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What is an efficient fuel to be used in Malaysia? - Coggle Diagram
What is an efficient fuel to be used in Malaysia?
What are fuels
A fuel is any substance that can be used in reactions to produce energy
Fossil fuels: Energy reservoirs formed from the decay of organic matter over thousands of years
Crude oil
Disadvantages
Can bevery expensive to purchase and source
Release large amounts of greenhouse gasses which expedite global warming
Not renewable source
Reserves are depleting at a fast rate
Natural gas
Advantages
Plentiful infrastructure already in place
Very efficient (large amounts to energy released)
Relevantly abundant for the foreseeable future
coal
Biofuels: fuels sources originating from organic material known as biomass
Biodiesel: Liquid produced from fats or oils from plants and animals produced from the process of transesterification. It is typically blended with real diesel
Rapeseed
Coconut
Sugar cane
Palm
Sunflower
Disadvantages
Requires extensive expensive infrastructure
Produces significant amount of CO2
Causes land competition between agricultural land and fuel land
Bioethanol: Ethanol produced from microorganisms during fermentation
Rice husks
Sunflower
Sugarcane
Advantages
Quite high in energy density
Renewable and therefore better for the environment
Are abundant and don't take long to grow
Biogas: Fuel produced when organic matter is broken down by organisms in the absence of oxgyen
Rice husks
Methane
Developing countries
: A country as defined by the UN to have not achieved a significant level of industrialisation relative to its population
Desirable properties of fuels
Efficiency
How much energy can the fuel produce per unit of its own volume/mass
Sustainability
How renewable is the energy source, and what are its impacts on the environment
Ease of access
How easily can the fuel source be accessed by communities which may not be completely industrialised
Malaysia is considered a developing country but currently is in a positive trajectory to become a developed country within the next 20 - 50 years. Hence, achieving a sustainable and accesible source of energy (fuel) for those who remain impoverished is vital in increasing the country's quality of life
Independent variable:
Type of fuel
Solid fuel
Animal fat
The fat would be made into a fuel through transesterification
Coconut husks
Items would have to in powdered form so as to be placed into a tea light
The fibres from coconut husks can be ignited to produce a flame
Liquid fuel: most optimal fuels to be used in a spirit burner
ethanol
Coconut oil
Has a high proprtion of monosaturated fatty acids
rice bran oil
Almost even amounts of mono and poly saturated fats
Palm oil
Palm oil contains a high percentage of saturated fatty acids
Controlled variables
Temperature increase for each trial
Initial mass of fuel
Same spirit burner brand
Same apparatus
cup used
A steel cup will be used as despite it absorbing some of the heat, it has high conductivity and thus results in fast heat transfer
Uncontrolled variables
Different amounts of heat required to ignite the fuels: this would result in random initial spikes of heat
A random proportion of the heat will be absorbed by the metal can
Temperature of the water may be effeced by the environment
Not all of the heat produced by the flame will be transferred to the water
Fuel may evaporate from the wick causing in an unnaccounted for loss of mass
Dependent variable:
How can fuel efficiency be measured?
Units of measurement
kJ/mol
kJ/g
kJ/g is prefered for ease of comparison
Equation for quantity of heat released: Q = m x c x Δt
Equation for molar enthalpy of combustion:
ΔH = (m x c Δt)/1000 x n
c = Specific heat capacity:
Heat required to raise the temperature of a given mass by typically 1 degree celcius
Calorimeter
: Calorimeters are instruments used to measure the amount of heat produced/involved in a chemical reaction
Draft shields: Shields use to prevent external factors effecting the flame, which may effect the validty and precision of the results
Aluminium
Carbdoard
Rubber
Bomb calorimeter: A calorimeter which exists in a. closed system, where all heat is transferred leading to a much more efficient process
Setup:
A specific amount of liquid fuel is weighed and added to a spirit burner. typically 100mL of water is then transferred to a beaker which is suspended above the flame. A thermometer is used to record the initial temperature of the water, and then the burner is lit. The heat from the burner increases the temperature of the water, until a specific temperature increase is reached. the mass of the fuel is then remeasured and the difference is recorded
For solid fuels, tea light candles will be used instead of spirit burners
Water has a density of 1g.ml, therefore 1ml of water = 1g of water