs millions of miles each year, and the company planned to
double the fleet's efficiency between 2005 and 2015. [27] This truck is one of 15
based at Walmart's Buckeye, Arizona distribution center that was converted to run
on a biofuel made from reclaimed cooking grease produced during food preparation
at Walmart stores.[28]
Main article: Vegetable oil used as fuel

Straight unmodified edible vegetable oil is generally not used as fuel, but lower-quality oil can
and has been used for this purpose. Used vegetable oil is increasingly being processed into
biodiesel, or (more rarely) cleaned of water and particulates and used as a fuel.
As with 100% biodiesel (B100), to ensure the fuel injectors atomize the vegetable oil in the
correct pattern for efficient combustion, vegetable oil fuel must be heated to reduce its viscosity
to that of diesel, either by electric coils or heat exchangers. This is easier in warm or temperate
climates. Big corporations like MAN B&W Diesel, Wrtsil, and Deutz AG, as well as a number
of smaller companies, such as Elsbett, offer engines that are compatible with straight vegetable
oil, without the need for after-market modifications.
Vegetable oil can also be used in many older diesel engines that do not use common rail or unit
injection electronic diesel injection systems. Due to the design of the combustion chambers in
indirect injection engines, these are the best engines for use with vegetable oil. This system
allows the relatively larger oil molecules more time to burn. Some older engines, especially
Mercedes, are driven experimentally by enthusiasts without any conversion, a handful of drivers
have experienced limited success with earlier pre-"Pumpe Duse" VW TDI engines and other
similar engines with direct injection. Several companies, such as Elsbett or Wolf, have developed
professional conversion kits and successfully installed hundreds of them over the last decades.
Oils and fats can be hydrogenated to give a diesel substitute. The resulting product is a straightchain hydrocarbon with a high cetane number, low in aromatics and sulfur and does not contain
oxygen. Hydrogenated oils can be blended with diesel in all proportions. They have several
advantages over biodiesel, including good performance at low temperatures, no storage stability
problems and no susceptibility to microbial attack.[29]

Bioethers

Bioethers (also referred to as fuel ethers or oxygenated fuels) are cost-effective compounds that
act as octane rating enhancers."Bioethers are produced by the reaction of reactive iso-olefins,
such as iso-butylene, with bioethanol." [30] Bioethers are created by wheat or sugar beet. [31] They
also enhance engine performance, whilst significantly reducing engine wear and toxic exhaust
emissions. Though bioethers are likely to replace petroethers in the UK, it is highly unlikely they
will become a fuel in and of itself due to the low energy density. [32] Greatly reducing the amount
of ground-level ozone emissions, they contribute to air quality.[33][34]
When it comes to transportation fuel there are six ether additives- 1. Dimethyl Ehters (DME) 2.
Diethyl Ether (DEE) 3. Methyl Teritiary-Butyl Ether (MTBE) 4. Ethyl ter-butyl ether (ETBE) 5.
Ter-amyl methyl ether (TAME) 6. Ter-amyl ethyl Ether (TAEE) [35]
The European Fuel Oxygenates Association (aka EFOA) credits Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether
(MTBE) and Ethyl ter-butyl ether (ETBE) as the most commonly used ethers in fuel to replace
lead. Ethers were brought into fuels in Europe in the 1970s to replace the highly toxic compound.
[36]
Although Europeans still use Bio-ether additives, the US no longer has an oxygenate
requirement therefore bio-ethers are no longer used as the main fuel additive.[37]
Biogas

Pipes carrying biogas


Main article: Biogas

Biogas is methane produced by the process of anaerobic digestion of organic material by


anaerobes.[38] It can be produced either from biodegradable waste materials or by the use of
energy crops fed into anaerobic digesters to supplement gas yields. The solid byproduct,
digestate, can be used as a biofuel or a fertilizer.

Biogas can be recovered from mechanical biological treatment waste


processing systems.

Note: Landfill gas, a less clean form of biogas, is produced in landfills through
naturally occurring anaerobic digestion. If it escapes into the atmosphere, it is
a potential greenhouse gas.
Farmers can produce biogas from manure from their cattle by using anaerobic
digesters.[39]

Syngas
Main article: Gasification

Syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and other hydrocarbons, is produced by partial
combustion of biomass, that is, combustion with an amount of oxygen that is not sufficient to
convert the biomass completely to carbon dioxide and water.[29] Before partial combustion, the
biomass is dried, and sometimes pyrolysed. The resulting gas mixture, syngas, is more efficient
than direct combustion of the original biofuel; more of the energy contained in the fuel is
extracted.

Syngas may be burned directly in internal combustion engines, turbines or


high-temperature fuel cells.[40] The wood gas generator, a wood-fueled
gasification reactor, can be connected to an internal combustion engine.
Syngas can be used to produce methanol, DME and hydrogen, or converted
via the Fischer-Tropsch process to produce a diesel substitute, or a mixture of
alcohols that can be blended into gasoline. Gasification normally relies on
temperatures greater than 700C.
Lower-temperature gasification is desirable when co-producing biochar, but
results in syngas polluted with tar.

Solid biofuels

Examples include wood, sawdust, grass trimmings, domestic refuse, charcoal, agricultural waste,
nonfood energy crops, and dried manure.
When raw biomass is already in a suitable form (such as firewood), it can burn directly in a stove
or furnace to provide heat or raise steam. When raw biomass is in an inconvenient form (such as
sawdust, wood chips, grass, urban waste wood, agricultural residues), the typical process is to
densify the biomass. This process includes grinding the raw biomass to an appropriate particulate
size (known as hogfuel), which, depending on the densification type, can be from 1 to 3 cm (0 to
1 in), which is then concentrated into a fuel product. The current processes produce wood pellets,
cubes, or pucks. The pellet process is most common in Europe, and is typically a pure wood
product. The other types of densification are larger in size compared to a pellet, and are
compatible with a broad range of input feedstocks. The resulting densified fuel is easier to
transport and feed into thermal generation systems, such as boilers.
Industry has used sawdust, bark and chips for fuel for decades, primary in the pulp and paper
industry, and also bagasse (spent sugar cane) fueled boilers in the sugar cane industry. Boilers in
the range of 500,000 lb/hr of steam, and larger, are in routine operation, using grate, spreader
stoker, suspension burning and fluid bed combustion. Utilities generate power, typically in the

range of 5 to 50 MW, using locally available fuel. Other industries have also installed wood
waste fueled boilers and dryers in areas with low cost fuel.[41]
One of the advantages of biomass fuel is that it is often a byproduct, residue or waste-product of
other processes, such as farming, animal husbandry and forestry.[42] In theory, this means fuel and
food production do not compete for resources, although this is not always the case.[42]
A problem with the combustion of raw biomass is that it emits considerable amounts of
pollutants, such as particulates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Even modern pellet
boilers generate much more pollutants than oil or natural gas boilers. Pellets made from
agricultural residues are usually worse than wood pellets, producing much larger emissions of
dioxins and chlorophenols.[43]
In spite of the above noted study, numerous studies have shown biomass fuels have significantly
less impact on the environment than fossil based fuels. Of note is the US Department of Energy
Laboratory, operated by Midwest Research Institute Biomass Power and Conventional Fossil
Systems with and without CO2 Sequestration Comparing the Energy Balance, Greenhouse Gas
Emissions and Economics Study. Power generation emits significant amounts of greenhouse
gases (GHGs), mainly carbon dioxide (CO
2). Sequestering CO
2 from the power plant flue gas can significantly reduce the GHGs from the power plant itself,
but this is not the total picture. CO
2 capture and sequestration consumes additional energy, thus lowering the plant's fuel-toelectricity efficiency. To compensate for this, more fossil fuel must be procured and consumed to
make up for lost capacity.
Taking this into consideration, the global warming potential (GWP), which is a combination of
CO
2, methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, and energy balance of the system need to
be examined using a life cycle assessment. This takes into account the upstream processes which
remain constant after CO
2 sequestration, as well as the steps required for additional power generation. Firing biomass
instead of coal led to a 148% reduction in GWP.
A derivative of solid biofuel is biochar, which is produced by biomass pyrolysis. Biochar made
from agricultural waste can substitute for wood charcoal. As wood stock becomes scarce, this
alternative is gaining ground. In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, biomass
briquettes are being marketed as an alternative to charcoal to protect Virunga National Park from
deforestation associated with charcoal production.[44]

Second-generation (advanced) biofuels


Main article: Second-generation biofuels

Second generation biofuels, also known as advanced biofuels, are fuels that can be manufactured
from various types of biomass. Biomass is a wide-ranging term meaning any source of organic

carbon that is renewed rapidly as part of the carbon cycle. Biomass is derived from plant
materials but can also include animal materials.
First generation biofuels are made from the sugars and vegetable oils found in arable crops,
which can be easily extracted using conventional technology. In comparison, second generation
biofuels are made from lignocellulosic biomass or woody crops, agricultural residues or waste,
which makes it harder to extract the required fuel.

Sustainable biofuels
Biofuels, in the form of liquid fuels derived from plant materials, are entering the market, driven
mainly by the need to reduce climate gas emissions, but also by factors such as oil price spikes
and the need for increased energy security. However, many of the biofuels that are currently
being supplied have been criticised for their adverse impacts on the natural environment, food
security, and land use.[45][46]
The challenge is to support biofuel development, including the development of new cellulosic
technologies, with responsible policies and economic instruments to help ensure that biofuel
commercialization is sustainable. Responsible commercialization of biofuels represents an
opportunity to enhance sustainable economic prospects in Africa, Latin America and Asia.[45][46][47]
Biofuels together with electricity and hydrogen offers the known future possibilities of reduced
climate gas emissions from transport. In the meantime also increased market competition and oil
price moderation. A healthy supply of alternative energy sources will help to combat gasoline
price spikes and reduce dependency on fossil fuels, especially in the transport sector.[46] Using
transportation fuels more efficiently is also an integral part of a sustainable transport strategy.

Biofuels by region
Main article: Biofuels by region
See also: Biodiesel around the world

There are international organizations such as IEA Bioenergy,[48] established in 1978 by the OECD
International Energy Agency (IEA), with the aim of improving cooperation and information
exchange between countries that have national programs in bioenergy research, development and
deployment. The UN International Biofuels Forum is formed by Brazil, China, India, Pakistan,
South Africa, the United States and the European Commission.[49] The world leaders in biofuel
development and use are Brazil, the United States, France, Sweden and Germany. Russia also
has 22% of world's forest,[50] and is a big biomass (solid biofuels) supplier. In 2010, Russian pulp
and paper maker, Vyborgskaya Cellulose, said they would be producing pellets that can be used
in heat and electricity generation from its plant in Vyborg by the end of the year.[51] The plant will
eventually produce about 900,000 tons of pellets per year, making it the largest in the world once
operational.

Biofuels currently make up 3.1%[52] of the total road transport fuel in the UK or 1,440 million
litres. By 2020, 10% of the energy used in UK road and rail transport must come from renewable
sources this is the equivalent of replacing 4.3 million tonnes of fossil oil each year.
Conventional biofuels are likely to produce between 3.7 and 6.6% of the energy needed in road
and rail transport, while advanced biofuels could meet up to 4.3% of the UKs renewable
transport fuel target by 2020.[53]

Debates regarding the production and use of biofuel


Main article: Issues relating to biofuels

There are various social, economic, environmental and technical issues with biofuel production
and use, which have been discussed in the popular media and scientific journals. These include:
the effect of moderating oil prices, the "food vs fuel" debate, poverty reduction potential, carbon
emissions levels, sustainable biofuel production, deforestation and soil erosion, loss of
biodiversity,[54] impact on water resources, the possible modifications necessary to run the engine
on biofuel, as well as energy balance and efficiency. The International Resource Panel, which
provides independent scientific assessments and expert advice on a variety of resource-related
themes, assessed the issues relating to biofuel use in its first report Towards sustainable
production and use of resources: Assessing Biofuels.[55] "Assessing Biofuels" outlined the wider
and interrelated factors that need to be considered when deciding on the relative merits of
pursuing one biofuel over another. It concluded that not all biofuels perform equally in terms of
their impact on climate, energy security and ecosystems, and suggested that environmental and
social impacts need to be assessed throughout the entire life-cycle.
Another issue with biofuel use and production is the US has changed mandates many times
because the production has been taking longer than expected. The Renewable Fuel Standard
(RFS) set by congress for 2010 was pushed back to at best 2012 to produce 100 million gallons
of pure ethanol (not blended with a fossil fuel).[56]

Current research
Research is ongoing into finding more suitable biofuel crops and improving the oil yields of
these crops. Using the current yields, vast amounts of land and fresh water would be needed to
produce enough oil to completely replace fossil fuel usage. It would require twice the land area
of the US to be devoted to soybean production, or two-thirds to be devoted to rapeseed
production, to meet current US heating and transportation needs.[citation needed]
Specially bred mustard varieties can produce reasonably high oil yields and are very useful in
crop rotation with cereals, and have the added benefit that the meal left over after the oil has
been pressed out can act as an effective and biodegradable pesticide.[57]
The NFESC, with Santa Barbara-based Biodiesel Industries, is working to develop biofuels
technologies for the US navy and military, one of the largest diesel fuel users in the world.[58] A
group of Spanish developers working for a company called Ecofasa announced a new biofuel

made from trash. The fuel is created from general urban waste which is treated by bacteria to
produce fatty acids, which can be used to make biofuels.[59]

Ethanol biofuels
Main articles: Ethanol fuel and Cellulosic ethanol commercialization

As the primary source of biofuels in North America, many organizations are conducting research
in the area of ethanol production. The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) is a
research division of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville dedicated solely to ethanol-based
biofuel research projects.[60] On the federal level, the USDA conducts a large amount of research
regarding ethanol production in the United States. Much of this research is targeted toward the
effect of ethanol production on domestic food markets.[61] A division of the U.S. Department of
Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has also conducted various ethanol
research projects, mainly in the area of cellulosic ethanol.[62]
Cellulosic ethanol commercialization is the process of building an industry out of methods of
turning cellulose-containing organic matter into fuel. Companies, such as Iogen, POET, and
Abengoa, are building refineries that can process biomass and turn it into bioethanol. Companies,
such as Diversa, Novozymes, and Dyadic, are producing enzymes that could enable a cellulosic
ethanol future. The shift from food crop feedstocks to waste residues and native grasses offers
significant opportunities for a range of players, from farmers to biotechnology firms, and from
project developers to investors.[63]
As of 2013, the first commercial-scale plants to produce cellulosic biofuels have begun
operating. Multiple pathways for the conversion of different biofuel feedstocks are being used. In
the next few years, the cost data of these technologies operating at commercial scale, and their
relative performance, will become available. Lessons learnt will lower the costs of the industrial
processes involved.[64]
In parts of Asia and Africa where drylands prevail, sweet sorghum is being investigated as a
potential source of food, feed and fuel combined. The crop is particularly suitable for growing in
arid conditions, as it only extracts one seventh of the water used by sugarcane. In India, and other
places, sweet sorghum stalks are used to produce biofuel by squeezing the juice and then
fermenting into ethanol.[65]
A study by researchers at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
(ICRISAT) found that growing sweet sorghum instead of grain sorghum could increase farmers
incomes by US$40 per hectare per crop because it can provide fuel in addition to food and
animal feed. With grain sorghum currently grown on over 11 million hectares (ha) in Asia and on
23.4 million ha in Africa, a switch to sweet sorghum could have a considerable economic impact.
[66]

Algae biofuels
Main articles: Algaculture and Algal fuel

From 1978 to 1996, the US NREL experimented with using algae as a biofuels source in the
"Aquatic Species Program".[67] A self-published article by Michael Briggs, at the UNH Biofuels
Group, offers estimates for the realistic replacement of all vehicular fuel with biofuels by using
algae that have a natural oil content greater than 50%, which Briggs suggests can be grown on
algae ponds at wastewater treatment plants.[68] This oil-rich algae can then be extracted from the
system and processed into biofuels, with the dried remainder further reprocessed to create
ethanol. The production of algae to harvest oil for biofuels has not yet been undertaken on a
commercial scale, but feasibility studies have been conducted to arrive at the above yield
estimate. In addition to its projected high yield, algaculture unlike crop-based biofuels
does not entail a decrease in food production, since it requires neither farmland nor fresh water.
Many companies are pursuing algae bioreactors for various purposes, including scaling up
biofuels production to commercial levels.[69][70] Prof. Rodrigo E. Teixeira from the University of
Alabama in Huntsville demonstrated the extraction of biofuels lipids from wet algae using a
simple and economical reaction in ionic liquids.[71]

Jatropha
Main article: Jatropha curcas

Several groups in various sectors are conducting research on Jatropha curcas, a poisonous shrublike tree that produces seeds considered by many to be a viable source of biofuels feedstock oil.
[72]
Much of this research focuses on improving the overall per acre oil yield of Jatropha through
advancements in genetics, soil science, and horticultural practices.
SG Biofuels, a San Diego-based jatropha developer, has used molecular breeding and
biotechnology to produce elite hybrid seeds that show significant yield improvements over firstgeneration varieties.[73] SG Biofuels also claims additional benefits have arisen from such strains,
including improved flowering synchronicity, higher resistance to pests and diseases, and
increased cold-weather tolerance.[74]
Plant Research International, a department of the Wageningen University and Research Centre in
the Netherlands, maintains an ongoing Jatropha Evaluation Project that examines the feasibility
of large-scale jatropha cultivation through field and laboratory experiments.[75] The Center for
Sustainable Energy Farming (CfSEF) is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit research organization
dedicated to jatropha research in the areas of plant science, agronomy, and horticulture.
Successful exploration of these disciplines is projected to increase jatropha farm production
yields by 200-300% in the next 10 years.[76]

Fungi
A group at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, in a 2008 paper, stated they had
isolated large amounts of lipids from single-celled fungi and turned it into biofuels in an
economically efficient manner. More research on this fungal species, Cunninghamella japonica,
and others, is likely to appear in the near future.[77] The recent discovery of a variant of the
fungus Gliocladium roseum points toward the production of so-called myco-diesel from
cellulose. This organism was recently discovered in the rainforests of northern Patagonia, and

has the unique capability of converting cellulose into medium-length hydrocarbons typically
found in diesel fuel.[78]

Animal Gut Bacteria


Microbial gastrointestinal flora in a variety of animals have shown potential for the production of
biofuels. Recent research has shown that TU-103, a strain of Clostridium bacteria found in Zebra
feces, can convert nearly any form of cellulose into butanol fuel.[79] Microbes in panda waste are
being investigated for their use in creating biofuels from bamboo and other plant materials.[80]

Greenhouse gas emissions


Some scientists have expressed concerns about land-use change in response to greater demand
for crops to use for biofuel and the subsequent carbon emissions.[81] The payback period, that is,
the time it will take biofuels to pay back the carbon debt they acquire due to land-use change, has
been estimated to be between 100 and 1000 years, depending on the specific instance and
location of land-use change. However, no-till practices combined with cover-crop practices can
reduce the payback period to three years for grassland conversion and 14 years for forest
conversion.[82] Biofuels made from waste biomass or from biomass grown on abandoned
agricultural lands incur little to no carbon debt.[83]

Fossil fuel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Oil and gas" redirects here. For other uses, see Oil and gas (disambiguation).
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help
improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced
material may be challenged and removed. (June 2013)

Coal, one of the fossil fuels.

Fossil fuel consumption per capita for the countries with the twenty largest
populations.[1][2]

Ratio of gross domestic product to kilograms of fossil fuel carbon consumed, for the
world's 20 largest economies. The two countries with the highest GDP per kilogram
carbon ratios, Brazil and France, produce large amounts of hydroelectric and nuclear
power, respectively.[1][3]

Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried
dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of
years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years.[4] Fossil fuels contain high percentages of
carbon and include coal, petroleum, and natural gas.[5] They range from volatile materials with
low carbon:hydrogen ratios like methane, to liquid petroleum to nonvolatile materials composed
of almost pure carbon, like anthracite coal. Methane can be found in hydrocarbon fields, alone,
associated with oil, or in the form of methane clathrates. The theory that fossil fuels formed from
the fossilized remains of dead plants[6] by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust over
millions of years[7] (see biogenic theory) was first introduced by Georg Agricola in 1556 and later
by Mikhail Lomonosov in the 18th century.
The Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2007 the primary sources of energy
consisted of petroleum 36.0%, coal 27.4%, natural gas 23.0%, amounting to an 86.4% share for
fossil fuels in primary energy consumption in the world.[8] Non-fossil sources in 2006 included

hydroelectric 6.3%, nuclear 8.5%, and others (geothermal, solar, tidal, wind, wood, waste)
amounting to 0.9%.[9] World energy consumption was growing about 2.3% per year.
Strictly speaking, fossil fuels are a renewable resource. They are continually being formed via
natural processes as plants and animals die and then decompose and become trapped beneath
sediment. However, fossil fuels are generally considered to be non-renewable resources because
they take millions of years to form, and known viable reserves are being depleted much faster
than new ones are being made.
The use of fossil fuels raises serious environmental concerns. The burning of fossil fuels
produces around 21.3 billion tonnes (21.3 gigatonnes) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, but it is
estimated that natural processes can only absorb about half of that amount, so there is a net
increase of 10.65 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year (one tonne of
atmospheric carbon is equivalent to 44/12 or 3.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide).[10] Carbon dioxide is
one of the greenhouse gases that enhances radiative forcing and contributes to global warming,
causing the average surface temperature of the Earth to rise in response, which the vast majority
of climate scientists agree will cause major adverse effects. A global movement towards the
generation of renewable energy is therefore under way to help reduce global greenhouse gas
emissions.

Contents

1 Origin
2 Importance
o

2.1 Reserves

3 Limits and alternatives

4 Environmental effects

5 Economical effects

6 See also

7 References

8 External links

Origin

Since oil fields are located only at certain places on earth, [11] only a select group of
countries are oil-independent; the other countries depend on the oil-production
capacities of these countries

Petroleum and natural gas are formed by the anaerobic decomposition of remains of organisms
including phytoplankton and zooplankton that settled to the sea (or lake) bottom in large
quantities under anoxic conditions, millions of years ago. Over geological time, this organic
matter, mixed with mud, got buried under heavy layers of sediment. The resulting high levels of
heat and pressure caused the organic matter to chemically alter, first into a waxy material known
as kerogen which is found in oil shales, and then with more heat into liquid and gaseous
hydrocarbons in a process known as catagenesis.
There is a wide range of organic, or hydrocarbon, compounds in any given fuel mixture. The
specific mixture of hydrocarbons gives a fuel its characteristic properties, such as boiling point,
melting point, density, viscosity, etc. Some fuels like natural gas, for instance, contain only very
low boiling, gaseous components. Others such as gasoline or diesel contain much higher boiling
components.
Terrestrial plants, on the other hand, tend to form coal and methane. Many of the coal fields date
to the Carboniferous period of Earth's history. Terrestrial plants also form type III kerogen, a
source of natural gas.

Importance

A petrochemical refinery in Grangemouth, Scotland, UK


See also: Fossil fuel power plant

Fossil fuels are of great importance because they can be burned (oxidized to carbon dioxide and
water), producing significant amounts of energy per unit weight. The use of coal as a fuel
predates recorded history. Coal was used to run furnaces for the melting of metal ore. Semi-solid
hydrocarbons from seeps were also burned in ancient times,[12] but these materials were mostly
used for waterproofing and embalming.[13]
Commercial exploitation of petroleum, largely as a replacement for oils from animal sources
(notably whale oil), for use in oil lamps began in the 19th century.[14]
Natural gas, once flared-off as an unneeded byproduct of petroleum production, is now
considered a very valuable resource.[15] Natural gas deposits are also the main source of the
element helium.
Heavy crude oil, which is much more viscous than conventional crude oil, and tar sands, where
bitumen is found mixed with sand and clay, are becoming more important as sources of fossil
fuel.[16] Oil shale and similar materials are sedimentary rocks containing kerogen, a complex
mixture of high-molecular weight organic compounds, which yield synthetic crude oil when
heated (pyrolyzed). These materials have yet to be exploited commercially.[17] These fuels can be
employed in internal combustion engines, fossil fuel power stations and other uses.
Prior to the latter half of the 18th century, windmills and watermills provided the energy needed
for industry such as milling flour, sawing wood or pumping water, and burning wood or peat
provided domestic heat. The widescale use of fossil fuels, coal at first and petroleum later, to fire
steam engines enabled the Industrial Revolution. At the same time, gas lights using natural gas or
coal gas were coming into wide use. The invention of the internal combustion engine and its use
in automobiles and trucks greatly increased the demand for gasoline and diesel oil, both made
from fossil fuels. Other forms of transportation, railways and aircraft, also required fossil fuels.
The other major use for fossil fuels is in generating electricity and as feedstock for the
petrochemical industry. Tar, a leftover of petroleum extraction, is used in construction of roads.

Reserves

An oil well in the Gulf of Mexico


See also: Peak oil

Levels of primary energy sources are the reserves in the ground. Flows are production of fossil
fuels from these reserves. The most important part of primary energy sources are the carbon
based fossil energy sources. Coal, oil, and natural gas provided 79.6% of primary energy
production during 2002 (in million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe)) (34.9+23.5+21.2).
Levels (proved reserves) during 20052006

Coal: 997,748 million short tonnes (905 billion metric tonnes), [18] 4,416 billion
barrels (702.1 km3) of oil equivalent
Oil: 1,119 billion barrels (177.9 km3) to 1,317 billion barrels (209.4 km3)[19]
Natural gas: 6,1836,381 trillion cubic feet (175181 trillion cubic metres), [19]
1,161 billion barrels (184.6109 m3) of oil equivalent

Flows (daily production) during 2006

Coal: 18,476,127 short tonnes (16,761,260 metric tonnes), [20] 52,000,000


barrels (8,300,000 m3) of oil equivalent per day
Oil: 84,000,000 barrels per day (13,400,000 m3/d)[21]
Natural gas: 104,435 billion cubic feet (2,963 billion cubic metres), [22]
19,000,000 barrels (3,000,000 m3) of oil equivalent per day

Limits and alternatives

Main articles: Peak oil, Hubbert peak theory and Energy development

P. E. Hodgson, a Senior Research Fellow Emeritus in Physics at Corpus Christi College, Oxford,
expects the world energy use is doubling every fourteen years and the need is increasing faster
still and he insisted in 2008 that the world oil production, a main resource of fossil fuel, is
expected to peak in ten years and thereafter fall.[23]
The principle of supply and demand holds that as hydrocarbon supplies diminish, prices will rise.
Therefore higher prices will lead to increased alternative, renewable energy supplies as
previously uneconomic sources become sufficiently economical to exploit. Artificial gasolines
and other renewable energy sources currently require more expensive production and processing
technologies than conventional petroleum reserves, but may become economically viable in the
near future. Different alternative sources of energy include nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, wind,
and geothermal.

Environmental effects

Global fossil carbon emission by fuel type, 18002007. Note: Carbon only represents
27% of the mass of CO
2

Main article: Environmental issues with energy

The U.S. holds less than 5% of the world's population, but due to large houses and private cars,
uses more than a quarter of the world's supply of fossil fuels.[24] In the United States, more than
90% of greenhouse gas emissions come from the combustion of fossil fuels.[25] Combustion of
fossil fuels also produces other air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, volatile
organic compounds and heavy metals.

According to Environment Canada:


"The electricity sector is unique among industrial sectors in its very large contribution to
emissions associated with nearly all air issues. Electricity generation produces a large share of
Canadian nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide emissions, which contribute to smog and acid rain
and the formation of fine particulate matter. It is the largest uncontrolled industrial source of
mercury emissions in Canada. Fossil fuel-fired electric power plants also emit carbon dioxide,
which may contribute to climate change. In addition, the sector has significant impacts on water
and habitat and species. In particular, hydro dams and transmission lines have significant effects
on water and biodiversity."[26]

Carbon dioxide variations over the last 400,000 years, showing a rise since the
industrial revolution.

According to U.S. Scientist Jerry Mahlman and USA Today: Mahlman, who crafted the IPCC
language used to define levels of scientific certainty, says the new report will lay the blame at the
feet of fossil fuels with "virtual certainty," meaning 99% sure. That's a significant jump from
"likely," or 66% sure, in the group's last report in 2001, Mahlman says. His role in this year's
effort involved spending two months reviewing the more than 1,600 pages of research that went
into the new assessment.[27]
Combustion of fossil fuels generates sulfuric, carbonic, and nitric acids, which fall to Earth as
acid rain, impacting both natural areas and the built environment. Monuments and sculptures
made from marble and limestone are particularly vulnerable, as the acids dissolve calcium
carbonate.
Fossil fuels also contain radioactive materials, mainly uranium and thorium, which are released
into the atmosphere. In 2000, about 12,000 tonnes of thorium and 5,000 tonnes of uranium were
released worldwide from burning coal.[28] It is estimated that during 1982, US coal burning

released 155 times as much radioactivity into the atmosphere as the Three Mile Island incident.
[29]

Burning coal also generates large amounts of bottom ash and fly ash. These materials are used in
a wide variety of applications, utilizing, for example, about 40% of the US production.[30]
Harvesting, processing, and distributing fossil fuels can also create environmental concerns. Coal
mining methods, particularly mountaintop removal and strip mining, have negative
environmental impacts, and offshore oil drilling poses a hazard to aquatic organisms. Oil
refineries also have negative environmental impacts, including air and water pollution.
Transportation of coal requires the use of diesel-powered locomotives, while crude oil is
typically transported by tanker ships, each of which requires the combustion of additional fossil
fuels.
Environmental regulation uses a variety of approaches to limit these emissions, such as
command-and-control (which mandates the amount of pollution or the technology used),
economic incentives, or voluntary programs.
An example of such regulation in the USA is the "EPA is implementing policies to reduce
airborne mercury emissions. Under regulations issued in 2005, coal-fired power plants will need
to reduce their emissions by 70 percent by 2018.".[31]
In economic terms, pollution from fossil fuels is regarded as a negative externality. Taxation is
considered one way to make societal costs explicit, in order to 'internalize' the cost of pollution.
This aims to make fossil fuels more expensive, thereby reducing their use and the amount of
pollution associated with them, along with raising the funds necessary to counteract these
factors.[citation needed]
According to Rodman D. Griffin, The burning of coal and oil have saved inestimable amounts
of time and labor while substantially raising living standards around the world.[32] Although the
use of fossil fuels may seem beneficial to our lives, this act is playing a role on global warming
and it is said to be dangerous for the future.[32]
Moreover, these environmental pollutions impacts on the human beings because its particles of
the fossil fuel on the air cause negative health effects when inhaled by people. These health
effects include premature death, acute respiratory illness, aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis
and decreased lung function. So, the poor, undernourished, very young and very old, and people
with preexisting respiratory disease and other ill health, are more at risk.[33]

Nuclear fuel
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improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced
material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)

Nuclear Fuel Process

A graph comparing nucleon number against binding energy

Close-up of a replica of the core of the research reactor at the Institut LaueLangevin

Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'burned' by nuclear fission or fusion to derive nuclear
energy. Nuclear fuel can refer to the fuel itself, or to physical objects (for example bundles
composed of fuel rods) composed of the fuel material, mixed with structural, neutronmoderating, or neutron-reflecting materials.
Most nuclear fuels contain heavy fissile elements that are capable of nuclear fission. When these
fuels are struck by neutrons, they are in turn capable of emitting neutrons when they break apart.
This makes possible a self-sustaining chain reaction that releases energy with a controlled rate in
a nuclear reactor or with a very rapid uncontrolled rate in a nuclear weapon.
The most common fissile nuclear fuels are uranium-235 (235U) and plutonium-239 (239Pu). The
actions of mining, refining, purifying, using, and ultimately disposing of nuclear fuel together
make up the nuclear fuel cycle.
Not all types of nuclear fuels create power from nuclear fission. Plutonium-238 and some other
elements are used to produce small amounts of nuclear power by radioactive decay in
radioisotope thermoelectric generators and other types of atomic batteries. Also, light nuclides
such as tritium (3H) can be used as fuel for nuclear fusion.
Nuclear fuel has the highest energy density of all practical fuel sources.

Contents

1 Oxide fuel
o 1.1 UOX
o

1.2 MOX

2 Metal fuel

2.1 TRIGA fuel

2.2 Actinide fuel

2.3 Molten plutonium

3 Ceramic fuels
o

3.1 Uranium nitride

3.2 Uranium carbide

4 Liquid fuels
o

4.1 Molten salts

4.2 Aqueous solutions of uranyl salts

5 Common physical forms of nuclear fuel


o

5.1 PWR fuel

5.2 BWR fuel

5.3 CANDU fuel

6 Less-common fuel forms


o

6.1 Magnox fuel

6.2 TRISO fuel

6.3 QUADRISO fuel

6.4 RBMK fuel

6.5 CerMet fuel

6.6 Plate-type fuel

6.7 Sodium-bonded fuel

7 Spent nuclear fuel


o

7.1 Oxide fuel under accident conditions

8 Fuel behavior and post-irradiation examination

9 Radioisotope decay fuels


o

9.1 Radioisotope battery

9.2 Radioisotope thermoelectric generators

9.3 Radioisotope heater units (RHU)

10 Fusion fuels
o

10.1 First-generation fusion fuel

10.2 Second-generation fusion fuel

10.3 Third-generation fusion fuel

11 See also

12 References

13 External links

13.1 PWR fuel

13.2 BWR fuel

13.3 CANDU fuel

13.4 TRISO fuel

13.5 QUADRISO fuel

13.6 CERMET fuel

13.7 Plate type fuel

13.8 TRIGA fuel

13.9 Fusion fuel

14 References

Oxide fuel
For fission reactors, the fuel (typically based on uranium) is usually based on the metal oxide;
the oxides are used rather than the metals themselves because the oxide melting point is much
higher than that of the metal and because it cannot burn, being already in the oxidized state.

The thermal conductivity of zirconium metal and uranium dioxide as a function of


temperature

UOX
Uranium dioxide is a black semiconducting solid. It can be made by reacting uranyl nitrate with
a base (ammonia) to form a solid (ammonium uranate). It is heated (calcined) to form U3O8 that
can then be converted by heating in an argon / hydrogen mixture (700 C) to form UO2. The UO2
is then mixed with an organic binder and pressed into pellets, these pellets are then fired at a
much higher temperature (in H2/Ar) to sinter the solid. The aim is to form a dense solid which
has few pores.
The thermal conductivity of uranium dioxide is very low compared with that of zirconium metal,
and it goes down as the temperature goes up.
It is important to note that the corrosion of uranium dioxide in an aqueous environment is
controlled by similar electrochemical processes to the galvanic corrosion of a metal surface.

MOX
Main article: MOX fuel

Mixed oxide, or MOX fuel, is a blend of plutonium and natural or depleted uranium which
behaves similarly (though not identically) to the enriched uranium feed for which most nuclear
reactors were designed. MOX fuel is an alternative to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel used in
the light water reactors which predominate nuclear power generation.

Some concern has been expressed that used MOX cores will introduce new disposal challenges,
though MOX is itself a means to dispose of surplus plutonium by transmutation.
Currently (March, 2005) reprocessing of commercial nuclear fuel to make MOX is done in
England and France, and to a lesser extent in Russia, India and Japan. China plans to develop fast
breeder reactors and reprocessing.
The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, is a U.S. plan to form an international partnership to see
spent nuclear fuel reprocessed in a way that renders the plutonium in it usable for nuclear fuel
but not for nuclear weapons. Reprocessing of spent commercial-reactor nuclear fuel has not been
permitted in the United States due to nonproliferation considerations. All of the other
reprocessing nations have long had nuclear weapons from military-focused "research"-reactor
fuels except for Japan.

Metal fuel
Metal fuels have the advantage of a much higher heat conductivity than oxide fuels but cannot
survive equally high temperatures. Metal fuels have a long history of use, stretching from the
Clementine reactor in 1946 to many test and research reactors. Metal fuels have the potential for
the highest fissile atom density. Metal fuels are normally alloyed, but some metal fuels have been
made with pure uranium metal. Uranium alloys that have been used include uranium aluminum,
uranium zirconium, uranium silicon, uranium molybdenum, and uranium zirconium hydride.
Any of the aforementioned fuels can be made with plutonium and other actinides as part of a
closed nuclear fuel cycle. Metal fuels have been used in water reactors and liquid metal fast
breeder reactors, such as EBR-II.

TRIGA fuel
TRIGA fuel is used in TRIGA (Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics) reactors. The
TRIGA reactor uses UZrH fuel, which has a prompt negative fuel temperature coefficient of
reactivity, meaning that as the temperature of the core increases, the reactivity decreasesso it is
highly unlikely for a meltdown to occur. Most cores that use this fuel are "high leakage" cores
where the excess leaked neutrons can be utilized for research. TRIGA fuel was originally
designed to use highly enriched uranium, however in 1978 the U.S. Department of Energy
launched its Reduced Enrichment for Research Test Reactors program, which promoted reactor
conversion to low-enriched uranium fuel. A total of 35 TRIGA reactors have been installed at
locations across the USA. A further 35 reactors have been installed in other countries.

Actinide fuel
In a fast neutron reactor, the minor actinides produced by neutron capture of uranium and
plutonium can be used as fuel. Metal actinide fuel is typically an alloy of zirconium, uranium,
plutonium, and minor actinides. It can be made inherently safe as thermal expansion of the metal
alloy will increase neutron leakage.

Molten plutonium
Molten plutonium, alloyed with other metals to lower its melting point and encapsulated in
tantalum[1], was tested in two experimental reactors, LAMPRE I and LAMPRE II, at LANL in
the 1960s. "LAMPRE experienced three separate fuel failures during operation."[2]

Ceramic fuels
Ceramic fuels other than oxides have the advantage of high heat conductivities and melting
points, but they are more prone to swelling than oxide fuels and are not understood as well.

Uranium nitride
Main article: Uranium nitride

This is often the fuel of choice for reactor designs that NASA produces, one advantage is that
UN has a better thermal conductivity than UO2. Uranium nitride has a very high melting point.
This fuel has the disadvantage that unless 15N was used (in place of the more common 14N) that a
large amount of 14C would be generated from the nitrogen by the (n,p) reaction. As the nitrogen
required for such a fuel would be so expensive it is likely that the fuel would have to be
reprocessed by a pyro method to enable to the 15N to be recovered. It is likely that if the fuel was
processed and dissolved in nitric acid that the nitrogen enriched with 15N would be diluted with
the common 14N.

Uranium carbide
Main article: uranium carbide

Much of what is known about uranium carbide is in the form of pin-type fuel elements for liquid
metal fast reactors during their intense study during the 1960s and 1970s. However, recently
there has been a revived interest in uranium carbide in the form of plate fuel and most notably,
micro fuel particles (such as TRISO particles).
The high thermal conductivity and high melting point makes uranium carbide an attractive fuel.
In addition, because of the absence of oxygen in this fuel (during the course of irradiation, excess
gas pressure can build from the formation of O2 or other gases) as well as the ability to
complement a ceramic coating (a ceramic-ceramic interface has structural and chemical
advantages), uranium carbide could be the ideal fuel candidate for certain Generation IV reactors
such as the gas-cooled fast reactor.

Liquid fuels
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Liquid fuels are liquids containing dissolved nuclear fuel and have been shown to offer
numerous operational advantages compared to traditional solid fuel approaches.
Liquid-fuel reactors offer significant safety advantages due to their inherently stable "selfadjusting" reactor dynamics. This provides two major benefits: - virtually eliminating the
possibility of a run-away reactor meltdown, - providing an automatic load-following capability
which is well suited to electricity generation and high temperature industrial heat applications.
Another major advantage of the liquid core is its ability to be drained rapidly into a passively
safe dump-tank. This advantage was conclusively demonstrated repeatedly as part of a weekly
shutdown procedure during the highly successful 4 year ORNL MSRE program.
Another huge advantage of the liquid core is its ability to release xenon gas which normally acts
as a neutron absorber and causes structural occlusions in solid fuel elements (leading to early
replacement of solid fuel rods with over 98% of the nuclear fuel unburned, including many long
lived actinides). In contrast Molten Salt Reactors (MSR) are capable of retaining the fuel mixture
for significantly extended periods, which not only increases fuel efficiency dramatically, but also
incinerates the vast majority of its own waste as part of the normal operational characteristics.

Molten salts
Molten salt fuels have nuclear fuel dissolved directly in the molten salt coolant. Molten saltfueled reactors, such as the liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR), are different from molten
salt-cooled reactors that do not dissolve nuclear fuel in the coolant.
Molten salt fuels were used in the LFTR known as the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment, as well
as other liquid core reactor experiments. The liquid fuel for the molten salt reactor was a mixture
of lithium, beryllium, thorium and uranium fluorides: LiF-BeF2-ThF4-UF4 (72-16-12-0.4 mol%).
It had a peak operating temperature of 705C in the experiment, but could have operated at much
higher temperatures, since the boiling point of the molten salt was in excess of 1400C.

Aqueous solutions of uranyl salts


The aqueous homogeneous reactors (AHRs) use a solution of uranyl sulfate or other uranium salt
in water. Historically, AHRs have all been small research reactors, not large power reactors. An
AHR known as the Medical Isotope Production System is being considered for production of
medical isotopes.[1]

Common physical forms of nuclear fuel


Uranium dioxide (UO2) powder is compacted to cylindrical pellets and sintered at high
temperatures to produce ceramic nuclear fuel pellets with a high density and well defined
physical properties and chemical composition. A grinding process is used to achieve a uniform

cylindrical geometry with narrow tolerances. Such fuel pellets are then stacked and filled into the
metallic tubes. The metal used for the tubes depends on the design of the reactor. Stainless steel
was used in the past, but most reactors now use a zirconium alloy which, in addition to being
highly corrosion-resistant, has low neutron absorption. The tubes containing the fuel pellets are
sealed: these tubes are called fuel rods. The finished fuel rods are grouped into fuel assemblies
that are used to build up the core of a power reactor.
Cladding is the outer layer of the fuel rods, standing between the coolant and the nuclear fuel. It
is made of a corrosion-resistant material with low absorption cross section for thermal neutrons,
usually Zircaloy or steel in modern constructions, or magnesium with small amount of
aluminium and other metals for the now-obsolete Magnox reactors. Cladding prevents
radioactive fission fragments from escaping the fuel into the coolant and contaminating it. In
response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear powerplant disaster, a new method of covering active
nuclear fuel pellets with ceramic silicon carbide (SiC) is being developed at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. SiC, as compared to zirconium alloy used in most water-cooled plants,
produces up to thousand times less hydrogen when reacting with hot steam.[2]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) photo of unirradiated (fresh) fuel pellets.

NRC photo of fresh fuel pellets ready for assembly.

NRC photo of fresh fuel being inspected.

PWR fuel assembly (also known as a fuel bundle) This fuel assembly is from a
pressurized water reactor of the nuclear-powered passenger and cargo ship
NS Savannah. Designed and built by the Babcock and Wilcox Company.

PWR fuel
Pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel consists of cylindrical rods put into bundles. A uranium
oxide ceramic is formed into pellets and inserted into Zircaloy tubes that are bundled together.
The Zircaloy tubes are about 1 cm in diameter, and the fuel cladding gap is filled with helium gas
to improve the conduction of heat from the fuel to the cladding. There are about 179-264 fuel
rods per fuel bundle and about 121 to 193 fuel bundles are loaded into a reactor core. Generally,
the fuel bundles consist of fuel rods bundled 1414 to 1717. PWR fuel bundles are about 4
meters long. In PWR fuel bundles, control rods are inserted through the top directly into the fuel
bundle. The fuel bundles usually are enriched several percent in 235U. The uranium oxide is dried
before inserting into the tubes to try to eliminate moisture in the ceramic fuel that can lead to
corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement. The Zircaloy tubes are pressurized with helium to try to
minimize pellet-cladding interaction which can lead to fuel rod failure over long periods.

BWR fuel
In boiling water reactors (BWR), the fuel is similar to PWR fuel except that the bundles are
"canned". That is, there is a thin tube surrounding each bundle. This is primarily done to prevent
local density variations from affecting neutronics and thermal hydraulics of the reactor core. In
modern BWR fuel bundles, there are either 91, 92, or 96 fuel rods per assembly depending on the
manufacturer. A range between 368 assemblies for the smallest and 800 assemblies for the largest
U.S. BWR forms the reactor core. Each BWR fuel rod is backfilled with helium to a pressure of
about three atmospheres (300 kPa).

CANDU fuel bundles Two CANDU ("CANada Deuterium Uranium") fuel bundles,
each about 50 cm long, 10 cm in diameter. Photo courtesy of Atomic Energy of
Canada Ltd.

CANDU fuel
CANDU fuel bundles are about a half meter long and 10 cm in diameter. They consist of sintered
(UO2) pellets in zirconium alloy tubes, welded to zirconium alloy end plates. Each bundle is
roughly 20 kg, and a typical core loading is on the order of 4500-6500 bundles, depending on the
design. Modern types typically have 37 identical fuel pins radially arranged about the long axis
of the bundle, but in the past several different configurations and numbers of pins have been
used. The CANFLEX bundle has 43 fuel elements, with two element sizes. It is also about 10 cm
(4 inches) in diameter, 0.5 m (20 in) long and weighs about 20 kg (44 lb) and replaces the 37-pin
standard bundle. It has been designed specifically to increase fuel performance by utilizing two
different pin diameters. Current CANDU designs do not need enriched uranium to achieve
criticality (due to their more efficient heavy water moderator), however, some newer concepts
call for low enrichment to help reduce the size of the reactors.

Less-common fuel forms


Various other nuclear fuel forms find use in specific applications, but lack the widespread use of
those found in BWRs, PWRs, and CANDU power plants. Many of these fuel forms are only
found in research reactors, or have military applications.

A magnox fuel rod

Magnox fuel
Magnox reactors are pressurised, carbon dioxide-cooled, graphite-moderated reactors using
natural uranium (i.e. unenriched) as fuel and Magnox alloy as fuel cladding. Working pressure
varies from 6.9 to 19.35 bar for the steel pressure vessels, and the two reinforced concrete
designs operated at 24.8 and 27 bar. Magnox alloy consists mainly of magnesium with small
amounts of aluminium and other metalsused in cladding unenriched uranium metal fuel with a
non-oxidising covering to contain fission products. Magnox is short for Magnesium nonoxidising. This material has the advantage of a low neutron capture cross-section, but has two
major disadvantages:

It limits the maximum temperature, and hence the thermal efficiency, of the
plant.
It reacts with water, preventing long-term storage of spent fuel under water.

Magnox fuel incorporated cooling fins to provide maximum heat transfer despite low operating
temperatures, making it expensive to produce. While the use of uranium metal rather than oxide
made reprocessing more straightforward and therefore cheaper, the need to reprocess fuel a short

time after removal from the reactor meant that the fission product hazard was severe. Expensive
remote handling facilities were required to address this danger.

TRISO fuel particle which has been cracked, showing the multiple coating layers

TRISO fuel
Tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) fuel is a type of micro fuel particle. It consists of a fuel kernel
composed of UOX (sometimes UC or UCO) in the center, coated with four layers of three
isotropic materials. The four layers are a porous buffer layer made of carbon, followed by a
dense inner layer of pyrolytic carbon (PyC), followed by a ceramic layer of SiC to retain fission
products at elevated temperatures and to give the TRISO particle more structural integrity,
followed by a dense outer layer of PyC. TRISO fuel particles are designed not to crack due to the
stresses from processes (such as differential thermal expansion or fission gas pressure) at
temperatures up to and beyond 1600C, and therefore can contain the fuel in the worst of
accident scenarios in a properly designed reactor. Two such reactor designs are the pebble-bed
reactor (PBR), in which thousands of TRISO fuel particles are dispersed into graphite pebbles,
and the prismatic-block gas-cooled reactor (such as the GT-MHR), in which the TRISO fuel
particles are fabricated into compacts and placed in a graphite block matrix. Both of these reactor
designs are high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs). These are also the basic reactor designs of
very-high-temperature reactors (VHTRs), one of the six classes of reactor designs in the
Generation IV initiative that is attempting to reach even higher HTGR outlet temperatures.
TRISO fuel particles were originally developed in the United Kingdom as part of the DRAGON
project. The inclusion of the SiC as diffusion barrier was first suggested by D. T. Livey.[3] The
first nuclear reactor to use TRISO fuels was the DRAGON reactor and the first powerplant was
the THTR-300. Currently, TRISO fuel compacts are being used in the experimental reactors, the
HTR-10 in China, and the HTTR in Japan.

QUADRISO Particle

QUADRISO fuel
In QUADRISO particles a burnable neutron poison (europium oxide or erbium oxide or carbide)
layer surrounds the fuel kernel of ordinary TRISO particles to better manage the excess of
reactivity. If the core is equipped both with TRISO and QUADRISO fuels, at beginning of life
neutrons do not reach the fuel of the QUADRISO particles because they are stopped by the
burnable poison. After irradiation, the poison depletes and neutrons stream into the fuel kernel of
QUADRISO particles inducing fission reactions. This mechanism compensates fuel depletion of
ordinary TRISO fuel. In the generalized QUADRISO fuel concept the poison can eventually be
mixed with the fuel kernel or the outer pyrocarbon. The QUADRISO [3] concept has been
conceived at Argonne National Laboratory.

RBMK reactor fuel rod holder 1 distancing armature; 2 fuel rods shell; 3 fuel
tablets.

RBMK fuel
RBMK reactor fuel was used in Soviet-designed and built RBMK-type reactors. This is a lowenriched uranium oxide fuel. The fuel elements in an RBMK are 3 m long each, and two of these
sit back-to-back on each fuel channel, pressure tube. Reprocessed uranium from Russian VVER
reactor spent fuel is used to fabricate RBMK fuel. Following the Chernobyl accident, the
enrichment of fuel was changed from 2.0% to 2.4%, to compensate for control rod modifications
and the introduction of additional absorbers.

CerMet fuel
CerMet fuel consists of ceramic fuel particles (usually uranium oxide) embedded in a metal
matrix. It is hypothesized[by whom?] that this type of fuel is what is used in United States Navy
reactors. This fuel has high heat transport characteristics and can withstand a large amount of
expansion.

ATR Core The Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory uses plate-type
fuel in a clover leaf arrangement. The blue glow around the core is known as
Cherenkov radiation.

Plate-type fuel
Plate-type fuel has fallen out of favor over the years. Plate-type fuel is commonly composed of
enriched uranium sandwiched between metal cladding. Plate-type fuel is used in several research
reactors where a high neutron flux is desired, for uses such as material irradiation studies or
isotope production, without the high temperatures seen in ceramic, cylindrical fuel. It is currently
used in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory, and the nuclear research
reactor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Radiation Laboratory.[citation needed]

Sodium-bonded fuel
Sodium-bonded fuel consists of fuel that has liquid sodium in the gap between the fuel slug (or
pellet) and the cladding. This fuel type is often used for sodium-cooled liquid metal fast reactors.
It has been used in EBR-I, EBR-II, and the FFTF. The fuel slug may be metallic or ceramic. The
sodium bonding is used to reduce the temperature of the fuel.

Spent nuclear fuel


Main article: Spent nuclear fuel

Used nuclear fuel is a complex mixture of the fission products, uranium, plutonium, and the
transplutonium metals. In fuel which has been used at high temperature in power reactors it is
common for the fuel to be heterogeneous; often the fuel will contain nanoparticles of platinum
group metals such as palladium. Also the fuel may well have cracked, swollen, and been heated
close to its melting point. Despite the fact that the used fuel can be cracked, it is very insoluble in
water, and is able to retain the vast majority of the actinides and fission products within the
uranium dioxide crystal lattice.

Oxide fuel under accident conditions


Main article: Behavior of nuclear fuel during a reactor accident

Two main modes of release exist, the fission products can be vaporised or small particles of the
fuel can be dispersed.

Fuel behavior and post-irradiation examination


Main article: Post Irradiation Examination

Post-Irradiation Examination (PIE) is the study of used nuclear materials such as nuclear fuel. It
has several purposes. It is known that by examination of used fuel that the failure modes which
occur during normal use (and the manner in which the fuel will behave during an accident) can
be studied. In addition information is gained which enables the users of fuel to assure themselves
of its quality and it also assists in the development of new fuels. After major accidents the core
(or what is left of it) is normally subject to PIE to find out what happened. One site where PIE is
done is the ITU which is the EU centre for the study of highly radioactive materials.
Materials in a high-radiation environment (such as a reactor) can undergo unique behaviors such
as swelling [4] and non-thermal creep. If there are nuclear reactions within the material (such as
what happens in the fuel), the stoichiometry will also change slowly over time. These behaviors
can lead to new material properties, cracking, and fission gas release.
The thermal conductivity of uranium dioxide is low; it is affected by porosity and burn-up. The
burn-up results in fission products being dissolved in the lattice (such as lanthanides), the

precipitation of fission products such as palladium, the formation of fission gas bubbles due to
fission products such as xenon and krypton and radiation damage of the lattice. The low thermal
conductivity can lead to overheating of the center part of the pellets during use. The porosity
results in a decrease in both the thermal conductivity of the fuel and the swelling which occurs
during use.
According to the International Nuclear Safety Center [5] the thermal conductivity of uranium
dioxide can be predicted under different conditions by a series of equations.
The bulk density of the fuel can be related to the thermal conductivity
Where is the bulk density of the fuel and td is the theoretical density of the uranium dioxide.
Then the thermal conductivity of the porous phase (Kf) is related to the conductivity of the
perfect phase (Ko, no porosity) by the following equation. Note that s is a term for the shape
factor of the holes.
Kf = Ko(1 p/1 + (s 1)p)

Rather than measuring the thermal conductivity using the traditional methods such as Lees' disk,
the Forbes' method, or Searle's bar, it is common to use a laser flash method where a small disc
of fuel is placed in a furnace. After being heated to the required temperature one side of the disc
is illuminated with a laser pulse, the time required for the heat wave to flow through the disc, the
density of the disc, and the thickness of the disk can then be used to calculate and determine the
thermal conductivity.
= Cp

thermal conductivity
density

Cp heat capacity

thermal diffusivity

If t1/2 is defined as the time required for the non illuminated surface to experience half its final
temperature rise then.
= 0.1388 L2/t1/2

L is the thickness of the disc

For details see [6]

Radioisotope decay fuels


Radioisotope battery

Main article: atomic battery

The terms atomic battery, nuclear battery and radioisotope battery are used interchangeably to
describe a device which uses the radioactive decay to generate electricity. These systems use
radioisotopes that produce low energy beta particles or sometimes alpha particles of varying
energies. Low energy beta particles are needed to prevent the production of high energy
penetrating bremsstrahlung radiation that would require heavy shielding. Radioisotopes such as
plutonium-238, curium-242, curium-244 and strontium-90 have been used. Tritium, nickel-63,
promethium-147, and technetium-99 have been tested.
There are two main categories of atomic batteries: thermal and non-thermal. The non-thermal
atomic batteries, which have many different designs, exploit charged alpha and beta particles.
These designs include the direct charging generators, betavoltaics, the optoelectric nuclear
battery, and the radioisotope piezoelectric generator. The thermal atomic batteries on the other
hand, convert the heat from the radioactive decay to electricity. These designs include thermionic
converter, thermophotovoltaic cells, alkali-metal thermal to electric converter, and the most
common design, the radioisotope thermoelectric generator.

Radioisotope thermoelectric generators

Inspection of Cassini spacecraft RTGs before launch

A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) is a simple electrical generator which converts


heat into electricity from a radioisotope using an array of thermocouples.
238Pu

has become the most widely used fuel for RTGs, in the form of plutonium dioxide. It has a
half-life of 87.7 years, reasonable energy density, and exceptionally low gamma and neutron
radiation levels. Some Russian terrestrial RTGs have used 90Sr; this isotope has a shorter halflife and a much lower energy density, but is cheaper. Early RTGs, first built in 1958 by the U.S.
Atomic Energy Commission, have used 210Po. This fuel provides phenomenally huge energy
density, (a single gram of polonium-210 generates 140 watts thermal) but has limited use
because of its very short half-life and gamma production, and has been phased out of use for this
application.

Photo of a disassembled RHU

Radioisotope heater units (RHU)


Radioisotope heater units normally provide about 1 watt of heat each, derived from the decay of
a few grams of plutonium-238. This heat is given off continuously for several decades.
Their function is to provide highly localised heating of sensitive equipment (such as electronics
in outer space). The CassiniHuygens orbiter to Saturn contains 82 of these units (in addition to
its 3 main RTG's for power generation). The Huygens probe to Titan contains 35 devices.

Fusion fuels
Fusion fuels include tritium (3H) and deuterium (2H) as well as helium-3 (3He). Many other
elements can be fused together, but the larger electrical charge of their nuclei means that much
higher temperatures are required. Only the fusion of the lightest elements is seriously considered
as a future energy source. Although the energy density of fusion fuel is even higher than fission
fuel, and fusion reactions sustained for a few minutes have been achieved, utilizing fusion fuel as
a net energy source remains a theoretical possibility.[4]

First-generation fusion fuel


Deuterium and tritium are both considered first-generation fusion fuels; they are the easiest to
fuse, because the electrical charge on their nuclei is the lowest of all elements. The three most
commonly cited nuclear reactions that could be used to generate energy are:
2

H + 3H

n (14.07 MeV) + 4He (3.52 MeV)

H + 2H

n (2.45 MeV) + 3He (0.82 MeV)

H + 2H

p (3.02 MeV) + 3H (1.01 MeV)

Second-generation fusion fuel

Second-generation fuels require either higher confinement temperatures or longer confinement


time than those required of first-generation fusion fuels, but generate fewer neutrons. Neutrons
are an unwanted byproduct of fusion reactions in an energy generation context, because they are
absorbed by the walls of a fusion chamber, making them radioactive. They cannot be confined by
magnetic fields, because they are not electrically charged. This group consists of deuterium and
helium-3. The products are all charged particles, but there may be significant side reactions
leading to the production of neutrons.
2

H + 3He

p (14.68 MeV) + 4He (3.67 MeV)

Third-generation fusion fuel


Main article: Aneutronic fusion

Third-generation fusion fuels produce only charged particles in the primary reactions, and side
reactions are relatively unimportant. Since a very small amount of neutrons is produced, there
would be little induced radioactivity in the walls of the fusion chamber. This is often seen as the
end goal of fusion research. 3He has the highest Maxwellian reactivity of any 3rd generation
fusion fuel. However, there are no significant natural sources of this substance on Earth.
3

He + 3He

2p + 4He (12.86 MeV)

Another potential aneutronic fusion reaction is the proton-boron reaction:


p+

11

B 34He (8.7 MeV)

Under reasonable assumptions, side reactions will result in about 0.1% of the fusion power being
carried by neutrons. With 123 keV, the optimum temperature for this reaction is nearly ten times
higher than that for the pure hydrogen reactions, the energy confinement must be 500 times
better than that required for the D-T reaction, and the power density will be 2500 times lower
than for D-T.[
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue.
Broadly speaking fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for
the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash
point of approximately 40 C (104 F) and oils burned in cotton or wool-wick burners. In this
sense, diesel is a type of fuel oil. Fuel oil is made of long hydrocarbon chains, particularly
alkanes, cycloalkanes and aromatics. The term fuel oil is also used in a stricter sense to refer only
to the heaviest commercial fuel that can be obtained from crude oil i.e. heavier than gasoline and
naphtha.
In Australia the term 'distillate' refers specifically to diesel fuel.[1]

Contents

1 Classes
2 Bunker fuel

3 Uses

4 Maritime
o

4.1 Standards and classification

5 Transportation

6 Environmental issues

7 See also

8 References

9 External links

Classes
Although the following trends generally hold true, different organizations may have different
numerical specifications for the six fuel grades. The boiling point and carbon chain length of the
fuel increases with fuel oil number. Viscosity also increases with number, and the heaviest oil has
to be heated to get it to flow. Price usually decreases as the fuel number increases.[2]
Number 1 fuel oil is a volatile distillate oil intended for vaporizing pot-type burners.[3] It is the
kerosene refinery cut that boils off right after the heavy naphtha cut used for gasoline. Older
names include coal oil, stove oil and range oil.[2]
Number 2 fuel oil is a distillate home heating oil.[3] Trucks and some cars use similar diesel fuel
with a cetane number limit describing the ignition quality of the fuel. Both are typically obtained
from the light gas oil cut. Gas oil refers to the original use of this fraction in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries - the gas oil cut was used as an enriching agent for carburetted water gas
manufacture.[2]
Number 3 fuel oil was a distillate oil for burners requiring low-viscosity fuel. ASTM merged
this grade into the number 2 specification, and the term has been rarely used since the mid-20th
century.[3]
Number 4 fuel oil is a commercial heating oil for burner installations not equipped with
preheaters.[3] It may be obtained from the heavy gas oil cut.[2]
Number 5 fuel oil is a residual-type industrial heating oil requiring preheating to 170 220 F
(77 104 C) for proper atomization at the burners.[3] This fuel is sometimes known as Bunker
B. It may be obtained from the heavy gas oil cut,[2] or it may be a blend of residual oil with
enough number 2 oil to adjust viscosity until it can be pumped without preheating.[3]

Number 6 fuel oil is a high-viscosity residual oil requiring preheating to 220 260 F (104
127 C). Residual means the material remaining after the more valuable cuts of crude oil have
boiled off. The residue may contain various undesirable impurities including 2 percent water and
one-half percent mineral soil. This fuel may be known as residual fuel oil (RFO), by the Navy
specification of Bunker C, or by the Pacific Specification of PS-400.[3]
Mazut is a residual fuel oil often derived from Russian petroleum sources and is either blended
with lighter petroleum fractions or burned directly in specialized boilers and furnaces. It is also
used as a petrochemical feedstock.

Bunker fuel
"Bunker oil" redirects here. For the Norwegian company, see Bunker Oil (company).

A sample of residual fuel oil

Small molecules like those in propane, naphtha, gasoline for cars, and jet fuel have relatively low
boiling points, and they are removed at the start of the fractional distillation process. Heavier
petroleum products like diesel and lubricating oil are much less volatile and distill out more
slowly, while bunker oil is literally the bottom of the barrel; the only things more dense than
bunker fuel are carbon black feedstock and bituminous residue which is used for paving roads
(asphalt) and sealing roofs.
Bunker fuel is technically any type of fuel oil used aboard ships. It gets its name from the
containers on ships and in ports that it is stored in; in the early days of steam they were coal
bunkers but now they are bunker fuel tanks. The Australian Customs and the Australian Tax

Office define a bunker fuel as the fuel that powers the engine of a ship or aircraft. Bunker A is
No. 2 fuel oil, bunker B is No. 4 or No. 5 and bunker C is No. 6. Since No. 6 is the most
common, "bunker fuel" is often used as a synonym for No. 6. No. 5 fuel oil is also called Navy
Special Fuel Oil (NSFO) or just navy special; No. 5 or 6 are also commonly called heavy fuel
oil (HFO) or furnace fuel oil (FFO); the high viscosity requires heating, usually by a
recirculated low pressure steam system, before the oil can be pumped from a bunker tank.
Bunkers are rarely labeled this way in modern maritime practice.
Since the 1980s the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has been the accepted
standard for marine fuels (bunkers). The standard is listed under number 8217, with recent
updates in 2005 and 2010. They have broken it down to Residual and Distillate fuels. The most
common residual fuels in the shipping industry are RMG and RMK.[4] The differences between
the two are mainly the density and viscosity, with RMG generally being delivered at 380
centistokes or less, and RMK at 700 centistokes or less. Ships with more advanced engines can
process heavier, more viscous, and thus cheaper, fuel. Governing bodies (i.e. California,
European Union) around the world have established Emission Control Areas (ECA) which limit
the maximum sulfur of fuels burned in their ports to limit pollution, reducing the percentage of
sulfur and other particulates from 4.5% m/m to as little as .10% as of 2015 inside an ECA. As of
2013 3.5% continued to be permitted outside an ECA.[5] This is where Marine Distillate Fuels
and other alternatives[6] to use of heavy bunker fuel come into play. They have similar properties
to Diesel #2 which is used as road Diesel around the world. The most common grades used in
shipping are DMA and DMB.[7] Greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the use of international
bunker fuels are currently included in national inventories [8] [9]
Table of fuel oils
Name
No.
oil
No.
oil
No.
oil
No.
oil
No.
oil
No.
oil

1 fuel
2 fuel
3 fuel
4 fuel

Alias

Type

Chain
Length

No. 1 distillate

No. 1 diesel fuel Distillate

9-16

No. 2 distillate

No. 2 diesel fuel Distillate

10-20

No. 3 distillate

No. 3 diesel fuel Distillate

No. 4 distillate

No. 4 residual
fuel oil

Distillate/Resid
12-70
ual

Heavy fuel oil

Residual

12-70

Heavy fuel oil

Residual

20-70

5 fuel No. 5 residual


fuel oil
6 fuel No. 6 residual
fuel oil

Uses

Alias

A fuel station in Zigui County on the Yangtze River

Oil has many uses; it heats homes and businesses and fuels trucks, ships and some cars. A small
amount of electricity is produced by diesel, but it is more polluting and more expensive than
natural gas. It is often used as a backup fuel for peaking power plants in case the supply of
natural gas is interrupted or as the main fuel for small electrical generators. In Europe, the use of
diesel is generally restricted to cars (about 40%), SUVs (about 90%), and trucks and buses
(virtually all). The market for home heating using fuel oil, called heating oil, has decreased due
to the widespread penetration of natural gas. However, it is very common in some areas, such as
the Northeastern United States.

Fuel oil truck making a delivery in North Carolina, 1945.

Residual fuel oil is less useful because it is so viscous that it has to be heated with a special
heating system before use and it contains relatively high amounts of pollutants, particularly
sulfur, which forms sulfur dioxide upon combustion. However, its undesirable properties make it
very cheap. In fact, it is the cheapest liquid fuel available. Since it requires heating before use,
residual fuel oil cannot be used in road vehicles, boats or small ships, as the heating equipment
takes up valuable space and makes the vehicle heavier. Heating the oil is also a delicate
procedure, which is inappropriate to do on small, fast moving vehicles. However, power plants
and large ships are able to use residual fuel oil.

Use of residual fuel oil was more common in the past. It powered boilers, railroad steam
locomotives and steamships. Locomotives now use diesel; steamships are not as common as they
were previously due to their higher operating costs (most LNG carriers use steam plants, as
"boil-off" gas emitted from the cargo can be used as a fuel source); and most boilers now use
heating oil or natural gas. Some industrial boilers still use it and so do some old buildings,
including in New York City. The City estimates that the 1% of its buildings that burn fuel oils
No. 4 and No. 6 are responsible for 86% of the soot pollution generated by all buildings in the
city. New York has made the phase out of these fuel grades part of its environmental plan,
PlaNYC, because of concerns for the health effects caused by fine particulates.[10]
Residual fuel's use in electrical generation has also decreased. In 1973, residual fuel oil produced
16.8% of the electricity in the US. By 1983, it had fallen to 6.2%, and as of 2005, electricity
production from all forms of petroleum, including diesel and residual fuel, is only 3% of total
production. The decline is the result of price competition with natural gas and environmental
restrictions on emissions. For power plants, the costs of heating the oil, extra pollution control
and additional maintenance required after burning it often outweigh the low cost of the fuel.
Burning fuel oil, particularly residual fuel oil, produces uniformly higher carbon dioxide
emissions than natural gas.[11]
Heavy fuel oils continue to be used in the boiler "lighting up" facility in many coal-fired power
plants. This use is approximately analogous to using kindling to start a fire. Without performing
this act it is difficult to begin the large-scale combustion process.
The chief drawback to residual fuel oil is its high initial viscosity, particularly in the case of No.
6 oil, which requires a correctly engineered system for storage, pumping, and burning. Though it
is still usually lighter than water (with a specific gravity usually ranging from 0.95 to 1.03) it is
much heavier and more viscous than No. 2 oil, kerosene, or gasoline. No. 6 oil must, in fact, be
stored at around 100 F (38 C) heated to 150250 F (66121 C) before it can be easily
pumped, and in cooler temperatures it can congeal into a tarry semisolid. The flash point of most
blends of No. 6 oil is, incidentally, about 150 F (66 C). Attempting to pump high-viscosity oil
at low temperatures was a frequent cause of damage to fuel lines, furnaces, and related
equipment which were often designed for lighter fuels.
For comparison, BS2869 Class G Heavy Fuel Oil behaves in similar fashion, requiring storage at
104 F (40 C), pumping at around 122 F (50 C) and finalising for burning at around 194
248 F (90120 C).
Most of the facilities which historically burned No. 6 or other residual oils were industrial plants
and similar facilities constructed in the early or mid 20th century, or which had switched from
coal to oil fuel during the same time period. In either case, residual oil was seen as a good
prospect because it was cheap and readily available. Most of these facilities have subsequently
been closed and demolished, or have replaced their fuel supplies with a simpler one such as gas
or No. 2 oil. The high sulfur content of No. 6 oilup to 3% by weight in some extreme cases
had a corrosive effect on many heating systems (which were usually designed without adequate
corrosion protection in mind), shortening their lifespans and increasing the polluting effects. This

was particularly the case in furnaces that were regularly shut down and allowed to go cold, since
the internal condensation produced sulfuric acid.
Environmental cleanups at such facilities are frequently complicated by the use of asbestos
insulation on the fuel feed lines. No. 6 oil is very persistent, and does not degrade rapidly. Its
viscosity and stickiness also make remediation of underground contamination very difficult,
since these properties reduce the effectiveness of methods such as air stripping.
When released into water, such as a river or ocean, residual oil tends to break up into patches or
tarballsmixtures of oil and particulate matter such as silt and floating organic matter- rather
than form a single slick. An average of about 5-10% of the material will evaporate within hours
of the release, primarily the lighter hydrocarbon fractions. The remainder will then often sink to
the bottom of the water column.

Maritime
In the maritime field another type of classification is used for fuel oils:

MGO (Marine gas oil) - roughly equivalent to No. 2 fuel oil, made from
distillate only
MDO (Marine diesel oil) - A blend of heavy gasoil that may contain very
small amounts of black refinery feed stocks, but has a low viscosity up to 12
cSt so it need not be heated for use in internal combustion engines

IFO (Intermediate fuel oil) A blend of gasoil and heavy fuel oil, with less
gasoil than marine diesel oil

MFO (Marine fuel oil) - same as HDO (just another "naming")

HFO (Heavy fuel oil) - Pure or nearly pure residual oil, roughly equivalent to
No. 6 fuel oil

Marine diesel oil contains some heavy fuel oil, unlike regular diesels. Also, marine fuel oils
sometimes contain waste products such as used motor oil.

Standards and classification


CCAI and CII are two indexes which describe the ignition quality of residual fuel oil, and CCAI
is especially often calculated for marine fuels. Despite this, marine fuels are still quoted on the
international bunker markets with their maximum viscosity (which is set by the ISO 8217
standard - see below) due to the fact that marine engines are designed to use different viscosities
of fuel.[12] The unit of viscosity used is the Centistoke and the fuels most frequently quoted are
listed below in order of cost, the least expensive first

IFO 380 - Intermediate fuel oil with a maximum viscosity of 380 Centistokes
(<3.5% sulphur)

IFO 180 - Intermediate fuel oil with a maximum viscosity of 180 Centistokes
(<3.5% sulphur)

LS 380 - Low-sulphur (<1.0%) intermediate fuel oil with a maximum viscosity


of 380 Centistokes

LS 180 - Low-sulphur (<1.0%) intermediate fuel oil with a maximum viscosity


of 180 Centistokes

MDO - Marine diesel oil.

MGO - Marine gasoil.

LSMGO - Low-sulphur (<0.1%) Marine Gas Oil - The fuel is to be used in EU


community Ports and Anchorages. EU Sulphur directive 2005/33/EC

ULSMGO - Ultra Low Sulphur Marine Gas Oil - referred to as Ultra Low Sulfur
Diesel (sulphur 0.0015% max) in the US and Auto Gas Oil (sulphur 0.001%
max) in the EU. Maximum sulphur allowable in US territories and territorial
waters (inland, marine and automotive) and in the EU for inland use.

The density is also an important parameter for fuel oils since marine fuels are purified before use
to remove water and dirt from the oil. Since the purifiers use centrifugal force, the oil must have
a density which is sufficiently different from water. Older purifiers had a maximum of
991 kg/m3; with modern purifiers it is also possible to purify oil with a density of 1010 kg/m3.
The first British standard for fuel oil came in 1982. The latest standard is ISO 8217 from 2005.
The ISO standard describe four qualities of distillate fuels and 10 qualities of residual fuels. Over
the years the standards have become stricter on environmentally important parameters such as
sulfur content. The latest standard also banned the adding of used lubricating oil (ULO).
Some parameters of marine fuel oils according to ISO 8217 (3. ed 2005):
Marine Distillate Fuels
Parameter

Unit

Lim DM DM DM DM
it
X
A
B
C
890. 900. 920.
0
0
0

Density at 15C

kg/m3 Max -

Viscosity at 40C

mm/s Max 5.5 6.0 11.0 14.0


mm/s Min 1.4 1.5 -

Water

% V/V Max -

0.3 0.3

Sulfur1

%
Max 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.0
(m/m)

Aluminium +
Silicon2

mg/kg Max -

25

Flash point3

Min 43

60

60

60

Pour point, Summer C

Max -

Pour point, Winter

Max -

-6

Cloud point

Max -16 -

Min 45

35

Calculated Cetane
Index

40

1. Maximum sulfur content in the open ocean is 3.5% since January 2012. Max
sulfur content is 1.00% in designated areas, and will be 0.1% after January 1,
2015.
2. The aluminium+silicon value is used to check for remains of the catalyst after
catalytic cracking. Most catalysts contains aluminium or silicon and remains
of catalyst can cause damage to the engine.
3. The flash point of all fuels used in the engine room should be at least 60C
(DMX is used for things like emergency generators and not normally used in
the engine room).
Marine Residual Fuels
Parameter Unit
Density at
15C

Lim RMA RMB RMD RME RMF RMG RMH RMK RMH RMK
it
30
30
80 180 180 380 380 380 700 700

kg/m3 Max

960. 975. 980.


1010.
1010.
991.0 991.0 991.0 991.0
991.0
0
0
0
0
0

Viscosity at mm/
Max 30.0 30.0 80.0 180.0 180.0 380.0 380.0 380.0 700.0 700.0
50C
s
Water

% V/V Max 0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.5

Sulfur1

%
Max 3.5
(m/m)

3.5

4.0

4.5

4.5

4.5

4.5

4.5

4.5

4.5

Aluminium mg/k
Max 80
+ Silicon2 g

80

80

80

80

80

80

80

80

80

Flash point3 C

Min 60

60

60

60

60

60

60

60

60

60

Pour point,
C
Summer

Max 6

24

30

30

30

30

30

30

30

30

Pour point, C

Max 0

24

30

30

30

30

30

30

30

30

Winter
1. Maximum sulfur content in the open ocean is 3.5% since January 2012. Max
sulfur content is 1.00% in designated areas, and will be 0.1% after January 1,
2015.
2. The aluminium+silicon value is used to check for remains of the catalyst after
catalytic cracking. Most catalysts contains aluminium or silicon and remains
of catalyst can cause damage to the engine.
3. The flash point of all fuels used in the engine room should be at least 60C.
(apart from those gaseous fuels such as LPG/LNG which have special class
rules applied to the fuel systems)

Transportation
Fuel oil is transported worldwide by fleets of oil tankers making deliveries to suitably sized
strategic ports such as Houston, Singapore, Fujairah, Balboa, Cristobal, Algeciras and
Rotterdam. Where a convenient seaport does not exist, inland transport may be achieved with the
use of barges. The lighter fuel oils can also be transported through pipelines. The major physical
supply chains of Europe are along the Rhine.

Environmental issues
Emissions from bunker fuel burning in ships contribute to air pollution levels in many port cities,
especially where the emissions from industry and road traffic have been controlled. The switch
of auxiliary engines from heavy fuel oil to diesel oil at berth can result in large emission
reductions, especially for SO2 and PM. CO2 emissions from bunker fuels sold are not added to
national GHG emissions. For small countries with large international ports, there is an important
difference between the emissions in territorial waters and the total emissions of the fuel sold.[9]

Airfuel ratio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help
improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced
material may be challenged and removed. (October 2008)

Airfuel ratio (AFR) is the mass ratio of air to fuel present in an internal combustion engine.
The AFR can also refer to the volume ratio for combustion carried out in industrial furnaces. If
exactly enough air is provided to completely burn all of the fuel, the ratio is known as the
stoichiometric mixture, often abbreviated to stoich. For precise AFR calculations, the oxygen
content of combustion air should be specified because of possible dilution by ambient water
vapor, or enrichment by oxygen additions. The AFR is an important measure for anti-pollution
and performance-tuning reasons. The lower the AFR, the "richer" the mixture.

Contents

1 Synopsis
2 Engine management systems

3 Other types of engine

4 Other terms used


o

4.1 Mixture

4.2 Airfuel ratio (AFR)

4.3 Fuelair ratio (FAR)

4.4 Airfuel equivalence ratio ()

4.5 Fuelair equivalence ratio ()

4.6 Mixture fraction

4.7 Percent excess combustion air

5 See also

6 References

7 External links

Synopsis
In theory a stoichiometric mixture has just enough air to completely burn the available fuel. In
practice this is never quite achieved, due primarily to the very short time available in an internal
combustion engine for each combustion cycle. Most of the combustion process completes in
approximately 45 milliseconds at an engine speed of 6,000 rpm. (100 revolutions per second;
10 milliseconds per revolution) This is the time that elapses from when the spark is fired until the
burning of the fuelair mix is essentially complete after some 80 degrees of crankshaft rotation.
Catalytic converters are designed to work best when the exhaust gases passing through them are
the result of nearly perfect combustion.
A stoichiometric mixture unfortunately burns very hot and can damage engine components if the
engine is placed under high load at this fuelair mixture. Due to the high temperatures at this
mixture, detonation of the fuelair mix shortly after maximum cylinder pressure is possible
under high load (referred to as knocking or pinging). Detonation can cause serious engine
damage as the uncontrolled burning of the fuel air mix can create very high pressures in the
cylinder. As a consequence, stoichiometric mixtures are only used under light load conditions.
For acceleration and high load conditions, a richer mixture (lower airfuel ratio) is used to
produce cooler combustion products and thereby prevent detonation and overheating of the
cylinder head.

Engine management systems


The stoichiometric mixture for a gasoline engine is the ideal ratio of air to fuel that burns all fuel
with no excess air. For gasoline fuel, the stoichiometric airfuel mixture is about 15:1[1] i.e. for
every one gram of fuel, 15 grams of air are required. The fuel oxidation reaction is:

Any mixture less than ~15 to 1 is considered a rich mixture; any more than ~15 to 1 is a lean
mixture given perfect (ideal) "test" fuel (gasoline consisting of solely n-heptane and isooctane). In reality, most fuels consist of a combination of heptane, octane, a handful of other
alkanes, plus additives including detergents, and possibly oxygenators such as MTBE (methyl
tert-butyl ether) or ethanol/methanol. These compounds all alter the stoichiometric ratio, with
most of the additives pushing the ratio downward (oxygenators bring extra oxygen to the
combustion event in liquid form that is released at time of combustions; for MTBE-laden fuel, a
stoichiometric ratio can be as low as 14.1:1). Vehicles that use an oxygen sensor or other
feedback loop to control fuel to air ratio (lambda control), compensate automatically for this
change in the fuel's stoichiometric rate by measuring the exhaust gas composition and controlling
fuel volume. Vehicles without such controls (such as most motorcycles until recently, and cars
predating the mid-1980s) may have difficulties running certain fuel blends (especially winter
fuels used in some areas) and may require different jets (or otherwise have the fueling ratios
altered) to compensate. Vehicles that use oxygen sensors can monitor the airfuel ratio with an
airfuel ratio meter.

Other types of engine


In the typical air to natural gas combustion burner, a double cross limit strategy is employed to
ensure ratio control. (This method was used in World War II).[citation needed] The strategy involves
adding the opposite flow feedback into the limiting control of the respective gas (air or fuel).
This assures ratio control within an acceptable margin.

Other terms used


There are other terms commonly used when discussing the mixture of air and fuel in internal
combustion engines.

Mixture
Mixture is the predominant word that appears in training texts, operation manuals and
maintenance manuals in the aviation world.

Airfuel ratio (AFR)

The airfuel ratio is the most common reference term used for mixtures in internal combustion
engines. The term is also used to define mixtures used for industrial furnace heated by
combustion. The AFR in mass units is employed in fuel oil fired furnaces, while volume (or
mole) units are used for natural gas fired furnaces.

Airfuel ratio is the ratio between the mass of air and the mass of fuel in the fuelair mix at any
given moment. The mass is the mass of all constituents that compose the fuel and air, whether
combustible or not. For example, a calculation of the mass of natural gaswhich often contains
carbon dioxide (CO
2), nitrogen (N
2), and various alkanesincludes the mass of the carbon dioxide, nitrogen and all alkanes in
determining the value of
.[2]
For pure octane the stoichiometric mixture is approximately 14.7:1, or of 1.00 exactly.
In naturally aspirated engines powered by octane, maximum power is frequently reached at
AFRs ranging from 12.5 to 13.3:1 or of 0.850 to 0.901.

Fuelair ratio (FAR)


Fuelair ratio is commonly used in the gas turbine industry as well as in government studies of
internal combustion engine, and refers to the ratio of fuel to the air.[citation needed]

Airfuel equivalence ratio ()


Airfuel equivalence ratio, (lambda), is the ratio of actual AFR to stoichiometry for a given
mixture. = 1.0 is at stoichiometry, rich mixtures < 1.0, and lean mixtures > 1.0.
There is a direct relationship between and AFR. To calculate AFR from a given , multiply the
measured by the stoichiometric AFR for that fuel. Alternatively, to recover from an AFR,
divide AFR by the stoichiometric AFR for that fuel. This last equation is often used as the
definition of :

Because the composition of common fuels varies seasonally, and because many modern vehicles
can handle different fuels, when tuning, it makes more sense to talk about values rather than
AFR.

Most practical AFR devices actually measure the amount of residual oxygen (for lean mixes) or
unburnt hydrocarbons (for rich mixtures) in the exhaust gas as know in PPCHS.

Fuelair equivalence ratio ()


The fuelair equivalence ratio, (phi), of a system is defined as the ratio of the fuel-to-oxidizer
ratio to the stoichiometric fuel-to-oxidizer ratio. Mathematically,

where, m represents the mass, n represents number of moles, suffix st stands for stoichiometric
conditions.
The advantage of using equivalence ratio over fueloxidizer ratio is that it takes into account
(and is therefore independent of) both mass and molar values for the fuel and the oxidizer.
Consider, for example, a mixture of one mole of ethane (C
2H
6) and one mole of oxygen (O
2). The fueloxidizer ratio of this mixture based on the mass of fuel and air is

and the fuel-oxidizer ratio of this mixture based on the number of moles of fuel and air is

Clearly the two values are not equal. To compare it with the equivalence ratio, we need to
determine the fueloxidizer ratio of ethane and oxygen mixture. For this we need to consider the
stoichiometric reaction of ethane and oxygen,

This gives

Thus we can determine the equivalence ratio of the given mixture as

or, equivalently, as

Another advantage of using the equivalence ratio is that ratios greater than one always mean
there is more fuel in the fueloxidizer mixture than required for complete combustion
(stoichiometric reaction), irrespective of the fuel and oxidizer being usedwhile ratios less than
one represent a deficiency of fuel or equivalently excess oxidizer in the mixture. This is not the
case if one uses fueloxidizer ratio, which take different values for different mixtures.
The fuelair equivalence ratio is related to the airfuel equivalence ratio (defined previously) as
follows:

Mixture fraction
The relative amounts of oxygen enrichment and fuel dilution can be quantified by the mixture
fraction, Z, defined as
, where
,
and
represent the fuel and oxidizer mass fractions at the inlet,
and
are the
species molecular weights, and and are the fuel and oxygen stoichiometric coefficients,

respectively. The stoichiometric mixture fraction is


stoichiomteric mixture fraction is related to (lambda) and
, assuming

Percent excess combustion air

[4]

[3]

The
(phi) by the equations

Ideal stoichiometry

In industrial fired heaters, power plant steam generators, and large gas-fired turbines, the more
common terms are percent excess combustion air and percent stoichiometric air.[5][6] For example,
excess combustion air of 15 percent means that 15 percent more than the required stoichiometric
air (or 115 percent of stoichiometric air) is being used.
A combustion control point can be defined by specifying the percent excess air (or oxygen) in the
oxidant, or by specifying the percent oxygen in the combustion product.[7] An airfuel ratio meter
may be used to measure the percent oxygen in the combustion gas, from which the percent
excess oxygen can be calculated from stoichiometry and a mass balance for fuel combustion. For
example, for propane (C
3H
8) combustion between stoichiometric and 30 percent excess air (AFRmass between 15.58 and
20.3), the relationship between percent excess air and percent oxygen is:

See also
Combustion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Burning" redirects here. For combustion without external ignition, see spontaneous
combustion. For the vehicle engine, see internal combustion engine. For other uses,
see Burning (disambiguation) and Combustion (disambiguation).

The flames caused as a result of a fuel undergoing combustion (burning)


This article's introduction section may not adequately summarize its
contents. To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, please consider
modifying the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points
in such a way that it can stand on its own as a concise version of the article.
(discuss). (April 2013)

Combustion /kmbs.tn/ or burning[1] is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions


between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of
chemical species. The release of heat can produce light in the form of either glowing or a flame.
In a complete combustion reaction, a compound reacts with an oxidizing element, such as
oxygen or fluorine, and the products are compounds of each element in the fuel with the
oxidizing element. The process releases heat energy.
Fuel + Oxidizer Combustion products + Heat energy

For example:
CH4(g) + 2O2(g) CO2(g) + 2H2O(g)

The standard enthalpy of reaction for methane combustion at 298.15 K and 1 atm is 802 kJ/mol.
[2]
A simple example can be seen in the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen, a reaction
commonly used to fuel rocket engines:
2H2(g) + O2(g) 2H2O(g)

The result is water vapor, with a standard enthalpy of reaction at 298.15 K and 1 atm of
242 kJ/mol.[2]
Another example is burning of carbon, which is the main component of coal:
C(s) + O2(g) CO2(g)

Complete combustion is almost impossible to achieve. As actual combustion reactions come to


equilibrium, a wide variety of major and minor species will be present, such as carbon monoxide,
hydrogen and even carbon (soot or ash). Additionally, any combustion at high temperatures in
atmospheric air, which is 78 percent nitrogen, will also create small amounts of several nitrogen
oxides, commonly referred to as NO
x.
Combustion need not always involve oxygen; e.g., hydrogen burns in chlorine to form hydrogen
chloride with the liberation of heat and light characteristic of combustion.

Contents

1 Types
o 1.1 Complete vs. incomplete

1.1.1 Complete

1.1.2 Incomplete

1.2 Smouldering/Slow

1.3 Rapid

1.4 Spontaneous

1.5 Turbulent

1.6 Microgravity

1.7 Micro-combustion

2 Chemical equations
o

2.1 Stoichiometric combustion of a hydrocarbon in oxygen

2.2 Stoichiometric combustion of a hydrocarbon in air

2.3 Trace combustion products

2.4 Incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon in oxygen

3 Fuels
o

3.1 Liquid fuels

3.2 Solid fuels

4 Combustion management

5 Reaction mechanism

6 Temperature

7 Instabilities

8 See also

9 References

10 Further reading

Types
Complete vs. incomplete
See also: pyrolysis
Complete

The combustion of methane, a hydrocarbon. Because the products are carbon


dioxide and water, this is a complete combustion reaction. In complete combustion,
the reactant burns in oxygen, producing a limited number of products. When a
hydrocarbon burns in oxygen, the reaction will primarily yield carbon dioxide and
water. When elements are burned, the products are primarily the most common
oxides. Carbon will yield carbon dioxide, sulfur will yield sulfur dioxide, and iron will
yield iron(III) oxide. Nitrogen is not considered to be a combustible substance when

oxygen is the oxidant, but small amounts of various nitrogen oxides (commonly
designated NO x species) form when air is the oxidant. Combustion is not
necessarily favorable to the maximum degree of oxidation, and it can be
temperature-dependent. For example, sulfur trioxide is not produced quantitatively
by the combustion of sulfur. NOx species appear in significant amounts above about
2,800 F (1,540 C), and more is produced at higher temperatures. The amount of
NOx is also a function of oxygen excess.[3] In most industrial applications and in
fires, air is the source of oxygen (O 2). In air, each mole of oxygen is mixed with
approximately 3.71 mol of nitrogen. Nitrogen does not take part in combustion, but
at high temperatures some nitrogen will be converted to NO x (mostly NO, with
much smaller amounts of NO 2). On the other hand, when there is insufficient
oxygen to completely combust the fuel, some fuel carbon is converted to carbon
monoxide and some of the hydrogen remains unreacted. A more complete set of
equations for the combustion of a hydrocarbon in air therefore requires an
additional calculation for the distribution of oxygen between the carbon and
hydrogen in the fuel. The amount of air required for complete combustion to take
place is known as theoretical air. However, in practice the air used is 2-3x that of
theoretical air.on, is a complete combustion reaction, as the products are carbon
dioxide and water.

In complete combustion, the reactant burns in oxygen, producing a limited number of products.
When a hydrocarbon burns in oxygen, the reaction will primarily yield carbon dioxide and water.
When elements are burned, the products are primarily the most common oxides. Carbon will
yield carbon dioxide, sulfur will yield sulfur dioxide, and iron will yield iron(III) oxide. Nitrogen
is not considered to be a combustible substance when oxygen is the oxidant, but small amounts
of various nitrogen oxides (commonly designated NO
x species) form when air is the oxidant.
Combustion is not necessarily favorable to the maximum degree of oxidation, and it can be
temperature-dependent. For example, sulfur trioxide is not produced quantitatively by the
combustion of sulfur. NOx species appear in significant amounts above about 2,800 F
(1,540 C), and more is produced at higher temperatures. The amount of NOx is also a function
of oxygen excess.[3]
In most industrial applications and in fires, air is the source of oxygen (O
2). In air, each mole of oxygen is mixed with approximately 3.71 mol of nitrogen. Nitrogen does
not take part in combustion, but at high temperatures some nitrogen will be converted to NO
x (mostly NO, with much smaller amounts of NO
2). On the other hand, when there is insufficient oxygen to completely combust the fuel, some
fuel carbon is converted to carbon monoxide and some of the hydrogen remains unreacted. A
more complete set of equations for the combustion of a hydrocarbon in air therefore requires an
additional calculation for the distribution of oxygen between the carbon and hydrogen in the fuel.
The amount of air required for complete combustion to take place is known as theoretical air.
However, in practice the air used is 2-3x that of theoretical air.

Incomplete

Incomplete combustion will occur when there is not enough oxygen to allow the fuel to react
completely to produce carbon dioxide and water. It also happens when the combustion is
quenched by a heat sink, such as a solid surface or flame trap.
For most fuels, such as diesel oil, coal or wood, pyrolysis occurs before combustion. In
incomplete combustion, products of pyrolysis remain unburnt and contaminate the smoke with
noxious particulate matter and gases. Partially oxidized compounds are also a concern; partial
oxidation of ethanol can produce harmful acetaldehyde, and carbon can produce toxic carbon
monoxide.
The quality of combustion can be improved by the designs of combustion devices, such as
burners and internal combustion engines. Further improvements are achievable by catalytic afterburning devices (such as catalytic converters) or by the simple partial return of the exhaust gases
into the combustion process. Such devices are required by environmental legislation for cars in
most countries, and may be necessary to enable large combustion devices, such as thermal power
stations, to reach legal emission standards.
The degree of combustion can be measured and analyzed with test equipment. HVAC
contractors, firemen and engineers use combustion analyzers to test the efficiency of a burner
during the combustion process. In addition, the efficiency of an internal combustion engine can
be measured in this way, and some U.S. states and local municipalities use combustion analysis
to define and rate the efficiency of vehicles on the road today.

Smouldering/Slow
Smouldering is the slow, low-temperature, flameless form of combustion, sustained by the heat
evolved when oxygen directly attacks the surface of a condensed-phase fuel. It is a typically
incomplete combustion reaction. Solid materials that can sustain a smouldering reaction include
coal, cellulose, wood, cotton, tobacco, peat, duff, humus, synthetic foams, charring polymers
(including polyurethane foam), and dust. Common examples of smouldering phenomena are the
initiation of residential fires on upholstered furniture by weak heat sources (e.g., a cigarette, a
short-circuited wire) and the persistent combustion of biomass behind the flaming fronts of
wildfires.

Rapid

Container of ethanol vapour mixed with air, undergoing rapid combustion

Rapid combustion is a form of combustion, otherwise known as a fire, in which large amounts of
heat and light energy are released, which often results in a flame. This is used in a form of
machinery such as internal combustion engines and in thermobaric weapons. Such a combustion
is frequently called an explosion, though for an internal combustion engine this is inaccurate. An
internal combustion engine nominally operates on a controlled rapid burn. When the fuel-air
mixture in an internal combustion engine explodes, that is known as detonation.

Spontaneous
Spontaneous combustion is a type of combustion which occurs by self heating (increase in
temperature due to exothermic internal reactions), followed by thermal runaway (self heating
which rapidly accelerates to high temperatures) and finally, ignition.

Turbulent
Combustion resulting in a turbulent flame is the most used for industrial application (e.g. gas
turbines, gasoline engines, etc.) because the turbulence helps the mixing process between the fuel
and oxidizer.

Microgravity

Colourized gray-scale composite image of the individual frames from a video of a


backlit fuel droplet burning in microgravity.

Combustion processes behave differently in a microgravity environment than in Earth-gravity


conditions due to the lack of buoyancy. For example, a candle's flame takes the shape of a
sphere.[4] Microgravity combustion research contributes to understanding of spacecraft fire safety
and diverse aspects of combustion physics.

Micro-combustion
Combustion processes which happen in very small volumes are considered micro-combustion.
The high surface-to-volume ratio increases specific heat loss. Quenching distance plays a vital
role in stabilizing the flame in such combustion chambers.

Chemical equations
Stoichiometric combustion of a hydrocarbon in oxygen
Generally, the chemical equation for stoichiometric combustion of a hydrocarbon in oxygen is:

where z = x + y.
For example, the stoichiometric burning of propane in oxygen is:

The simple word equation for the stoichiometric combustion of a hydrocarbon in oxygen is:

Stoichiometric combustion of a hydrocarbon in air


If the stoichiometric combustion takes place using air as the oxygen source, the nitrogen present
in the air can be added to the equation (although it does not react) to show the composition of the
resultant flue gas:

where z = x + y.
For example, the stoichiometric combustion of propane in air is:

The simple word equation for the stoichiometric combustion of a hydrocarbon in air is:

Trace combustion products


Various other substances begin to appear in significant amounts in combustion products when the
flame temperature is above about 1,600 K. When excess air is used, nitrogen may oxidize to NO
and, to a much lesser extent, to NO
2. CO forms by disproportionation of CO
2, and H
2 and OH form by disproportionation of H
2O.
For example, when 1 mol of propane is burned with 28.6 mol of air (120% of the stoichiometric
amount), the combustion products contain 3.3% O
2. At 1,400 K, the equilibrium combustion products contain 0.03% NO and 0.002% OH. At
1,800 K, the combustion products contain 0.17% NO, 0.05% OH, 0.01% CO, and 0.004% H
[5]
2.
Diesel engines are run with an excess of oxygen to combust small particles that tend to form with
only a stoichiometric amount of oxygen, necessarily producing nitrogen oxide emissions. Both
the United States and European Union enforce limits to vehicle nitrogen oxide emissions, which
necessitate the use of special catalytic converters or treatment of the exhaust with urea (see
Diesel exhaust fluid).

Incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon in oxygen


The incomplete (partial) combustion of a hydrocarbon with oxygen produces a gas mixture
containing mainly CO
2, CO, H

2O,

and H
2. Such gas mixtures are commonly prepared for use as protective atmospheres for the heattreatment of metals and for gas carburizing.[6] The general reaction equation for incomplete
combustion of one mole of a hydrocarbon in oxygen is:

The simple word equation for the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon in oxygen is:

For stoichiometric (complete) combustion, z = x + y. When z falls below roughly 50% of the
stoichiometric value, CH
4 can become an important combustion product; when z falls below roughly 35% of the
stoichiometric value, elemental carbon may become stable.
The products of incomplete combustion can be calculated with the aid of a material balance,
together with the assumption that the combustion products reach equilibrium.[7][8] For example, in
the combustion of one mole of propane (C
3H
8) with four moles of O
2, seven moles of combustion gas are formed, and z is 80% of the stoichiometric value. The three
elemental balance equations are:

These three equations are insufficient in themselves to calculate the combustion gas composition.
However, at the equilibrium position, the water gas shift reaction gives another equation:

For example, at 1,200 K the value of Keq is 0.728.[2] Solving, the combustion gas consists of
42.4% H
2O, 29.0% CO
2, 14.7% H
2, and 13.9% CO. Carbon becomes a stable phase at 1,200 K and 1 atm pressure when z is less
than 30% of the stoichiometric value, at which point the combustion products contain more than
98% H
2 and CO and about 0.5% CH
4.

Fuels

Substances or materials which undergo combustion are called fuels. The most common examples
are natural gas, propane, kerosene, diesel, petrol, charcoal, coal, wood, etc.

Liquid fuels
Combustion of a liquid fuel in an oxidizing atmosphere actually happens in the gas phase. It is
the vapor that burns, not the liquid. Therefore, a liquid will normally catch fire only above a
certain temperature: its flash point. The flash point of a liquid fuel is the lowest temperature at
which it can form an ignitable mix with air. It is also the minimum temperature at which there is
enough evaporated fuel in the air to start combustion.

Solid fuels
The act of combustion consists of three relatively distinct but overlapping phases:

Preheating phase, when the unburned fuel is heated up to its flash point
and then fire point. Flammable gases start being evolved in a process similar
to dry distillation.
Distillation phase or gaseous phase, when the mix of evolved flammable
gases with oxygen is ignited. Energy is produced in the form of heat and light.
Flames are often visible. Heat transfer from the combustion to the solid
maintains the evolution of flammable vapours.
Charcoal phase or solid phase, when the output of flammable gases from
the material is too low for persistent presence of flame and the charred fuel
does not burn rapidly and just glows and later only smoulders.

A general scheme of polymer combustion

Combustion management
Efficient process heating requires recovery of the largest possible part of a fuels heat of
combustion into the material being processed.[9][10] There are many avenues of loss in the
operation of a heating process. Typically, the dominant loss is sensible heat leaving with the
offgas (i.e., the flue gas). The temperature and quantity of offgas indicates its heat content
(enthalpy), so keeping its quantity low minimizes heat loss.
In a perfect furnace, the combustion air flow would be matched to the fuel flow to give each fuel
molecule the exact amount of oxygen needed to cause complete combustion. However, in the
real world, combustion does not proceed in a perfect manner. Unburned fuel (usually CO and H
2) discharged from the system represents a heating value loss (as well as a safety hazard). Since
combustibles are undesirable in the offgas, while the presence of unreacted oxygen there presents
minimal safety and environmental concerns, the first principle of combustion management is to
provide more oxygen than is theoretically needed to ensure that all the fuel burns. For methane
(CH
4) combustion, for example, slightly more than two molecules of oxygen are required.
The second principle of combustion management, however, is to not use too much oxygen. The
correct amount of oxygen requires three types of measurement: first, active control of air and
fuel flow; second, offgas oxygen measurement; and third, measurement of offgas combustibles.
For each heating process there exists an optimum condition of minimal offgas heat loss with
acceptable levels of combustibles concentration. Minimizing excess oxygen pays an additional
benefit: for a given offgas temperature, the NOx level is lowest when excess oxygen is kept
lowest.[3]
Adherence to these two principles is furthered by making material and heat balances on the
combustion process.[11][12][13][14] The material balance directly relates the air/fuel ratio to the
percentage of O
2 in the combustion gas. The heat balance relates the heat available for the charge to the overall
net heat produced by fuel combustion.[15][16] Additional material and heat balances can be made to
quantify the thermal advantage from preheating the combustion air,[17][18] or enriching it in
oxygen.[19][20]

Reaction mechanism
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Combustion in oxygen is a chain reaction in which many distinct radical intermediates


participate. The high energy required for initiation is explained by the unusual structure of the
dioxygen molecule. The lowest-energy configuration of the dioxygen molecule is a stable,
relatively unreactive diradical in a triplet spin state. Bonding can be described with three bonding

electron pairs and two antibonding electrons, whose spins are aligned, such that the molecule has
nonzero total angular momentum. Most fuels, on the other hand, are in a singlet state, with paired
spins and zero total angular momentum. Interaction between the two is quantum mechanically a
"forbidden transition", i.e. possible with a very low probability. To initiate combustion, energy is
required to force dioxygen into a spin-paired state, or singlet oxygen. This intermediate is
extremely reactive. The energy is supplied as heat, and the reaction then produces additional
heat, which allows it to continue.
Combustion of hydrocarbons is thought to be initiated by hydrogen atom abstraction (not proton
abstraction) from the fuel to oxygen, to give a hydroperoxide radical (HOO). This reacts further
to give hydroperoxides, which break up to give hydroxyl radicals. There are a great variety of
these processes that produce fuel radicals and oxidizing radicals. Oxidizing species include
singlet oxygen, hydroxyl, monatomic oxygen, and hydroperoxyl. Such intermediates are shortlived and cannot be isolated. However, non-radical intermediates are stable and are produced in
incomplete combustion. An example is acetaldehyde produced in the combustion of ethanol. An
intermediate in the combustion of carbon and hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, is of special
importance because it is a poisonous gas, but also economically useful for the production of
syngas.
Solid and heavy liquid fuels also undergo a great number of pyrolysis reactions that give more
easily oxidized, gaseous fuels. These reactions are endothermic and require constant energy input
from the ongoing combustion reactions. A lack of oxygen or other poorly designed conditions
result in these noxious and carcinogenic pyrolysis products being emitted as thick, black smoke.
The rate of combustion is the amount of a material that undergoes combustion over a period of
time. It can be expressed in grams per second (g/s) or kilograms per second (kg/s).

Temperature

Antoine Lavoisier conducting an experiment related combustion generated by


amplified sun light.

Assuming perfect combustion conditions, such as complete combustion under adiabatic


conditions (i.e., no heat loss or gain), the adiabatic combustion temperature can be determined.

The formula that yields this temperature is based on the first law of thermodynamics and takes
note of the fact that the heat of combustion is used entirely for heating the fuel, the combustion
air or oxygen, and the combustion product gases (commonly referred to as the flue gas).
In the case of fossil fuels burnt in air, the combustion temperature depends on all of the
following:

the heating value;


the stoichiometric air to fuel ratio

the specific heat capacity of fuel and air;

the air and fuel inlet temperatures.

The adiabatic combustion temperature (also known as the adiabatic flame temperature) increases
for higher heating values and inlet air and fuel temperatures and for stoichiometric air ratios
approaching one.
Most commonly, the adiabatic combustion temperatures for coals are around 2,200 C (3,992 F)
(for inlet air and fuel at ambient temperatures and for
), around 2,150 C (3,902 F) for
oil and 2,000 C (3,632 F) for natural gas.[21][22]
In industrial fired heaters, power station steam generators, and large gas-fired turbines, the more
common way of expressing the usage of more than the stoichiometric combustion air is percent
excess combustion air. For example, excess combustion air of 15 percent means that 15 percent
more than the required stoichiometric air is being used.

Instabilities
Combustion instabilities are typically violent pressure oscillations in a combustion chamber.
These pressure oscillations can be as high as 180 dB, and long term exposure to these cyclic
pressure and thermal loads reduces the life of engine components. In rockets, such as the F1 used
in the Saturn V program, instabilities led to massive damage of the combustion chamber and
surrounding components. This problem was solved by re-designing the fuel injector. In liquid jet
engines the droplet size and distribution can be used to attenuate the instabilities. Combustion
instabilities are a major concern in ground-based gas turbine engines because of NOx emissions.
The tendency is to run lean, an equivalence ratio less than 1, to reduce the combustion
temperature and thus reduce the NOx emissions; however, running the combustion lean makes it
very susceptible to combustion instability.
The Rayleigh Criterion is the basis for analysis of thermoacoustic combustion instability and is
evaluated using the Rayleigh Index over one cycle of instability[23]

where q' is the heat release rate perturbation and p' is the pressure fluctuation.[24][25] When the heat
release oscillations are in phase with the pressure oscillations, the Rayleigh Index is positive and
the magnitude of the thermo acoustic instability is maximised. On the other hand, if the Rayleigh
Index is negative, then thermoacoustic damping occurs. The Rayleigh Criterion implies that a
thermoacoustic instability can be optimally controlled by having heat release oscillations 180
degrees out of phase with pressure oscillations at the same frequency.[26][27] This minimizes the
Rayleigh Index.
Where Fossil Fuels Come From

There are three major forms of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas. All three were formed many
hundreds of millions of years ago before the time of the dinosaurs hence the name fossil fuels.
The age they were formed is called the Carboniferous Period. It was part of the Paleozoic Era.
"Carboniferous" gets its name from carbon, the basic element in coal and other fossil fuels.
The Carboniferous Period occurred from about 360 to 286
million years ago. At the time, the land was covered with
swamps filled with huge trees, ferns and other large leafy
plants, similar to the picture above. The water and seas
were filled with algae the green stuff that forms on a
stagnant pool of water. Algae is actually millions of very
small plants.
Some deposits of coal can be found during the time of the
dinosaurs. For example, thin carbon layers can be found
during the late Cretaceous Period (65 million years ago) the time of Tyrannosaurus Rex. But
the main deposits of fossil fuels are from the Carboniferous Period. For more about the various
geologic eras, go to www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/help/timeform.html
As the trees and plants died, they sank to the bottom of the swamps of oceans. They formed
layers of a spongy material called peat. Over many hundreds of years, the peat was covered by
sand and clay and other minerals, which turned into a type of rock called sedimentary.
More and more rock piled on top of more rock, and it weighed more and more. It began to press
down on the peat. The peat was squeezed and squeezed until the water came out of it and it
eventually, over millions of years, it turned into coal, oil or petroleum, and natural gas.
Coal

Coal is a hard, black colored rock-like substance. It is made up of


carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and varying amounts of
sulphur. There are three main types of coal anthracite,
bituminous and lignite. Anthracite coal is the hardest and has
more carbon, which gives it a higher energy content. Lignite is
the softest and is low in carbon but high in hydrogen and oxygen

content. Bituminous is in between. Today, the precursor to coalpeatis still found in many
countries and is also used as an energy source.
The earliest known use of coal was in China. Coal from the Fu-shun mine in northeastern China
may have been used to smelt copper as early as 3,000 years ago. The Chinese thought coal was a
stone that could burn.
Coal is found in many of the lower 48 states of
U.S. and throughout the rest of the world. Coal is
mined out of the ground using various methods.
Some coal mines are dug by sinking vertical or
horizontal shafts deep under ground, and coal
miners travel by elevators or trains deep under
ground to dig the coal. Other coal is mined in strip
mines where huge steam shovels strip away the
top layers above the coal. The layers are then
restored after the coal is taken away.
The coal is then shipped by train and boats and even in pipelines. In pipelines, the coal is ground
up and mixed with water to make what's called a slurry. This is then pumped many miles through
pipelines. At the other end, the coal is used to fuel power plants and other factories.
Oil or Petroleum

Oil is another fossil fuel. It was also formed more


than 300 million years ago. Some scientists say
that tiny diatoms are the source of oil. Diatoms
are sea creatures the size of a pin head. They do
one thing just like plants; they can convert
sunlight directly into stored energy.
In the graphic on the left, as the diatoms died they
fell to the sea floor (1). Here they were buried
under sediment and other rock (2). The rock
squeezed the diatoms and the energy in their
bodies could not escape. The carbon eventually
turned into oil under great pressure and heat. As
the earth changed and moved and folded, pockets
where oil and natural gas can be found were formed (3).
Oil has been used for more than 5,000-6,000 years. The ancient Sumerians, Assyrians and
Babylonians used crude oil and asphalt ("pitch") collected from large seeps at Tuttul (modernday Hit) on the Euphrates River. A seep is a place on the ground where the oil leaks up from
below ground. The ancient Egyptians, used liquid oil as a medicine for wounds, and oil has been
used in lamps to provide light.

The Dead Sea, near the modern Country of Israel, used to be called Lake Asphaltites. The word
asphalt was derived is from that term because of the lumps of gooey petroleum that were washed
up on the lake shores from underwater seeps.
In North America, Native Americans used blankets to skim oil off the surface of streams and
lakes. They used oil as medicine and to make canoes water-proof. During the Revolutionary War,
Native Americans taught George Washington's troops how to treat frostbite with oil.
As our country grew, the demand for oil continued to increase as a fuel
for lamps. Petroleum oil began to replace whale oil in lamps because
the price for whale oil was very high. During this time, most
petroleum oil came from distilling coal into a liquid or by skimming it
off of lakes just as the Native Americans did.
Then on August 27, 1859, Edwin L. Drake (the man standing on the
right in the black and white picture to the right), struck liquid oil at his
well near Titusville, Pennsylvania. He found oil under ground and a
way that could pump it to the surface. The well pumped the oil into
barrels made out of wood. This method of drilling for oil is still being
used today all over the world in areas where oil can be found below
the surface.
Oil and natural gas are found
under ground between folds of rock and in areas of rock
that are porous and contain the oils within the rock itself.
The folds of rock were formed as the earth shifts and
moves. It's similar to how a small, throw carpet will bunch
up in places on the floor.
To find oil and natural gas, companies drill through the
earth to the deposits deep below the surface. The oil and
natural gas are then pumped from below the ground by oil
rigs (like in the picture). They then usually travel through
pipelines or by ship.
Oil is found in 18 of the 58 counties in California. Kern
County, the County where Bakersfield is found, is one of
the largest oil production places in the country. But we
only get one-half of our oil from California wells. The
rest comes from Alaska, and an increasing amount comes
from other countries. In the entire U.S., more than 50
percent of all the oil we use comes from outside the
country... most of it from the Middle East.

Oil is brought to California by large tanker ships. The petroleum or crude oil must be changed or
refined into other products before it can be used.
Refineries

Oil is stored in large tanks until it is sent to various places to be used. At oil refineries, crude oil
is split into various types of products by heating the thick black oil.
Oil is made into many different products fertilizers for farms, the clothes you wear, the
toothbrush you use, the plastic bottle that holds your milk, the plastic pen that you write with.
They all came from oil. There are thousands of other products that come from oil. Almost all
plastic comes originally from oil. Can you think of some other things made from oil?
The products include gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation or jet fuel, home heating oil, oil for ships and
oil to burn in power plants to make electricity. Here's what a barrel of crude oil can make.
In California, 74 percent of our oil is used for transportation cars, planes, trucks, buses and
motorcycles. We'll learn more about transportation energy in Chapter 18.

Sometime between 6,000 to 2,000 years BCE (Before the Common Era), the first discoveries of
natural gas seeps were made in Iran. Many early writers described the natural petroleum seeps in
the Middle East, especially in the Baku region of what is now Azerbaijan. The gas seeps,
probably first ignited by lightning, provided the fuel for the "eternal fires" of the fire-worshiping
religion of the ancient Persians.
Natural gas is lighter than air. Natural gas is mostly made up of a gas called methane. Methane is
a simple chemical compound that is made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms. It's chemical
formula is CH4 one atom of carbon along with four atoms hydrogen. This gas is highly
flammable.
Natural gas is usually found near petroleum underground. It is pumped from below ground and
travels in pipelines to storage areas. The next chapter looks at that pipeline system.
Natural gas usually has no odor and you can't see it. Before it is sent to the pipelines and storage
tanks, it is mixed with a chemical that gives a strong odor. The odor smells almost like rotten
eggs. The odor makes it easy to smell if there is a leak.

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