Lesson 2.

LIQUID FUELS

Petroleum Oil .Petroleum oil (Crude oil) is a mixture of numerous hydro carbons, each having its
chemical and physical properties including molecular form. It is a natural mineral oil which exists in varying
depth in many areas of the earth. Crude oil as extracted from wells consists essentially of carbons and hydrogen,
with small amount of sulfur, oxygen, water in emulsion and silt.
Petroleum is still the number one fuel source used to power industrial nations. Petroleum is also known
as crude oil. It is found in large reservoirs throughout the Earth. Crude petroleum oil is not used directly as a
fuel but as a feedstuff for the petrochemical factories to produce commercial fuels, synthetic rubbers, plastics,
and additional chemicals.

Composition. Each crude-oil field has a different composition that can be established by a combination
of gas-chromatography, fluorescence-spectroscopy and infrared-spectroscopy techniques, and that may be
used, for instance, in forensic analysis of oil spills at sea (even after refining, crude-oil derivatives may be
associated to their source field). Saturated hydrocarbons content is around 60%wt, aromatics 30%wt, resins
5%wt. Sulfur content is 0.5 to 2%wt. Heavy metals <100 ppm. Crude-oil vapors are mainly short-chain
hydrocarbons (only about 10% in volume have more than 4 carbons).

Groups of Petroleum
a. Paraffin Based- Those containing relatively high percentage of aliphatic hydrocarbons and low percentage
of cyclic hydrocarbons. It has low specific gravity or high Baume gravity and lower viscosities. This type of
petroleum is mainly composed of the saturated hydrocarbons from CH4 to C35 H72 and a little of the napthenes
and aromatics.
b. Intermediate Based - Those contains both paraffinic and asphaltic hydrocarbons and are generally rich in
semi-solid waxes.
c. Asphalt Based -It contains mainly cycloparaffins or napthenes with smaller amount of paraffin’s and
aromatic hydrocarbons.

Classifications based on chemical properties

a. Paraffin’s or Alkanes (CnH2n+2), .All the carbon bonds are shared with hydrogen atoms except for a
minimum number of required carbon-carbon bonds. They have a straight chain structure s with a bond between
each atom. Ex. methane (CH4), Ethane (CH3)
Alkanes containing more carbon atoms are designated by the following prefixes: 5,pent; 6, hex; 7, hept
; 8, oct; 9, non;10, dec; 11, undec;12, dodec; etc.
b. Napthenes or Cycloalkanes (CnH2n)-Each carbon atom is joined by a single bond to two hydrogen atoms
attached. Ex. Cyclopropane
c. Aromatics (CnH2n-6)-have a ring type of structure of the carbon atoms to which H or groups of C and H are
attached. Ex. Benzene (C6H6)

Characterization of Liquid Fuels

Specific Gravity. This also known as the relative density .The specific gravity is the density of the fuel divided
by the density of water at the same temperature. In some literature, the American Petroleum Institute (API)

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specific gravity is used. The relation between API specific gravity and the conventional specific gravity (S.G.)
at 15.6C is:
o
API =141.5/(S.G @ 15.6C) - 131.5
Where:
S.G =density of fuel/density of water
For Baume gravity units:
o
Baume =140/(S.G at 15.6) - 130

The Specific Gravity (S.G.) of liquid fuels at Temperature (t) can be obtained by:
S.G.t= (S.G. @ 15.6) (correction factor)
S.G.t= (S.G. @ 15.6) (CF)
Where:
Temperature in 0C, CF=1-0.00072(t-15.6)
Temperature in 0F, CF=1-0.0004(t-60)

Calorific Value or Heating Value. This is the energy liberated by a complete combustion of a unit of weight
or volume of fuel .The calorific power of solid and liquid fuels is expressed in BTU per pound, KJ/Kg, or
calorie per gram.
Higher Heating Value or Gross Calorific Value, HHV or Qh-is the heating value obtained when the
water in the product of combustion is in liquid state. It is the heat energy indicated by a constant volume
calorimeter.
Lower Heating Value or Net Calorific Value. LHV or QL. This is the heating value obtained when the
water in the product of combustion is in vapor state.

The higher heating value of fuel can be obtained by the ff.:

ASME Formula for petroleum products:
HHV=Qh=41,130 + 139.6(API) KJ/Kg

Bureau of Standard Formula:

HHV=Qh=51,716 – 8,793.8(S.G)2 KJ/kg

Lower Heating Value of Liquid Fuels,QL

LHV=QL=Qh-9H2 (2442) kJ/Kg
Where: H2=26-15 (S.G.) %

Viscosity. Viscosity of a liquid indicates the resistance to flow. For a liquid fuel viscosity indicates the ease at
which it can be pumped and the ease of atomization. Viscosity of liquid decreases with increasing temperature.
Viscosity is measured by the saybolt viscometer consisting of a temperature bath surrounding a standard oil
tube.

Absolute viscosity. Viscosity which is determined by direct measurement of shear resistance. It is

expressed in Reyn, poise, or Pa-sec. Reyn=lb-sec/in2 1 poise=dyne-sec/cm2=0.1 Pa-sec

Kinematic viscosity. Absolute viscosity divided by density. Kinematic viscosity is expressed in stoke
or centistoke. 1 stoke=1cm2/sec =0.001m2/sec

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 Viscosity Index. The rate at which viscosity change with temperature.

Viscometer. An instrument consisting of standard orifice used for measuring viscosity in SSU and SSF
Saybolt Seconds Universal (SSU). The number of second required for a 60ml of oil (at 37.5C) to pass
through a standard orifice.
Saybolt Second Furol (SSF). The unit used for very viscous liquids using a relative larger orifice.
1 centistokes=0.308(SSU-26)
62 SSF = 660 SSU

Flash Point. Flash point is the temperature at which ignition of the fuel vapor rising above the heated oil occurs
when exposed to open flame. It is an indication of the maximum temperature at which a liquid fuel can be
stored and handled without serious fire hazard. The flash point of gasoline is -43C while diesel has a flash point
of 52C. The flash point for furnace oil is 66 0C.

Pour Point. The pour point of a fuel is the lowest temperature at which it will pour or flow when cooled under
prescribed conditions. It is a very rough indication of the lowest temperature at which fuel oil is ready to be
pumped.

Specific heat. Specific heat is the amount of energy in kCals needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of oil by
1 0C. The unit of specific heat is kcal/kg-C. It varies from 0.22 to 0.28 depending on the oil specific gravity.
The specific heat determines how much steam or electrical energy it takes to heat oil to a desired temperature.
Light oils have a low specific heat, whereas heavier oils have a higher specific heat.

Auto ignition Temperature. This is the lowest temperature required to initiate self-sustained combustion in a
standard container in atmospheric air in the absence of spark or flame. i.e. the auto ignition temperature of
gasoline is 370C. In general, the autoignition temperature are an indication of the relative difficulty of
combusting a fuel.

Ignition Quality. As a means of controlling the ignition quality of fuel, cetane number and diesel index are
widely used. The cetane number is the percentage of cetane in the standard fuel. Current fuel ranges from 30
to 60 on this scale. A simple test which require but a few simple equipment can give a quick comparative
indication of ignition quality. This is Aniline Point. The temperature which a part of oil and aniline will dissolve
in each other.
Diesel Index=0.018xAPItap +0.320API
tap =the aniline point in 0C

Smoke Point. The smoke point measures the tendency of a liquid fuel to form a soot. It is determined
experimentally by burning the fuel in a special wick lamp and slowly increasing the height of the flame until
the smoke begins to appear. The maximum height of smokeless flame in millimeters is the smoke point. Hence,
the higher the smoke point, the lower is the tendency of the fuel to form soot. Smoke point is used especially
for gas turbines.

Sulphur Content. The amount of sulphur in the fuel oil depends mainly on the source of the crude oil and to a
lesser extent on the refining process. The normal sulfur content for the residual fuel oil (furnace oil) is in the
order of 2 - 4 %.

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 Percentages of sulphur for different fuel oils (adapted from Thermax India Ltd.)
Fuel oil Percentage of Sulphur
Kerosene 0.05 - 0.2
Diesel Oil 0.05 - 0.25
L.D.O 0.5 - 1.8
Furnace Oil 2.0 - 4.0
LSHS < 0.5
The main disadvantage of sulphur is the risk of corrosion by sulphuric acid formed during and
after combustion, and condensation in cool parts of the chimney or stack, air pre-heater and
economizer.
Diesel Fuel

Ash Content. The ash value is related to the inorganic material or salts in the fuel oil. The ash levels in distillate
fuels are negligible. Residual fuels have higher ash levels. These salts may be compounds of sodium, vanadium,
calcium, magnesium, silicon, iron, aluminum, nickel, etc.
Typically, the ash value is in the range 0.03 - 0.07 %. Excessive ash in liquid fuels can cause fouling
deposits in the combustion equipment. Ash has an erosive effect on the burner tips, causes damage to the
refractories at high temperatures and gives rise to high temperature corrosion and fouling of equipment.

Carbon Residue. Carbon residue indicates the tendency of oil to deposit a carbonaceous solid residue on a hot
surface, such as a burner or injection nozzle, when its vaporizable constituents evaporate. Residual oil contains
carbon residue of 1 percent or more.

Liquid Fuel Types

1. Gasoline
The straight run gasoline is obtained either from distillation of crude petroleum or by synthesis. It is a
blend of paraffins, olefins,naphthenes, and aromatics which varies from company to company and by location
and season of the year. It contains some undesirable unsaturated straight chain hydrocarbons and sulphur
compounds. It has boiling range of 40-120 0C.The, unsaturated hydrocarbons get oxidized and polymerized,
thereby causing gum and sludge formation on storing. On the other hand, sulphur compounds lead to corrosion
of internal combustion engine and at the same time they adversely affect tetraethyl lead, which is generally
added to gasoline for better ignition

Gasoline varies greatly in characteristics depending upon the nature of crude oil and process of
preparation. Gasoline must be volatile enough to vaporize readily in the engine but not so volatile as to cause
danger of detonation during handling.

Other properties of gasoline are:

Octane number. The ignition quality rating of gasoline, which is the percentage by volume of iso-
octane (C8H18 )in a mixture of iso-octane and heptane(C7H16) that matches the gasoline in anti -knock quality.
This number indicates the tendency of gasoline to knock when the compression ratio a spark ignition engine is
raised. The research octane number (RON) ranges from 91-100 while the motor octane number (MON) ranges

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from 82-92.The use of antiknock additives such as tetraethyl lead (TEL), tetramethyl lead (TML), and
methylcyclo-pentadiene manganese tricarbonyl(MMT) has been outlawed due to the adverse effect of TEL and
TML on catalyst used in after treatment devices and the adverse effects of MMT on unburned hydrocarbon
emissions. Alcohol have received attention as octane boosters. Ethanol and methanol tend to decrease miles
per gallon because of their lower energy content on a volume basis. Addition of 7% methyl-t- butyl ether
increases research octane by 2 to 3 and motor octane by 1 to 2 with negligible side effects.
Density= 750 kg/m3 (from 720 kg/m3 to 760 kg/m3 at 20 ºC).
Specific gravity of gasoline. Specific gravity of premium and regular gasoline range from 55 to 65 API
Thermal expansion coefficient=900⋅10-6 K-1 (automatic temperature compensation for volume
metered fuels is mandatory in some countries).
Viscosity=0.5⋅10-6 m2/s at 20 ºC
Vapour pressure. 50-90 kPa at 20 ºC, typically 70 kPa at 20 ºC.
Heating value. HHV=45.7 MJ/kg, LHV=42.9 MJ/kg.
Cetane number=5-20, meaning that gasoline has a relative large time-lag between injection in hot air
and auto ignition, although this is irrelevant in typical gasoline applications (spark ignition).

Bioethanol. Bioethanol is bio-fuel substitute of gasoline; i.e. it is ethanol obtained from biomass (not
from fossil fuels), and used as a gasoline blend. Pure bioethanol (E100-fuel) is by far the most produced biofuel,
mainly in Brazil and USA. More widespread practice has been to add up to 20% to gasoline by volume (E20-
fuel or gasohol) to avoid the need of engine modifications. Nearly pure bioethanol is used for new 'versatile
fuel vehicles' (E80-fuel only has 20% gasoline, mainly as a denaturaliser). Anhydrous ethanol (<0.6% water)
is required for gasoline mixtures, whereas for use-alone up to 10% water can be accepted. Bioethanol is
preferentially made from cellulosic biomass materials instead of from more expensive traditional feedstock
such that starch crops (obtaining it from sugar-feed stocks is even more expensive). In Japan, a bacteria has
been bred which produces ethanol from paper or rice-straw without any pretreatment.

ETBE (ethanol tertiary butyl ether, C6 H140,) . ETBE has a ρ =760 kg/m3 and LHV=36 MJ/kg). It is
a better ingredient than bioethanol because it is not so volatile, not so corrosive, and less avid for water. ETBE-
15 fuel is a blend of gasoline with 15% in volume of ETBE. ETBE is obtained by catalytic reaction of
bioethanol with isobutene (45%/55% in weight): CH3CH2OH+(CH3CH)2=(CH3)3-CO-CH2CH3. To note
that isobutene comes from petroleum. The other gasoline-substitute ether, MTBE (methanol tertiary butyl
ether, (CH3)3CO-CH3), is a full petroleum derivate (65% isobutene, 35% methanol).

2. Diesel Fuel

Diesel fuel is a mixture of light distillate hydrocarbons with a higher boiling point range than gasoline.
It is used in diesel engines. Diesel fuel is originally obtained from crude-oil distillation (petrodiesel), but
alternatives are increasingly being developed for partial or total substitution of petrodiesel, such as biodiesel
(from vegetal oils), and synthetic diesel (usually from a gas fuel coming from coal reforming or biomass, also
named gas to liquid fuels, GTL). In all cases, diesel nowadays must be free of sulfur (Martinez, 2019).

Cetane Number (CN).this is the ignition quality rating of diesel which is the percent of cetane in the
standard fuel. Low cetane number cause cold starting problem, increase engine roughness, peak pressure and
NO emissions. Typically, highly turbocharged engines are more tolerant to low cetane number during steady-

5
state operation. Additives such as nitrate esters increase cetane number of diesel fuel. CN of diesel fuel is 45
(between 40-55); 60-65 for biodiesel.
Cetane number ranks fuel according to their ignition delay when undergoing standard test. Because
cetane( n-hexadecane) is one of the fastest igniting hydrocarbons in the fuel, it is assigned a cetane number of
100. Isocetane (heptamethylnonane) ignites slowly and is arbitrarily assigned a cetane number of 15. A fuel is
compared with mixtures of reference fuels in a standard prechamber diesel engine and rated by the mixture
which most nearly matches the ignition delay of the test fuel. The cetane number of the reference mixture is
defined by:
𝐶𝑁 = (% 𝑛 𝑐𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑒) + 0.15(% ℎ𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑦𝑙𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑒)

In many cases, API gravity, and midboiling temperature™ are often used to correlate cetane number.

The ASTM(D976) correlation is:

𝐶𝑁 = −420.34 + 0.016(𝐴𝑃𝐼)2 + 0.192(𝐴𝑃𝐼) 𝑙𝑜𝑔10 (𝑇𝑀) + 65.01(𝑙𝑜𝑔10 𝑇𝑀) 2 − 0.0001809(𝑇𝑀)2
Where TM is in 0F. Such calculated values of CN are more correctly designated as the cetane index
(CI) to make clearly that they are different from the measured value.

Biodiesel. Biodiesel is a biomass-derived fuel, safer, cleaner, renewable, non-toxic and biodegradable
direct substitute of petroleum diesel in compression-ignition engines, but more expensive. Biodiesel is a
monoalkyl-ester mixture obtained from natural oils, currently produced by a process called transesterification,
where a new or used oil (sunflower, colza, soybean, or even animal fat) is first filtered, then pre-processed with
alkali to remove free fatty acids, then mixed with an alcohol (usually methanol) and a catalyst (usually sodium
or potassium hydroxide); the oil's triglycerides react to form esters and glycerol, which are then separated from
each other and purified. Usually 10% methanol (non-renewable) is added, and some 10% glycerol forms.

Composition of Diesel Fuel. Composition of diesel fuel are : 80-88% Carbon 15 to 10%
Hydrogen 0 to 2 % sulphur and up to 2% combined oxygen and nitrogen.

Other properties of diesel fuel are:

Flash-point=50 ºC typical (40 ºC minimum). In the range 310-340 K (370-430 K for biodiesel).
Viscosity. Most diesel fuel has viscosity between 30 to 45 Saybolts Seconds Universal (SSU) at
37.8 C.in this range it may be expressed in centistokes or in saybolt Second Furol (SSF)
Density=830 kg/m3 (780-860 kg/m3 at 40 ºC). 880 kg/m3 for biodiesel (860-900 kg/m3 at 40 ºC).
Heating value. HHV=47 MJ/kg, LHV=43 MJ/kg (HHV=40 MJ/kg for biodiesel).
Boiling and freezing points. Not well defined because they are mixtures. In general, these fuels
remain liquid down to −30 ºC (some antifreeze additives may be added to guarantee that)
API.The A.P.I. gravity of diesel fuels varies from 40 to 17.5 at 60F.

3. Kerosene
Kerosene is a crude-oil distillate similar to petrodiesel but with a wider-fraction distillation.
Kerosene oil is obtained between 180-250 0C during fractional distillation of crude petroleum. It is used as an
illuminant, jet engine fuel, tractor fuel. Jet fuel is kerosene-based, with special additives (<1%). Rocket
propellant RP-1 (also named Refined Petroleum) is a refined jet fuel, free of sulfur and with shorter and
branched carbon-chains more resistant to thermal breakdown; it is used in rocketry usually with liquid oxygen
as the oxidiser (RP1/LOX bipropellant). The tendency to change to biofuels or GTL fuels is also applicable
here. Contrary to its etymology, present-day kerosene and derivatives are less waxy than diesel (i.e. less
lubricant). Diesel and kerosene should not be taken as fully interchangeable fuels at present, because kerosene

6
has no cetane-number specification and thus it may have large ignition delays (producing lots of unburnt
emissions and engine rough-running by high-pressure peaks); besides, kerosene has less lubricity, and diesel-
fuel less cold-start ability
Chemical Composition of Kerosene. 85-88% carbon 12-15% hydrogen 0.5% sulphur and a small
percentage of nitrogen and oxygen.
General properties. S.G=0.78 -.85 at 60F 35 -50 API
Flash Point: 100 to 160F
HHV=10,768 to11, 212 cal. / gram

Jet fuels. Jet fuel is used for commercial (Jet A-1, Jet A, and Jet B) and military (JP-4, JP-5, JP-8...)
jet propulsion; aviation gasoline (avgas) is used to power piston-engine aircraft. They are basically mixtures
of kerosene and gasoline (half-&-half for JP-4, 99.5% kerosene for JP-5 and JP-8, 100% kerosene for Jet A-
1), plus special additives (1-2%): corrosion inhibitor, anti-icing, anti-fouling, and anti-static compounds. Jet
A-1 comprises hydrocarbon chains with 9 to 15 carbon atoms. Jet B (also named JP-4, with composition
distribution from 5 to 15 carbon chains), is used in very cold weather, and in military aircraft.
Jet A-1 is the international standard jet fuel, with a freezing temperature of Tf=−50 ºC (−47 ºC as a
limit); Jet A (with Tf=−40 ºC) is a low-grade Jet A-1 only and mostly used in USA; and Jet B (Tf<−50 ºC), the
commercial name of JP-4, is only used in very cold climates. They all have a lower heating value of 42.8 to
43.6 MJ/kg. Minimum flash point is 60 ºC for JP-5, 38 ºC for Jet A-1 and JP-8 (typical value for Jet A-1 is
Tflash=50 ºC, with a vapour pressure at this point of 1.5 kPa; 1 kPa at 38 ºC), and Tflash=−20 ºC for JP-4.
Typical density. Typical density at 15 ºC is 810 kg/m3 for Jet A-1, and 760 kg/m3 for Jet B. Jet fuel
must withstand 150 ºC without fouling (dissolved oxygen in fuel exposed to air reacts with the hydrocarbons
to form peroxides and eventually deposits after few hours); further heating leads to thermal cracking.

4. Fuel oil
Types. There are two basic types of fuel oil: Distillate fuel oil (lighter, thinner, better for cold-start)
and Residual fuel oil (heavier, thicker, more powerful, better lubrication). Often, some distillate is added to
residual fuel oil to get a desired viscosity. They are only used for industrial and marine applications because,
although fuel oil is cheaper than diesel oil, it is more difficult to handle (must be settled, pre-heated and filtered,
and leave a sludge at the bottom of the tanks). Notice that, sometimes, particularly in the USA, the term 'fuel
oil' also includes diesel and kerosene.

Properties of Fuel Oil are:

Density. Some 900 to 1,010 kg/m3. Varies with composition and temperature.
Viscosity. Widely variable with composition; some 1000⋅10-6 m2/s at 20 ºC (4000⋅10-6 m2/s at 10 ºC,
(10 to 30)⋅10-6 m2/s at 100 ºC). Varies a lot with composition and temperature. Must be heated for
handling (it is usually required to have <500⋅10-6 m2/s for pumping and <15⋅10-6 m2/s for injectors).
Pour point. Pour point is in the range 5 to10 ºC.
Viscosity. Fuel oils are usually graded by their viscosity at 50 ºC (ISO-8217).
Vapour Pressure. Vapour pressure is at 0.1 to 1 kPa at 20 ºC.
Composition. Distillate fuel oils are similar to diesel oil.

Heavy fuel oil. Heavy fuel oil (HFO) (also named Bunker-C, or Residual fuel) is the residue of crude
oil distillation that still flows (the quasi-solid residue is asphalt); waste oil from other industries are often added.
It is the fuel used in large marine vessels because of price (about half the price of distillates).

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 Properties. A typical HFO is IF-300 (Intermediate Fuel), which has a viscosity of 300⋅10-6 m2/s at 50
ºC (300 cSt), 25⋅10-6 m2/s at 100 ºC, ρ =990 kg/m3 at 15 ºC, HHV=43 MJ/kg, and the flash-point at 60 to 80
ºC.
Composition. HFO may have a composition of 88%wt C, 10%wt H, 1%wt S, 0.5%wt H2 O, 0.1%wt
ash, and may contain dispersed solid or semi-solid particles (asphaltenes, minerals and other leftovers from the
oil source, metallic particles from the refinery equipment, and some dumped chemical wastes), plus some 0.5%
water. HFO leaves a carbonaceous residue in the tanks, and may have up to 5% of sulfur (MARPOL directive
is to limit it to 3.5% by 2012 and to 0.5% by 2020).

Advantage of Liquid Fuels

1. For equal heat values, the space needed for the storage of oil is about 50% than that of coal.
2. Weight for weight, the value of oil is about 35% higher than the high grade coal.
3. Oil does not produced dust or ash when burned, leaving the furnace always clean.
4. It does not deteriorate in storage and therefore no heat value is lost.
5. There is greater adaptability to variation in load, as automatic regulation of fire is possible.
6. Standby losses are minimum
7. High combustion efficiency is possible.
8. Elimination of coal and ash handling equipment reduces boiler room labor.
9. They are easy to transport through pipes.
10. Loss of heat in chimney is very low due to greater cleanliness.
11. They require less furnace space for combustion.

Disadvantages
1. The cost of liquid fuel is relatively much higher as compared to solid fuel.
2. Costly special storage tanks are required for storing liquid fuels.
3. There is a greater risk of fire hazards, particularly, in case of highly inflammable and volatile liquid
fuels.
4. They give bad odor.
5. For efficient burning of liquid fuels, specially constructed burners and spraying apparatus are required.

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Sample Problems:

1. A fuel with 280API has a temperature of 4oC.Determine the density, 𝜌 (kg/m3) and higher heating value
(kCal/kg) of this fuel?
𝜌 = 𝑆. 𝐺𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑎𝑡 4𝐶 𝑥 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
o
API =141.5/(S.G @ 15.6C) - 131.5
141.5 141.5
𝑆. 𝐺 @ 15.6 = 𝐴𝑃𝐼+131.5 = 28+131.5 = 0.887
𝑆. 𝐺4𝐶 = (𝑆. 𝐺. @15.6) [1 − 0.00072(𝑇 − 15.6)]
𝑆. 𝐺4𝐶 = (0.887) [1 − 0.00072(4 − 15.6)]
𝑆. 𝐺.4𝐶 = 0.894408
1000𝑘𝑔
𝜌 = 0.894408 𝑥 𝑚3
= 𝟖𝟗𝟒. 𝟒𝟎𝟖𝒌𝒈/𝒎𝟑

𝐻𝐻𝑉 = 41,130 + 139.6 (𝐴𝑃𝐼)𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔

𝑘𝐽 𝑘𝐽 1 𝑘𝐶𝑎𝑙
𝐻𝐻𝑉 = 41,130 + 139.6 (28) 𝑘𝑔 = 45,038.800 𝑘𝑔 𝑥 4.186 𝑘𝐽 = 10,759.388 𝑘𝐶𝑎𝑙/𝑘𝑔

2. A fuel has an API gravity of 35.7 and a 50% distillation temperature of 529K. Calculate its cetane number
(CN) of this fuel.
𝐶𝑁 = −420.34 + 0.016(𝐴𝑃𝐼)2 + 0.192(𝐴𝑃𝐼) 𝑙𝑜𝑔10 (𝑇𝑀) + 65.01(𝑙𝑜𝑔10 𝑇𝑀) 2 − 0.0001809(𝑇𝑀)2
𝑇𝑀 = 529𝐾 − 273 = 256𝐶
𝑇𝑀 𝑖𝑛 𝐹 = 1.8(𝑇 𝑖𝑛 𝐶) + 32 = 1.8(256) + 32 = 492.800
𝐶𝑁 = −420.34 + 0.016(𝐴𝑃𝐼)2 + 0.192(𝐴𝑃𝐼) 𝑙𝑜𝑔10 (𝑇𝑀) + 65.01(𝑙𝑜𝑔10 𝑇𝑀) 2 − 0.0001809(𝑇𝑀)2
𝐶𝑁 = −420.34 + 0.016(35.7)2 + 0.192(35.7) 𝑙𝑜𝑔10 (492.8)
+65.01(𝑙𝑜𝑔10 492.8)2 − 0.0001809(492.8)2
𝐶𝑁 = 45.930

3. How many cubic feet of fuel oil with 320 Baume are supplied to produce 3,780 kW-hrs of electricity, if the
heating value of the fuel is 19,500 Btu/lb and the over-all efficiency of the diesel electric unit is 30%.

𝑚𝑓
𝑉𝑤 = 𝜌𝑓
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝜌𝑓 = 𝑆. 𝐺𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙 𝑥𝜌𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
140 140
𝑆. 𝐺.15.6 = 130+𝐵𝑒 = 130+32 = 0.864
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝜌𝑓 = 0.864(62.40 𝑙𝑏/𝑓𝑡 3 ) = 53.914 𝑙𝑏/𝑓𝑡 3
𝐸𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = 𝑥 100%
𝐸𝑖𝑛
𝐸𝑖𝑛 = 𝑚𝑓 𝑥𝐻𝐻𝑉
𝐸
𝑜𝑢𝑡 3,780 𝑘𝑊−ℎ𝑟
𝐸𝑖𝑛 = 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑥 100% = 30
𝑥100 = 12,600 𝑘𝑊 − ℎ𝑟
12,600 𝑘𝑊−ℎ𝑟 𝑥 1 𝑘𝐽/𝑠𝑒𝑐 3600𝑠𝑒𝑐
𝑚𝑓 = 𝐵𝑡𝑢 1.055 𝑘𝐽 𝑥 1𝑘𝑊 𝑥 1 ℎ𝑟
= 2204.885 𝑙𝑏
19,500 𝑥
𝑙𝑏 1 𝐵𝑡𝑢
2204.885 𝑙𝑏
𝑉𝑤 = = 40.896 𝑓𝑡 3
53.914 𝑙𝑏/𝑓𝑡 3

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Exercises:

1. During a 24 hr. period, a diesel electric plant consumed 200 gallons of fuel at 29C and produced 3930 Kw-
Hr of energy. Industrial fuel used is 34 API and was purchased at 15.6C at P30/lit. What should be the cost of
fuel to produced 1 Kw-Hr?

2. A fuel oil in a day tank for use in an industrial boiler is tested with hydrometer. The hydrometer reading
indicate S.G of 0.924 when the temperature of the oil in the tank is 35C.Calculate the higher heating value of
the fuel and the API of fuel.

3. A diesel power plant uses fuel with heating value of 43,000Kj/kg. What is the density of the fuel at 25C?

4. A cylindrical tank 4m long and 3m diameter is used for oil storage. How many days can the tank supply the
engine having 29API with fuel consumption of 60Kg/hr? (10pts)

10