Fuels

FUELS

Fuels serve as a major part of our energy requirement. They are the concentrated store of energy, which is released as heat when fuels are burnt.
Fuels are combustible substances of organic origin or artificially obtained substances, which are used for producing heat and energy. Wood, diesel, coal .domestic gas, petrol and biogas are some of the examples of fuels.
Fuels play an important role in our everyday life because they are used in homes, transport and industry for providing energy.

For domestic use:

Fuels like wood, coal, kerosene, domestic gas, cow dung etc. are used in our homes for cooking.

For transport:

Coal, diesel and petrol are used as fuel for road, sea and air transport in automobiles and locomotives. For example, coal is used for running steam engines; Petrol and diesel are used for running buses, cars, trucks, aeroplanes, etc.

In industry:

As rocket fuel:

Types of fuels:

Solid fuels

Liquid fuels

Gaseous fuels

Fuels that exist in solid state at room temperature are called solid fuels.

Examples: Wood, charcoal, cow dung cakes, agricultural waste, and coal are examples of solid fuels.

Fuels that exist in liquid state at room temperature are called liquid fuels.

Examples: Kerosene, petrol, diesel, and fuel oil are some examples of liquid fuels.

Fuels that exist in gaseous state at room temperature are called gaseous fuels.

Examples: LPG (liquid petroleum gas), natural gas, and biogas are some commonly used gaseous fuels.