Fossil fuels-The ancient fossil fuel is Coal.

Non-Renewable Resources are the fossil fuels!!

Renewable Resources are the ones that get replenished easily and quickly, these
are the cleaner fuels.
 Combustion is a process in which fuels are burnt in
presence of O2 to produce Co2 , H2O and Energy.
 Combustion is an oxidation process.
 Fuels are made of carbon and hydrogen
(hydrocarbons).
 When fuel is burnt chemical reaction takes place,
bonds between molecules break and gives out carbon
and water.
  Methane + Oxygen 🡪 Carbon dioxide + Water
 CH4 + O2 🡪 CO2 + H2O
 A chemical process in which a substance reacts with oxygen to
give off heat is called combustion. The substance that
undergoes combustion is said to be combustible. It is also
called a fuel. The fuel may be solid, liquid or gas. Sometimes,
light is also given off during combustion, either as a flame or as
a glow.

Combustible substances – substances which burn and

undergo combustion. Eg: kerosene

Non- combustible – substances which do not undergo

comb. And do not catch fire eg : Water, stone, glass

Glucose acts a fuel. Respiration is a slow combustion.

Ignition temperature:
The lowest temperature at which a substance starts burning is called
Ignition temperature. Every substance has its own ignition temperature.
If IT is not attained the substance will not catch fire.

Oxygen – Supporter of combustion

Fuel – As long as fuel is present the fire keeps burning.

If any one element is removed then the fire will be extinguished.

Ways of extinguishing fire:

1. Covering the fire or the burning substance with thick cloth. – cuts
off oxygen supply
2. Using sand. Sand cuts off oxygen supply
3. Sprinkling Sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate.
4. Using water. (Water cannot be used to extinguish if the fire is due
to an electrical short circuit or any liquid fuel like kerosene, petol,
diesel etc. – reduces the surrounding temperature so that the
ignition temp. is not attained. Water cools the combustible material so that its
temperature is brought below its ignition temperature. This prevents the fire from
spreading. Water vapours also surround the combustible material, helping in cutting off the
supply of air. So, the fire is extinguished.
5. Removing the unburnt fuel from the accident site.
6. Using Carbon dioxide based extinguisher. CO2 being heavier than
oxygen they get accumilated near the flame. It is blocking the O2
from reaching the flame. CO2 is also a cooler gas. So it reduces
the surrounding temperature so that the ignition temp. is not
attained.
Water fire Extinguisher

 Inflammable substances – substances which catch fire.

 The substances which have very low ignition temperature and
can easily catch fire with a flameare called inflammable
substances. Examples of inflammable substances are petrol,
alcohol, Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), etc
Complete combustion Incomplete combustion
Burning of fuel in the presence of Burning of fuel in the presence of
sufficient oxygen to form carbon insufficient oxygen to form carbon
dioxide and water with the dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon
evolution of energy. and water with the evolution of
energy.
More energy is produced. Less energy is produced.
II) Types of combustion.

Complete combustion Incomplete combustion

Burning of fuel in the presence of Burning of fuel in the presence of
sufficient oxygen to form carbon insufficient oxygen to form carbon
dioxide and water with the dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon
evolution of energy. and water with the evolution of
energy.
More energy is produced. Less energy is produced.

II) Types of combustion.

Textbook Questions:
Q5. Give reasons:
(a) Water is not used to control fires involving electrical equipment.
Ans: Water used for controlling fires is not distilled water. It has certain
impurities in it so it is a good conductor of electricity. So water is not
used to control fires involving electrical equipment.

(c) Paper by itself catches fire easily whereas a piece of paper wrapped
around an aluminium pipe does not.
Ans: The ignition temperature of the paper is reached easily if it is by
itself so it catches fire.
If the paper is wrapped around an aluminium pipe the heat from the
paper is transferred to the pipe. Therefore the ignition temperature is not
attained and it does not catch fire.

Q6. Make a labelled diagram of a candle flame.

Ans: Refer TB pg. 72 [fig 6.10 (d)]

Q8. Explain how CO2 is able to control fires.

Ans: Carbon dioxide is a non-combustible gas. It is a non-supporter of
combustion. It, being heavier than oxygen, forms a blanket around the
flame thus cutting off the oxygen supply to the fuel. Therefore the flame
is put off.

Q9. It is difficult to burn a heap of green leaves but dry leaves catch fire
easily. Explain.
Ans: Green leaves contain moisture so the ignition temperature is not
attained easily. Therefore it is difficult to burn green leaves.
Dry leaves have no moisture and the ignition temperature is attained
easily. So they catch fire easily.
 Flame and glow
 Colour of the flame depends on the elements which are
undergoing combustion.

 Structure of the candle flame

  Outermost : Non – luminous zone(light blue)
o Sufficient o2 is supplied due to which complete combustion
takes place. CO2 and H2O are transparent – reason why
outer layer cant be seen.
o Hottest zone : 1400 degree celcius
o Goldsmiths blow the outermost zone of a flame with a metallic blow-pipe for
melting gold and silver
 Middle zone : Luminous zone (yello)
o Insufficient oxygen supply – incomplete combustion takes
place
o Carbon particles glow and give out light- helpful part
o Moderately hot zone -1200 degree celcius
 Innermost : Dark (black)
o Contains unburnt wax vapours. Combustion doesn’t take
place
o Helps combustion In other layers
o Least hot zone – 1000 degree celcius

Combustible substances which produce enough amount of heat and can be utilised for some
work to be done are called FUELS. Eg : LPG, Kerosene, diesel, Coal, CNG
 CALORIFIC VALUE OF A FUEL

The calorific value of a fuel is the amount of heat generated when 1 kg of fuel undergoes
complete combustion.

The calorific value can be calculated by :

Amount of heat energy produced / Amount of fuel burnt.
Unit: KJ/Kg

On complete combustion of 7 kg of a fuel 49,000 kiloJoules of heat energy is produced. The

Calorific Value of this fuel is
= Heat Energy / Fuel
= 49000 / 7
= 7000 kJ/kg
Ideal fuel:

 Should be affordable
 Moderate ignition temperature
 Readily available
 High calorific value
 Easy to transport or easily portable
 Should not release any pollutants

Petrol

 Availability is less
  Leads to pollution

CNG

 Not easy to transport

 Not readily available
 CNG is a cleaner fuel – because it releases few pollutants in the environment
  Carbon fuels like wood, coal, petroleum release unburnt carbon particles. These fine
particles are dangerous pollutants causing respiratory diseases, such as asthma.
 Incomplete combustion of these fuels gives carbon monoxide gas. It is a very poisonous gas.
It is dangerous to burn coal in a closed room. The carbon monoxide gas produced can kill
persons sleeping in that room.
 Combustion of most fuels releases carbon dioxide in the environment. Increased
concentration of carbon dioxide in the air is believed to cause global warming.
 Burning of coal and diesel releases sulphur dioxide gas. It is an extremely suffocating and
corrosive gas. Moreover, petrol engines give off gaseous oxides of nitrogen. Oxides of
sulphur and nitrogen dissolve in rain water and form acids. Such rain is called acid rain. It is
very harmful for crops, buildings and soil.

FUEL:
A substance which undergoes the process of combustion to give out a huge amount
of heat energy which is adequate for some work to be done.
Ex:- Petrol and diesel is a fuel for automobiles, Coal is the fuel to produce thermal
energy, LPG is the domestic fuel required for cooking, CNG is used as a fuel for
heavy vehicles, etc.

CALORIFIC VALUE OF A FUEL:

Amount of heat energy given out when 1kg of fuel undergoes complete combustion.
It can be calculated by -
 CALORIFIC VALUE = Heat energy produced/ Amount of fuel
burnt

SI unit for Calorific value = Kilo Joules / Kilograms(KJ /

Kg)

Example:
When 5 kg of a fuel was burnt, it produced 5000 Kilojoules of heat energy. Calculate
the Calorific value of this fuel.

Solution:
Amount of heat energy released = 5000 KJ
Amount of fuel burnt = 5 kg
CALORIFIC VALUE = Heat energy produced Amount of fuel burnt
= 5000 KJ 5 kg

Caloric value of the fuel is = 1000 KJ/kg.

PARAMETERS FOR A FUEL TO BE AN IDEAL FUEL:

The history of the matchstick is very old. More than five thousand years ago small pieces of
pinewood dipped in sulphur were used as matches in ancient Egypt. The modern safety match was
developed only about two hundred years ago. A mixture of antimony trisulphide, potassium chlorate
and white phosphorus with some glue and starch was applied on the head of a match made of
suitable wood. When struck against a rough surface, white phosphorus got ignited due to the heat of
friction. This started the combustion of the match. However, white phosphorus proved to be
dangerous both for the workers involved in the manufacturing of matches and for the users. These
days the head of the safety match contains only antimony trisulphide and potassium chlorate. The
rubbing surface has powdered glass and a little red phosphorus (which is much less dangerous).
When the match is struck against the rubbing surface, some red phosphorus gets converted into
white phosphorus. This immediately reacts with potassium chlorate in the matchstick head to
produce enough heat to ignite antimony trisulphide and start the combustion.