Fuel Combustion & Fuel Handling and Storage

Flashcards on Fuel Combustion and Fuel Handling/Storage

Fuel

Any substance, natural or artificial, which upon combustion releases heat energy.

Combustion

A chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidizing agent that produces energy, usually in the form of heat and light.

Burning

Rapid oxidation of a material typically accompanied by the release of heat and light. often involves visible flames and can occur spontaneously or without strict control.

Proximate Analysis

An analysis of the composition of fuels which gives, on mass basis, the relative amounts of Moisture content, Volatile matter, fixed Carbon and Ash.

Ultimate Analysis

An analysis of the composition of fuels which gives, on mass basis, the relative amount of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Sulfur, Ash and Moisture.

Volumetric Analysis

An analysis of the composition of fuels which gives, on volume basis, the relative amount of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Sulfur, Ash and Moisture.

Solid Fuels

Various forms of solid material that can be burnt to release energy, providing heat and light through the process of combustion.

Biomass

Cellulose material which can be broadly classified as woody and non woody biomass.

Wood

Hard, porous, fibrous substance found beneath the bark of trees and shrubs.

Charcoal

Made by heating wood in the absence of air to produce char.

Peat

An accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter, also known as turf.

Coke

A grey, hard, and porous fuel with high carbon content and few impurities, made by heating coal or oil in the absence of air.

Coal

A solid carbon-rich material that is usually brown or black and one of the most important primary fossil fuels.

Rank

Degree of metamorphism, or progressive alteration, in the natural series from lignite to anthracite in coal classification.

Anthracite Coal

A very hard coal having a shiny black luster, it is non coking and has a high percentage of fixed carbon and less than 8% volatile matter.

Semi-anthracite Coal

A coal that occurs in small quantities in various localities and has less fixed carbon, 8 to 14% volatile matter, less luster and it burns with longer and more luminous flames compared to anthracite.

Semi-bituminous Coal

The highest grade of bituminous coal that burns with very small amount of smoke, is softer than the anthracites contain from 14 to 22% volatile matter and has a tendency to break into small sizes during storage or transportation.

Bituminous Coal

Soft coals that have high percentages of volatile matter, burn with long yellow and smoky flames, and vary greatly in the percentages of volatile matter, moisture, ash, and sulfur.

Sub-bituminous Coal

Sometimes known as black lignites; are low grade bituminous coal which have lost the woody structural appearance of lignites, disintegrate when exposed to the air and required careful attention during storage.

Lignites

Are in the transition state between peat and the subbituminous grade of coal and have a woody or often a clay like appearance, together with low heat values and high moisture and high ash content.

As received or as fired

Includes the coal in its natural state, with all its inherent moisture and ash.

Dry or moisture-free

Eliminates moisture from the analysis, focusing on the dry content.

Ash and moisture-free (on a combustible basis)

Considers only the combustible elements by removing both ash and moisture.

Ash, moisture, and sulfur-free

Goes a step further by excluding sulfur along with ash and moisture, emphasizing the purest combustible content.

Surface moisture

Moisture from weather and from washing operation.

Inherent moisture

Chemically bound within the coal structure.

Fixed Carbon

Is that which does not distil easily when heated – It constitutes the carbon in coke.

Volatile Matter

Is liberated when coal is heated.

Petroleum oil (Crude oil)

A mixture of numerous hydrocarbons, each having its chemical and physical properties including molecular form.

Gasoline

Obtained either from distillation of crude petroleum or by synthesis and a blend of paraffins, olefins, naphthene, and aromatics

Octane number

Is a measure of a fuel's ability to resist knocking or detonating in an internal combustion engine.

Bioethanol

Bio-fuel substitute of gasoline; i.e. it is ethanol obtained from biomass (not from fossil fuels), and used as a gasoline blend.

Diesel Fuel

A mixture of light distillate hydrocarbons with a higher boiling point range than gasoline and is used in diesel engines.

Cetane Number (CN)

This is the ignition quality rating of diesel which is the percent of cetane in the standard fuel.

Biodiesel

A biomass-derived fuel, safer, cleaner, renewable, non-toxic, and biodegradable direct substitute of petroleum diesel in compression-ignition engines, but more expensive.

Kerosene

A crude oil distillate similar to petrodiesel but with a wider fraction distillation.

Fuel Oil

Basic types are Distillate fuel oil (lighter, thinner, better for cold-start) and Residual fuel oil (heavier, thicker, more powerful, better lubrication).

Heavy fuel oil (HFO)

Residue of crude oil distillation that still flows (the quasi-solid residue is asphalt); waste oil from other industries is often added

Natural gas

A naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, but commonly including varying amounts of other higher alkanes, and sometimes a small percentage of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, or helium.

Propane

A three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula C3H8, a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid.

Butane

An organic compound with the formula C4H10 that is an alkane with four carbon atoms and a gas at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.

Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)

A petroleum-derived product distributed and stored as a liquid in pressurized containers, based on propane (C3H8) or the less volatile butane (C4H10).

Uranium

An abundant metal and is full of energy where one fuel pellet creates as much energy as one ton of coal, 149 gallons of oil or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas.

Enrichment

Increases the uranium-235 concentration from 0.7% to between 3% and. 5%, which is the level used in most reactors.

Plutonium

Over one-third of the energy produced in most nuclear power plants comes from this, and it is created in the reactor as a by-product.

Bunker

Storage container used for any type of fuel.