Typical Heat Values of Various Fuels

(MJ = Megajoules)

Volumetric Heat Values of Common Fuels

Jet fuel = 135,000 Btu/gallon

Compressed natural gas = 138,700 Btu/gallon

Aviation gasoline = 120,200 Btu/gallon

Distillate fuel = 138,700 Btu/gallon

Automotive gasoline = 125,000 Btu/gallon

Residual fuel = 149,700 Btu/gallon

Diesel motor fuel = 138,700 Btu/gallon

Natural gas = 1,031 Btu/ft³

Electricity 1kWh = 3,412 Btu, negating electrical system losses. To include approximate electrical system losses, multiply this conversion factor by 3.

SOURCES

Air:

Certificated air carriers:

1960-2000: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information Internet site http://www.bts.gov/oai/fuel/fuelyearly.html as of Aug. 1, 2002.

General aviation:

1960-80: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aviation Policy, Plans, and Management Analysis, FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation (Washington, DC: Annual issues).

1985-93: Ibid., General Aviation and Avionics Survey (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table 5.1 and similar tables in earlier editions.

1994: Ibid., FAA Aerospace Forecasts Fiscal Years 2000-2011 (Washington, DC: March 2000), table 29.

1995-2001: lbid., FAA Aerospace Forecasts Fiscal Years 2002-2013 (Washington, DC: March 2002), table 30.

Highway:

1960-94: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics, Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table VM-201A (revised data obtained from internet site http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/ohimstat.htm as of Aug. 2, 2001).

1995-2000: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1.

Transit:

Electricity / motor fuel / compressed natural gas:

1960-2000: American Public Transit Association, Public Transportation Fact Book (Washington, DC: March 2002), tables 65, 66, 67, and similar tables in earlier editions.

Rail:

1960-2000: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: October 2001), p. 40.

2001: Ibid., personal communication, Aug. 12, 2002.

Amtrak:

1975-2001: Amtrak, Energy Management Department, personal communication.

Water:

Residual and distillate / diesel fuel oil:

1960-80: American Petroleum Institute, Basic Petroleum Data Book (Washington, DC: Annual issues), tables 10, 10a, 12, and 12a.

1985-2000: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Fuel Oil and Kerosene Sales (Washington, DC: Annual issues), tables 2, 4, and similar tables in earlier editions.

Gasoline:

1970-2000: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table MF-24 and similar tables in earlier editions.

Pipeline:

1960-98: U.S. Department of Energy, Natural Gas Annual 1999, DOE/EIA-0131(99) (Washington, DC: October 2000), table 94.

1999-2000: Ibid., Natural Gas Annual 2000, DOE/EIA-0131(00) (Washington DC: November 2001), table 95.

ENERGY VALUE

See this website http://www.geocities.com/dieret/re/Biomass/biomass.html

Biomass (when considering its energy potential) refers to all forms of plant-derived material that can be used for energy: wood, herbaceous plants, crop and forest residues, animal wastes etc. Because biomass is a solid fuel it can be compared to coal. On a dry-weight basis, heating values range from 17,5 GJ per tonne for various herbaceous crops like wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse to about 20 GJ/tonne for wood. The corresponding values for bituminous coals and lignite are 30 GJ/tonne and 20 GJ/tonne respectively (see tables at the end). At the time of its harvest biomass contains considerable amount of moisture, ranging from 8 to 20 % for wheat straw, to 30 to 60 % for woods, to 75 to 90 % for animal manure, and to 95 % for water hyacinth. In contrast the moisture content of the most bituminous coals ranges from 2 to 12 %. Thus the energy density for the biomass at the point of production are lower than those for coal. On the other side chemical attributes make it superior in many ways. The ash content of biomass is much lower than for coals, and the ash is generally free of the toxic metals and other contaminants and can be used as soil fertiliser.

Biomass is generally and wrongly regarded as a low-status fuel, and in many countries rarely finds its way into statistics. It offers considerable flexibility of fuel supply due to the range and diversity of fuels which can be produced. Biomass energy can be used to generate heat and electricity through direct combustion in modern devices, ranging from very-small-scale domestic boilers to multi-megawatt size power plants electricity (e.g. via gas turbines), or liquid fuels for motor vehicles such as ethanol, or other alcohol fuels. Biomass-energy systems can increase economic development without contributing to the greenhouse effect since biomass is not a net emitter of CO2 to the atmosphere when it is produced and used sustainably. It also has other benign environmental attributes such as lower sulphur and NOx emissions and can help rehabilitate degraded lands. There is a growing recognition that the use of biomass in larger commercial systems based on sustainable, already accumulated resources and residues can help improve natural resource management.

Energy contents comparison table.