FUELS

Fuel:

Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to

perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans

undergo combustion, a redox reactions in which a combustible substance releases

energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air. Other processes used to

convert fuel into energy include various other exothermic chemical reactions and

nuclear reactions, such as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. Fuels are also used in

the cells of organisms in a process known as cellular respiration, where organic

molecules are oxidized to release usable energy. Hydrocarbons are by far the most

common source of fuel used by humans, but many other substances, such as

radioactive metals, are currently used as well.

Types Of Fuels

Chemical Fuels:

Chemical fuels are substances that release energy by reacting with substances

around them, most notably by the process of oxidation.

Biofuels:

Biofuel can be broadly defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or derived

from biomass. Biomass can also be used directly for heating or power—known

as biomass fuel. Biofuel can be produced from any carbon source that can be

replenished rapidly e.g. plants. Many different plants and plant-derived materials are

used for biofuel manufacture.

Recently biofuels have been developed for use in automotive transport (for example

Bioethanol and Biodiesel), but there is widespread public debate about how efficient

these fuels are.

Fossil Fuels :

Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal and petroleum (liquid

petroleum or natural gas), formed from the fossilized remains of ancient plants and

animals by exposure to high heat and pressure in the absence of oxygen in

the Earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years. Commonly, the term fossil fuel

also includes hydrocarbon-containing natural resources that are not derived entirely

from biological sources, such as tar sands. These latter sources are properly known

as mineral fuels.

Nuclear Fuels:

Nuclear fuel is any material that is consumed to derive nuclear energy. Technically

speaking this definition includes all matter because any element will under the right

conditions release nuclear energy, the only materials that are commonly referred to

as nuclear fuels though are those that will produce energy without being placed

under extreme duress.

Fission:

The most common type of nuclear fuel used by humans is heavy fissile elements

that can be made to undergo nuclear fission chain reactions in a nuclear fission

reactor; nuclear fuel can refer to the material or to physical objects (for example fuel

bundles composed of fuel rods) composed of the fuel material, perhaps mixed with

structural, neutron moderating, or neutron reflecting materials. The most common

fissile nuclear fuels are 235 U  and 239 Pu , and the actions of mining, refining, purifying,

using, and ultimately disposing of these elements together make up the nuclear fuel

cycle, which is important for its relevance to nuclear power generation and nuclear

weapons. In addition there are various types of fuels.

Fusion:

Fuels that produce energy by the process of nuclear fusion are currently not utilized

by man but are the main source of fuel for stars, the most powerful energy sources in

nature. Fusion fuels tend to be light elements such as hydrogen which will combine

easily.

In stars that undergo nuclear fusion, fuel consists of atomic nuclei that can release

energy by the absorption of a proton or neutron. In most stars the fuel is provided by

hydrogen, which can combine together to form helium through the proton-proton

chain reaction or by the CNO cycle. When the hydrogen fuel is exhausted, nuclear

fusion can continue with progressively heavier elements, although the net energy

released is lower because of the smaller difference in nuclear binding energy. Once

iron-56 or nickel-56 nuclei are produced, no further energy can be obtained by

nuclear fusion as these have the highest nuclear binding energies.

LUBRICANTS

Definition:

A substance such as grease or oil used for minimizing friction is called lubricant.

Types of Lubricants

In 1999, an estimated 37,300,000 tons of lubricants were consumed worldwide.

Automotive applications dominate, but other industrial, marine, and metal working

applications are also big consumers of lubricants. Although air and other gas-based

lubricants are known, e.g., in fluid bearings), liquid and solid lubricants dominate the

market, especially the former.

Lubricants are generally composed of a majority of base oil plus a variety of

additives to impart desirable characteristics. Although generally lubricants are based

on one type of base oil, mixtures of the base oils also are used to meet performance

requirements.

Base oil groups:

Mineral oil term is used to encompass lubricating base oil derived from crude oil. The

American Petroleum Institute (API) designates several types of lubricant base oil:

Group I – Saturates <90% and/or sulfur>0.03%, and Society of Automotive

Engineers (SAE) viscosity index (VI) of 80 to 120

Manufactured by solvent extraction, solvent or catalytic dewaxing, and hydro-

finishing processes. Common Group I base oil are 150SN (solvent neutral),

500SN, and 150BS (bright stock)

Group II – Saturates over 90% and sulfur under 0.03%, and SAE viscosity

index of 80 to 120

Manufactured by hydrocracking and solvent or catalytic dewaxing processes.

Group II base oil has superior anti-oxidation properties since virtually all

hydrocarbon molecules are saturated. It has water-white color.

Group III – Saturates > 90%, sulfur <0.03%, and SAE viscosity index over

120

Manufactured by special processes such as isohydromerization. It can be

manufactured from base oil or slax wax from dewaxing process.

Group IV – Polyalphaolefins (PAO)

Group V – All others not included above such as naphthenic, PAG, esters.

In North America, Groups III, IV and V are now described as synthetic

lubricants, with group III frequently described as synthesized hydrocarbons, or

SHCs. In Europe, only Groups IV and V may be classed as synthetics.

The lubricant industry commonly extends this group terminology to include:

Group I+ with a Viscosity Index of 103–108

Group II+ with a Viscosity Index of 113–119

Group III+ with a Viscosity Index of at least 140

Can also be classified into three categories depending on the prevailing

compositions:

Paraffinic

Naphthenic

Aromatic

Bio lubricants made from vegetable oils and other renewable

sources:

These are primarily triglyceride esters derived from plants and animals. For lubricant

base oil use the vegetable derived materials are preferred. Common ones include

high oleic canola oil, castor oil, palm oil, sunflower seed oil and rapeseed oil from

vegetable, and Tall oil from tree sources. Many vegetable oils are often hydrolyzed

to yield the acids which are subsequently combined selectively to form specialist

synthetic esters. Other naturally derived lubricants include lanolin (wool grease, a

natural water repellent).

Lanolin is a natural water repellent, derived from sheep wool grease, and is an

alternative to the more common petro-chemical based lubricants. This lubricant is

also a corrosion inhibitor, protecting against rust, salts, and acids.

Water can also be used on its own, or as a major component in combination with

one of the other base oils. Commonly used in engineering processes, such as milling

and lathe turning.

Synthetic oils: -

Polyalpha-olefin (PAO)

Synthetic esters

Polyalkyleneglycols (PAG)

Phosphate esters

Alkylated naphthalene (AN)

Silicate esters

Ionic fluids

Solid lubricants: -

PTFE: Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is typically used as a coating layer on, for

example, cooking utensils to provide a non-stick surface. Its usable temperature

range up to 350 °C and chemical inertness make it a useful additive in special

greases. Under extreme pressures, PTFE powder or solids is of little value as it is

soft and flows away from the area of contact. Ceramic or metal or alloy lubricants

must be used then.

Aqueous lubrication :

Aqueous lubrication is of interest in a number of technological applications. Strongly

hydrated brush polymers such as PEG can act as lubricants at liquid solid interfaces.[5] By continuous rapid exchange of bound water with other free water molecules,

these polymer films keep the surfaces separated while maintaining a high fluidity at

the brush–brush interface at high compressions, thus leading to a very low

coefficient of friction.

Lubricants Manufacturing

With 50 years of design experience, we design Lube Oil Blending Plants (LOBP)

to produce wide range of lubricants for our customers around the globe. Our services

are applied to projects ranging from blend optimizer, reactor upgrades, heat

exchangers, hydraulic systems, measurement systems, pigging systems and control

systems.

Whether your process requires modification of an existing site or design of new

lubricant facility, FMC provides total solutions that meets your project

requirements. We incorporate proven, cutting edge technology, to assure our final

design meet the product specifications. Our optimized design covers the entire plant:

Raw materials storage

Blending units

Finished product storage

Filling and loading

Warehouse and dispatch