“Fuel Chemistry” by Dr. Bishwajit Saikia is a concise, application-focused textbook tailored for undergraduate science students pursuing B.Sc. Honours and Non-Honours under the CBCS framework. The book serves as a Skill Enhancement Course (SEC) module and provides students with foundational and advanced knowledge of fuels and their chemical properties, applications, and environmental implications.

Designed to build practical skills and job-oriented awareness, the book explores different types of fuels — solid, liquid, and gaseous — their classification, composition, combustion behavior, and efficiency. It also includes topics such as fuel processing, refining, renewable energy sources, and pollution control measures.

? Course Content / Syllabus Structure:

Unit 1: Introduction to Fuels

• Definition, classification, and characteristics of fuels

• Types of fuels: Solid, liquid, and gaseous

• Fuel efficiency and calorific value

• Units of energy and methods of fuel measurement

• Comparison of different fuels in terms of utility and availability

Unit 2: Solid Fuels

• Coal: Origin, types (peat, lignite, bituminous, anthracite)

• Proximate and ultimate analysis of coal

• Carbonization of coal: Low and high-temperature carbonization

• Coke: Manufacture by Otto-Hoffmann method

• Applications and environmental aspects

Unit 3: Liquid Fuels

• Petroleum: Origin, composition, and refining

• Fractional distillation of crude oil

• Octane number, anti-knocking agents

• Cracking: Thermal and catalytic

• Synthetic petrol (Bergius and Fischer–Tropsch processes)

• Applications and environmental concerns

Unit 4: Gaseous Fuels

• Natural gas, Producer gas, Water gas, Coal gas, and LPG

• Composition, production, and uses

• CNG and LNG: Characteristics and advantages

• Biogas: Generation, constituents, and significance

• Hydrogen as a future fuel

Unit 5: Alternative and Renewable Fuels

• Biofuels: Types, production, and use

• Alcohol as fuel: Methanol and ethanol

• Biodiesel: Sources, advantages, and limitations

• Solar energy and fuel cells

• Clean fuel technologies and green energy

Unit 6: Environmental Impact and Fuel Management

• Combustion and pollution: SOx, NOx, CO, unburnt hydrocarbons

• Fuel conservation and energy management

• Waste-to-energy technologies

• Global energy crisis and sustainable fuel use

• Role of fuel chemists in industry