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= Classification of Fuels =

Abstract:
Fuels are materials such as coal, gas, or oil that is burned to produce heat or power. The various types of fuels like liquid, solid and gaseous fuels are available for firing in boilers, furnaces and other combustion equipments. The selection of right type of fuel depends on various factors such as availability, storage, handling, pollution and landed cost of fuel.

The knowledge of the fuel properties helps in selecting the right fuel for the right purpose and efficient use of the fuel.

Introduction:
A fuel is a substance which gives heat energy on combustion. A fuel contains carbon and hydrogen as main combustible elements. fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases chemical energy in form of the heat. This heat energy is converted into mechanical work by the 'Heat Engine'.

Fuels are mainly characterized in three categories:-

1. Solid Fuels

2. Liquid Fuels

3. Gaseous Fuels

Solid Fuels: -
Solid fuels are different sorts of solid material that are utilized as fuel to deliver heat and work. Regular solid fuels are promptly accessible in nature. Case wood, peat, lignite, bituminous coal, anthracite coal and so forth.

Coal is ordered into three noteworthy sorts; anthracite, bituminous, and lignite. Anthracite is the most established coal from a land point of view. It is a hard coal made primarily out of carbon with minimal unpredictable substance and essentially no dampness.

Solid fuels having following Advantages and Disadvantages:

Advantages:
(i) Easily available.

(ii) Low cost.

(iii) Less risk in storing the solid fuels compare to liquid and gaseous fuels.

(iv) Temperature produced by the burning of fuel is not too much high.

Disadvantages:
(i) The residual contents after fuel burning are high.

(ii) Large proportion of heat produced is wasted.

(iii)Their burning process cannot be controlled easily.

(iv)They produce solid waste after burning.

(v) Storage of Solid fuel and handling is not easy.

Liquid Fuels:
These fuels are highly used in present days operations. The wide range of liquid fuel are used in the automotive gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene Liquid fuels are obtained from the oil wells. Initially it is obtained as a raw oil then refined by fractional distillation process. According to the molecular structure of these distilled fuels are mainly olifines, para-fines, naphthalene and aromatic.

Fluid fuels having following Advantages and Disadvantages:

Advantages:-
(i)) They having higher calorific value than solid fuels.

(ii) Easy to transport through channels.

(iii) Less storage is required.

(iv) These fuels does not produce any solid residual like solid fuels.

Disadvantages:-
(i) The cost of fluid fuel is moderately substantially higher when contrasted with strong fuel.

(ii)These fuels are highly inflammable and produce huge amount of energy.

(iii) Specially developed engines are required for productive consuming of fluid fuels.

(iv) The emission of hydrocarbons,nitrogen compounds, sulfur contents can cause severe effect on the environment.

Gaseous Fuel:
Fuel gas is any of various fuels that under common conditions are vaporous. Many gaseous fuels are made out of hydrocarbons, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, or blends thereof. Such gasses are wellsprings of potential warmth vitality or light vitality that can be promptly transmitted and appropriated through funnels from the purpose of inception specifically to the place of utilization. Fuel gas is stood out from fluid fuels and from solid fuels; however some gaseous fuels are condensed for capacity or transport. While their vaporous nature can be worthwhile, maintaining a strategic distance from the trouble of transporting solid fuel and the threats of spillage characteristic in fluid fuels, it can likewise be hazardous.

Some sorts of vaporous fuel are Petroleum gas, Condensed Petroleum gas (LPG), Refinery gasses, compressed natural gases (CNG).

Vaporous fuels have the accompanying points of advantages and Disadvantages over solid or fluid energizes:

Advantages:-
(i)They are perfect being used.

(ii)They don't require any unique engine.

(iii)They can be passed on effectively through pipelines to client, no need of manual transportation.

(iv)They can be effectively ignited.

(v)They have high calorific value.

(vi)They consume with no shoot and smoke.

(vii)They are free from polluting influences found in strong and fluid fuels.

Disadvantages:-
(i)Large stockpiling tanks are required.

(ii)They are exceptionally inflammable and may be hazardous.

(iii)Although we can use gaseous fuels by compressing them but the cost of such fuel will be high and the storage of such compressed fuels need special kinds of containers and it may also be dangerous if preventive steps for use are not taken.

References:
1. Schobert, H. (2013). Chemistry of fossil fuels and biofuels. Cambridge University Press.