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Heat of combustion



 
 
The heat of combustion (?Hc0) is the energy
Energy

In physics, energy is a scalar physical quantity that describes the amount of Work_ that can be performed by a force. Energy is an attribute of objects and systems that is subject to a conservation law....
 released as heat
Heat

In physics and thermodynamics, heat is any transfer of energy from one body or thermodynamic system to another due to a difference in temperature....
 when one mol of a compound undergoes complete combustion
Combustion

Combustion or burning is a complex sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat or both heat and light in the form of either a glow or flames, appearance of light flickering....
 with oxygen
Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
. The chemical reaction is typically a hydrocarbon
Hydrocarbon

In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. With relation to chemical terminology, aromatic hydrocarbons or arenes, alkanes, alkenes and alkyne-based compounds composed entirely of carbon or hydrogen are referred to as "pure" hydrocarbons, whereas other hydrocarbons with bonded com...
 reacting with oxygen to form carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalent bond to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state....
, water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 and heat. It may be expressed with the quantities:



The heat of combustion is traditionally measured with a bomb calorimeter
Calorimeter

| |}A calorimeter is a device used for calorimetry, the science of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes as well as heat capacity....
. It may also be calculated as the difference between the heat of formation (?fH0)
Standard enthalpy change of formation

The standard enthalpy of formation or "standard heat of formation" of a compound is the change of enthalpy that accompanies the formation of 1 mole of a substance in its standard state from its constituent elements in their standard states ....
 of the products and reactants.

Heating value
The heating value or calorific value of a substance
Substance

The word substance originates from Latin substantia, literally meaning "standing under". The word was used to translate the Greek language philosophical term ousia....
, usually a fuel
Fuel

Fuel is any material that is burned or altered in order to obtain energy and to heat or to move an object. Fuel releases its energy either through a chemical reaction means, such as combustion, or nuclear means, such as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion....
 or food
Food

Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be Eating or Drinking by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure....
, is the amount of heat
Heat

In physics and thermodynamics, heat is any transfer of energy from one body or thermodynamic system to another due to a difference in temperature....
 released during the combustion of a specified amount of it.






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The heat of combustion (?Hc0) is the energy
Energy

In physics, energy is a scalar physical quantity that describes the amount of Work_ that can be performed by a force. Energy is an attribute of objects and systems that is subject to a conservation law....
 released as heat
Heat

In physics and thermodynamics, heat is any transfer of energy from one body or thermodynamic system to another due to a difference in temperature....
 when one mol of a compound undergoes complete combustion
Combustion

Combustion or burning is a complex sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat or both heat and light in the form of either a glow or flames, appearance of light flickering....
 with oxygen
Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
. The chemical reaction is typically a hydrocarbon
Hydrocarbon

In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. With relation to chemical terminology, aromatic hydrocarbons or arenes, alkanes, alkenes and alkyne-based compounds composed entirely of carbon or hydrogen are referred to as "pure" hydrocarbons, whereas other hydrocarbons with bonded com...
 reacting with oxygen to form carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalent bond to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state....
, water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 and heat. It may be expressed with the quantities:

  • energy/mole
    Mole (unit)

    The mole is a Units of measurement of amount of substance: it is an SI base unit, and one of the few units used to measure this physical quantity....
     of fuel (J/mol
    Joule per mole

    The joule per mole is an SI derived unit of energy per amount of material. Energy is measured in joules, and the amount of material is measured in mole ....
    )
  • energy/mass of fuel
  • energy/volume of fuel


The heat of combustion is traditionally measured with a bomb calorimeter
Calorimeter

| |}A calorimeter is a device used for calorimetry, the science of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes as well as heat capacity....
. It may also be calculated as the difference between the heat of formation (?fH0)
Standard enthalpy change of formation

The standard enthalpy of formation or "standard heat of formation" of a compound is the change of enthalpy that accompanies the formation of 1 mole of a substance in its standard state from its constituent elements in their standard states ....
 of the products and reactants.

Heating value


The heating value or calorific value of a substance
Substance

The word substance originates from Latin substantia, literally meaning "standing under". The word was used to translate the Greek language philosophical term ousia....
, usually a fuel
Fuel

Fuel is any material that is burned or altered in order to obtain energy and to heat or to move an object. Fuel releases its energy either through a chemical reaction means, such as combustion, or nuclear means, such as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion....
 or food
Food

Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be Eating or Drinking by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure....
, is the amount of heat
Heat

In physics and thermodynamics, heat is any transfer of energy from one body or thermodynamic system to another due to a difference in temperature....
 released during the combustion of a specified amount of it. The calorific value is a characteristic for each substance. It is measured in units of energy
Energy

In physics, energy is a scalar physical quantity that describes the amount of Work_ that can be performed by a force. Energy is an attribute of objects and systems that is subject to a conservation law....
 per unit of the substance, usually mass
Mass

In physical science, mass refers to the degree of acceleration a body acquires when subject to a force: bodies with greater mass are accelerated less by the same force....
, such as: kcal
Calorie

The calorie is a pre-SI metric system unit of energy. The unit was first defined by Professor Nicolas Cl?ment in 1824 as a unit of heat. This definition entered French and English dictionaries between 1841 and 1867....
/kg, kJ/kg, J
Joule

The joule is the SI derived unit of energy in the International System of Units. It is defined as:One joule is the amount of energy required to perform the following actions:...
/mol
Mole (unit)

The mole is a Units of measurement of amount of substance: it is an SI base unit, and one of the few units used to measure this physical quantity....
, Btu
British thermal unit

The British thermal unit is a unit of energy used in the power, steam generation, heating and air conditioning industries. In scientific contexts the BTU has largely been replaced by the SI unit of energy, the joule , though it may be used as a measure of agricultural energy production ....
/m³. Heating value is commonly determined by use of a bomb calorimeter.

The heat of combustion for fuel
Fuel

Fuel is any material that is burned or altered in order to obtain energy and to heat or to move an object. Fuel releases its energy either through a chemical reaction means, such as combustion, or nuclear means, such as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion....
s is expressed as the HHV, LHV, or GHV:

  • The quantity known as higher heating value
    Higher heating value

    The higher heating value of a fuel is defined as the amount of heat released by a specified quantity once it is combustion and the products have returned to a temperature of 25 ?C....
     (HHV) (or gross calorific value or gross energy or upper heating value) is determined by bringing all the products of combustion back to the original pre-combustion temperature, and in particular condensing any vapor produced. This is the same as the thermodynamic heat of combustion since the enthalpy
    Enthalpy

    In thermodynamics and chemistry, the enthalpy is a quotient or description of thermodynamic potential of a system, which can be used to calculate the heat transfer during a quasistatic process taking place in a closed system thermodynamic system under constant pressure....
     change for the reaction assumes a common temperature of the compounds before and after combustion, in which case the water produced by combustion is liquid.
  • The quantity known as lower heating value
    Lower heating value

    The lower heating value of a fuel is defined as the amount of heat released by combusting a specified quantity and returning the temperature of the combustion products to 150 ?C....
     (LHV) (or net calorific value) is determined by subtracting the heat of vaporization of the water vapor from the higher heating value. This treats any H2O formed as a vapor. The energy required to vaporize the water therefore is not realized as heat.
  • Gross heating value (see AR) accounts for water in the exhaust leaving as vapor, and includes liquid water in the fuel prior to combustion. This value is important for fuels like wood
    Wood

    Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs, etc....
     or coal
    Coal

    Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
    , which will usually contain some amount of water prior to burning.


  • A common method of relating HHV to LHV is:


HHV = LHV + hv x (nH2O,out/nfuel,in)

where hv is the heat of vaporization of water, nH2O,out is the moles of water vaporized and nfuel,in is the number of moles of fuel combusted.


Most applications which burn fuel produce water vapor which is not used, and thus wasting its heat content. In such applications, the lower heating value is the applicable measure. This is particularly relevant for natural gas
Natural gas

Natural gas is a gas consisting primarily of methane. It is found associated with fossil fuels, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs, and landfills....
, whose high hydrogen
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
 content produces much water. The gross calorific value is relevant for gas burnt in condensing boiler
Condensing boiler

A condensing boiler is a water heating device designed to recover energy normally discharged to the atmosphere through the flue. It can do this through the use of a secondary heat exchanger which most commonly uses residual heat in the flue gas to heat the cooler returning water stream or by having a primary heat exchanger with sufficient sur...
s which condense the water vapor produced by combustion, recovering heat which would otherwise be wasted.

Both HHV and LHV can be expressed in terms of AR (all moisture counted), MF and MAF (only water from combustion of hydrogen). AR, MF, and MAF are commonly used for indicating the heating values of coal:

  • AR (As Received) indicates that the fuel heating value has been measured with all moisture and ash forming minerals present.
  • MF (Moisture Free) or Dry indicates that the fuel heating value has been measured after the fuel has been dried of all inherent moisture but still retaining its ash forming minerals.
  • MAF (Moisture and Ash Free) or DAF (Dry and Ash Free) indicates that the fuel heating value has been measured in the absence of inherent moisture and ash forming minerals.


Heat of combustion tables


Higher (HHV) and Lower (LHV) Heating values
of some common fuels
Fuel HHV MJ/kg
Kilogram

The kilogram or kilogrammeThe spelling kilogram is used by the International Committee for Weights and Measures and the U.S....
 
HHV BTU/lb
Pound (mass)

The pound or pound-mass is a Units of measurement of massused in the Imperial unit, United States customary units and other systems of measurement....
 
HHV kJ/mol
Mole (unit)

The mole is a Units of measurement of amount of substance: it is an SI base unit, and one of the few units used to measure this physical quantity....
 
LHV MJ/kg
MJ/kg

MJ/kg may refer to:* Specific kinetic energy* Heat of fusion* Heat of combustion...
Hydrogen
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
141.80 61,000 286 121.00
Methane
Methane

Methane is a chemical compound with the molecular formula . It is the simplest alkane, and the principal component of natural gas. Methane's bond angles are 109.5 degrees....
 
55.50 23,900 889 50.00
Ethane
Ethane

Ethane is a chemical compound with chemical formula C2H6. It is the only two-carbon alkane, that is, an aliphatic hydrocarbon....
 
51.90 22,400 1,560 47.80
Propane
Propane

Propane is a three-carbon alkane, normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. It is derived from other petroleum products during oil or natural gas processing....
50.35 21,700 2,220 46.35
Butane
Butane

Butane, also called n-butane, is the unbranched alkane with four carbon atoms, CH3CH2CH2CH3....
49.50 20,900 2,877 45.75
Pentane
Pentane

Pentane is any or one of the organic compounds with the chemical formula C5H12. This alkane is a component of some fuels and is employed as a specialty solvent in the laboratory....
45.35
Gasoline
Gasoline

File:GasCan.jpgGasoline or petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture, primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines.It consists mostly of aliphatic hydrocarbons, enhanced with iso-octane or the aromatic hydrocarbons toluene and benzene to increase its octane rating....
 
47.30 20,400 44.40
Paraffin
Paraffin

In chemistry, paraffin is the common name for the alkane hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to the solids with n=20–40....
 
46.00 19,900  
Kerosene
Kerosene

Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid....
 
46.20 43.00
Diesel
Diesel

Diesel or diesel fuel in general is any fuel used in diesel engines. The most common is a specific fractional distillation of petroleum fuel oil, but alternatives that are not derived from petroleum, such as biodiesel, biomass to liquid or gas to liquid diesel, are increasingly being developed and adopted....
 
44.80 19,300  
Coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
 (Anthracite)
27.00 14,000  
Coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
 (Lignite
Lignite

Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat....
)
15.00 8,000  
Wood
Wood

Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs, etc....
15.00 6,500  
Peat
Peat

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation biological tissue. Peat forms in wetlands or peatlands, variously called bogs, Moorland, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests....
 (damp)
6.00 2,500  
Peat
Peat

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation biological tissue. Peat forms in wetlands or peatlands, variously called bogs, Moorland, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests....
 (dry)
15.00 6,500  


Higher heating value
of some less common fuels
Fuel HHV MJ/kg
Kilogram

The kilogram or kilogrammeThe spelling kilogram is used by the International Committee for Weights and Measures and the U.S....
 
BTU/lb
Pound (mass)

The pound or pound-mass is a Units of measurement of massused in the Imperial unit, United States customary units and other systems of measurement....
 
kJ/mol
Mole (unit)

The mole is a Units of measurement of amount of substance: it is an SI base unit, and one of the few units used to measure this physical quantity....
Methanol
Methanol

Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical compound with chemical formula carbonhydrogen3oxygenhydrogen ....
 
22.7 9,800 726.0
Ethanol
Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatility , flammable, colorless liquid....
 
29.7 12,800 1,300.0
Propanol
Propanol

There are two isomers of propanol. If the isomer is not specified, it is more likely to refer to propan-1-ol.*Propan-1-ol — CH3CH2CH2OH...
33.6 14,500 2,020.0
Acetylene
Acetylene

Acetylene is the chemical compound with the symbol carbonhydrogen. It is the simplest alkyne.As an alkyne, acetylene is Saturation because its two carbon atoms are Chemical bond together in a triple bond....
49.9 21,500 1,300.0
Benzene
Benzene

Benzene, or benzol, is an organic compound chemical compound and a known carcinogen with the molecular formula Carbon6Hydrogen6....
 
41.8 18,000 3,270.0
Ammonia
Ammonia

Ammonia is a chemical compound with the chemical formula nitrogenhydrogen. It is normally encountered as a gas with a characteristic pungent odor....
 
22.5 9,690 382.0
Hydrazine
Hydrazine

Hydrazine is a chemical compound with the chemical formula N2H4. It is a colourless liquid with an ammonia-like odor and is derived from the same industrial chemistry processes that manufacture ammonia....
 
19.4 8,370 622.0
Hexamine
Hexamine

Hexamine, also called hexamethylenetetramine or methenamine , is a heterocyclic organic compound that can be prepared by the chemical reaction of formaldehyde and ammonia....
30.0 12,900 4,200.0
Carbon
Carbon

Carbon is a chemical element with chemical symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalence?making four electrons available to form covalent bond chemical bonds....
 
32.8 14,100 393.5


Heat of Combustion for some common fuels (higher value)
Fuel kJ/g
Gram

The gram , ; symbol g, is a Physical unit of mass.Originally defined as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre, and at the temperature of melting ice" , a gram is now defined as one one-thousandth of the SI base unit, the kilogram, or Scientific notation kg, which itself is...
kcal/g
Gram

The gram , ; symbol g, is a Physical unit of mass.Originally defined as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre, and at the temperature of melting ice" , a gram is now defined as one one-thousandth of the SI base unit, the kilogram, or Scientific notation kg, which itself is...
BTU/lb
Pound (mass)

The pound or pound-mass is a Units of measurement of massused in the Imperial unit, United States customary units and other systems of measurement....
Hydrogen
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
141.9 33.9 61,000
Gasoline
Gasoline

File:GasCan.jpgGasoline or petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture, primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines.It consists mostly of aliphatic hydrocarbons, enhanced with iso-octane or the aromatic hydrocarbons toluene and benzene to increase its octane rating....
47.0 11.3 20,000
Diesel
Diesel

Diesel or diesel fuel in general is any fuel used in diesel engines. The most common is a specific fractional distillation of petroleum fuel oil, but alternatives that are not derived from petroleum, such as biodiesel, biomass to liquid or gas to liquid diesel, are increasingly being developed and adopted....
45.0 10.7 19,300
Ethanol
Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatility , flammable, colorless liquid....
29.8 7.1 12,000
Propane
Propane

Propane is a three-carbon alkane, normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. It is derived from other petroleum products during oil or natural gas processing....
49.9 11.9 21,000
Butane
Butane

Butane, also called n-butane, is the unbranched alkane with four carbon atoms, CH3CH2CH2CH3....
49.2 11.8 21,200
Wood
Wood

Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs, etc....
15.0 3.6 6,000
Coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
 (Lignite
Lignite

Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat....
)
15.0 4.4 8,000
Coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
 (Anthracite)
27.0 7.8 14,000
Natural Gas
Natural gas

Natural gas is a gas consisting primarily of methane. It is found associated with fossil fuels, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs, and landfills....
54.0 13.0 23,000


Lower heating value for some organic compounds (at 25°C)


Fuel MJ
Joule

The joule is the SI derived unit of energy in the International System of Units. It is defined as:One joule is the amount of energy required to perform the following actions:...
/kg
Kilogram

The kilogram or kilogrammeThe spelling kilogram is used by the International Committee for Weights and Measures and the U.S....
MJ
Joule

The joule is the SI derived unit of energy in the International System of Units. It is defined as:One joule is the amount of energy required to perform the following actions:...
/L
Litιr

Lit?r is a village in Veszpr?m , Hungary.External links ...
BTU/lb
Pound (mass)

The pound or pound-mass is a Units of measurement of massused in the Imperial unit, United States customary units and other systems of measurement....
kJ
Joule

The joule is the SI derived unit of energy in the International System of Units. It is defined as:One joule is the amount of energy required to perform the following actions:...
/mol
Mole (unit)

The mole is a Units of measurement of amount of substance: it is an SI base unit, and one of the few units used to measure this physical quantity....
Paraffins
Methane
Methane

Methane is a chemical compound with the molecular formula . It is the simplest alkane, and the principal component of natural gas. Methane's bond angles are 109.5 degrees....
50.009 — — —
Ethane
Ethane

Ethane is a chemical compound with chemical formula C2H6. It is the only two-carbon alkane, that is, an aliphatic hydrocarbon....
47.794 — — —
Propane
Propane

Propane is a three-carbon alkane, normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. It is derived from other petroleum products during oil or natural gas processing....
46.357 — — —
Butane
Butane

Butane, also called n-butane, is the unbranched alkane with four carbon atoms, CH3CH2CH2CH3....
45.752 — — —
Pentane
Pentane

Pentane is any or one of the organic compounds with the chemical formula C5H12. This alkane is a component of some fuels and is employed as a specialty solvent in the laboratory....
45.357 - — —
Hexane
Hexane

Hexane is an alkane hydrocarbon with the chemical formula CH34CH3 or C6H14. The "hex" prefix refers to its six carbons, while the "ane" ending indicates that its carbons are connected by single bonds....
44.752 - — —
Heptane
Heptane

n-Heptane is the straight-chain alkane with the chemical formula H3C5CH3 or C7H16. It is the zero point of the octane rating scale ....
44.566 - — —
Octane
Octane

Octane is a straight-chain alkane with the chemical formula CH36CH3.Octane has 18 structural isomers:* Octane ...
44.427 - — —
Nonane
Nonane

Nonane is an alkane hydrocarbon with the chemical formula CH37CH3. Its substituent form is nonyl, and its equivalent ring structure is cyclononane....
44.311 - — —
Decane
Decane

Decane is an alkane hydrocarbon with the chemical formula CH38CH3.75 isomers of decane exist, all of which are flammable liquids....
44.240 — — —
Undecane
Undecane

Undecane is a liquid alkane hydrocarbon with the chemical formula CH39CH3. It is used as a mild sex attractant for various types of moths and cockroaches....
44.194 — — —
Dodecane
Dodecane

Dodecane is an alkane hydrocarbon with the chemical formula CH310CH3, a thick, oily liquid of the paraffin series....
44.147 — — —
Isoparaffins
Isobutane
Isobutane

Isobutane, also known as methylpropane or 2-methylpropane, is an alkane, isomeric with butane. Recent concerns with depletion of the ozone layer by freon gases have led to increased use of isobutane as a gas for refrigeration systems, especially in domestic refrigerators and freezers, and as a propellant in aerosol sprays....
45.613 — — —
Isopentane
Isopentane

Isopentane, carbonhydrogen, also called methylbutane or 2-methylbutane, is a branched-chain alkane with five carbon atoms. Isopentane is an extremely Volatility and extremely flammable liquid at room temperature and pressure....
45.241 — — —
2-Methylpentane 44.682 — — —
2,3-Dimethylbutane
2,3-Dimethylbutane

2,3-Dimethylbutane, also known as diisopropyl, is an isomer of hexane. It has the chemical formula 2CHCH2 It is a colourless liquid which boils at 57.9?C....
44.659 — — —
2,3-Dimethylpentane 44.496 — — —
2,2,4-Trimethylpentane
2,2,4-Trimethylpentane

2,2,4-Trimethylpentane, also known as isooctane or iso-octane, is an octane isomer which defines the 100 point on the octane rating scale ....
44.310 - — —
Naphthenes
Cyclopentane
Cyclopentane

Cyclopentane is a highly flammable alicyclic compound hydrocarbon with chemical formula 510 and CAS number 287-92-3, consisting of a ring of five carbon atoms each bonded with two hydrogen atoms above and below the plane....
44.636 — — —
Methylcyclopentane 44.636 — — —
Cyclohexane
Cyclohexane

Cyclohexane is a cycloalkane with the molecular formula Carbon6Hydrogen12. Cyclohexane is used as a nonpolar solvent for the chemical industry, and also as a raw material for the industrial production of adipic acid and caprolactam, both of which are intermediates used in the production of nylon....
43.450 — — —
Methylcyclohexane
Methylcyclohexane

Methylcyclohexane is a colourless liquid with a faint benzene-like odour. Its molecular formula is C7H14. Methylcyclohexane is used in organic synthesis and as a solvent for cellulose ethers....
43.380 — — —
Monoolefins
Ethylene
Ethylene

Ethylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H4. It is the simplest alkene. Because it contains a carbon-carbon double bond, ethylene is called an unsaturated hydrocarbon or an olefin....
47.195 — — —
Propylene
Propylene

Propene, also known as propylene, is an saturation organic chemistry having the chemical formula Carbon3Hydrogen6. It has one covalent bond, and is the second simplest member of the alkene class of hydrocarbons, and it is also second in natural abundance....
45.799 — — —
1-Butene
1-Butene

1-Butene is a organic Compound and one of the Isomer of butene. The formula is C4H8....
45.334 — — —
cis-2-Butene
Cis-2-butene

Cis-2-butene is a Compound with formula C4H8.Also see butene....
45.194 — — —
trans-2-Butene
Trans-2-butene

Trans-2-Butene is a Compound with formula C4H8.Also see butene....
45.124 — — —
Isobutene 45.055 — — —
1-Pentene 45.031 — — —
2-Methyl-1-pentene 44.799 — — —
1-Hexene
1-Hexene

1-hexene is a higher olefin, or alkene, with a formula C6H12. 1-hexene is an alpha-olefin, meaning that the double bond is located at the alpha position, endowing the compound with higher reactivity and thus useful chemical properties....
44.426 — — —
Diolefins
1,3-Butadiene
1,3-Butadiene

1,3-Butadiene is a simple Conjugated system diene. It is an important industrial chemical used as a monomer in the production of synthetic rubber....
44.613 — — —
Isoprene
Isoprene

Isoprene is a common synonym for the chemical compound 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene. It is commonly used in industry, is an important biological material, and can be a harmful environmental pollutant and toxicant when present in excess quantities....
44.078 - — —
Nitrous derivated
Nitromethane
Nitromethane

Nitromethane is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH3NO2. It is the simplest organic nitro compound. It is a slightly viscous, highly polar liquid commonly used as a solvent in a variety of industrial applications such as in extractions, as a reaction medium, and as a cleaning solvent....
10.513 — — —
Nitropropane 20.693 — — —
Acetylenes
Acetylene
Acetylene

Acetylene is the chemical compound with the symbol carbonhydrogen. It is the simplest alkyne.As an alkyne, acetylene is Saturation because its two carbon atoms are Chemical bond together in a triple bond....
48.241 — — —
Methylacetylene
Methylacetylene

Methylacetylene is an alkyne with the chemical formula Hydrogen3C=CH. It is a component of MAPP gas along with its isomer 1,2-propadiene , which is commonly used in gas welding....
46.194 — — —
1-Butyne 45.590 — — —
1-Pentyne
1-Pentyne

1-Pentyne, an organic compound, is a terminal alkyne. It is an isomer of 2-pentyne, an internal alkyne....
45.217 — — —
Aromatics
Benzene
Benzene

Benzene, or benzol, is an organic compound chemical compound and a known carcinogen with the molecular formula Carbon6Hydrogen6....
40.170 — — —
Toluene
Toluene

Toluene, also known as methylbenzene or phenylmethane, is a clear, Water -insoluble liquid with the typical smell of paint thinners, redolent of the sweet smell of the related compound benzene....
40.589 — — —
o-Xylene
O-Xylene

o-Xylene is an aromatic hydrocarbon, based on benzene with two methyl substituents bonded to adjacent carbon atoms in the aromatic ring .It is a constitutional isomer of M-Xylene and P-Xylene....
40.961 — — —
m-Xylene
M-Xylene

m-Xylene is an aromatic hydrocarbon, based on benzene with two methyl substituents.It is an isomer of o-Xylene and P-Xylene. The m stands for meta, meaning the two methyl substituents are at locants 1 and 3 on the aromatic ring....
40.961 — — —
p-Xylene
P-Xylene

p-Xylene is an aromatic hydrocarbon, based on benzene with two methyl substituents. The ?p? stands for para, identifying the location of the methyl groups as across from one another....
40.798 — — —
Ethylbenzene
Ethylbenzene

Ethylbenzene is an organic compound with the formula C6H5CH2CH3. This aromatic hydrocarbon is important in the petrochemical industry as an intermediate in the production of styrene, which in turn is used for making polystyrene, a commonly used plastic material....
40.938 — — —
1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene
1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene

1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene is a colorless liquid with chemical formula C9H12. It is flammable aromatic hydrocarbon with a strong odor....
40.984 — — —
Propylbenzene 41.193 — — —
Cumene
Cumene

Cumene is the common name for isopropylbenzene, an organic compound that is an aromatic hydrocarbon. It is a constituent of crude oil and refined fuels....
41.217 — — —
Alcohols
Methanol
Methanol

Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical compound with chemical formula carbonhydrogen3oxygenhydrogen ....
— — —
Ethanol
Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatility , flammable, colorless liquid....
28.865 — — —
n-propanol 30.680 — — —
Isopropanol 30.447 — — —
n-Butanol
N-Butanol

n-Butanol or n-butyl alcohol , is a primary alcohol with a 4 carbon structure and the molecular formula of C4H10O....
33.075 — — —
Isobutanol
Isobutanol

Isobutanol is a colorless, flammable, organic compound with a characteristic smell. Its isomers are N-Butanol, 2-butanol, and Tert-Butanol. It is classified as an alcohol, and, as such, it is widely used as a solvent in chemical reactions, as well as being a useful starting material for organic synthesis....
32.959 — — —
Tertiobutanol 32.587 — — —
n-Pentanol 34.727 — — —
Ethers
Methoxymethane 28.703 — — —
Ethoxyethane 33.867 — — —
Propoxypropane 36.355 — — —
Butoxybutane 37.798 — — —
Aldehydes and ketones
Methanal 17.259 — — —
Ethanal 24.156 — — —
Propionaldehyde
Propionaldehyde

Propionaldehyde or propanal is the organic compound with the formula CH3CH2CHO. It is a saturate 3-carbon aldehyde and is a structural isomerism of propanone....
28.889 — — —
Butyraldehyde 31.610 — — —
Acetone
Acetone

Acetone is the organic compound with the chemical formula OC2. This colorless, mobile, flammable liquid is the simplest example of the ketones....
28.548 — — —
Other species
Carbon (graphite)
Graphite

The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Greek language ??afe?? : "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead, as distinguished from the actual metallic element lead....
32.808 — — —
Hydrogen
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
120.971 — — —
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide, with the chemical formula CO, is a colorless and odorless, tasteless, yet highly toxic gas. Its molecules consist of one carbon atom covalent bond to one oxygen atom....
10.112 — — —
Ammonia
Ammonia

Ammonia is a chemical compound with the chemical formula nitrogenhydrogen. It is normally encountered as a gas with a characteristic pungent odor....
18.646 — — —
Sulfur
Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element that has the atomic number 16. It is denoted with the symbol S. It is an abundant Valence non-metal....
 (solid)
9.163 — — —


Note that there is no difference between the lower and higher heating values for the combustion of carbon, carbon monoxide and sulfur since no water is formed in combusting those substances.

Higher heating values of natural gases from various sources


These data on higher heating values were obtained from the International Energy Agency:

  • Algeria
    Algeria

    Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country of the Mediterranean sea, second largest in the Arab World, and the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area....
    : 42,000 kJ/m³
  • Bangladesh
    Bangladesh

    , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south....
    : 36,000 kJ/m³
  • Canada
    Canada

    Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
    : 38,200 kJ/m³
  • Indonesia
    Indonesia

    The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
    : 40,600 kJ/m³
  • Netherlands
    Netherlands

    The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
    : 33,320 kJ/m³
  • Norway
    Norway

    Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
    : 39,877 kJ/m³
  • Russia
    Russia

    Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
    : 38,231 kJ/m³
  • Saudi Arabia
    Saudi Arabia

    The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south....
    : 38,000 kJ/m³
  • United Kingdom
    United Kingdom

    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
    : 39,710 kJ/m³
  • United States
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
    : 38,416 kJ/m³
  • Uzbekistan
    Uzbekistan

    Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan , is a Landlocked_country#Doubly_landlocked_country country in Central Asia, formerly part of the Soviet Union....
    : 37,889 kJ/m³


The lower heating values of the above natural gases are about 90 percent of the higher heating values.

Fuel needed to run a 100 W lightbulb for a year (876 kWh, or 3153.6 MJ)


(The fuel quantities below assume 100% conversion efficiency. As most power generation/distribution systems only achieve 30% - 35% efficiency, the actual quantity of fuel used to power a 100 W light bulb in your home will be about three times the quantity shown.)
  • 166 kg of wood
  • 117 to 210 kg (257 to 462 lb) of coal (using the heating values in the table above)
  • 73.34 kg (161.6 lb) of kerosene
  • 78.8m³, of natural gas, using an average value of 40000 kJ/m³.
  • 58 kg of Methane
  • .006 kg (.014 lb) of uranium
  • 17.5 ΅g (0.000000039 lb) of antimatter
    Antimatter

    In particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles....


See also


  • Adiabatic flame temperature
    Adiabatic flame temperature

    In the study of combustion, there are two types of adiabatic flame temperature depending on how the process is completed: constant volume and constant pressure....
  • Combustion
    Combustion

    Combustion or burning is a complex sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat or both heat and light in the form of either a glow or flames, appearance of light flickering....
  • Energy density
    Energy density

    Energy density is the amount of energy stored in a given system or region of space per unit volume, or per unit mass, depending on the context, although the latter is more formally specific energy ....
  • Energy value of coal
    Energy value of coal

    The energy value of coal, or the fuel content, is the amount of potential energy in coal that can be converted into actual Heating value. The value can be calculated and compared with different grades of coal or even other materials....
  • Exothermic reaction
    Exothermic reaction

    An exothermic reaction is a chemical reaction that releases energy in the form of heat. It is the opposite of an endothermic reaction. Expressed in a chemical equation:...
  • Fire
    Fire

    Fire is the oxidation of a combustion material releasing heat, light, and various Chemical reaction products such as carbon dioxide and water....
  • Fuel efficiency#Energy content of fuel
    Fuel efficiency

    Fuel efficiency, in its basic sense, is the same as thermal efficiency, meaning the efficiency of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier fuel into kinetic energy or Mechanical work....
  • Food energy
    Food energy

    Food energy is the amount of energy in food that is available through digestion.Like other forms of energy, food energy is expressed in calories or joules....
  • Internal energy
    Internal energy

    In thermodynamics, the internal energy of a thermodynamic system, or a physical body with well-defined dimension, denoted by U, or sometimes E, is the total of the kinetic energy due to the motion of molecules and the potential energy associated with the vibrational and electricity energy of atoms within molecules or crysta...
  • Thermal efficiency
    Thermal efficiency

    In thermodynamics, the thermal efficiency is a Dimensionless quantity performance measure of a thermal device such as an internal combustion engine, a boiler, or a furnace, for example....
  • Wobbe index
    Wobbe index

    The Wobbe Index is an indicator of the interchangeability of fuel gases such as natural gas, liquified petroleum gas , and Town Gas and is frequently defined in the specifications of gas supply and transport utilities....
    : heat density
  • ISO 15971
    ISO 15971

    ISO 15971 is an International Organization for Standardization standard for Calorific value measurement of Natural gas and its substitutes. The methods it covered does not involve Gas composition determination and the related calculations....


External links