FUELS USED IN CATERING INDUSTRY

                                       FUELS USED IN CATERING INDUSTRY

FUEL: Any source of heat energy is called fuel.

The material which is burnt to produce heat is known as fuel. For example, wood, coal, domestic gas (LPG), kerosene diesel, and petrol are used as fuels in home, industries and for transport.  When a fuel is burnt, it combines with oxygen in the air to form carbon dioxide and water vapor. A lot of energy (heat and sometimes light) is also produced during this process.

Primary Fuel: - Found in abundance in nature and used in natural form, e.g. coal, wood etc.

Secondary Fuel. - Requires some refining or processing or mixing e.g. petrol, kerosene, disel.etc.

 Other forms of classification are:

1. Solid: coal, wood, peat, lignite, Anthracite, Bituminous                  

2. Liquid: petrol, diesel, kerosene, spirit, coal tar

3. Gaseous:  LPG, CNG, Methane, compressed butane

4. Electricity and

5. Conventional fuel, e.g., solar energy, biomass.

Properties of ideal fuel:

§  Low ignition point and high calorific value

§  Produces minimum amount of smoke

§  Should be easy to store & convenient for transportation and economical

§  Has moderate rate of combustion

§  Has low content of non volatile material

§  Is readily and available in plenty

§  Produces no poisonous products on combustion

Comparison of different fuels

Fuels type	SOLID FUEL	lIQUID FUEL	GASEOUS FUEL	ELECTRICITY
Advantages	1.Low  maintenance  cost 2.Easily available 3.Thickest   type  of   fuel 4.No expert required to take care 5.Easy to transport	1.Flow can be regulated 2. Production of energy is instant 3. Readily available 4. Not as dirty as solid fuel 5. More friendly	1.Easy to handle 2.Saves  a lot of labour 3.Controllable through regulators 4.Very little pollution 5.Instant fuel	1.Easy to operate 2.Fuel is clean 3.No storage required 4.Efficiency is good 5.Eco-friendly
Disadvantages	1.Requires  space 2.Heat cannot be controlled 3.Pollutes the environment 4.Causes health hazard 5.Ignition time is high 6. More labour  required to operate 7.Not eco-friendly	1.Requires space 2.Lot of care to be taken 3.Releases  pollution 4.Sources are not reliable in terms of purity 5.Bad odour	1.Transportaion cost is high because of high volatility 2.Regular check of equipment and supply line required 3.Lot of care by an expert required 4. Very large storage tanks are needed. 5.Highly inflammable	1.Expert required to handle the equipment 2.Chances if short circuit 3.It  is costly 4.Risk of shock 5.Cost of maintenance is high.