Oil
With the advent of fuel oil, solid fuels such as coal and wood increasingly got replaced in nearly all parts of the world owing to its cleaner and ash free combustion process. Oil fuels generally consist of less carbon content as compared to solid fuels such as coal, which in turn results in less emission of carbon dioxide upon combustion. On the other hand, oils contain higher carbon content as compared to natural gas producing high amounts of carbon dioxide due to burning.
The fuel oil employed for boiler use is mainly manufactured from a mix of extremely heavy hydrocarbons, which tend to contain relatively high amounts of hydrogen content in comparison to coal. Burning of a fuel oil usually produces same kind of pollutants as produced with burning coal. Heating oil is a boiler fuel which is widely employed in the northeastern areas of the United States whereas in other parts of the world, it is facing severe competition with the gaseous boiler fuels available.
Diversity of oil fuels is available for heating such as oil #2, oil # 4, and oil # 6. Fuel oil #2 is popularly referred to as the home heating fuel. It is almost identical to the diesel oil fuel which is largely employed in vehicles and automobiles. Its energy value is found to be approximately 139 kBTU per gallon.
Boiler and heating systems that employ oil for its operation happen to be more expensive than gas powered boiler systems since they need complicated burner mechanism as compared to their gas counterparts for efficient firing. However, at the same time, this difficulty of ignition (or firing) in case of heating fuel turns out to be a great plus point since it results in safer storage of fuel oil in comparison to gas. Otherwise, a leakage in the fuel tank could prove to be very costly and hazardous.
Natural Gas
Natural gas is the key fuel source for boilers which is widely employed in United States and Europe for home heating needs. It is largely prepared from methane along with a mixture of few other gases in small proportions. Natural gas has an energy content of about 100kBTU per therm or 103kBTU per ccf (100 cubic feet). However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the actual heating value of "Natural Gas" coming out of the distribution pipe may vary from as little as 60kBTU up to 160kBTU per ccf.
Natural gas can be conveniently put into use for boiler applications since it can be transported easily via gas pipelines when in gaseous sate and trucks or ships when in liquid state. Very less amount of air is needed for burning of natural gas owing to its unique C/H2 ratio. This fuel contains quite low values of carbon and high values of hydrogen because of which the combustion of natural gas results in production of less greenhouse gases which are considered to be highly responsible for global warming. Also, the burning of natural gas is found to be very clean as compared to the burning of oil and solid fuels oil.
In general, an equivalent amount of natural gas burns to generate approximately 30% and 45% less carbon dioxide than heating oil and coal respectively. Besides, carbon dioxide gas, burning of natural gas emits an ingredient called NOx whereas the quantity of sulfur dioxide i.e. SO2 and other emission particles is almost insignificant. However, if the burning of gas takes place facing scarcity of combustion air, there is a possibility of volatile hydrocarbons generation which is very unsafe to human health and surroundings. Hence, care must be exercised to avoid these hazardous possibilities.
Nowadays, natural gas fuel reserves are getting exhausted at a rapid rate. Hence, substitutes for this boiler fuel need to be discovered very soon.
With the advent of fuel oil, solid fuels such as coal and wood increasingly got replaced in nearly all parts of the world owing to its cleaner and ash free combustion process. Oil fuels generally consist of less carbon content as compared to solid fuels such as coal, which in turn results in less emission of carbon dioxide upon combustion. On the other hand, oils contain higher carbon content as compared to natural gas producing high amounts of carbon dioxide due to burning.
The fuel oil employed for boiler use is mainly manufactured from a mix of extremely heavy hydrocarbons, which tend to contain relatively high amounts of hydrogen content in comparison to coal. Burning of a fuel oil usually produces same kind of pollutants as produced with burning coal. Heating oil is a boiler fuel which is widely employed in the northeastern areas of the United States whereas in other parts of the world, it is facing severe competition with the gaseous boiler fuels available.
Diversity of oil fuels is available for heating such as oil #2, oil # 4, and oil # 6. Fuel oil #2 is popularly referred to as the home heating fuel. It is almost identical to the diesel oil fuel which is largely employed in vehicles and automobiles. Its energy value is found to be approximately 139 kBTU per gallon.
Boiler and heating systems that employ oil for its operation happen to be more expensive than gas powered boiler systems since they need complicated burner mechanism as compared to their gas counterparts for efficient firing. However, at the same time, this difficulty of ignition (or firing) in case of heating fuel turns out to be a great plus point since it results in safer storage of fuel oil in comparison to gas. Otherwise, a leakage in the fuel tank could prove to be very costly and hazardous.
Natural Gas
Natural gas is the key fuel source for boilers which is widely employed in United States and Europe for home heating needs. It is largely prepared from methane along with a mixture of few other gases in small proportions. Natural gas has an energy content of about 100kBTU per therm or 103kBTU per ccf (100 cubic feet). However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the actual heating value of "Natural Gas" coming out of the distribution pipe may vary from as little as 60kBTU up to 160kBTU per ccf.
Natural gas can be conveniently put into use for boiler applications since it can be transported easily via gas pipelines when in gaseous sate and trucks or ships when in liquid state. Very less amount of air is needed for burning of natural gas owing to its unique C/H2 ratio. This fuel contains quite low values of carbon and high values of hydrogen because of which the combustion of natural gas results in production of less greenhouse gases which are considered to be highly responsible for global warming. Also, the burning of natural gas is found to be very clean as compared to the burning of oil and solid fuels oil.
In general, an equivalent amount of natural gas burns to generate approximately 30% and 45% less carbon dioxide than heating oil and coal respectively. Besides, carbon dioxide gas, burning of natural gas emits an ingredient called NOx whereas the quantity of sulfur dioxide i.e. SO2 and other emission particles is almost insignificant. However, if the burning of gas takes place facing scarcity of combustion air, there is a possibility of volatile hydrocarbons generation which is very unsafe to human health and surroundings. Hence, care must be exercised to avoid these hazardous possibilities.
Nowadays, natural gas fuel reserves are getting exhausted at a rapid rate. Hence, substitutes for this boiler fuel need to be discovered very soon.
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