You are building a new power plant to produce electricity; you can choose betwee

Question

You are building a new power plant to produce electricity; you can choose between solid C186H144N2O18S4 and gaseous CH4 as your fuel source. You have found the following thermodynamic data for combustion of each fuel:

C186H144N2O18S4(s) + 219O2(g) 186 CO2(g) + 72H2O(l) + 2NO2(g) + 4SO2(g)          q = -54.0 kJ/g C186H144N2O18S4

CH4(g) + 2O2(g) CO2(g) + 2H2O(l)                    q = -55.5 kJ/g CH4

Suggest at least five factors that you must consider in selecting your fuel source, and, for each factor, explain why it must be considered.

Explanation / Answer

CH4 (methane ) is a good fuel for the purpose.

1)The enthalpy of combustion (q) is higher for CH4 than the solid fuel.

2)Gaseous fuel do not produce any solid ash so cleaner fuel than any solid fuel

3) combustion of methane produces energy ,carbon dioxide and water and no toxic gases like NO2,SO2 .Such gases are pollutants as they are green house gases (absorb heat and raises global temperature),they react with water to form acids and cause damage to life and property

4NO2+2 H2O-+O2->4HNO3

4) Methane has low density,low that is more energy is produced per unit of carbon dioxide gas molecule produced.It releases 29-30% less carbon than petroleum oil,and 40% less carbon than coal

5)methane can be easily transported through pipelines compared to solid fuels

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