Wondering why fuel is 2 syllables?

/ˈfjuː.əl/ B1 [ C or U ] a substance that is used to provide heat or power, usually by being burned: Wood, coal, oil, petrol, and gas are all different kinds of fuel. Plutonium is a fuel used to produce nuclear energy.

Fuels are dense repositories of energy that are consumed to provide energy services such as heating, transportation and electrical generation. Even though most fuels ultimately get their energy from the sun (see energy conservation) they are usually considered to be a primary energy source.

A good fuel produces a huge amount of heat on burning, does not produce a lot of smoke, and is easily available.

An ideal fuel should have the following properties:

• Low cost.
• Low moisture content.
• Combustion should be controllable.
• High calorific value.
• The moderate velocity of combustion.
• Products of combustion not harmful.
• Low Non-combustible matter.
• Easy to transport.

Calorific value is the amount of energy released or produced when 1 kg of fuel burns or any other substance is burnt in the presence of oxygen and the products of combustion are cooled to STP. Its SI unit is kJ/kg.

Although cotton has a lower calorific value compared to PET (calorific value: 16 MJ/kg cotton and 22 MJ/kg PET), the higher weight of the cotton sofa cover results in a similar energy recovery as the PET sofa cover (energy recovered: 81 MJ per cotton cover and 78 MJ per PET sofa cover).

Each kilogram of (EN Standard) dry wood contains 5.14 kWh of “potential heat” so 1 kWh of energy is contained in (1/5.14=) 0.195 kg of wood.

Although wood has a very high calorific value, we still discourage its use as a fuel.

Typical calorific values of fuels

Simple calculator Oven-dry woody biomass typically has a calorific value of 18-21 MJ per kg on a dry basis (this is the gross calorific value). Most fuels are not oven dry when burnt and the water in the wood must be evaporated, detracting from the extractable energy* (or net calorific value).

The heat value of a fuel is the amount of heat released during its combustion. Also referred to as energy or calorific value, heat value is a measure of a fuel’s energy density, and is expressed in energy (joules) per specified amount (e.g. kilograms).

Calorific value is the energy or amount of heat produced as a result of the complete combustion of a unit volume of the substance. It is important as it gives the value of fuel or food in numbers which can be calculated with a formula.

Fuel Calorific Values

Calorific value unit is joule per kilogram or calorie per kilogram.

• There are two types of calorific value. Higher calorific value ( HCV )
• Higher calorific value or Gross calorific value. When 1 kg of fuel is burned, product of combustion is cooled down to room temperature.
• Lower calorific value or Net calorific value.

Carbohydrates provide 4 calories per gram, protein provides 4 calories per gram, and fat provides 9 calories per gram.

Gross calorific value (GCV) is the amount of heat released by the complete combustion of a unit of natural gas. Net Calorific Value (NCV) also known as lower heating value (LHV) or lower calorific value (LCV) is determined by the subtracting the heat of vaporization of the water vapour from the higher heating value.