Abstract
A “fuel” is generally defined as any material that can be altered to release energy in a controlled manner in the form of heat and/or work. Fuels can be solids, liquids, or gases. Conventional fuels are of two types: fossil fuels and nuclear fuels. The word “altered” in the above definition signifies a chemical or physical process to which the fuel is subjected to release energy. Nuclear fuels, such as fissionable uranium, are “altered” through a chained nuclear reaction of fission to generate useful energy in the form of high temperature heat. Fossil fuels represent fossilized biomass, which stores carbon out of the natural carbon cycle in sediments for a long time. When combusted, fossil fuels release the carbon into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, thus contributing to global warming. Biomass also emits carbon dioxide when combusted; however, the emitted carbon is only returned in the global carbon cycle in this way; thus, biomass is considered a renewable energy resource. Biomass represents biological material of recently living organisms, which is regarded both as an alternative fuel and as a source of materials for synthetic fuels production.
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Abbreviations
- c :
-
Molar concentration
- ex :
-
Specific exergy, kJ/mol
- GCV:
-
Gross calorific value, MJ/mol
- h :
-
Specific enthalpy, kJ/mol
- H :
-
Total enthalpy, kJ
- IV:
-
Iodine value
- m :
-
Mass ratio
- M :
-
Molecular mass, kg/kmol
- \( \mathcal{M} \) :
-
Specific CO2 emission, kg/kg or kg/GJ
- n :
-
Number of moles
- NCV:
-
Net calorific value, MJ/mol
- Q :
-
Heat, kJ
- s :
-
Specific entropy
- SV:
-
Saponification value
- T :
-
Temperature, K
- w :
-
Moisture content, kg/kg
- W :
-
Work, kJ
- X :
-
Molar fraction
- \( \eta \) :
-
Efficiency
- \( \nu \) :
-
Specific volume, kg/kmol
- \( \rho \) :
-
Density, kg/m3
- \( \zeta \) :
-
Heat recovery factor
- 0:
-
Reference state
- DAF:
-
Dry and ash-free
- f:
-
Fuel
- gen:
-
Generated
- rec:
-
Recovery
- w:
-
Water
- ch:
-
Chemical
- \( (\sim ) \) :
-
Dimensionless value
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Study Questions/Problems
Study Questions/Problems
-
6.1
Explain the difference between conventional fuels and alternative fuels.
-
6.2
Can sulfur be considered a fuel?
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6.3
What is the best kind of coal with respect to emission per unit of energy embedded?
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6.4
Explain the process of pyrolysis.
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6.5
Based on Eq. (6.1) and Table 6.2, calculate the range of gross calorific values for anthracite.
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6.6
Determine the range of carbon dioxide emission from lignite and compare your results with those shown in Fig. 6.2.
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6.7
From which petroleum-derived fuel can one expect the minimum carbon dioxide emission per energy generated by combustion?
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6.8
Describe the main features of biofuels.
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6.9
Compare wood and olive kernels from the point of view of combustion energy and carbon dioxide emissions.
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6.10
Comment on the main routes of biomass energy conversion methods.
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6.11
It is given for one kind of vegetable oil fuel a saponification value of 190 mg KOH/g oil and an iodine value of 90 g I/100 g oil. Calculate the higher heating value.
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6.12
Perform a case study similar to the one presented in Section 6.4 for the case of ammonia–gasoline cofueling.
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Dinçer, İ., Zamfirescu, C. (2011). Fossil Fuels and Alternative Fuels. In: Sustainable Energy Systems and Applications. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-95861-3_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-95861-3_6
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