FUELS AND LUBRICANTS

BY
ER. SHWETA SAH
Syllabus
❖ 4th level
FUELS AND LUBRICANTS [2x2=4, 1x5=5, 1x10=10]
• General knowledge on different types of fuels used in IC engines
• General knowledge on different types of lubricants used in machinery.
• Knowledge on application and changing interval of lubricants
❖ 5th level
FUELS AND LUBRICANTS [2x2=4, 2x5=10]
• General knowledge on different types of fuels and lubricants used in machinery
• Knowledge on application and changing interval of lubricants
Introduction to fuels
• Fuel is a substance which, when burnt, i.e. on coming in contact and
reacting with oxygen or air, produces heat.
• Thus, the substances classified as fuel must necessarily contain one or
several of the combustible elements : carbon, hydrogen, sulphur, etc.
• In the process of combustion, the chemical energy of fuel is converted
into heat energy.
• To utilize the energy of fuel in most usable form, it is required to
transform the fuel from its one state to another, i.e. from solid to liquid
or gaseous state, liquid to gaseous state,or from its chemical energy to
some other form of energy via single or many stages.
CLASSIFICATION OF FUELS
• Fuels may broadly be classified in two ways, i.e.
(a) according to the physical state in which they exist in nature – solid, liquid
and gaseous, and
(b) according to the mode of their occurrence – natural or primary and
manufactured or artificial or secondary
Natural Fuels Manufactured Fuels

Solid Fuels

Wood Tanbark, Bagasse, Straw

Coal Charcoal
Oil shale Coke
Briquettes
Liquid Fuels

Petroleum Oils from distillation of petroleum

Coal tar
Shale-oil
Alcohols, etc.
Gaseous Fuels

Natural gas Coal gas

Producer gas
Water gas
Hydrogen
Acetylene
Blast furnace gas
Oil gas
Primary fuels
• Primary fuels are dense sources of primary energy found as natural
resources.
• Primary fuels are fuels that are found in nature and can be extracted,
captured, cleaned, or graded without any sort of energy conversion or
transformation process.
• This means that all processing and collecting of the fuel is done before
the fuel is converted into heat or mechanical work
• examples of primary fuel include: Coal, Crude oil, Bitumen, Natural
gas, Uranium, Thorium, etc
Secondary fuels
• Secondary fuels are fuels that are derived from some primary fuel or
fuels through chemical or physical processes.
• These are fuels that are not found as a natural resource.
• The energy for these secondary fuels comes initially from primary
energy sources.
• Gasoline is the best example of a secondary fuel, as it must be made
from oil through distillation processes.
• While many of the actual chemicals in gasoline are found in crude oil,
they must be separated out in order to put the hydrocarbons in the
most useful form.
Secondary fuels
• Secondary fuels are often made to maximize the ability
for combustion to get energy into an engine.
• This means that secondary fuels are often an intermediate form of
energy between the primary energy and the energy services.
• Molecular hydrogen can be a secondary fuel as well, but this is often
made in a fuel cell.
SOLID FUELS
• Solid fuels are mainly classified into two categories, i.e. natural fuels,
such as wood, coal, etc. and manufactured fuels, such as charcoal,
coke, briquettes, etc.
• Advantages
• (a) They are easy to transport.
• (b) They are convenient to store without any risk of spontaneous explosion.
• (c) Their cost of production is low.
• (d) They posses moderate ignition temperature.
SOLID FUELS
• Disadvantages
• (a) Their ash content is high.
• (b) Their large proportion of heat is wasted.
• (c) They burn with clinker formation.
• (d) Their combustion operation cannot be controlled easily.
• (e) Their cost of handling is high.
Coal
• Coal is the most important solid fuel
• Coal is divided into groups according to their chemical and physical
properties.
LIQUID FUELS
• The liquid fuels can be classified as follows :
• (a) Natural or crude oil, and
• (b) Artificial or manufactured oils.
LIQUID FUELS
• Advantages
• (a) They posses higher calorific value per unit mass than solid fuels.
• (b) They burn without dust, ash, clinkers, etc.
• (c) Their firing is easier and also fire can be extinguished easily by stopping
• liquid fuel supply.
• (d) They are easy to transport through pipes.
• (e) They can be stored indefinitely without any loss.
• (f) They are clean in use and economic to handle.
• (g) Loss of heat in chimney is very low due to greater cleanliness.
• (h) They require less excess air for complete combustion.
• (i) They require less furnace space for combustion.
LIQUID FUELS
• Disadvantages
• (a) The cost of liquid fuel is relatively much higher as compared to solid
fuel.
• (b) Costly special storage tanks are required for storing liquid fuels.
• (c) There is a greater risk of five hazards, particularly, in case of highly
• inflammable and volatile liquid fuels.
• (d) They give bad odour.
• (e) For efficient burning of liquid fuels, specially constructed burners and
• spraying apparatus are required.
Properties of liquid fuels
• Density
• It is taken at a reference temperature of 15 ℃.
• Specific gravity
• It is density of fuel relative to water.
• Measured by hydrometer.
• Viscosity
• It is a measure of internal resistance to flow.
• As the temperature increases, viscosity decreases
• Flash point
• It is the lowest the lowest temperature at which a liquid (usually a petroleum
product) will form a vapour in the air near its surface that will “flash,” or briefly
ignite, on exposure to an open flame. The flash point is a general indication of the
flammability or combustibility of a liquid.
Properties of liquid fuels

Autoignition
Fuel Flashpoint
temperature
Ethanol (70%) 16.6 °C (61.9 °F) 363 °C (685 °F)
Coleman fuel (White Gas) −4 °C (25 °F) 215 °C (419 °F)
Gasoline (petrol) −43 °C (−45 °F) 280 °C (536 °F)
Diesel (2-D) >52 °C (126 °F) 210 °C (410 °F)
Jet fuel (A/A-1) >38 °C (100 °F) 210 °C (410 °F)
Kerosene >38–72 °C (100–162 °F) 220 °C (428 °F)
Vegetable oil (canola) 327 °C (621 °F) 424 °C (795 °F)
Biodiesel >130 °C (266 °F)
Properties of liquid fuels
• Pour point
• The pour point of an oil is the lowest temperature at which an oil is observed to flow
by gravity
• The pour point of a liquid is the temperature below which the liquid loses its flow
characteristics
• Specific heat
• It is the amount of kCals to raise the temperature of 1 kg of oil by 1 ℃
• Specific heat of Diesel Fuel is 2100 J/kg K
• Specific heat of Diesel Fuel is 2200 J/kg K

• Calorific value
• The calorific value of a fuel is the quantity of heat produced by its combustion – at
constant pressure and under “normal” (standard) conditions
Properties of liquid fuels
• Fire point
• The fire point is the temperature to which the product must be heated under the
prescribed conditions of the method to burn continuously when the mixture of
vapor and air is ignited by a specified flame
• Cloud point
• It is the temperature at which wax (paraffin) begins to separate when oil
chilled to a low temperature
Properties of liquid fuels
• Sulphur
• The amount of sulphur in the fuel oil depends on the source of crude oil.
• Ash content
• The ash content of petroleum products is generally low. It is defined as the
inorganic residue that remains after combustion of the oil in air at specific high
temperature. Ash typically ranges from 0.1–0.2% in oil.
• Carbon residue
• Carbon residue is an indication of the fuel to decompose and form
carbonaceous material that can plug diesel fuel injection nozzles.
• Water content
• Water content of furnace oil is very low
GASEOUS FUELS
• Gaseous fuels occur in nature, besides being manufactured from solid
and liquid fuels.
Advantages
• Gaseous fuels due to erase and flexibility of their applications, possess
the following advantages over solid or liquid fuels :
(a) They can be conveyed easily through pipelines to the actual place of
need, thereby eliminating manual labour in transportation.
(b) They can be lighted at ease.
(c) They have high heat contents and hence help us in having higher
temperatures.
GASEOUS FUELS
(d) They can be pre-heated by the heat of hot waste gases, thereby
affecting economy in heat.
(e) Their combustion can readily by controlled for change in demand like
oxidizing or reducing atmosphere, length flame, temperature, etc.
(f) They are clean in use.
(g) They do not require any special burner.
(h) They burn without any shoot, or smoke and ashes.
(i) They are free from impurities found in solid and liquid fuels.

• Disadvantages
(a) Very large storage tanks are needed.
(b) They are highly inflammable, so chances of fire hazards in their use is high.
Characteristics of a good fuel

• High calorific value

• A fuel should possess high calorific value since the amount of heat liberated
and temperature attained thereby depends upon the calorific value.
• Moderate ignition temperature
• Ignition temperature id the lowest to which the fuel must be pre-heated so that
it starts burning smoothly.
Low ignition temperature is dangerous for storage and transport of fuel, hence
it can cause fire hazards. While high ignition temperature causes difficulty in
igniting the fuel, but fuel is safe during storage and transport. Hence, an ideal
fuel should have moderate ignition temperature.
Characteristics of a good fuel
• Low moisture content
• The moisture content of the fuel reduces the heating value and involves a loss
of money because it is paid for at the same rate as the fuel. Hence, fuel should
have low moisture content.
• Low non-combustible matter content
• After combustion, the non-combustible matter content generally in form of ash
or clinker.
That also reduces the heating value, besides the additional cost of storage,
handling and disposal of the waste products produced.
Characteristics of a good fuel

• The moderate velocity of combustion

• If the rate of combustion id low then the required high temperature may bot be
possible, because a part of the heat liberated may get radiated, instead of
raising the temperature. While too high combustion rates are also not required.
• Products of combustion should not be harmful
• Gaseous products of combustion should not pollute the atmosphere.
• Low cost
• A good fuel should be readily available in bulk at a cheap rate.
Characteristics of a good fuel

• Easy to transport
• Fuel must be easy to handle, store and transport at a low cost must be
necessary. Solid and liquid fuel can easily be transported but gaseous fuel is
costly and can even cause fire hazards.
• Combustion should be easily controllable
• Combustion of the fuel should be easy to start or stop. when it is required.
Hence, it must be controllable.
Characteristics of a good fuel

• Should no undergo spontaneous combustion

• Spontaneous ignition can cause fire hazards.
• Storage cost in bulk should be low
• Should burn in air with efficiency, without a highly smoke
• In case of solid fuel, the size should be uniform so that combustion
is regular
Petroleum and its Characteristics
• Petroleum is a basic natural fuel.
• It is a dark greenish brown, viscous mineral oil, found deep in earth’s
crust.
• It is mainly composed of various hydrocarbons (like straight chain
paraffins, cycloparaffins or napthenes, olefins, and aromatics) together
with small amount of organic compounds containing oxygen nitrogen
and sulphur.
• The average composition of crude petroleum is : C = 79.5 to 87.1%; H
= 11.5 to 14.8%; S = 0.1 to 3.5%, N and O = 0.1 to 0.5%.
Petroleum and its Characteristics
• Petroleum are graded according to the following physio-chemical
properties :
(a) Specific gravity,
(b) Calorific value,
(c) Flash point or ignition point,
(d) Viscosity,
(e) Sulphur contents,
(f) Moisture and sediment content, and
(g) Specific heat and coefficient of expansion.
Gasoline or Petrol and its Characteristics
• The straight run gasoline is obtained either from distillation of crude
petroleum or by synthesis.
• It contains some undesirable unsaturated straight chain hydrocarbons and
sulphur compounds.
• It has boiling range of 40-120 ℃.
• 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 properties.
Gasoline or Petrol and its Characteristics
• The sulphur compounds from gasoline are generally removed by
treating it with an alkaline solution sodium plumbite.
• Olefins and colouring matter of gasoline are usually removed by
percolating through ‘Fuller’s earth’ which absorbs preferentially only
the colours and olefine.
• It is used in air-crafts.
• It is also used as motor fuel, in dry-cleaning and as a solvent.
Gasoline or Petrol and its Characteristics
• Some of the characteristics of an ideal gasoline are the following :
(a) It must be cheap and readily available.
(b) It must burn clean and produce no corrosion, etc. on combustion.
(c) It should mix readily with air and afford uniform manifold
distribution, i.e. should easily vaporize.
(d) It must be knock resistant.
(e) It should be pre-ignite easily.
(f) It must have a high calorific value
Diesel Fuel and its Characteristics
• The diesel fuel or gas oil is obtained between 250-320oC during the
fractional distillation of crude petroleum.
• This oil generally contains 85% C. 12% H. Its calorific value is about
11,000 kcal/kg.
• The suitability of a diesel fuel is determined by its cetane value.
• Diesel fuels consist of longer hydrocarbons and have low values of
ash, sediment, water and sulphalte contents.
Diesel Fuel and its Characteristics
• The main characteristics of a diesel fuel is that it should easily ignite
below compression temperature.
• The hydrocarbon molecules in a diesel fuel should be, as far as
possible, the straight-chain ones, with a minimum admixture of
aromatic and side-chain hydrocarbon molecules.
• It is used in diesel engines as heating oil and for cracking to get
gasoline.
Kerosene Oil and its Characteristics
• Kerosene oil is obtained between 180-250oC during fractional
distillation of crude petroleum.
• It is used as an illuminant, jet engine fuel, tractor fuel, and for
preparing laboratory gas.
• With the development of jet engine, kerosene has become a material of
far greater importance than it is used to be.
• When kerosene is used in domestic appliances, it is always vaporized
before combustion.
• By using a fair excess of air it burns with a smokeless blue flame.
 Diesel Gasoline (Petrol)

Uses In diesel engines, heating systems In petrol engines

Made from Petroleum/ Crude oil Petroleum/ Crude Oil

Energy content 35.8 MJ/L; 48 MJ/kg 34.2 MJ/L; 46.4 MJ/kg

Made by Fractional distillation Fractional distillation

Torque (for 10L engine) 1000 Nm @ 2000 rpm 300Nm @ 4000 rpm

Power (for 10L engine) 490Hp @ 3500 rpm 600Hp @ 5500 rpm

Power = torque*RPM More torque at low speeds Runs at higher RPM

Auto-ignition temperature 210°C 246°C

CO2 emission More than gasoline(petrol). Diesel fuel produces Lower than diesel.
approximately 13% more CO2 gas per gallon of fuel
burned, compared to gas (petrol) engines.

Viscosity increase at lower temperatures No change

US Consumption (2006) 50 Billion gallons 148 Billion gallons

Types of ignition Direct ( by compression ) Spark

• 1. Which type of fuel is lignite?
a) Secondary fuel
b) Primary fuel
c) Liquid fuel
d) Gaseous fuel
• 2. Acetylene and synthesis gas are examples of __________
a) Primary gaseous fuels
b) Gaseous fuels
c) Secondary gaseous fuels
d) Liquid fuels
MCQ
• Which of the fuel does have highest specific energy?
a) Diesel
b) Coal
c) Kerosene
d) Nitromethane
• Which type of coal give more amount of heat after combustion?
a) Anthracite
b) Peat
c) Lignite
d) Bituminous
MCQ
• Which fuel causes least pollution?
a)Diesel
b) Coal
c) LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas)
d) Hydrogen gas
• Fuels are classified as primary and secondary fuel based on the
__________
a) Capacity to burn
b) Availability
c) State
d) Occurrence
MCQ
• Which fuel is called secondary stage in the formation of coal?
a) Lignite
b) Bituminous coal
c) Peat
d) Anthracite
• Which fuel is the final stage in the formation of coal?
a) Bituminous coal
b) Anthracite coal
c) Peat
d) Lignite
MCQ
• The principle constituents of a fuel are.......
A. Carbon and hydrogen
B. Oxygen and hydrogen
C. Sulphur and oxygen
D. Sulphur and hydrogen
• Petrol is distilled at.........
A.650C to 220 0C
B.2200C to 345 0C
C.3450C to 470 0C
C.4700C to 550 0C
MCQ
• A fuel will detonate less if it has __________
a) higher self ignition temperature
b) lower self ignition temperature
c) proper self ignition temperature
d) none of the mentioned
• Ignition quality of diesel fuel oil is expressed by an index called
___________
a)octane number
b) cetane number
c) calorific value
d) none of the mentioned